The Houston Rockets head to the Moda Center to take on the Portland Trail Blazers. The game gets underway at 10:30 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 11 and will air on ESPN, ROOT-SW and KGW.
The Trail Blazers lost to the Timberwolves 121-113 on Saturday. Damian Lillard was the game’s high scorer, finishing with 32. The Rockets, meanwhile, are coming off a 114-100 win over the Nuggets on Saturday. James Harden led the game in scoring with 28 points on 8-for-19 shooting.
Points could be at a premium in this matchup between two of the league’s elite defenses. The Trail Blazers rank second in the NBA in defensive efficiency (99.4), while the Rockets are fourth (99.7).
The two teams have split their matchups this season. The Trail Blazers had the upper hand in the most recent game, a 109-98 win. Despite the loss, Harden was the game’s leading scorer with 45 points.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Trail Blazers enter the game with records of 41-20 Straight Up (SU) and 31-29-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 23-14 SU and 19-17-1 ATS against teams from the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers are an impressive shooting team from the line with an NBA-best .801 free throw percentage. The Trail Blazers have a distinct advantage on the boards in this matchup. They are the third-ranked rebounding team in the NBA, averaging 46.0 per game, while the Rockets rank 13th in the league with 43.8 per game. Turning to the defensive side, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Trail Blazers, allowing a field goal percentage of only .433. Houston has a habit of getting in foul trouble (22.4 fouls per game), so expect the Trail Blazers to get a number of opportunities from the free throw line.
On the other side, Houston has a SU record of 43-20 and an ATS record of 37-26. Houston has done particularly well ATS over its past ten matchups, going 7-3. When it comes to stealing the ball away, the Rockets are one of the best in the league with an average of 9.6 steals per game. A large part of Houston’s game is creating turnovers and turning them into points. They are scoring 19.1 points per game off turnovers, which ranks third in the league.
Portland beat Houston in their most recent meeting this season, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over the last 10 games. The Rockets hold the advantage ATS with a record of 5-4-1. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Houston held the edge in all three of these categories twice in the last 10 meetings. Portland never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – HOU, ATS Winner – HOU
Notes
Houston ranks sixth in points per game with 103.3, while Portland ranks ninth in points allowed with an average of 97.4 given up.
Houston puts up 105.5 points per away game this season. However, Portland is the top-ranked team in points allowed at home, giving up just 93.3 per game.
Houston has a stellar 29-3 record when it gives up under 100 points this season. Portland is 10-14 when it scores under 100.
Houston is 14-17 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Trail Blazers have a superb 31-6 record when hitting triple digits.
The Trail Blazers have a defensive rating of 99.4, second-best in the NBA. The Rockets also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 103.3 (ranked 14th).
Houston has an average field goal percentage of 43.9%. Portland is an even 15-15 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Portland is 19th and 11th in the league for FG% and EFF% respectively, while Houston is 22nd and sixth in these categories.
On average, the Houston Rockets make 22.1 assists per game and the Portland Trail Blazers make 22.0. Houston is ranked ninth, while Portland is ranked 10th.
The Portland Trail Blazers average 4.9 blocks per game for a rank of 10th. The Houston Rockets rank lower (12th), earning 4.8 blocks each game.
The Portland Trail Blazers rank 17th in offensive rebounding, while the Houston Rockets rank 23rd in defensive rebounding.
The Houston Rockets average 9.6 steals per game, ranked third in the NBA. The Portland Trail Blazers are an even 12-12 when they allow at least 9 steals.
