Houston Rockets vs. Portland Trail Blazers game preview, the sequel

Last night, the Houston Rockets had no trouble handing the Portland Trail Blazers a crushing 125-106 defeat. Of course, depending on how you look at it, the Rockets lost. After all, this game was nothing more than a glorified tank-off.

Tonight, Coach Silas may have to get a little more creative to secure defeat. Maybe experiment with Bruno Fernando at point guard, or force Jalen Green to play with a hand tied behind his back. The Rockets may be tanking, but these Blazers will be hard to beat at their own game.

That’s probably why DraftKings has the Rockets as 4.5 point favorites to win this game, with the moneyline at -110. Portland’s rotation in last night’s game read like a who’s who of who isn’t an established NBA player. Trendon Watford led the charge with 19 points. He’s an intriguing young player, but he’s not a typical candidate to lead an NBA team in scoring.

Otherwise, guys like CJ Elleby, Greg Brown, Brandon Williams, and Drew Eubanks are in a little over their heads as prominent fixtures in the Blazers’ rotation. Former Rocket Ben McLemore must have been tempted to sneak into the visiting locker room and pretend as though nothing had ever happened last night.

Jokes aside, it’s nice for these young Rockets to get some winning experience.

If they’re drafting Shaedon Sharpe instead of Chet Holmgren come June, blame the Portland Trail Blazers.

Tip-off is at 9 pm CT on AT&T SportsNet Southwest

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