Houston vs PDX NBA Betting Odds
Barring any catastrophic chemistry or injury issues (not unlike what the Los Angeles Lakers endured last year), the Houston Rockets will be looked at as contenders throughout the entire 2013-14 NBA season. [ad-4468020]
Houston Rockets (3-1) @ Portland Trail Blazers (2-1)
Tuesday, Nov. 4 10:00 PM ET @ Moda Center
Spread: Portland -1.5
O/U: 204.5
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A recent loss to the Los Angeles Clippers won’t change that, but the team from Texas will have its hands full when it comes to a Portland Trail Blazers team that is playing with a ton of confidence after two straight wins over potential Western Conference opponents.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets began their season 3-0 with strong victories over three lottery-bound opponents. Unfortunately for Clutch City, their first real competition saw them fall 137-118, tempering expectations early in the year.
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Against the Clips, the Rockets were exposed defensively. They let Chris Paul surgically cut defenders to the tune of 23 points and 17 assists, and while they won’t have to worry about Damian Lillard making the same kind of plays for his teammates, Jeremy Lin will have the unfortunate task of containing a score-first guard who is averaging 25 points per contest.
The other defensive breakdown to note is the 26 points allowed to J.J. Redick. The Blazers have a similar type of player in Wesley Matthews who would love to take the same seven three-pointers Redick saw, and so far this season, Matthews has been the far better shooter, knocking down 57.1 percent of his shots from downtown.
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Offensively, the plan is simple: exploit the Blazers true area of weakness. That area would be interior defense. Portland has a big body in Robin Lopez, but it has yet to show any consistency in stopping points in the paint. Dwight Howard and James Harden should have a field day when it comes to getting looks at the rim.
Portland Trail Blazers
Against most dominant centers, the Blazers would look to double team early and often, taking away the threat of a one-on-one problem on the low block. Unfortunately against Houston, the team has so many outside shooters that the game plan becomes containing Howard—not stopping him.
Up to this point, LaMarcus Aldridge is the team’s leading scorer, but with him going up against Howard and Omer Asik, expect Lillard to take over. That said, Aldridge’s jumper, which he’s nailing at a high rate early in the year, will allow the Blazers to space the floor, creating offensive rebounding opportunities when one of Houston’s bigs is forced to the outside.
Home-court advantage means a lot in basketball, and for the Blazers, it means even more. Houston won’t have an easy time in the Rose City, and the fans will make sure Howard and Harden hear it all game long.
That said, the Blazers have struggled to contain opposing offenses, and the Rockets won’t be any exception. Expect a high-scoring game in the Pacific Northwest, as Portland s 15-5 Over in their last 20 games at home.
Unfortunately for the Blazers, don’t be shocked if the Rockets comes away with the win, as Rip City is just 1-8 ATS in their previous nine home games, and the underdog has gone 9-3-1 ATS in the last 13 matchups between these two squads.
Prediction: Houston 110 – Portland 97
