NBA Betting – Rockets Have to Take Some Smarter Shots to Even Series with Portland

Maybe the Houston Rockets, who won three out of four meetings against the Portland Trail Blazers, weren’t expecting the visiting team to be so resilient on Sunday night, but that is exactly what happened, and if they don’t make some adjustments quickly, they are in danger of going down two games to “love” in this Western Conference series, which is slated to resume on Wednesday at 9:35 PM ET at the Toyota Center.

The Game 1 loss was a wild one, and a difficult one for the Rockets to take, considering that they carried a double-digit lead late in the game. They hit only 42% for the game, and they will have to do a lot better if they are going to bounce back and even up the series before it moves to the Moda Center on Friday night.

In the NBA betting odds that have been posted on this game at BetAnySports, the Rockets are laying points:

NBA betting odds courtesy of BetAnySports

Houston Rockets -6.5

Portland Trail Blazers +6.5

Over 214.5 points -110

Under 214.5 points -110

There are certainly questions that have to be answered from the Houston side in this one. One is, is James Harden going to take some better shots? This guy looked as if he was going to throw it up no matter what the result, and that is not so uncommon among players who have to “get their numbers.” We are not trying to be rough on the guy, but once you put a player like that off-balance, it has a tendency to have a ripple effect on the entire offense. Basketball bettors know that bid shots contribute to transition opportunities on the part of an opponent, and Portland got enough of those.

There is also little doubt among BetAnySports customers about the fact that the Rockets have to do a better job dealing with LaMarcus Aldridge, who ripped Houston apart for 46 points on 17-4-31 shooting and pulled down 18 rebounds on top of that. Dwight Howard is supposed to be the guy with all the interior defense, and they simply have to make it much more difficult for Aldridge to operate in the lane.

Houston also needs to make it harder for Damien Lillard to maneuver. The second-year point guard at of Weber State was making his playoff debut, and he scored 31 points with nine rebounds. Patrick Beverley is the guy who was supposed to be nagging him at every turn, and he did the best he could, but that did not prevent Lillard form being a serious clutch performer down the stretch, leading the Blazers back from a ten-point deficit with less than four minutes to go in regulation.

These teams combined to shoot 62 three-pointers and 79 free throws. We expect they may engage in another scoring fest on Wednesday. If you are looking for the best selection of NBA betting odds and pros, along with reduced juice on all hoops action, look no further than BetAnySports!