Bucks at Blazers – Portland is for real
BetUS NBA Basketball Betting Odds: PORTLAND -6.5, Total 193.5
Here are some of the NBA pro basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* MIL has played eight of its last nine games OVER the total
* MIL has lost four of its last six road games SU * MIL is 5-2-1 ATS in its last eight road games
* MIL has played four of its last six road games OVER the total
* PORT has won four of its last six games SU
* PORT has played four of its last five games OVER the total
* PORT has won seven of its last nine home games SU
Also…
* PORT has won and covered six of the last nine meetings SU
* Nine of the last ten meetings have gone OVER the total
* PORT has won six of the last nine meetings SU as the home team
* MIL has covered four of the last six meetings as the road team
* The last five meetings in Portland have gone OVER the total
* PORT has had the shooting edge in five of the last seven meetings
* PORT has had the rebounding edge in seven of the last ten meetings
* PORT has made more three-pointers in four of the last five meetings
The tough news for the Bucks is that Andrew Bogut, the #1 choice in the draft a few years ago, will be out of this game with back spasms. Bogut, who described his back problems as “scary,” did not participate in Milwaukee’s road trip at all, and that is significant because he gave the team a well-needed presence inside. He was among the top rebounders in the NBA with 10.4 caroms a game. He might be back on Wednesday against Dallas, but he is of no use to his team here.
In Milwaukee’s last game, a 101-92 loss to the Clippers, Dan Gadzuric got the start in the pivot, with two field goals and three rebounds in 23 minutes. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute came in and had six rebounds in 25 minutes. This is a thin team, and even with Bogut, it was soft.
Portland is just coming from a four-game road trip that ended on a sour note, as the Blazers lost to Charlotte in overtime on Saturday. The trip was highlighted by wins at struggling Chicago and New Jersey, with an embarrassing 100-79 loss to Philadelphia mixed in.
Greg Oden hasn’t given the Blazers what they were looking for, on either end of the floor. Oden has scored 12 points in his last three games and averages just 7.9 per game for the season. He also has just two blocked shots in the last seven games, and has seen his minutes reduced.
Thankfully LaMarcus Aldridge is picking up some of the scoring slack. His season average is 17.4 ppg, but he’s scored 20 points or more in 13 of the last 19 games. Brandon Roy also chipped in 73 points in the last three games of the road trip. One player who is starting to pick up a little more playing time is Jerryd Bayless, the rookie guard from Arizona who hit for 23 points at New Jersey and 14 at Charlotte. Those are his two best games of the year.
Milwaukee has a 15-8 ATS record as a road underdog, but we just don’t like this team very much if their offense isn’t running through Bogut, who was fifth in the NBA in shooting percentage. Portland is 14-4 SU at home this season, and we can see them bouncing back after the disappointment of blowing the game with very bad free throw shooting at Charlotte. We’ll take the Blazers, the 6.5-point favorite in the BetUS Sportsbook NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.
