Portland vs San Antonio Odds
The Portland Trail Blazers successfully avoided a sweep with a win against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4, but life isn’t getting any easier for the team from the Northwest as it heads back on the road down three games to one.[ad-4468020]
Portland (1-3) @ San Antonio (3-1)
Wednesday, 6:30 PM ET (TNT)
Game 5
Spread: Spurs -7.5
Total: 208.5
[dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Portland
The Portland Trail Blazers finally forced the San Antonio Spurs into a subpar shooting night in Game 4. Entering the contest, the Spurs had shot better than 50 percent on the series, but in Game 4, the team was held to just 44.3 percent from the field—not to mention 16.7 percent from downtown.
CLICK GRAB OUR BEST Expert Hoops Picks for 2014 GAMBLING season!
For Portland, getting out to a hot start was the difference maker. Entering the night, the Blazers had held a lead for just 33 seconds the entire series. That was caused by letting the Spurs get ahead early and expending all efforts to come back too quickly.
In Game 5, Portland needs to do much of the same. Defensively, it must crowd Tony Parker on pick-and-roll sets (expect that task to go to Nicolas Batum). Offensively, this team needs to hit three-pointers. That’s something it wasn’t able to do with consistency in Games 1 through 3, and while that theme held true again in Game 4, better shooting will help compensate for any defensive mishaps that will inevitably occur on the road.
[ad-6571516]
San Antonio
Not only did the Spurs lose this game, but they got down big. We’re talking 20 points big.
The Spurs are the more experienced ball club by a long shot, and if the lead hadn’t gotten so large for Portland, fans in San Antonio would have bet on their team’s chances all the way up until the end. That theme will remain true in Game 5: If San Antonio keeps it close, it should come away with a win.
Offensively, San Antonio struggled to get much out of Parker and Manu Ginobili, but you have to wonder if Gregg Popovich was fine sacrificing one game to come home and close it out. The good news is that guys such as Kawhi Leonard and Boris Diaw had efficient games, giving them momentum going forward.
If the X’s and O’s go in the Spurs’ favor, they should close out the series Wednesday night. The problem is, Portland looks like a desperate team all of a sudden, and it’s a look that is good for a young group with a comeback on its mind.
It would take three more wins to make history, but the Blazers are only focused on one at a time. If they can have a big third quarter the way they did in Game 4, they should guarantee themselves at least one more game in Portland.
Prediction: Portland 107 – San Antonio 98
