Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets: preview, injury report, and betting guide

The Portland Trail Blazers return to the road tonight after a tough back-to-back homestand against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks, dropping both games against the two surging opponents. The Trail Blazers get a reprieve in this one against the Western Conference’s doormat in the Houston Rockets.

Like Portland, the Rockets have also lost their last two matchups at the hands of Stephen Curry’s first career game-winning buzzer-beater and then a merciless beatdown from the San Antonio Spurs.

After losing Nassir Little for the season, the Trail Blazers need to take advantage of this favorable matchup to regain morale. Whether or not Little’s shoulder surgery will lead them to a full-on tank, this is a game that they should win regardless.

Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets: preview, injury report, and betting guide

Injury Report:

Trail Blazers:

Robert Covington – questionable (knee)

Dennis Smith Jr. – questionable (ankle and knee)

CJ Elleby – doubtful (leg)

Nassir Little – out (shoulder)

Damian Lillard – out (abdominal surgery)

Larry Nance Jr. – out (knee)

Cody Zeller – out (knee)

Rockets:

Usman Garuba – out (wrist)

John Wall – out

Spread: Portland Trail Blazers -1.5, Moneyline -140

WynnBet has the Trail Blazers at 1.5-point favorites despite playing on the road in the Toyota Center. Not that playing at home has helped the Rockets any this season, with a 7-14 record in Houston this year.

While Portland’s injury report is a loaded list, they’ve become accustomed to going to war with a variety of shorthanded rosters. With Anfernee Simons, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic suiting up, the Trail Blazers still have plenty of firepower to abuse Houston’s bottom-ranked defense.

Portland, and Jusuf Nurkic more specifically, struggle to defend against stretch-fives. The Rockets have been starting Christian Wood at center and he should be able to find some open looks from deep, running pick-and-pops with Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr.

Still, Houston’s lack of elite playmaking has held them back all season and the Trail Blazers should be able to generate enough stops along the way to take this one — with a wide margin for error.

Verdict: Portland Trail Blazers -1.5

Over/under: 233.5

Aside from their last matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, the Trail Blazers have played some uncharacteristically low-scoring games as of late.

The Houston Rockets may give up a ton of points, but they won’t pour in many to help this game hit the over.

With Portland playing their fourth game in six days and returning to the road with a shorthanded squad, it won’t be surprising to see tired legs among the Trail Blazers in this one.

While they should be able to put this game away handily, I can’t see them coming up with enough offense to hit the over combined with Houston’s shaky attack.

Verdict: Under 233.5