Portland at Houston

Portland has a stellar home record, but they are just over .500 on the road and have to open at Houston where the Rockets are 33-8 SU and 6-2 ATS at home against a team with a winning road record. This is a tough matchup for Portland as Houston loves to run-and-gun, and the Blazer bench is suspect. Portland role players Thomas Robinson, Mo Williams, and C.J. McCollum have been an inconsistent unit. The Blazers are 2-5 ATS playing on three or more days rest and 1-9-1 ATS in their last 11 Conference Quarterfinals games. Houston's James Harden and Dwight Howard are two of the NBA's 15 best players, each coming off incredible campaigns, and the Rockets rested down the stretch to get Howard and Pat Beverly healthy, which will pay big dividends here, especially at home. Houston won three of four regular season meetings, and the Blazers are 3-8-1 ATS in the last 12 meetings. Play Houston in Game One.