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Free NBA Pick: Blazers vs. Thunder NBA Odds
Looking for Portland Trail Blazers vs. OKC Thunder free NBA picks & NBA odds? NBA betting sees the Blazers taking on the Thunder on Wednesday, December 21st, 2021 at the Paycom 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-Thunder matchup.
2022 NBA Handicapping
(17-14) Portland Trail Blazers vs. OKC Thunder (13-18)
Date: Wednesday, December 21st
Time: 8:00 PM EST
Venue: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
NBA Moneyline Odds: Blazers -185 | Thunder +135 (Bet Now!)
NBA Betting Odds: Blazers -4
NBA Betting Total: 234.5
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Wednesday, December 21st, finds the Portland Trail Blazers facing the OKC Thunder for the second of four scheduled matches this season.
This is the second game of the baseball set with the Thunder taking the opening match 123-121 on Monday. The Blazers will host games on February 10th and March 26th.
Last season, the teams played four times with the Blazers sweeping the regular season series. The Thunder holds the all-time record having bested the Blazers in 127 of their 248 matches.
*Editor’s Note: Statistics and rankings are current as of this writing, Tuesday evening, December 20. Numbers may vary slightly entering games on Wednesday, December 21.
Portland Trail Blazers
It was a historic night for Damian Lillard and the Blazers that came with plenty to celebrate EXCEPT THE WIN!
Lillard became the all-time Blazers career scoring leader surpassing Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler. The tying basket came on a prototypical long-range 3-pointer and he surpassed Drexler’s 18,040 points at the charity stripe.
The career Blazer needed 21 points to break the record and finished with 28 points.
“It’s a great feeling to reach the top,” he said. “It’s been a goal of mine and the list has so many players, great history of our organization, so to finally be No. 1 is a special accomplishment that I’m proud of.”
Damian Lillard becomes the all-time leading scorer in Portland Trail Blazers franchise history. pic.twitter.com/kdLVJRF3Xl
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 20, 2022
Lillard is averaging 28.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game shooting 45.5% from the field, 40.4% from deep and 89.7% from the stripe taking 18.6, 11.2, and 7.6 shots from these areas respectively.
Portland averages 112.6 points per game ranking 18th while shooting 47.7% from the field and 38.9% from the perimeter ranking 10th and first respectively.
On defense, the Blazers allow 112.3 opponent points and shoot 47.3% from the field and 35.7% from the perimeter ranking 11th, 20th, and 17th respectively.
Jusuf Nurkic (calf), Gary Payton II (conditioning), and Nassir Little (hip) are all questionable.
OKC Thunder
While Damian Lillard was eclipsing Blazers franchise scoring records that have included copious game-winners the irony of the night was the young cornerstone of the OKC Thunder nailed the clutch shot to give his team the win.
Post-game, the ever-classy Lillard spoke glowingly of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seemingly aligning with his younger counterpart and their similar mindsets and potential path SGA could take in OKC.
“He’s impressive,” Lillard said. “He’s obviously a really good player. Not just a good young player. He’s coming into his own. I can remember when I was younger and I became the leader of a team. And I was basically introducing myself as the lead guard on the team, and I was going after it, you know, being aggressive. And I see that he’s in that state. He’s trying to show what he can do.”
SGA was originally listed as out dealing with a back contusion so the fact he was even playing is yet another surprising twist to the evening.
The Canadian is averaging 31.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and a block per game. His shooting splits are 50.1% from the field, 34.5% from deep, and 93.3% from the stripe taking 20.8, 3.0, and 10.2 shots respectively.
The Thunder score 115.5 points per game ranking ninth shooting 46.0% from the field (22nd) and 34.3% from deep (23rd).
Defensively, the Thunder rank 27th for opponent points allowing 117.1 per game while opponents shoot 46.5% from the field (11th) and 36.5% from the perimeter (20th).
Giddey (illness), Darius Bazley (illness), Ousmane Dieng (wrist), and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (ankle) are out. Chet Holmgren (foot) is out for the season.
NBA Betting Trends:
- Blazers are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games.
- Thunder are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games.
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Portland’s last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Oklahoma City’s last 7 games.
Free Portland Trail Blazers vs. OKC Thunder NBA Prediction:
Early on when most of the baseball sets were resulting in splits it was the Thunder who broke that pattern by beating the Clippers in successive games and will attempt to repeat that versus the Blazers.
I suspect they’ll have a tougher time, however as the Blazers have typically rebounded from tough losses this season.
4* Free NBA Betting Pick: Blazers ATS
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