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NBA Playoff Odds: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Houston Rockets Game 3

Written by Jimmy Boyd

blazers-rockets-game-3-42309 The Houston Rockets did their job by stealing away home court from the Portland Trail Blazers. Now, it’s up to the Rockets to hold serve at home when the series shifts to Houston for Game 3 of this Western Conference Playoffs. You can catch this game Friday, April 24th at 9:30 pm EST on ESPN as the second game of ESPN’s playoff double header. NBA odds makers have listed the Houston Rockets as the 5.5-point favorite with the total set at 184.5 in Game 3.

Most experts consider the Blazers the biggest challenge standing in the way of the Lakers getting back to the NBA Finals, but the Blazers are going to have to get past the Rockets first. Houston wasted no time showing the inexperienced Blazers what playoff basketball is all about by hitting them in the mouth with a 108-81 victory in Game 1. The Blazers had no answer for Yao Ming, who scored 24 points in just 24 minutes of play, enjoying lots of rest because of Houston’s big lead. The Rockets were competitive in Game 2, but Brandon Roy’s incredible 42-point performance proved to be too much. Yao Ming had just 11 points in the game, and he appears to be what this series hinges on. It will be important for the Rockets to continue to force feed Yao Ming the basketball because he is tough to stop in the paint. I know he got into some foul trouble, but he only took six shots in the Game 2 loss and that is unacceptable. I’ve watched plenty of film on the Rockets this season, and when they play through Yao, they are at their best. Defensively, the Rockets must stop Brandon Roy. They have two of the NBA’s best on the ball defenders in Shane Battier and Ron Artest, but neither was able to get the job done in Game 2. If you like Houston to take care of business on its home floor in Game 3, bet the Rockets at -5.5 at BetUS.

Hopefully Portland got its playoff jitters out of its system because Game 1 was ugly. Brandon Roy was unstoppable in Game 2 and the Blazers were able to get Yao Ming into foul trouble to disrupt his rhythm. This is when the real test begins though as the Blazers were just 20-21 on the road this season while the Rockets were 33-8 at home. In fact, Houston is 5-1 at home against the Blazers the last three seasons. Portland may have found a way to beat the Rockets, however. While the Blazers are typically a half court team like Houston, they picked up the pace a little bit in Game 2 to benefit from their younger, more athletic players. Taking the Rockets out of their comfort zone by running more often could be a key strategic move by the Blazers. This also forces the Rockets to make a decision about playing Yao Ming. Playing uptempo ball will basically take him out of the game as he cannot run with Portland’s more athletic bigs. If you think Portland covers the spread in Game 3, bet the Blazers at +5.5 at BetUS.

Don’t do any NBA wagering before consulting Jimmy Boyd’s NBA picks first to find out who he likes in this matchup.

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