NBA Picks: Rockets vs Nuggets NBA Odds – December 16, 2009: With Tracy McGrady back, there’s excitement back in Houston. Last night, McGrady played his first minutes of the season off the bench, to the delight of Rockets fans. Tonight, T-Mac hits the road for the first time, as the (14-10) Houston Rockets [+8½] pay a visit to a Western Conference foe in the (18-7) Denver Nuggets [-8½] at the Pepsi Center.
Houston comes into this game trailing the Dallas Mavericks by 3½ games for the Southwest Division lead. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are comfortably sitting in the Northwest’s top spot and looking to extend on a 3½ games lead over the Utah Jazz. The OVER/UNDER for this game is set at a combined total of 209½ points.
For the Rockets, last night was all about the return of T-Mac. "It felt good to be back," McGrady said. "I was a little nervous. I don't know if I was nervous about how I was going to be received by the crowd. I didn't expect that. It was awesome. Thank you… I didn't know how my lungs were going to hold up. I had jitters. It had been so long since I played. Just to be back on the basketball court sent chills through my body."
For the Nuggets, after what they learned last season, home-court seems more valuable to them now more than ever, especially playing in the Western Conference. “The last couple of seasons, the home court's been good to us,” Carmelo Anthony said. “After going through the run we did last year, realizing how important home court is, that was one of our main focuses coming into this season. It's a little more focused.”
