NBA Free Premium Play 11/13: Houston Rockets @ Philadelphia 76ers

Houston  at Philadelphia

NBA - 703 Houston Rockets @ 704 Philadelphia 76ers Play #6 The last thing Houston needed was to play a double overtime game at home against Toronto while having half of their roster battling illness. Dwight Howard, James Harden, Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons all played more than 40 minutes. Perhaps the most interesting fact of this game for the future was that Coach Kevin McHale decided on half time to bench Omer Asik in the start of the second half and start Terrence Jones at the PF position. It looks like McHale is giving up on the idea of having both Howard and Asik on the lineup, better late than never! It's clear that the Rockets are incredibly banged up right now. Chandler Parsons played 48 minutes against the Raptors with back spasms and he doubted that he could play both games of the team's back to back games today and tomorrow. The same thing happens with James Harden and his sore feet.  Francisco Garcia is battling flu symptoms, while Omri Casspi is struggling with a knee injury. With Evan Turner scoring at least 18 points in every game this season and with all his potential opponents for tonight struggling physically, this might be a dream mismatch for Philadelphia tonight. Looking at how both teams play, this will be obviously a fast paced game.  Looking at the matchup between the Sixers' offense and the Rockets' defense, I believe that Houston will struggle if Kevin McHale insists in starting both Dwight Howard and Omer Asik on the frontcourt. Philadelphia' starting Center Spencer Hawes is someone who plays almost exclusively on the perimeter, while Thaddeus Young at the PF position is too quick for any Rockets' big men.  Philadelphia's offense focus on transition plays and pick and rolls led by rookie sensation Michael Carter-Williams, while Houston is the second worst team in the league in avoiding turnovers with a 17.1% TO/rate. The Rockets are indeed #3 in the league on transition defense, but I doubt that they will have the proper mindset and the physical conditions to actually defend well transition plays tonight. Regarding their pick and roll ball handler defense, it is quite weak especially on such poor physical spots as this one. Looking at Philadelphia's last game against San Antonio, what can they do better today against Houston that they couldn't against the Spurs? Well, first of all San Antonio committed just 12 turnovers, so Philadelphia could only score 16 points off turnovers in that game. I'm sure the Sixers will have more opportunities to score on this kind of situations tonight. But what made Philadelphia struggle so much on offense against San Antonio was their inability to make long range shots with just 1-15 FG from 16-23 feet and 5-19 3pts! This was a shame, as they did really well on scoring down low with 20-27 (74%) FG at the rim! I expect Philadelphia to bounce back on their long range shooting tonight. On the other hand, Philadelphia's defense had no chances against San Antonio's offense that used their sharp ball movement to torch the Sixers apart with 29 assists. That won't happen tonight, as Houston's season high in assists is just 21, while having a poor average of just 18.4 assists per game! Philadelphia's backcourt defense is surprisingly good and they are #5 in the league on pick and roll ball handler defense! Therefore, I expect them to be able to limit Houston's quite stagnant offense tonight. I believe this is a great spot to back Philadelphia and face Houston, a team that is on a poor physical spot tonight, and so, I'll be taking the Sixers in here. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 704 Philadelphia 76ers (+6) @ -110 / 1.91 on Betonline