The Houston Rockets will host the Charlotte Hornets to start their respective 2024-25 NBA campaigns. Houston swept the two-game season series last year and has won three straight overall versus Charlotte. The Rockets are coming off a 41-41 season, finishing 11th in the Western Conference, while the Hornets went 21-61, finishing 13th in the East.

Tip off is scheduled at 8 p.m. ET at Toyota Center in Houston. The latest Rockets vs. Hornets odds have Houston as 7.5-point favorites, per SportsLine consensus. The over/under is 229.5 points (see up-to-date odds for every game this week on our NBA odds page).

Before entering any Rockets vs. Hornets picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model ended the 2023-24 season on a sizzling 94-61 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning more than $2,800. Anyone following has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows Houston was one of the best teams against the spread (ATS) last season, going 45-35-2. That 56.3% cover rate was the fifth-best in the NBA, and the young Rockets are one of the deepest teams in the league. Eight different players averaged at least 9.5 points, led by Alperen Sengun, who had a breakout year. He put up 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while knocking down 53.7% of his field goal attempts.

The model also knows Charlotte began last season with an upset victory as they defeated the Atlanta Hawks in their season opener. The Hornets had a rough season overall, but they did split their final six games of the season, including winning their season finale, and that could give them some confidence entering this season. Additionally, No. 6 overall draft pick Tidjane Salaun showed promise in the preseason, scoring in double-figures in four of five games.

The model has simulated Hornets vs. Rockets 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in almost 70% of simulations!

Who wins Rockets vs. Hornets, and which side of the spread hits in almost 70% of simulations? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over, all from the model on a 94-61 roll on top-rated NBA picks!