Rockets Look to Get on Track Against Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets battle on Tuesday when at Toyota Center. It has been a up and down season for both teams, but especially the Rockets.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBA TV, NBCS Northwest (Portland), AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston)
LINE: Rockets -6.5; O/U: 220.
The first 25 games of the season have been a disaster for the Rockets. The team looks nothing like the squad that reached the Western Conference Finals last season. They aim to halt a three-game slide on Tuesday night.
Houston has lost seven of its last nine games. That is just three losses shy of matching last season’s total.
Portland hopes it is back on the upswing after posting back-to-back wins. That is following a stretch during which it dropped six of seven.
Portland is 15-11 on the season
Nurkic is coming off a strong all-around performance in Saturday’s 113-105 win over Minnesota. He matched his season high of 22 points. He also chipped in 11 rebounds, four assists, four blocked shots and three steals.
Damian Lillard ranks fourth in the NBA with a 27.2-point scoring average. He also is on a roll as he is averaging 30.8, eight assists and 5.8 rebounds over his last four games.
Lillard has made multiple 3-pointers in eight straight contests. He set a Trail Blazers franchise-record 10 on Nov. 28 against Orlando.
Al-Farouq Aminu has scored in double figures in four of his last five games. He is averaging 14.8 points during that stretch.
The Rockets are a Disappointing 11-14
Houston quickly parted ways with forward Carmelo Anthony when it was clear he didn’t fit. Shooting guard Eric Gordon could be the next player shipped out of town. Gordon is averaging 15.7 points, but is shooting a woeful 36.6 percent. He made critical comments about the team and expressed that he isn’t enjoying this season at all. “I’m just not having fun, man,” Gordon told The Athletic.
“I’m just not. This sucks. Even the times where I have good games. We’re just not using some guys the right way. Are we gonna make the right sacrifices? Do we have the right attitude? Last year was the best year I’ve ever had being a part of a team. We just never had a bad moment.”
The Rockets have won seven of the last nine meetings, but the Trail Blazers never trailed en route to a 104-85 shellacking on Oct. 30.
James Harden is averaging a league-best 30 points. He has scored 30 or more in seven of his last 11 games.
PREDICTION: Rockets 117, Trail Blazers 109
NBA Betting Odds & Trends
| Portland Trail Blazers |
|---|
| Trail Blazers are 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games |
| Portland is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games |
| Trail Blazers are 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games on the road |
| Portland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road |
| The total has gone OVER in 5 of Portland’s last 6 games on the road |
| Trail Blazers are 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Houston |
| Portland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston |
| The total has gone OVER in 18 of Portland’s last 25 games when playing Houston |
| Trail Blazers are 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Houston |
| Portland is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games when playing on the road against Houston |
| The total has gone OVER in 14 of Portland’s last 19 games when playing on the road against Houston |
| Houston Rockets |
|---|
| Rockets are 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games |
| Houston is 2-7 SU in its last 9 games |
| The total has gone OVER in 8 of Houston’s last 11 games |
| Rockets are 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games at home |
| Houston is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home |
| The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston’s last 6 games at home |
| Rockets are 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Portland |
| Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Portland |
| The total has gone OVER in 18 of Houston’s last 25 games when playing Portland |
| Rockets are 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing at home against Portland |
| Houston is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Portland |
| The total has gone OVER in 14 of Houston’s last 19 games when playing at home against Portland |
Next up:
Portland at Memphis Wednesday, December 12
Houston home to Los Angeles Thursday, December 13
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