PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* NBA Game of the Day >> 48-26-3 L77 NBA Sides!
(NBA) Portland vs. Oklahoma City,
Point Spread: -4.50 | -103.00 Oklahoma City (Home)
Result: Win
Point Spread: -4.50 | -103.00 Oklahoma City (Home)
Result: Win
The set-up: The 22-29 Portland Trail Blazers travel to Oklahoma City on the afternoon of the Super Bowl to take on the 29-22 Thunder. Portland is in the midst of a six-team 'battle' for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, with those teams all within 3 1/2 games of each other. The Thunder trail the Jazz by three games in the Northwest Division and although they own the 7th seed overall, are safely a full six games up on the Nuggets, who currently own the No. 8 seed.
Portland: The Blazers are currently just a half-game behind the Nuggets and 1 1/2 games up on the 10th-seeded Mavs. Portland ranks eighth in scoring at 107.7 PPG, led by the dynamic backcourt duo of Lillard (25.9-4.8-5.8) and McCollum (23.5-3.6-3.7). However, the drop-off behind those two is significant, with a group of four players adding between 9.7 and 11.0 PPG. Center Mason Plumlee tops that group and is also the team's leading rebounder at 8.0 per game. Defense has been the team's Achilles' heel, ranking 26th by allowing 109.9 PPG.
Oklahoma City: Everyone around the NBA knew that with K.D. off to Oakland, it would be the "Russell Westbrook Show" in OKC this season. He delivered his 25th triple-double in Friday's 114-102 win over the Grizzlies (38-13-12), as he continues his quest to average a triple-double on the season, ala the Big O. Westbrook is currently averaging 30.8-10.5-10.3, which all are team-highs (also leads OKC in steals at 1.6 per game). However, he just doesn't get enough help regularly, with Oladipo (15.9) the only other consistent scorer outside of the team's two-headed center duo of Adams (12.2 & 7.8) and Kanter (14.4 & 6.7). However, with his self-inflicted fractured right forearm back on Jan. 26th, Kanter took that equation off the table (he's expected be sidelined for up to two months).
The pick: Defense has not been an OKC strength this season but they held to Grizzlies to just one basket in the final 3 1/2 minutes of Friday's game, turning a three-point deficit into a 12-point win by closing on a 15-0 run! Friday's win ended a three-game slide for OKC and the Thunder get a Portland team here playing its first road contest since Jan. 21. Portland is just 7-15 against winning opponents and will likely want to get this game out of the way quickly, to watch the Super Bowl. Make OKC a 10* play.
Portland: The Blazers are currently just a half-game behind the Nuggets and 1 1/2 games up on the 10th-seeded Mavs. Portland ranks eighth in scoring at 107.7 PPG, led by the dynamic backcourt duo of Lillard (25.9-4.8-5.8) and McCollum (23.5-3.6-3.7). However, the drop-off behind those two is significant, with a group of four players adding between 9.7 and 11.0 PPG. Center Mason Plumlee tops that group and is also the team's leading rebounder at 8.0 per game. Defense has been the team's Achilles' heel, ranking 26th by allowing 109.9 PPG.
Oklahoma City: Everyone around the NBA knew that with K.D. off to Oakland, it would be the "Russell Westbrook Show" in OKC this season. He delivered his 25th triple-double in Friday's 114-102 win over the Grizzlies (38-13-12), as he continues his quest to average a triple-double on the season, ala the Big O. Westbrook is currently averaging 30.8-10.5-10.3, which all are team-highs (also leads OKC in steals at 1.6 per game). However, he just doesn't get enough help regularly, with Oladipo (15.9) the only other consistent scorer outside of the team's two-headed center duo of Adams (12.2 & 7.8) and Kanter (14.4 & 6.7). However, with his self-inflicted fractured right forearm back on Jan. 26th, Kanter took that equation off the table (he's expected be sidelined for up to two months).
The pick: Defense has not been an OKC strength this season but they held to Grizzlies to just one basket in the final 3 1/2 minutes of Friday's game, turning a three-point deficit into a 12-point win by closing on a 15-0 run! Friday's win ended a three-game slide for OKC and the Thunder get a Portland team here playing its first road contest since Jan. 21. Portland is just 7-15 against winning opponents and will likely want to get this game out of the way quickly, to watch the Super Bowl. Make OKC a 10* play.
