The Portland Trail Blazers (5-7) visits “Space City” Friday to play the Houston Rockets (1-10) at the Toyota Center. The tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Trail Blazers vs. Rockets odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions, and bets.
Portland has lost five of its last seven including back-to-back road games at the Phoenix Suns Wednesday and the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday. The Trail Blazers 4-8 ATS and 5-7 O/U with the 14th-best net rating (plus-0.8).
Houston has lost nine straight since clubbing the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-91 Oct. 22. The Rockets lost their first game as a favorite 112-104 to the Detroit Pistons at home Wednesday. Houston is 5-5-1 ATS and 4-7 O/U with the 27th-ranked net rating (minus-7.3).
The Trail Blazers won the season series with the Rockets last year 2-1, but Houston covered in two of those games. However, former Rocket James Harden scored 44 points in the first Trail Blazers-Rockets last season – so that result doesn’t really apply.
Trail Blazers at Rockets odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Trail Blazers -260 (bet $260 to win $100) | Rockets +205 (bet $100 to win $205)
- Against the spread (ATS): Trail Blazers -6.5 (-107) | Rockets +6.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 222.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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Trail Blazers at Rockets key injuries
Trail Blazers
- SG Norman Powell (quadriceps) questionable
Rockets
- PG Kevin Porter Jr. (thigh) questionable
Trail Blazers at Rockets odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Trail Blazers 115, Rockets 111
Money line
PASS with a slight “lean” to the Rockets (+205) because I “like” Houston plus the points, and I’ll generally “sprinkle” on an underdog’s money line when betting them to cover the spread.
However, Houston’s terribleness combined with Portland being projected to make the playoffs entering the season will keep me away from betting on an outright Rockets victory.
Against the spread
GIMME the ROCKETS +6.5 (-115) for 1 unit because Portland doesn’t have a good enough defense to be favored more than 5 points on the road.
The Trail Blazers have the 24th-ranked points per 100 possessions allowed, according to CleaningTheGlass.com, which removes garbage time from its stat tracking. That’s a major reason for Portland’s 0-6 ATS in away games.
Also, I’m buying stock in Houston big Christian Wood, who’s an elite rebounder and solid rim protector. Wood is also able to space the floor with outside shooting and has a massive wingspan.
Last season, Wood put up 31 points on 14-of-22 shooting with 13 rebounds in his one meeting with Portland big Jusuf Nurkic.
While the Rockets fans might be disappointed with their 1-10 overall record, Houston is matching the market’s expectations at 5-5-1 ATS and has a plus-0.2 spread differential. On the other hand, Portland is underperforming the market’s expectations at 4-8 ATS and has a minus-1.2 spread differential.
Over/Under
Slight “LEAN” to the OVER 222.5 (-115) for a tiny wager if anything at all because I much prefer Houston’s spread more than the total in this game.
That said, what the Rockets lack in execution they try to make up for with pace. For instance, Houston ranks second in possessions per 48 minutes, and Portland plays at the 13th-fastest pace in the NBA.
What I’m getting at is if the Rockets want to turn this game into a track meet, the Trail Blazers will oblige and try to torch Houston from behind the arc.
Again, the Rockets plus the points is my favorite bet in this game but if I had to go either way with the total, it’d be towards the OVER 222.5 (-115).
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