Two of the elite Western Conference playoff contenders are set to do battle on Tuesday night as the as the Houston Rockets (47-25) get set to travel to Utah to take on the Jazz (43-26). Houston currently leads the Southwest Division by half a game over the San Antonio Spurs while the Jazz are only a game and a half back of the Nuggets in the Northwest Division. If the playoffs were to start today, Houston would be the West’s #2 seed while Utah would draw #7, making this is a very possible matchup for the first round of the NBA playoffs.

These teams have met up three times this season with the Houston Rockets winning both of their home games while Utah also won at home. Every single game has been decided by single digits although the Rockets have covered the point spread twice with 2 of the 3 meetings going over the betting total.

Bookmaker.com has the home-team Jazz favored by 5 points and a point total of 193 predicted for this exciting clash of top-tier NBA teams.

The Rockets have been dealing with the injury of star guard Tracy McGrady for 19 games now but are doing surprisingly well with 12 point spread covers since he has missed. Houston will also be without forward Carl Landry after the 2nd year player out of Purdue was shot in the leg following a traffic accident earlier this month. Utah has had their share of injuries this season but currently the only problem is center Mehmet Okur, who was poked in the eye during Utah’s 101-94 win over the Oklahoma Thunder this past Friday. Although the injury was painful, Okur is very much expected to be able to play his normally allotted minutes in this game.

Both squads have been hot lately with Houston going 8-2 over their last 10 games while Utah is not far behind with a 7-3 mark over that same span. Betting wise, neither one has been as impressive as their straight up record with Houston covering the point spread in 4 of those 10 games while Utah has only covered in 4.

Utah has the offensive edge with 103.2 points per game on 47.7% shooting, compared to a solid 98.5 points per game on 45.2% shooting for the Rockets while Houston definitely has the edge at defending the basket (94.5 points per game allowed compared to 99.6 for Utah). Houston also shoots free throws slightly better and has shown more rebounding acumen on the season with the bench edge in Utah’s favor considering the players that Houston is down for this game.

If the past 3 meetings tell us anything, it’s that this game is going to be close throughout and there should be enough points scored to make this an exciting watch on an otherwise quiet Tuesday night of sports action.

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