Free NBA Pick: Blazers vs. Lakers NBA Odds
Looking for Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Blazers taking on the Lakers on Friday, December 31st, 2021 at Staples Center. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NBA basketball matchups so stay tuned for more FREE daily NBA hoops predictions like this Blazers Lakers matchup.
2021 NBA Handicapping
(13-21) Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers (17-19)
Date: Friday, December 31st
Time: 10:30 PM EST
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
NBA Moneyline Odds: Blazers +219 | Lakers -225 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Lakers -5.5
NBA Betting Total: 230.5
Friday, December 31st finds the oldest rivalry in the NBA renewing with the Portland Trail Blazers face the Los Angeles Lakers for the second time this season.
The Blazers won the initial match 105-90 on November 6th. The teams will each host once more with the game in LA on February 2nd and in Portland on February 9th.
Both teams last played Wednesday with the Blazers losing 105-120 to the Jazz while the Lakers lost 99-104to the Grizzlies
Last season, the squads played three times with Portland taking two of the three contests. The Lakers hold the all-time record having bested the Blazers in 123 of their 234 matches.
Portland Trail Blazers
The shot that Dame Lillard took to improve the abdominal tendinopathy seems to have worked based on his improvements particularly shooting the ball.
It’s logical, however, that the core would be used to shoot, especially those uber deep balls Dame likes to take from the logo. Now he’ll need to figure out what to do in order to fix the Blazers defensive woes.
Portland ranks 29th defensively which was the specific area Chauncey Billups was hired to fix. Is the easy takeaway here that it’s not the system but the personnel?
And if that’s the case then it screams for the need to make sweeping changes to the roster.
Ben McLemore and Dennis Smith Jr. (conditioning) were upgraded to probable. Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic, Robert Covington, Cody Zeller, Keljin Blevins, and Trendon Watford are downgraded to out.
CJ McCollum will miss his 11th game since suffering a punctured lung.
Los Angeles Lakers
As LeBron James is learning getting older isn’t always fun especially when those birthdays come as reminders of how much harder it is to do things as we age that we took for granted at a younger age.
On the other hand, with age comes wisdom and that’s what James may be channeling now that he’s 37 and his Lakers are mired in a stretch of six losses in seven contests.
All while he personally is putting up statistics that would previously have sealed victories for his club. Against the Grizzlies he registered a double-double of 37 points and 13 rebounds, with seven assists, two steals, two blocks, and eight 3-pointers (of 14 attempted).
The only negative for James was his five turnovers and the Lakers losing the game. His cohortRussell Westbrook delivered a triple-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists while Malik Monk scored 15 as the only other double-figure contributor.
Kent Bazemore (conditioning), Austin Reaves (conditioning) are probable for Friday, Trevor Ariza (COVID) is questionable while Rajon Rondo (COVID) is out indefinitely. Avery Bradley (head) is questionable versus the Blazers.
Anthony Davis (sprained MCL) is out for a month minimum while Kendrick Nunn (knee) is out indefinitely.
NBA Betting Trends:
- The Blazers are 4-12 ATS in their last 16 games.
- The Lakers are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland’s last 6 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of the Lakers’ last 12 games.
Free Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers NBA Prediction:
Both clubs are desperate to not just win but begin a streak of wins so they can move up the playoff ladder. If playoffs started today the Blazers wouldn’t even be in the play-in tournament and the Lakers would be hosting the young, athletic Spurs.
To be fair, I’m not feeling warm and fuzzy about either side but expect a show between LeBron and Dame as they both try to take over and no doubt we’ll get the typical Westbrook -Lillard banter.
4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Lakers -5.5
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