The Utah Jazz host the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back.
The pregame narrative: Both teams played on Friday, so I’ll side with the Jazz at home against a lofty double-digit spread. Despite that, I have picks on two Rockets — Amen Thompson and Jalen Green — in this +320 SGP.
Check out my Rockets vs. Jazz same-game parlay predictions for Feb. 22.
Rockets vs. Jazz predictions
Parlay: Jazz +12.5 | Thompson over 8.5 rebounds | Green 3+ threes (+320)
Jazz +12.5 (-225): Betting on the Utah side is not ideal on most nights, but there’s some solid supporting data here.
- Houston is 3-7 in its last 10.
- Since the beginning of February, the Jazz covered this spread in 5/6 home games, winning three straight up.
The lone game where Utah failed to cover was last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But since the Thunder had a big lead late, Utah’s starting five played fewer minutes than normal.
On the other hand, four Houston players logged 35-plus minutes in Friday’s win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This is shaping up to be a massive let-down spot for the Rockets.
SGP legs
Thompson over 8.5 rebounds (-139): The uber-athletic guard is starting in place of the injured Fred Van Vleet.
Thompson has cleared this total in each of the last four games and is averaging 9.7 rebounds in 26 starts this season.
He’s played 36-plus minutes in seven of the eight games that Van Vleet has missed. His youth should be heavily relied on again in the second half of a back-to-back.
In the 11 games Thompson has played over 40 minutes, he averages 11.4 rebounds.
Green 3+ threes (-162): Green torched Minnesota’s defence on Friday, finishing with 35 points while draining 5-of-11 3s.
In fact, he’s made three or more triples in seven of the past 10 games.
Green is making 3.1 threes on 8.9 attempts over that time, and he gets a soft matchup on Saturday.
The Jazz allow the second-most points (23.7) and fifth-most threes (3.6) to opposing shooting guards, per Fantasy Pros.
I’m expecting a second strong performance from Green in as many nights.
Picks made at 3:03 p.m. ET on 02/22/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.