Golden State Warriors vs Portland Trail Blazers 12/18/19 NBA Betting Odds and Pick

The Golden State Warriors visit the Moda Center to take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

The game is a rematch of the 2019 Western Conference Finals but this season neither team is in playoff position after one-fourth of the 2019-20 season has been completed. Unless anything drastic happens, both these teams are going to miss the postseason this year.
The Blazers are currently at 11-16 and in 10th place in the Western Conference, 2.5 games off the playoff pace. Meanwhile, the Warriors are at the worst spot possible, as they are 5-23 and at the bottom of the Western Conference team standings.

Depleted by Injuries

The Golden State Warriors’ struggles continue as they have been depleted by injuries. Already without the Splash Brothers for the season, Warriors’ Leading scorer Eric Paschall has missed the team’s last two games with a hip injury. And although the rookie Power Forward has been cleared to play in this game, it remains to be seen if he returns immediately to full strength.

Paschall has been the team’s leading scorer this season at 16.1 points per game. Alec Burks is scoring 15.4 points and his 2.9 assists per game are best in the team. Willie Caulie-Stein is Golden State’s top rebounder at 6.4 boards per contest while also scoring 7.9 points per game.

The Warriors rank 27th in the NBA in scoring at 104.3 points per game this season. They are 26th in rebounding at 42.9 boards grabbed per contest and they are also 16th in passing at 23.7 assists per game. The Dubs have the 11th worst defense in the league this season at 113.7 points per game allowed.

Starting to Come Together

The Portland Trail Blazers have started to come together after a horrendous 3-11 start. The Blazers have won eight out of their last 13 games, including two out of their last three to move within five games of the .500 mark. The Blazers have gotten a big lift from new addition Carmelo Anthony who has given the team a big lift on offense.

The Blazers’ backcourt has been their main weapon in recent years. Damian Lillard leads the team with 26.3 points and 7.4 assists per game while C.J. McCollum is adding 21.7 markers per night. Hassan Whiteside is averaging a double-double with 15.9 points and 12.5 rebounds per game while Anthony has been a solid addition at 16.8 points per game as a starter.

Portland is the 10th best scoring team in the league at 112.2 points per game scored. They are 9th off the glass with an average of 46.1 points per game. However, the Blazers are just 29th in passing at 20.2 assists per game. Portland is in the bottom 10 in the league when it comes to scoring defense as they are giving up 114.1 points per game.

Who Wins?

The Warriors are 1-9 SU in their last 10 games played. Golden State is 1-7 SU in their last eight games played on the road. The Blazers are 2-3 SU in their last five games played. Portland is 4-2 SU in their last six games played at home, and 14-2 SU in their last 16 Wednesday games. Head to head, the Warriors are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played against the Blazers.

Golden State has won just once in their last nine games played and they head to the Moda Center with four straight losses. The Dubs are coming off a 21-point home loss to the Sacramento Kings and their makeshift leading scorer Eric Paschall is not yet certain of playing in this game.

Portland has won two out of their last three games after back to back losses to the Lakers and Thunder. The Blazers are coming off a one-point road win against the Phoenix Suns with Damian Lillard coming up with a big three-point play to seal the victory. Portland lost to Golden State in their first meeting of the season.

It’s been a terrible season for the Golden State Warriors with injuries hurting them since the end of last season. The Blazers have gotten and added scoring punch with Carmelo Anthony’s arrival. The Blazers have won six out of their last 10 games and are slowly coming together.

Golden State has lost eight out of their last nine games played. The Blazers are coming off a big win in Phoenix where they came from 16 points down. It hasn’t been the kind of season that Portland expected after making the West Finals last season but the Dubs have been worse.

Prediction: Portland Trail Blazers

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Other Bets to Make

The Dubs are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games played. Golden State is 8-8 ATS in 16 road games played this season. The Blazers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games played. Portland is 4-6-1 ATS in 11 home games played this season, 1-5 ATS in their last six games against the Western Conference, and 1-6 ATS in their last seven games played against the Pacific Division. Head to head, the Warriors are 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games played against the Blazers.

The Warriors have outscored the Blazers by an average of 4.5 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 7.33 points per game in their last three encounters. Golden State is already without Steph Curry and Klay Thompson and this season’s leading scorer Eric Paschall is listed a probable with a hip issue. However, three of the Warriors’ last four losses have been by eight or fewer points. This team hasn’t found ways to win but they have competed well and are even 8-8 ATS on the road this season. I’ll take the plus points here.

Prediction: Warriors +9.5

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The total has gone under in six out of the last eight games played by Golden State. The Warriors have seen the total go under in six out of their last nine games played against the Western Conference. The total has gone under in four out of the last five games played by Portland. The over is 6-5 in Portland’s 11 home games played this season. Head to head, the total has gone over in four out of the last six games between the Warriors and Blazers. The over is also 12-3 in the last 15 games between these teams in Golden State.

These teams have combined to score an average of 225.5 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 230.0 points per game in their most recent three encounters. The Dubs and Blazers combined for 245 points in their first meeting of the season last November 4, 2019. The Warriors are allowing the 10th most points per game this season and the Blazers are next to them on 11th. The Blazers have failed to score 100 points in three of their four losses in the last 10 games. However, Portland is still the 10th best scoring team this season. With a high-scoring backcourt that Golden State can’t match, I look for these teams to go over the total.

Prediction: Over 220.5

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