Two teams on opposite ends of the Western Conference standings will collide Tuesday when the Portland Trail Blazers bring in the San Antonio Spurs. Both teams are coming off of losses and looking to rebound in that respect.
The Trail Blazers (9-4) currently sit atop the conference but had a three-game winning streak snapped Saturday night on the road at Dallas.
The game against the Mavericks — which ended in a 117-112 decision — was Portland’s sixth in a row on the road.
It took a 42-point, 13-rebound triple-double from the sensational Luka Doncic for Dallas to get past the Trail Blazers, who had beaten:
- Miami
- Charlotte
- New Orleans
In the three outings prior to that. In that game for Portland, Jerami Grant poured in a season-high 37 points, while Damian Lillard added 29 more and Anfernee Simons 24.
NBA Boards
Jusuf Nurkic, who ranks in the top 10 in all of the NBA in boards, missed his third consecutive matchup with a hip ailment.
San Antonio (6-8) recently downed a short-handed Milwaukee team at home, snapping a five-game losing skid, but found itself back in the loss column with a shellacking at Golden State Monday.
The Warriors beat the Spurs 132-95, thanks in large part to Jordan Poole.
Enjoying his bobblehead night, Poole sunk five three-pointers on his way to 36 points. His team led by 16 points at the halftime break.
NBA Injury Bug
Dealing with an injury bug of their own, the Spurs were paced in scoring by Keldon Johnson, who posted 15 points and did well in the second half.
This one will start a three-game homestay for the Trail Blazers. They’ll welcome Brooklyn and Utah later in the week.
San Antonio has come out on top each of the last four times these teams played, including two in a row in Portland.
Let’s take a quick look at the NBA odds today before we go and make some Spurs vs Trail Blazers picks. This should be one of the better games on the NBA schedule!
Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs Odds
Looking at the numbers, the home team will have the edge going in. Portland is -7.5 on the basket line at -110, while the Spurs are the same to cover the spread.
On the moneyline, the Trail Blazers are -330, and San Antonio is a +265 underdog. The total has been set at 224 points, with the over being -110 and the under the same at the time of this writing.
It’s a good idea to see which team has the edge in scoring and shooting prior to making Spurs vs Trail Blazers picks.
Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs Betting Preview
Before making Spurs vs Trail Blazers picks, let’s look at some NBA player stats and NBA team stats.
For all of their success, the Trail Blazers haven’t shown to be the strongest team, scoring-wise, just yet. Portland Trail Blazers stats show that they rank 24th in points per game with 109.3.
They’ve done much better in shooting from the field, however, ranking 13th while making 46.9% of their attempts. From beyond the arc, they’re one of the better teams there are, going 38.7% at the moment.
Better Shooting
Only Denver (42.3%), Cleveland (39.9%), and Boston (39.0%) have been better at shooting threes. Now, for the San Antonio Spurs news update 2022.
San Antonio has gone for 11.35 points per game (14th in the NBA), is shooting 47.2% from the field (10th), and 37.9% from three-point range (6th).
Expect to see a lot of shots put up from behind the arc in this matchup. No under is safe when both squads are this good from three.
Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs Betting Preview
Now it’s time to make our Spurs vs Trail Blazers picks. We think this will be one of the better NBA matchups, and our NBA picks today will be on Portland’s side.
Who to Bet On?
We already talked about how strong both sides are offensively, but Portland has a clear edge in terms of defense, allowing 107.4 points per game compared to San Antonio’s 119.2.
The Trail Blazers have also done slightly better when it comes to pulling down missed shots, grabbing 44.0 rebounds per contest to the Spurs’ 41.9.
The effort on both sides should propel Portland and allow them to cover in this Western Conference tilt.
NBA Pick: Trail Blazers -8 (-110)
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