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A fully healthy Portland Trail Blazers squad will look to improve out on the road as they travel to Houston to take on the Rockets. Join us for our NBA odds series where our Trail Blazers-Rockets prediction and pick will be made.
Coming into this contest with a 16-12 record which includes a 9-7 mark out on the road. Fresh off of a disheartening defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in which the Blazers surrendered 130 points, Portland will no doubt be looking to tighten the screws on the defensive end of the floor in this one.
Believe it or not, but the 9-19 Houston Rockets have won five-consecutive home games and look to continue their dominance at the Toyota Center. The last time the Rockets last saw action on the hardwood, they lost in narrow fashion to the Miami Heat by a score of 111-98. While they have been playing flawless defense as of late, they were far from perfect versus Miami on Thursday and will look for a quick turnaround this evening.
Here are the Trail Blazers-Rockets NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Trail Blazers-Rockets Odds
Portland Trail Blazers: -4 (-110)
Houston Rockets: +4 (-110)
Over: 228 (-110)
Under: 228 (-110)
Why The Trail Blazers Could Cover The Spread
Under the leadership of head coach Chauncey Billups for the second-straight year, Portland has appeared that they are ready to take that next step in returning to the forefront of the Western Conference. While they trail the Nuggets by a game in the Northwest Division, Portland is as dangerous as any team in the league when their brightest stars are shining intensely. Despite being a team that has struggled to stay healthy over the course of the past couple of seasons, there isn't anyone currently on the injury report heading into tonight's showdown.
With a clean bill of health, Portland can run their explosive offense without any limitations. Of course, the Rockets should be extremely concerned about Damian Lillard, but shifting their focus on keeping guys like Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simmons, and Jerami Grant. While the trio struggled against the Mavericks by only combining for 30 points, Lillard cannot do it all himself and it will be vital for Portland to spread the wealth offensively from the get-go.
Outside of a stellar offensive game plan, can the Blazers stop the young guns of the Rockets consistently enough on the defensive side of the floor? As a whole, Portland is allowing teams to score 112 PPG which ranks among the upper half of teams in the NBA. Since the Blazers are in the midst of such a lengthy road trip and will have played eight games in the next 14 days until Christmas. If the Blazers do happen to show some fatigue with their shots falling short, then getting stops on defense may prove to be the difference-maker in this one.
Why The Rockets Could Cover The Spread
While another season of experience could do wonders for a group that boasts a slew of young playmakers, it is hard not to give credit to head coach Stephen Silas and how Houston has been playing the past couple of weeks.
When it comes to finding a way to cover the spread against a streaky Portland team, the Rockets must make sure that they bounce back in a big way on defense with this matchup serving as the third game of a seven-game homestand for Houston. Against the Heat, the Rockets did not have an answer for Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro and struggled with their on-ball defense all game long. By the game's conclusion, the Heat had connected on 16 three-pointers which included Herro's ten total on the night.
At first glance, Houston's defense has been lackluster, to say the least as they possess the 20th-best defensive unit overall in the NBA. Without a doubt, the Rockets are in for an uphill climb versus a Blazers team that can attack you with a plethora of different playmakers.
Nevertheless, Houston has been benefitting from a lethal dosage of confidence from shooting guard Jalen Green. Despite only shooting 38% from the floor versus Miami, he still finished the game with 22 points and has now scored at least 20 in three-consecutive games. With Green being the biggest threat to the Blazers, Houston needs to draw up plays on offense for Kenyon Martin Jr. who will most likely be coming off the bench in this one. This bench unit has scuffled at times without a true scorer, and Martin Jr. could be the one to provide valuable minutes offensively
Final Trail Blazers-Rockets Prediction & Pick
On paper, it is fair to heavily doubt whether or not the Rockets' perimeter defense has what it takes to slow down Portland's ferocious ability to catch fire from beyond the arc.
Final Trail Blazers-Rockets Prediction & Pick: Trail Blazers -4 (-110)
