It's not impossible that Tuesday's matchup between Houston and Brooklyn is an NBA Finals preview, especially with the Heat and Pacers looking rather vulnerable in the Nets' Eastern Conference. Houston is +2500 on Sportsbook.ag to win the NBA title and Brooklyn at +4500. Here is a look at all of Tuesday's games in order of tipoff.

Rockets at Nets (-2.5, 207)

Houston failed a pretty big test on Saturday at home against the Clippers, who swept the season series. That 118-107 defeat ended the Rockets' five-game winning streak, but they look like fool's good. Houston beats the bad teams but not really the good ones. Dwight Howard missed Saturday's game with a knee injury and won't play in this one or this week. Neither will starting point guard Patrick Beverley, who apparently will at least avoid season-ending surgery on his torn meniscus. Brooklyn won a franchise-best 13th straight at home Sunday night against Minnesota. Kevin Garnett remains out for the Nets, and so does Marcus Thornton, but there's a small chance that Andrei Kirilenko could return for this one. The Rockets beat Brooklyn 114-95 as 11-point favorites on Nov. 29 back when the Nets were a mess. It was 25-8 with three minutes left in the first quarter, and that was about it.

Key trends: Brooklyn is 7-0 ATS in its past seven against teams with a winning record. The "over" is 7-0 in each team's past seven overall.

Early lean: No Howard should mean an easy cover for the Nets.

Warriors at Mavericks (TBA)

Expect a high-scoring affair as the past six Dallas games have seen each team score at least 100. The Mavs beat the visiting Kings 103-100 on Saturday. Six Mavericks scored in double-figures, led by Dirk Nowitzki's 19. Dallas is tied for the final playoff spot with Phoenix; the Grizzlies are only a half game back. The schedule isn't kind to Dallas the rest of the way, with a four-game road trip up next. Golden State lost 89-84 at home to the Knicks on Sunday. Both Andrew Bogut and David Lee sat that one out. Bogut won't play in this one, and Lee probably won't . The Warriors lead the season series 2-1, winning both at home.

Key trends: The Warriors are 1-7 ATS in their past eight road games against teams with a winning home record. The "under" is 5-0 in the past five meetings.

Early lean: Mavs will take advantage of that short-handed Warriors frontcourt.

Trail Blazers at Lakers (TBA)

Portland has had all-star LaMarcus Aldridge back for the past three games, and the Blazers have won them all after a three-game skid. Aldridge had 28 in Sunday's 105-98 win over visiting Memphis. Portland's 105 points were the most against Memphis during the month of March. Los Angeles beat visiting Phoenix 115-99 on Sunday in a pretty surprising result. L.A. had lost by 36 two nights earlier in Minnesota. Chris Kaman discovered his inner Wilt Chamberlain against the Suns with 28 points and 17 rebounds. He was starting because Pau Gasol was out with vertigo. He might be back for this one as Gasol did practice Monday. Guys like Steve Nash, Xavier Henry and Jordan Farmar probably will sit this out again. Season series is 1-1, each winning on the road.

Key trends: The road team is 4-0 ATS in the past four meetings. The over is 7-2 in the past nine

Early lean: Portland is feeling it again and should cruise.

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