On Tuesday evening, the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers will match up in a Western Conference clash, with very different stakes for both sides. James Harden and the Rockets are battling for playoff positioning, while Damian Lillard and the Blazers are simply trying to remain in the mix for the No. 8 seed. Eric Gordon (ankle) will miss Tuesday's game for Houston, while Jaylen Adams (back) is probable to play for Portland.
Tip-off is at 9 p.m. ET in Orlando. William Hill lists Houston as the 4.5-point favorite, down half a point from the opening line, while the over-under, or total number of points expected, is 243 in the latest Rockets vs. Blazers odds. Before making any Blazers vs. Rockets picks, check out the latest NBA predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, and it's already returned well over $4,200 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks this season. It entered the week on a blistering 54-32 run on top-rated NBA spread picks, returning almost $1,900 on those picks alone. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Rockets vs. Trail Blazers. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the NBA odds from William Hill and trends for Trail Blazers vs. Rockets:
- Rockets vs. Blazers spread: Rockets -4.5
- Rockets vs. Blazers over-under: 243 points
- Rockets vs. Blazers money line: Rockets -190, Blazers +170
- HOU: The Rockets are 3-6 against the spread in the last nine games
- POR: The Blazers are 5-5 against the spread in the last 10 games
Why the Rockets can cover
No team in recent NBA history is deploying a smaller lineup than the current Rockets, which leads to all kinds of intrigue. For the full season, Houston was already elite on the offensive end, ranking in the top three in points per possession. Since going all-in on a smaller lineup in February, Houston has been even more dominant offensively, barraging opponents with 3-point attempts.
In fact, the Rockets are averaging 54.5 attempts from long range in two games during the Orlando restart, and that provides issues for any team. That especially applies to a Portland defense that isn't always tremendous against perimeter options. Defensively, the Rockets will certainly have their hands full with Lillard, but Houston is very good at creating havoc with turnovers and keeping opponents away from the free-throw line.
Why the Blazers can cover
While few can match Houston's offensive firepower and the attack led by Harden and Russell Westbrook, the Blazers do have a legitimate star in Lillard. The All-NBA guard is averaging 28.9 points and 8.0 assists per game this season and, simply put, Lillard is capable of taking over any game at any time.
Overall, the Blazers deploy a top-eight offense in the NBA, and they are No. 4 in the league in offensive turnover rate. Defensively, Portland is a porous group on paper, but the team's talent is better after the return of Jusuf Nurkic. In fact, the gifted big man is averaging 24.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game in Orlando, raising Portland's two-way ceiling in the process.
How to make Rockets vs. Blazers picks
SportsLine's model is leaning under on the total, with Danuel House and Nurkic projected to underperform their scoring averages. The model also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Rockets vs. Trail Blazers? And which side of the spread cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Trail Blazers vs. Rockets spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up over $4,200 on its NBA picks this season, and find out.
