NBA Friday: Greg Frank picks Rockets vs Magic and Lakers vs Heat — will LeBron James lead LA to the over or under?

0-1 Thursday, 42-44-1 overall.

Rockets (-6.5) @ Magic (222)

Pick: Under 222

It might be hard to believe, but the Houston Rockets are one of the NBA’s most profitable under teams two months into the season. Houston is 14-10 to the under after 24 games despite being second in the NBA in scoring. This is an indicator that the oddsmakers have a good handle on the Rockets because it usually isn’t as simple as betting overs involving a team that scores a lot. Tonight, the Rockets are in Orlando to square off with the Magic, a team second to last in the Association in scoring. It’s not a secret that for the Magic to have a chance tonight, they’ll have to play a slower game. There’s enough of a talent difference between these two teams where playing slower might not necessarily lead to a victory for the Magic, but we’re expecting them to do their best to dictate the pace and limit the field goal attempts as best they can. That expectation is enough for us to like the game under the total.

Lakers (-5.5) @ Heat (212)

Pick: Under 212

The Lakers are probably another team whose strong under record might come as a surprise. The purple and gold are 14-11 to the under and continued their winning ways on Wednesday in Orlando. They stay in Florida tonight to take on Miami. The Heat come in second in the East at 18-6 and can really send a message to the NBA with a victory tonight, despite it still only being December 13. Miami has been one of the Association’s biggest overachievers in the first two months and what better way to announce your arrival than to beat the Lakers? All of that said, even though our Lakers fade only lost by half a point on Wednesday, we don’t want to step in front of this freight train again. The better angle here is to go under the total expecting Miami to treat this like a playoff game. The Lakers have shown they have no problem playing lower scoring games anyway, so we’re expecting more of the same for LeBron James against one of his former teams tonight.

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