I'm not anticipating Chris Paul to play, but if he does I still like this game to go Under. Paul would be rusty having missed the last three games. He likely wouldn't play big minutes either.

The spot sets up for a hard-nose, defensive battle with both teams coming off losses.

The Rockets blew a huge lead in losing 99-98 at Boston last night. Houston's four best players all logged more than 38 minutes in that game. The Under has cashed six of the last seven times the Rockets have played without rest. No Paul obviously would be good for the Under, too. Houston has another key injury. Center Clint Capela is out. He leads the NBA in field goal percentage. The Rockets lack an inside game minus Capela.

I see reduced minutes for James Harden, Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza tonight with newly-signed veteran swingman Gerald Green picking up more minutes. Green made his Rockets debut last night going scoreless in 11 minutes. He's a big offensive downgrade from any of those four players.

The Wizards still are mad from an embarrassing 113-99 road loss to the Hawks two nights ago. The Wizards weren't happy with their defense nor their lack of ball movement. I see the Wizards tightening their defense while also taking their time on offense to get the best shot rather than play up-tempo. The Under has cashed 13 of the last 17 times the Wizards have played on one day's rest.

Washington is an underrated defensive club at home. The Wizards have yielded just 97.3 points per game during their last six games at Verizon Center.