Rockets vs. Trail Blazers Prediction and Odds (Woeful Offenses Gives Under Value)

Two of the worst teams in basketball square off tonight as the 27-45 Portland Trailblazers take on the 18-55 Houston Rockets tonight at 10:00 PM EST.

Both squads are pretty much in tanking mode. The Rockets have won just three times in their last 20 games while Portland has lost 11 of 13.

Josh Hart and Justice Winslow will both miss tonight's contest, leaving the already thin Trail Blazers without two of their best players.

Portland has two wins over Houston this season but find themselves as underdogs at home. Can they notch another victory or will the Rockets cover as road favorites?

Let's check out the odds over at WynnBET to help us find value in this Rockets vs Trail Blazers matchup:

Rockets vs Trail Blazers Odds, Spread and Total

Spread

• Rockets -4 (-110)
• Trail Blazers +4 (-110)

Moneyline:

• Rockets: -175
• Trail Blazers: +140

Total:

• 233.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Rockets vs Trail Blazers Prediction and Pick

Betting on either one of these teams sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. A wager on Portland means trusting a team that we probably can't even name three starting players for, while a bet on Houston means believing in a squad that hasn't won on the road in over two months.

It's a little difficult to overstate just how bad Portland has been since Anfernee Simons went down. On the season, the Rockets have the worst net rating in the NBA at -9.0. But in the last 15 games, the Trail Blazers net rating is -17.9. Yes, you read that right. Portland is twice as bad as the absolute worst team in the league this year.

With the worst offensive and defensive rating of any team during that 15-game stretch, there is quite literally nothing going right for the Trail Blazers.

Were it any opponent other than the Rockets, we could just fade Portland and feel great about it. But Houston hasn't been favored since December 18th and have covered the spread on the road just once in their last nine tries.

So instead, I'll be looking to the total. Both offenses have really struggled of late. Houston has eclipsed 100 points just once in their last three games while Portland has failed to hit 100 in three of their last four. That's helped the under hit in four straight Rockets matchups and in 10 of the last 14 Trail Blazers' ones.

Especially without Hart, Portland's leading scorer since Simons went down, I think this total is too high. Give me the under to hit for the fifth straight Houston game.

Pick: Under 233.5 (-110)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.