Chris Paul faces his former team for the first time when the Houston Rockets (30-11) visit the Los Angeles Clippers (21-21) in Monday's late game. Houston is a four-point favorite on Martin Luther King Jr. Day after opening as 5.5-point chalk. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is down two points to 228.5.
Before you get down on a holiday matchup like this with intriguing subplots, you need to hear what SportsLine's Larry Hartstein has to say.
He crushed sportsbooks in the NBA last season, going 126-95-7 over the final five months for a huge profit. He's excelling again this season and coming off a 3-0 Sunday.
Moreover, Hartstein knows what makes the Clippers tick. He's 9-3 in his past 12 picks involving Doc Rivers' team.
Part of his success: Hartstein has a vast network of Vegas sources and has been covering the industry as a sportswriter and analyst for two decades. He can spot a bad line from a mile away.
Hartstein knows that despite key injuries, the Clippers have won eight of 10 while sharing the ball and averaging 116.5 points. Lou Williams, who came over in the Paul trade, poured in 50 in last week's victory over the Warriors and is averaging a team-best 23.1 points.
With DeAndre Jordan (ankle) and Austin Rivers (heel) sidelined Monday, the Clippers likely will need monster games from Williams and Blake Griffin.
The Rockets also are hot, having won three straight as they await James Harden's return from a hamstring injury later this week.
Paul has been dominating in the win streak, averaging 28.7 points, 8.7 assists, 7.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals. He did not play Dec. 22 when the Ciips went to Houston and won 128-118.
With Paul finding open shooters and Houston draining an NBA-best 15.8 3-pointers, the Rockets rank second in scoring (115.0), less than a point behind the Warriors.
Will Paul get the best of his former teammates in a win and cover? Or will the underdog Clippers rise up at home and show Paul they're better off without him? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread selection for Rockets-Clippers, all from the expert who's 9-3 picking Clippers games, and find out.