The Houston Rockets have a lot of decisions to make during the NBA's trade deadline. They're 27-26 and aren't even guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, and even if they do get in, their reward is very likely to be a very short series against either Golden State or San Antonio. There's a real chance this team could be blown up at the trade deadline, and a loss on Wednesday in the last game of the first half of the season against the Portland Trail Blazers could go a long way towards making that happen.
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SCHEDULING
The Rockets have to play a back-to-back here, and the fact that they're on the road at Golden State on Tuesday makes this game a really tough sell for live bettors. Houston is a terrible ATS team as it is when playing on no rest at 5-8 ATS, and this situation is one which just screams of a massive letdown for live bettors.
Portland, a team which has won seven out of eight to get right back in the thick of the playoff fight, is off on Tuesday after a 112-106 overtime win in Memphis on Monday and should be well-rested for this one.
KEY MATCHUP
On paper, Dwight Howard had 17 points, 14 boards and four steals against the Blazers a few days ago, and that seems like it was a great game. However, Howard is expected to be a real enforcer on the glass and on the defensive side of the ball. Instead, Portland managed 32 points in the paint and put together a stunning 20 offensive rebounds, including 11 of which were by centers.
Portland really is a two-man team from a scoring perspective. There's Damian Lillard, and there's C.J. McCollum. If these guys are getting the help from bigs, the Blazers are really tough to beat. Howard needed to make sure that didn't happen over the weekend at the Toyota Center, and he didn't do it. That's why the Rockets got laughed off their home court, losing 96-79 in a game which they trailed by 32 midway through the third quarter.
Howard is reportedly unhappy in Houston, and that's not really all that surprising. D-12 hasn't really been thrilled anywhere he's been over the course of his career, and now that his contract situation is more palatable in the future with the cap going up, the Rockets could cash that chip in right now for some assets. Howard has never played well while on the trading block, and this could be a developing situation for live bettors to follow on Wednesday, especially if he doesn't play well at Golden State on Tuesday.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Houston has played six of its last eight games over the total, but it was never going to come close to the number against Portland on Saturday after getting just a total of 12 bench points and 17 from men not named Howard or James Harden.
Quietly, live bettors have been cashing in on the Blazers of late because of their defense. They've held their last seven foes to an average of just 95.2 points per game, and all but one of those seven were held under 100 through regulation. The exception was the lone loss in the bunch, a 110-103 defeat at home against Toronto.
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneylines are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker right now! Bet on the NBA today as the Houston Rockets and the Portland Trail Blazers square off Wednesday, February 10, 2016 at 10:30 p.m. ET at the Moda Center at the Rose Garden. The matchup will be televised nationally on ESPN.
