Portland Trail Blazers vs Houston Rockets Prediction: Rockets are vulnerable

The NBA Regular Season is in a great flow and we have witnessed riveting stuff. The scoring has been higher than usual but hey, these are the early parts, the defenses will tighten and as players become exhausted, shots will start falling short. Thus, forming opinions this early on can be a futile exercise. There have been teams that have begun in exciting fashion but it is an 82-game season(82 for each team) so we have a long way to go. In this game, one of the early sweet surprises Portland Trail Blazers will take on the Houston Rockets.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers come into this game after losing 98:119 to the Miami Heat despite a 22 points outing by Damian Lillard. This loss came after the team had won four games in a row that included wins against the Nuggets and the tough Phoenix Suns. However, the spoilsport is on as Damian Lillard has gone down with an injury and he will be out at least 7-14 days so the team depth will be tested in big ways.

So it means that Anfernee Simons will need to rediscover the form of last season when Lillard went down for a long term. Anfernee can accomplish the task of scoring big and he is bound to have a higher usage percentage and can end up averaging 20+ points in the coming window. Jerami Grant has averaged around 16 but the trouble is that Jusuf Nurkic’s scoring is down and the Trail Blazers look like a much less threatening offensive unit without Lillard.

It means that apart from Nurkic, Hart will need to up his points range by 4-8 points. Shaedon Sharpe has been highly impressive as a rookie scorer and he can have a 20+ minutes role whereas Justise Winslow has hurled himself back into the NBA regular rotation. It will be interesting to see how Nasir Little performs as the wing but the Trail Blazers will need both Grant and Simons to dominate the scoring because their offense looks lean without Damian. Their defense looks better than last season and perhaps till Lillard is out, they can play a grind-out style.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets come into this game after losing 101:109 to the Jazz despite a 24 points performance by Kevin Porter Jr. The season has started like the last season went and the squad has lost four out of five games and they have lost by heavy margins too. This team is likely heading to the lottery and will be aiming to land someone like Victor Wembanyama. If they do land him, the current unit will fit the gameplan well.

The reason for that is that so far Point Kevin Porter has been much more efficient from long-range. Jalen Green is developing into a Donovan Mitchell-type scorer who can score at the NBA level at a 20+ points range. Jabari Smith Jr. was another solid pick-up in the draft this year as someone who has great lateral movement and can also play defense. However, these are all young players at the NBA level and the defense of the Rockets needs a lot of work.

 It isn’t like the offense is all that alluring, but discipline on defense has been a bigger concern in the early going. Therefore, the Rockets are bound to stack up losses after losses, they are not NBA-ready and although players like Green, Porter, Jabari has put up big numbers, they can recede when playing for a much well-rounded team. Center Alperen Sengun, the sophomore has also shown a ton of promise but these players have a long way to go.

Injuries

• Trail Blazers: OUT: Damian Lillard, Gary Payton II, Olivier Sarr, Trendon Watford;
• Rockets: OUT: Bruno Fernando, TyTy Washington Jr. PROBABLE: Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun.

Player Props

• Likely 20+ Points Scorers: Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr.;
• Likely 6+ Assists Dishers: Kevin Porter Jr., Josh Hart, Anfernee Simons;
• Likely 8+ Rebounds Grabbers: Josh Hart, Jusuf Nurkic, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr.

Expert Betting Tips

The Rockets have looked awful thus far and they have failed to develop a team combination that can sustain the effort on either end. They are especially against elite teams and away from home, so their chances are likely to take even a bigger hit. The Trail Blazers have suffered a big blow with Damian Lillard’s absence. They will need to depend upon Simons as the major ball-handler.

I believe the Trail Blazers will play a strong defensive game and the lineup of Winslow, Simons, Hart, Grant, Nurkic can complement each other well on that end. So, this defensive grit can help them overcome their offensive woes(if any) without Damian. I see the Trail Blazers winning this game and the points range to be in 210-220 here.