Harden and Howard could be great together if they learned to get along.

Houston vs Portland Pro Hoops Odds Guide

Written by on February 24, 2016

NBA basketball betting enthusiasts everywhere should expect a high-scoring affair when Damian Lillard and the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers host the ‘defenseless’ Houston Rockets in a pairing of Western Conference title hopefuls on Thursday night. You see, the Rockets have made a habit this season out of putting points on the board at a high rate – while giving up even more. Portland has also gone ‘loco’ when it comes to scoring the ball, having scored 112 or more in each of their last five games. Now, let’s find out why this game looks like a pro hoops betting shootout just waiting to happen.

How To Bet The Houston Rockets vs. Portland Trail Blazers NBA Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, February 25, 10:30 PM  ET Where: Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, Portland, Oregon TV: TNT Radio: 790 AM, Rip City Radio 620 Live Stream: WatchNBA NBA Odds: TBA

Why Bet Houston Rockets

The Rockets (28-29 SU, 25-32 ATS) have lost four of their last five games and seven of 10 overall including their crushing 117-114 overtime loss against Utah on Tuesday night. James Harden scored a game-high 42 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Rockets could never get the lead in overtime. Enigmatic center Dwight Howard added 13 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, while veteran forward Trevor Ariza scored 18 points and point guard Patrick Beverley, 14. “We’ve got a bunch of guys who have made big-time shots for us and big plays, and they did it tonight,” Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “It’s just we needed a couple of stops, that was the most important thing.” The generally defenseless Rockets allowed the Jazz to shoot a blistering 51.4 percent from the field in the loss.

Why Bet The Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers (30-27 SU, 32-25 ATS) have won six straight and nine of their last 10 games including their convincing 112-104 win over Brooklyn on Tuesday night. Portland’s stupendous backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum each scored 34 points to lift the Trail Blazers to victory with Lillard putting up 15 points in the final stanza. “We played well enough to win,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “We did a lot of good things to build a big lead, but it was disappointing to have a team come back like that. “(The Nets) kept the pressure on us, pushed the tempo and turned things around. Some of that was them; some was us. But I liked the way we finished. It was good to keep our composure and put it in the ‘W’ column.”  

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

I love the way the Trail Blazers are playing right now, but the Houston Rockets are extremely dangerous, even if they are the biggest bunch of quitters and underachievers in the league this season. Having said that, I’m thinking the Over is a near lock – if you can get the Total for this game somewhere around the 208-210 points I expect it to be set at. The Over is 4-0 in Houston’s last four games and 8-2 in their last 10 games overall. The Over is also 5-0 in Portland’s L/5 games and 6-1 in their last seven. Last but not least, the Over is 15-4 in the last 19 meetings between these longtime Western Conference rivals and 7-2 in the last nine meetings in Portland. My final score prediction: Houston 112 Portland 108