Rockets vs. Nets Prediction, Odds and Best NBA Prop Bets for New Year’s Day

The Rockets are road favorites on Thursday night.

The Houston Rockets and forward Kevin Durant are favored on Thursday. / Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets have rebounded from a little bit of a down stretch to win three games in a row, and they find themselves as road favorites on New Year’s Day against the Brooklyn Nets.

Brooklyn has just 10 wins this season, but it has won six of its last 10 games after a very slow start. Michael Porter Jr. is having a career year scoring the ball, and the Nets have been pretty frisky over the last month, ranking fifth in net rating over their last 10 games.

Houston is aiming to finish in the top three in the Western Conference, and Nikola Jokic’s injury in Denver has opened the door for Ime Udoka’s team to solidify a top spot over the next month.

Kevin Durant is facing his former team, and he’d love to hand the Nets a loss to extend Houston’s winning streak.

Let’s dive into the odds, my favorite player prop and a prediction for this New Year’s Day clash. 

Rockets vs. Nets Odds, Spread and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Spread

• Rockets -11.5 (-105)
• Nets +11.5 (-115)

Moneyline

• Rockets: -500
• Nets: +380

Total

• 219.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Rockets vs. Nets How to Watch

• Date: Thursday, Jan. 1
• Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
• Venue: Barclays Center
• How to Watch (TV): Space City Network, YES Network
• Rockets record: 20-10
• Nets record: 10-20

Rockets vs. Nets Injury Reports

Rockets Injury Report

• Alperen Sengun – questionable
• Steven Adams – questionable
• Clint Capela – questionable
• Tari Eason – questionable
• Isaiah Crawford – out
• Tyler Smith – out
• Fred VanVleet – out

Nets Injury Report

• Egor Demin – out
• Tyson Etienne – out
• Haywood Highsmith – out
• Chaney Johnson – out
• EJ Liddell – out
• Michael Porter Jr. – questionable
• Terance Mann – questionable
• Ben Saraf – out

Rockets vs. Nets Best NBA Prop Bet

Nets Best NBA Prop Bet

• Cam Thomas 18+ Points (-109)

In today’s best NBA props column for SI Betting, I broke down why Cam Thomas could be in line for a huge scoring game:

Cam Thomas returned from injury in late December, appearing in two games ahead of Thursday’s matchup with Houston.

The Nets guard is one of the best pure scorers in the NBA, and he showed that in his first game back, scoring 30 points on 15 shots in less than 20 minutes of playing time.

Now, with Michael Porter Jr. questionable and Egor Demin out on Thursday, Thomas could see an even bigger role carrying this Nets offense. Houston is an elite defensive team, but Thomas is going to get his shots either way, as he’s taken 27 shots in his first two games back in action despite playing less than 20 minutes in both.

This season, Thomas is averaging 21.4 points per game, and he’s scored at least 18 points in six of the nine games that he was able to finish. As long as the volume is there, Thomas is a solid bet to come near his season average on Thursday. 

Rockets vs. Nets Prediction and Pick

After losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in late December, the Rockets have rattled off three wins in a row, beating Cleveland and the Los Angeles Lakers by double digits in the process.

While the Nets have the No. 5 net rating in the league over their last 10 games, they are still just 6-9 against the spread as home underdogs and are coming off a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday. 

Brooklyn could be down Michael Porter Jr. (questionable) in this matchup, which would undoubtedly lower the ceiling of an already subpar offense.

The Nets’ defense has picked up as of late, but can it slow down a Houston team that is No. 3 in offensive rating, No. 2 in net rating and 11-7 against the spread (No. 3 in the NBA) on the road this season?

I’m not buying it. I’ll take Houston to get the job done on New Year’s Day. 

Pick: Rockets -11.5 (-105 at DraftKings)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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