The Houston Rockets will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to face the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center with the game tipping off at 7:00 PM ET on Friday evening and will air on Bally Sports Charlotte.

Houston enters this game with a record of 20-23 which puts them in 11^th place in the Western Conference while having lost five of their last six games and are on a two-game losing streak following a 131-137 overtime loss at home against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. The Rockets have been a below-average team offensively as they enter this game averaging 112.91 points per game which is below the league average of 115.54 points per game, however, they have been an above-average team defensively as they are allowing an average of 112.72 points per game. 

Alperen Sengun has been one of the better players on the team as he leads the team in scoring and rebounds while being 2^nd on the team in steals with an average of 22.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.21 steals per game. The Houston Rockets will look to end their two-game losing streak when they travel to face the Charlotte Hornets.

The Charlotte Hornets have lost eight of their last ten games and are coming off a 106-113 loss on the road against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday which has dropped their record to 10-32 this season and puts them in 13^th place in the Eastern Conference. 

Charlotte has been one of the worst teams offensively this season as they are averaging the 3^rd fewest points per game with an average of 108.74 points per game while also being one of the worst defensive teams as they are allowing the 7^th most points per game with an average of 119.76 points per game. Terry Rozier has been one of the better players on the team as he leads the team in scoring and assists with an average of 23.2 points and 6.6 assists per game. 

The Charlotte Hornets will look to bounce back following the loss against the Pistons when they host the Houston Rockets on Friday evening.

BookMaker has the Houston Rockets listed as 5.5-point favorites on the road against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday evening. The teams are 5-5 in the last ten while Houston has won two of the previous three matchups. 

The Hornets have covered the spread in six of the last ten and two of the last three games in the series. The Houston Rockets are 21-20-2 ATS overall, 6-12-1 ATS on the road, and 8-5-1 ATS as a favorite this season while the Charlotte Hornets are 16-26 ATS overall, 8-11 ATS at home, and 16-22 ATS as an underdog on the year.

Houston enters this game with a better record and has been the better team most recently in the series, winning two of the previous three meetings. However, the Hornets have been the better team at covering the spread in the series, covering the spread in six of the last ten and two of the last three matchups. As a result, I am buying the .5 point and taking the points with the Charlotte Hornets on Friday evening.