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The Blazers embark on a six-game road trip with their first stop in Houston to take on the Rockets. Riddled with injuries, Portland will have to figure out how to make the most of this trip as they’re hoping that Derrick Jones Jr. (quad) and Rodney Hood (thigh) will be able to take the court tonight, both listed as probable. They’ll definitely be without Robert Covington (concussion) who has been ruled out, as well as Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum who both have long-term injuries.
Portland edged out the Rockets in their first and only meeting this season so far, taking the game to overtime and squeaking out a 128-126 win.
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets, 7:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Pick ATS: Rockets -4.5
The 12th-place Rockets will look to pounce on a short-handed Portland and gain some ground in the standings, and are somewhat surprisingly considered the favorites in this contest. Sure the Blazers are much higher in the standings, but considering their injuries and their relatively easy schedule up until now, a lot of things could change over the next few weeks in terms of standings.
Portland has lost three of their last five while the Rockets have won their last three straight proving they can be a formidable team without James Harden. Houston’s most recent outing ended in a convincing 107-88 victory over the Wizards where John Wall, Eric Gordon, and Victor Oladipo all put in a 20-point game. They’ll look to do the same against the Blazers as they hope to continue their winning streak.
Player Prop: Damian Lillard O 32.5 points (-117)
Regardless of any recent struggles the Blazers may have been experiencing, one thing is for sure: Lillard can light up his opponents whether Portland is winning or losing. He’s averaging 28.7 points per game this season so far, and especially if Portland’s going to be missing some key players, it puts even more pressure on Lillard to get the job done and carry the bulk of the team’s scoring. In his last five games, he’s scored 26, 39, 35, 36, and 22 even as Portland lost three of those match-ups.
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