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Two teams off to much different starts this NBA season face off Thursday night when the Cleveland Cavaliers open a four-game road trip against the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.

The Rockets are six-point favorites, up a point from where the line opened, while the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 228.5, down four from the open of 232.5.

The money line is Houston -240, meaning you would need to bet $240 on the Rockets to win $100. That's up from -230.

Before you make any bets on this huge NBA showdown, you'll want to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model is picking.

This model has been crushing football. It went an amazing 174-80-2 on straight-up NFL picks last season -- better than all 98 experts tracked by NFLPickWatch. SportsLine computer picks also would have won over 96 percent of CBS Sports Office Pool Manager leagues that made straight-up picks last season. And in the NBA, its A-rated picks against the spread are a blistering 15-5 this season.

Now, the model has examined every matchup, every player and every trend in Cavaliers-Rockets and locked in against-the-spread, over-under and money-line picks.

We can tell you that while 58 percent of the public says over 228.5 hits, the computer has it hitting in just 54 percent of simulations. While it's a slight lean for that pick, it has a much stronger selection for one side of the spread.

The model has taken into account that the Cavaliers, who haven't yet been able to utilize point guard Isaiah Thomas and who will also be without Derrick Rose on Thursday, have been one of the league's biggest disappointments so far. A team with a championship-or-bust mindset has started just 5-6, and has some major concerns, particularly on defense.

The Cavs have the third-worst scoring defense in the league, and when it comes to guarding the 3-point line, they are dead last. Opponents are bombing away with an incredible 41.9 percent success rate from beyond the arc.

That's a huge issue against a hot Houston team that loves to shoot the 3. The Rockets, even with minimal contributions from Chris Paul so far due to injury, lead the league and are on a record-setting pace with 15.1 3-pointers per game.

But just because Houston looks like it will have a huge night from long range doesn't mean the Cavs, the defending Eastern Conference champs and still one of the most talented teams in the league, can't stay within the six-point spread.

After previously losing four in a row, the Cavs have now won two of their past three, including a big win over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks earlier this week. The Cavs are also 10-4-1 against the spread in their past 15 road games and the underdog is 4-1 against the spread in the past five matchups in this series.

So what side of Rockets-Cavaliers do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread winner of Cleveland-Houston, all from the model that has absolutely crushed the NFL, and find out.