Houston Rockets vs Portland Blazers Prediction, 12/26/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Rockets vs Portland Blazers

Date: Saturday, December 26, 2020

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: NBATV

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (+3.5)

The Houston Rockets (44-28 last season) head to Moda Center on Saturday where they'll meet the Portland Blazers (35-39 last year). The odds on this game have Portland as 3.5-point favorites. The O/U is set at 222.

The Houston Rockets took the court against the Philadelphia 76ers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 134-96 in their last contest of last season. Houston walked away from the game with a 43.8% field goal percentage (35 out of 80) and buried 12 of 48 shots from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe, the Rockets made 14 of their 16 shots for a percentage of 87.5%. In regard to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 27 with 1 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 25 dimes in this matchup as well as having 10 steals and 9 rejections. Regarding defense, Houston let their opponent shoot 56.3% from the floor on 49 of 87 shooting. Philadelphia doled out 31 assists and had 8 steals for this contest. In addition, the 76ers collected 51 rebounds (8 offensive, 43 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Philadelphia finished shooting 81.8% from the free throw line by burying 18 of their 22 tries. They converted 18 out of their 38 attempts from beyond the arc.

James Harden is one guy who was a factor for the contest. He accumulated 30 points on 12 out of 20 shooting. He played 42:19 mins played and also pulled down 6 rebounds. Harden walked away from this one shooting 60.0% from the field and dished out 5 assists. One more player that came through in this matchup for the Rockets was Russell Westbrook. He snagged 4 rebounds and also earned 6 assists. He finished shooting 30.8% from the field for the matchup by shooting 4-of-13 (10 points). When the final whistle blew, Westbrook saw the court for 35:54 minutes.

Houston steps onto the hardwood after finishing with a win-loss record of 44-28 last season. They had an average of 117.8 points per contest (2nd in the NBA) while hitting 45.1% from the floor. The Rockets connected on 34.5% on 3-point shots (1,126 of 3,261) and 79.1% from the free throw line. As a unit, Houston grabbed 44.3 boards per game and totaled 1,557 dimes over the course of last year, which was 24th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They turned it over 14.7 times per contest and as a unit committed 21.8 fouls per contest. When they were on the defensive end, the Rockets forced their opponents into 16.2 turnovers per contest and they drew 21.0 fouls. They conceded 34.9% on shots from downtown and they were ranked 23rd in the league in PPG allowed (114.8). The Rockets defense allowed a field goal percentage of 46.2% (3,045 of 6,589) and they surrendered 47.9 boards per game as a group. They were 26th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,819 surrendered last season.

For their last game, the Portland Blazers took a loss by a score of 120-100 when they played the Utah Jazz. The Blazers were able to corral 34 defensive boards and 6 offensive rebounds for a total of 40 for the matchup. They also blocked 3 attempts while getting 6 steals for the contest. The Jazz were called for 16 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Blazers to the free throw line for a total of 17 tries. They were able to make 14 of the free throws for a rate of 82.4%. When talking about shots from 3-point land, Portland knocked down 12 out of 33 attempts (36.4%). When the final whistle was blown, the Blazers ended up shooting 37 for 92 from the field which had them at 40.2%. The Blazers allowed the Jazz to bury 43 out of their 94 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.7% in this game. They finished 38.0% from behind the 3-point line by hitting 19 of 50 and finished the game at 15 of 19 from the charity stripe (78.9%). Regarding rebounds, Portland allowed Utah to pull down 59 in all (12 on the offensive glass).

CJ McCollum pitched in for the Blazers in this matchup. He made 7 of 19 in the game for a field goal rate of 36.8%, which got him 23 points. McCollum collected 4 boards in his 34:10 minutes of playing time and had 3 dimes in the game. Someone else who was a determining factor for Portland was Jusuf Nurkić. He ended up with 13 points in 21:52 mins on the court by way of 5 out of 9 from the floor in this game. Nurkić wrapped this one up going 55.6% from the field in addition to earning 3 dimes and 3 boards.

Portland had a win-loss mark of 35-39 last year. On the offensive side of the court, the Blazers shot 46.3% from the field, which was ranked 14th in the NBA. Portland accounted for 8,508 pts last season (115.0 per contest) and they pulled in 45.3 boards per contest. They assisted teammates 20.6 times per game (30th in basketball) and they turned it over 12.8 times per game. The Blazers were responsible for committing 21.7 fouls every game and they went 80.4% from the charity stripe. The Blazers on defense were ranked 26th in the league in PPG given up with 116.1. They gave up 24.9 assists and 46.9 total rebounds per game, which had them ranked 19th and 27th in the NBA. The Portland defense gave up 38.3% on 3-point shots (1,003 of 2,619) and their opponents connected on 77.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They forced their opponents into 12.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and let teams shoot 45.6% from the floor (11th in the NBA).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston (+3.5)

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