Monday, December 22, 2014 at 8:00 PM

Toyota Center in Houston

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On Monday, the Portland Trail Blazers will be going up against the Houston Rockets in a game that will feature two of the top five defenses in the NBA. During the 2013-14 season, the Rockets won three out of their four games against the Blazers.

The Trail Blazers won their fourth game in a row on Saturday night when they blew out the New Orleans Pelicans 114-88 on the road. They shot the ball extremely well in that game, finishing with a 53.3 field goal percentage.

Through their first 28 games this season, the Blazers have been able to score nearly 105 points per game against their opponents. Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge is having another All-Star caliber season by scoring 22.8 points per game and grabbing a team-high 10.7 rebounds per game.

On Saturday night, the Rockets lost their second game in a row when the Atlanta Hawks defeated them 104-97 in Houston. They did not take care of the ball in that loss, finishing the game with 16 team turnovers.

Even with that hiccup against the Hawks, the Rockets still have one of the top three defenses in the NBA. Veteran center Dwight Howard has scored nearly 20 points per game this year while grabbing about 12 rebounds per game. Their top scorer is shooting guard James Harden, who is currently averaging 26.3 points per game.

Portland Trail Blazers Betting Trends

Portland Trail Blazers are 16-11-1 Against the Spread

Portland Trail Blazers are 11-17-0 against the Over/Under

Houston Rockets Betting Trends

Houston Rockets are 14-11-1 Against the Spread

Houston Rockets are 8-18-0 against the Over/Under

Injuries to Watch

Portland Trail Blazers

12/16/14 C Robin Lopez Hand out indefinitely

Houston Rockets

12/21/14 G Alexey Shved Acquired probable Monday vs. Portland
12/21/14 G Corey Brewer Acquired probable Monday vs. Portland
12/20/14 G Francisco Garcia None has been released
11/15/14 F Terrence Jones Leg out indefinitely

Guy's Pick: Take Houston

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