The Houston Rockets will host Milwaukee in a non conference Friday night tilt. The Rockets are looking for a sixth win in seven tries while the Bucks go for a sixth straight win. JamesHarden scored 34 points and Motiejunas added 20 in a 117-103 win over Milwaukee on Nov. 29, the Rockets' third consecutive victory in the series. The Rockets found out yesterday that they will be without Dwight Howard for the rest of February but it really hasn't mattered as the team has gone 4-1 without the big man in the middle. We shouldn't expect there to be a problem in this game either as the Rockets are the better team and should easily win.

Here are my keys to the game:

Rockets home court advantage- The Rockets are 17-7 on home court this season and 15-9 ATS in this games. Houston is 13-5 SU against non-conference opponents. Milwaukee meanwhile is just 9-9 versus West.

Bucks struggle versus good teams- Milwaukee is just 7-14 SU versus teams with a winning record this season. Houston 4-1 SU versus Milwaukee the last three seasons.

X-Factor- Donatas Motiejunas has stepped up in the absence of Dwight Howard. He is averaging 19.5 points over his last four after scoring 10.9 per game prior to that stretch.

Selection: This is a play on the Houston Rockets (10*)