The Portland Trail Blazers play host to the Houston Rockets at Moda Center on Monday.

The Rockets (16-52) have been freefalling down the standings for months now, and they've finally hit the bottom. They now own the worst record in the NBA, and they look like a guarantee to finish in that position. That's quite the fall from a club that nearly made the Finals a few years ago, and it all started with the James Harden trade. That started the downfall, but injuries to John Wall, Christian Wood, and Kevin Porter have turned this season into a nightmare. What it has done is allow some youngsters to take on huge roles. Porter has been running the show a lot, while Kelly Olynyk and Kenyon Martin Jr have had career years of their own as well.

The Trail Blazers (39-29) are doing everything possible to avoid the play-in tournament, entering this matchup winning seven of their last eight games. That run has catapulted them up to the six-seed in the west, beating the Los Angeles Lakers over the weekend. That's the team behind them in seventh, and it put quite the gap between them. The Trail Blazers had to make a similar run in the bubble last year, but it was to get in the play-in game. They took advantage by winning it but went on to struggle once they got in the real playoffs. That's what they're looking to avoid this year, and a victory here would be a step in the right direction.

These teams have already played twice this season, splitting those two meetings. With that said, the Trail Blazers have won four of their last five games over the Rockets in this series.