Red hot Blazers take on the Nets
The Portland Trail Blazers (23-15 SU, 17-20 ATS, 15-22 O/U) had their modest three-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday, getting routed by the red-hot Philadelphia 76ers 100-79 while failing to cover the spread in the BetUS Sportsbook as 2-point road favorites in the BetUS Sportsbook. The New Jersey Nets (19-20 SU, 21-18 ATS, 20-19 O/U) were also beaten senseless in their 118-86 shellacking at the hands of the defending-champion Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
Tonight, both ballclubs will be looking to get back in the win column when they meet at the Izod Center.
Brandon Roy had 27 points with five rebounds and six assists in the loss as only one other player (LaMarcus Aldridge) reached double figures in scoring. The Blazers shot a tepid 39.4 percent from the field while allowing Philadelphia to shoot a blistering 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from long distance.
“Our rhythm offensively wasn’t very good and we’re not really guarding anybody either,” said Brandon Roy, averaging 19.0 points, 6.3 boards and 4.7 assists in three games since missing four contests with a strained right hamstring.
Portland lost veteran point guard Steve Blake to a separated right shoulder in the first half.
“I’ll definitely help and have the ball a lot more now with Blake being out,” Roy said. “I have to be more aggressive earlier in the game to get us going.”
New Jersey got a team-high 17 points from point guard Devin Harris but shot just 38.8 percent from the field while allowing Boston to shoot a scorching 56.4 percent from the field.
“They kicked us real good,” New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank said. “When talent works hard like that, you get embarrassed.”
Seven of the Nets’ 20 losses this season have been by 20 or more points.
“We didn’t have too much fight,” said Devin Harris, who had a team-high 17 points Wednesday. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do and I look forward to the next game.”
Here is a look at tonight’s key trends, followed by my in-depth analysis and NBA Free Pick.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Portland’s last 5 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Portland’s last 11 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Portland’s last 9 games when playing New Jersey
Portland is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games when playing New Jersey
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Jersey’s last 5 games when playing at home against Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Jersey’s last 6 games at home
New Jersey is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of New Jersey’s last 9 games when playing Portland
NBA Odds
Portland Trailblazers -2 -110
New Jersey Nets +2 -110
Over 188½ -110
Under 188½ -110
Analysis: Even without point guard Steve Blake, I like the Portland Trailblazers to bounce back from their resounding loss to beat the Nets and cover the spread, though I’m not expecting a rout by any means.
Take the blossoming – and much hungrier – Trailblazers to cover the spread with the outright win.
