The Houston Rockets host the Portland Trailblazers this evening with tipoff set for 8:30 est. The total for this contest has been set at 193.

Both teams are limping into this contest as the Trailbalzers have dropped 2 straight home games against the Hornets and Jazz. The Rockets for their part are 0-3 on their homestand losing to the Bulls, Hawks and Nuggets, which isn't embarrassing at all.

The Trailblazers have been playing for awhile without star Brandon Roy in the lineup. He is listed as OUT for this game as well, so the Blazers will be shorthanded there. Without him in the lineup, the Blazers have very few options for guys who can create their own shot off of the dribble. Jarryd Bayless and Andre Miller are the only two players on their team that create their own shot. The results of this shortcoming are telling.

Houston's problems are a little less defined as the losses even though they are against playoff quality teams are still hard to figure out. The Rockets are operating on hustle and steam these days with no superstar on their team. There are a lot of nice pieces and length, but no bonafide star power on their roster. However, I am choosing to back them in this game as they have a lot of good possibilities working in their favor.

First off Portland as a dog on Friday after scoring between 91-95 points in their last game are 3-10 straight up. Make them a 3.5-6 point road dog playing a game before playing a conference game after allowing 106-110 points and they are on a recent 2-4 slide.

The Rockets at home before a non-division game coming off of 2 straight unders they are an amazing 7-2-0 ats. Want more? The Rockets are a sterling 4-0-1 and a perfect 5-0 straight up when at home playing against a Northwestern Division opponent off of 3 ats losses. Throw in the fact that this is a Friday night at the Toyota Center and the Rockets will be diving on the floor for basketballs which is unheard of in the NBA.

Rockets-5.5 (Rotation#820)