Los Angeles Lakers at Portland Trail Blazers Betting Preview
It will be a battle of Western Conference foes on Wednesday as the Los Angeles Lakers (26-29) take on the Portland Trail Blazers (21-34). Portland will host this one at the Moda Center, with tipoff scheduled for 10:00 pm ET.
Both of these teams have been scuffling a bit as of late. On Wednesday, it will also be the second leg of a back-to-back for both squads.
For the Lakers, they come in having lost five of their last seven games. On Tuesday, they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 131-116.
In the loss, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Malik Monk combined for 69 points, but it still wasn’t enough to take down the Bucks. Russell Westbrook also was effective as he had a double-double with 10 points, ten rebounds, and five assists.
The Trail Blazers have been a significant disappointment this season, and their struggles have led to them being sellers at the trade deadline. The team has now lost six in a row, including a 113-95 drubbing by the struggling Orlando Magic on Tuesday.
Anfernee Simons was the leading scorer for the Trail Blazers Tuesday with 19 points. Center Jusuf Nurkic added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lakers are the favorites in this one despite playing on the road. They are -330 to win while the Trail Blazers’ moneyline sits at +265. The spread features Portland +7.5.
More Odds
The Lakers have the fourth-best odds of winning the West this season at +850. The Trail Blazers are +12000 to win the conference.
In terms of the NBA Finals, the Lakers are +1800 while the Trail Blazers are +50000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
The Lakers have had the better offense to date. They rank 11th in scoring averaging 110.9 points per game. The Trail Blazers rank 20th averaging 107.8.
Defensively, these are two of the worst teams in the league. In fact, the two teams rank 26th and 27th as they are both allowing 112.3 points per game to opponents.
Lakers Look To Make Push In Playoff Standings
Despite being 26-28, the Lakers are sitting right behind the Clippers for the eighth spot in the West and only four games back of the sixth spot. With teams in such close proximity, the Lakers will hope to make a push to improve their potential playoff seeding as the second half approaches.
As in recent years, the Lakers have been led by future Hall of Famer LeBron James. In 37 games this season, he is averaging 29.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game.
The other two stars, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook have also played well. Davis is averaging 23.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks, while Westbrook is averaging 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists.
Portland Tearing It Down
Off to a dreadful start this season, the Trail Blazers finally appear ready to retool. In the last couple of days, they have traded two of their best players in Norman Powell (to the Clippers) and C.J. McCollum (to the Pelicans).
With Damian Lillard still out with an abdominal injury, that leaves the Trail Blazers short on scorers.
For those remaining, only Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic are averaging double digits in scoring. For Simons, he is averaging 15.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.
In 51 games, Nurkic is averaging a double-double with 14.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.
Acquired in the Powell trade, Justice Winslow will be available for this game, but Eric Bledsoe (also acquired) is questionable with an Achilles injury.
Take Lakers To Win And Cover
This just comes down to star power. While Anfernee Simons has played exceptionally well this season, the Trail Blazers, as currently constituted, just don’t have enough to run with the Lakers.
On the second night of a back-to-back, it is worth checking to see if the Lakers rest any of their stars, but expect them to win this one pretty effortlessly.
Take the Lakers to both win and cover in this one.
