Free Pick | NBA | Tuesday | Dec. 26

#512 Houston Rockets -3 over Indiana Pacers 7:10 PM CT

Houston continues to be doubted but the 15-12 Rockets are dramatically improved and look like a viable Western Conference playoff threat. The Rockets have played a top 10 schedule and have gone 6-3 vs. top 10 teams. Houston is built on success at home going 12-2 at home and just 3-10 on the road but tonight’s game is at the Toyota Center where Houston has won 12 of the past 13 games since losing the home opener vs. the Warriors. Indiana’s rise as a player in the Eastern Conference race this season has been erased with the Pacers losing six of the past seven games. That includes humbling losses to the Wizards and Grizzlies, and this will be the team’s seventh road game in the past 10 games. A division game in Chicago is on deck following the holiday break for a Pacers team that allows 126 points per game, second worst in the NBA. In contrast Houston has the second best scoring defense in the NBA, only trailing Minnesota. Indiana has not lost to Houston since 2019 but a lot has changed for the Rockets this season, and this is a still undervalued group with dominant results at home so far this season.