NBA Preview/ Free Pick: Portland Trail Blazers vs Denver Nuggets
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Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets NBA Betting Lines from Sportsbook.com
Wednesday 8:10PM EST
Portland: 26-22 SU, 23-23-2 ATS
Denver: 28-20 SU, 20-25-3 ATS
Moneyline: Off
NBA Betting Favorite: Denver -8
Over/Under: 203.5
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The Portland Trail Blazers are battling to stay in the playoff picture despite their significant injury problems once again this year. Portland seems to have a plethora of injuries on a yearly basis of late, and this year is no different. Greg Oden is once again out for the year, and Brandon Roy is out until at least early March. Marcus Camby is also out for at least a couple more weeks. Denver seemed to be getting their act together of late, but they have dropped their last two.
Losses at Philadelphia and New Jersey made their road-trip end on a sour note. The Nuggets are 20-5 at home, so they’ll look to get back on track in this one.
To say that Portland is a really banged up team right now is a major understatement. Roy is their primary scorer on offense and without him this team isn’t the same. Even the players who are playing aren’t completely healthy. Wesley Matthews, Rudy Fernandez, and Nicholas Batum are all nursing minor injuries right now. Portland hasn’t done a bad job picking up some wins on the road this year, but they haven’t held serve at home nearly as well as normal. This is a team that is based around strong defense, and their defense hasn’t been that great this year.
Portland is allowing opponents to shoot 46.5% from the floor, which is 20th in the league. The brightest spot on this team so far this year has been LaMarcus Aldridge. He is averaging 21 points per game and bringing in nine rebounds per contest as well. He has done a nice job stepping up in the absence of Roy. Matthews has also been a solid addition to the squad.
Denver is a team that made the Western Conference Finals just a couple years ago, but this franchise appears to be on the downswing right now. They still have plenty of talent, but they don’t have the team chemistry needed to win consistently. The Carmelo Anthony saga is still hanging over the team, and rumors are even swirling about guys like Chauncey Billups. Denver continues to beat up on teams at home, but they have struggled to win any on the road most of this year. Carmelo Anthony’s numbers are down some, but they are still solid.
Guys like J.R. Smith and Al Harrington need to produce more consistently for this team. The Nuggets still don’t play much defense at all, and that really hurts their chances in the long run. Denver does shoot the three ball very well, which helps them come back from large deficits on some occasions. This team is still very dangerous, but they must stay focused on the goal at hand.
Gambling Trends:
Portland is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
Portland is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games on the road
Denver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Denver’s last 10 games when playing Portland
The Pick:
The Blazers just don’t have the guns to run with the Nuggets, and they’ll try to slow this one down. Denver is good at forcing the issue on their home floor. Portland will be on the second half of a back-to-back, while Denver will be well-rested.
I like Denver to cover the spread in this one.
Portland vs. Denver Score Prediction: Denver 107 Portland 95
New Orleans vs. Oklahoma City Score Prediction: Oklahoma City 96 New Orleans 91
Kyle Hunter sports picks – A degree in finance and a great ability to follow important trends and statistics set him apart from the rest. Check out his plays today.
