Houston at Los Angeles

Both these teams have put enough pieces together that they can make a run at the top of the Western Conference, and this is a key test for both in the early going. Houston isn't off to the races like they were a year ago now that they have the big man in the middle to patrol and control the paint. The Clippers have scored a lot in their first three games, but those were against teams that like to get out and run. This one will be different. A lot of times with so much firepower on the court, these games tend to be played a lot more in the half court as they try to stay away from easy hoops. Houston has shown they are not as eager to run on the road where they have played five straight to the UNDER, and that has also translated to playing in Los Angeles, where seven of the last eight have not reached the total. In addition, Kevin McHale-coached teams are 60-36 UNDER in the first half as a road underdog, including 43-19 UNDER if the total is set over 100. The feeling out process early, with the defense making the biggest impact early on here calls for a play on the first half UNDER.