Life after James Harden has been good so far for Houston (7-9 SU, 7-9 ATS), which has won four of its seven games since trading away its superstar earlier this month. The Rockets look to keep things rolling against the banged-up Trail Blazers (9-7, 6-10), who opened as 2-point underdogs.
- Date/Time: January 28, 7:30 p.m. ET
- Arena: Toyota Center
- TV Coverage: TNT
- Sportsbook Odds: Rockets -2 | O/U 227.5 (Line History)
- Trail Blazers vs Rockets Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Portland was a 7.5-point favorite when these teams met last month in Oregon, but the Blazers’ rash of injuries caused oddsmakers to open them as 2-point underdogs in this contest. That adjustment didn’t look like enough to early bettors as money has poured in on the Rockets, moving the line to 4.5 points by Thursday morning.
Portland News & Notes
Although the Blazers were without C.J. McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Robert Covington and Rodney Hood in Monday’s 125-122 home loss to OKC, coach Terry Stotts wasn’t about to let his team off the hook.
“We didn’t contain their penetration. Our attention to detail was very poor. Our first-half defense was pathetic,” Stotts told Oregon Live bluntly. “And there’s no excuse for it.”
McCollum and Nurkic won’t be back for a while, but there’s optimism that Covington (concussion) may be cleared in time to suit up against the Rockets. Hood (thigh contusion) could also return after sitting out Monday’s contest when Gary Trent Jr. started in his place and scored 22 points vs the Thunder.
Damian Lillard’s streak of three straight games with 35-plus points was snapped with a 26-point performance Monday. However, a couple of other Trail Blazers enjoyed breakout outings against OKC and could be potential fantasy sleepers with so many regulars out of the Portland lineup. Center Enes Kanter had a season-high 22 rebounds in place of Nurkic while shooting guard Anfernee Simons drained six three-pointers in a 26-point effort.
Houston News & Notes
The Rockets allowed a season-low 88 points in Tuesday’s victory over Washington, continuing their strong defensive play since dealing away James Harden earlier this month.
In seven games since the trade, Houston has allowed 110 points just once – compared to seven times in nine games before the swap – and the team ranks fifth in the NBA in defense during that span.
Seeing the Rockets play lower-scoring games than expected is nothing new to UNDER bettors, who have been cashing in on inflated totals in Houston contests dating back to last year. Houston is 10-2-1 to the UNDER in its last 13 overall and 20-6-1 in its last 27 at home.
It’ll be interesting to see if that trend continues as the Rockets integrate leading scorer Christian Wood back into the lineup alongside John Wall and Victor Oladipo. Wood has missed Houston’s last three games with a sprained ankle and has yet to suit up in a game with Wall and Oladipo, who took the floor together Tuesday for the first time.
Wall scored 24 points Tuesday in his second game back from a sore knee, Oladipo added 20 points and Eric Gordon supplied another 20 in 29 minutes off the bench.
Betting Pick: Trail Blazers +4.5
Portland should bring a much stronger effort – especially at the defensive end – after a couple of days off, while much of Houston’s recent success has come against soft opposition.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Portland is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 road games.
- The UNDER is 10-2-1 in Houston’s last 13 games.
- Portland is 5-1 in its last 6 games vs Houston.
