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Two western conference powerhouse teams collide at the Moda Center on Thursday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Portland Trail Blazers.
Slumping Thunder
The Thunder are losing grip of the 3rd spot in the Western Conference after they have dropped four out of their last five games. OKC is now tied with the Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers at that position with identical 39-25 records. In their last game, OKC lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-131 despite getting Paul George back after a three-game absence.
George leads the Thunder with 28.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and a league-best 2.3 steals per game. Russell Westbrook is having another triple-double season with 22.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game. Steven Adams is having his best season with 14.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game while Dennis Schroeder is contributing 15.5 points and 4.2 assists per game.
The Thunder rank 5th overall in team scoring at 115.3 points per game. They are also 2nd in rebounding at 47.9 boards grabbed per contest and are 22nd in passing at 23.4 assists per game. Oklahoma City has the 15th best scoring defense at 111.2 opponent points per game allowed.
Thunder
+140
Trail Blazers
-160
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/06/19
Blazers Moving up
The Blazers are coming off a 111-120 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night but despite that, Portland has won six out of their last eight games to move up and gain a share of 3rd place in the Western Conference.
Portland’s dynamic backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum continue to lead the team this season. Lillard is averaging 25.9 points and 6.4 assists to lead the Blazers while McCollum is scoring 21.2 points and grabbing 4.0 rebounds per game. Jusuf Nurkic is having a great year with 15.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. The newly-acquired Enes Kanter is providing bench help with 11.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Portland is the 10th highest scoring team in the league at 113.6 points per game. The Blazers are ranked 24th in assists with 22.9 dimes per game and they are also the 3rd best rebounding squad with 47.6 boards hauled per contest. Portland has the 12th best scoring defense in the NBA at 110.2 opponent points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
The Thunder are 4-6 SU in their last 10 games played and Oklahoma City is 1-4 SU in its last five games on the road. The Blazers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games and Portland is 24-8 SU in 32 home games played this season. Head to head, the Blazers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games against the Thunder.
The Thunder have lost four out of their last five games played. OKC got back Paul George in their last game but still lost to the Timberwolves. George missed the previous three game with a shoulder injury and the Thunder went 1-2 in those games. George had 25 points against the Wolves but shot just 8-25 including 4-14 from the three point area. PG 13 needs to get his stroke back against Portland’s high-powered backcourt.
OKC is 17-16 SU on the road this season while the Blazers are 24-8 SU at the Moda Center this season. Both teams enter this game full healthy and with that, this should go down to execution and how bad each team wants this game. I think this is going to be a good, close game with the home team executing better in the end game.
I’m picking the Portland Trail Blazers to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Other Bets To Make
Oklahoma City is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games played. The Thunder are 1-4 ATS in their last five road games. Portland is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games played. The Blazers are 21-11 ATS in 32 home games played this season. Head to head, Portland is 6-4 ATS in the last 10 meetings versus Oklahoma City.
Thunder
+3.5 (-110)
Trail Blazers
-3.5 (-110)
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/07/19
The Thunder are 0-4 ATS in their last four games against teams with a winning record, 0-4 ATS in their last four road games and 0-8 ATS in their last eight games overall. The Blazers are 5-0 ATS in their last five games against opponents with a winning record, 38-16 ATS in their last 54 home games and 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games overall. With the line at just 3.5, I’m rolling with a Portland team that’s always played well at home.
Prediction: Blazers -3.5
The total has gone under in seven out of the last 10 games played by the Thunder. The under is 3-2 in OKC’s last five road games. The over is 6-4 in Portland’s last 10 games played. Head to head, the under is 6-3-1 in the last 10 matchups between these two teams.
Thunder
O 234 -105
Trail Blazers
U 234 -115
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/07/19
The under is 4-0 in OKC’s last four games after an SU loss, 5-0 in their last five games after allowing at least 100 points in their previous game, 5-0 in their last five games after scoring 100 or more points in their previous games and 5-1 in their last six games overall. The under is 14-4 in Portland’s last 18 games against the Northwest Division, 4-1 in their last five games versus the Thunder in Portland and 4-1 in their last five meetings overall. I think the total is too high, given both teams have Top 15 defenses.
Prediction: Under 234
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