The Denver Nuggets (+1600 to win the NBA title) drew first blood in their series against the Portland Trail Blazers, but Mike Malone and his team know better than to celebrate early, especially against a Damian Lillard-led squad. The Blazers (+5000) will give it a go again this Wednesday, in hopes of stealing a win in Denver before flying back home for Game 3. Read on for more about that game below.
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Betting Preview for Portland Trail Blazers vs Denver Nuggets NBA Playoff Round 2 Game 2 on May 1, 2019
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver
When: Wednesday, May 1, 2019, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Portland Trail Blazers (+3.5) vs. Denver Nuggets (-3.5) – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers (53-29 Regular Season)
The Blazers faltered in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals, losing to Denver on the road on Monday, 121-113, but if there’s one positive takeaway for the team from that setback, it’s that Damian Lillard has seemingly carried over his form from the Oklahoma City Thunder series into the second round. Lillard, who had 50 points in the series-clinching win over the Oklahoma City, dropped an efficient 50 points on 12-for-21 shooting from the field with six assists. Enes Kanter, meanwhile, provided a ton of scoring for Portland’s frontcourt, giving the Blazers 26 points and seven rebounds. But the Blazers were hit hard by their own doings, as they turned the ball over 18 times, which were converted by Denver into 23 points. Conversely, Portland was not able to capitalize as much on the Nuggets’ errors, making just 13 points off Denver’s 13 miscues. While they lost in Game 1, it wasn’t such a demoralizing setback for the Blazers, who will have to coax more also from C.J. McCollum. He had 16 points, which were lower than his playoffs average of 23.0 points per game.
Portland is 4-3 against the spread (ATS) in its last seven games.
Betting on the Denver Nuggets (54-28 Regular Season)
The Nuggets simply had the better one-two punch in Game 1 against Portland. While Lillard and Kanter had fantastic games, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic one-upped the Blazers’ tandem. Murray had 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field with eight assists, while Jokic stuffed the stat sheets with a tantalizing numbers of 37 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three steals, two blocks, three 3-pointers, and a perfect 12-for-12 line from the charity stripe. Jokic proved what many observers were saying prior to the series: that the Blazers don’t have the personnel to slow down the Serbian. Kanter isn’t a defensive specialist and is never known for his ability to stop his man down low, thus his plus/minus of -10. Zach Collins and Meyers Leonard are never going to figure out how to put the clamps on Jokic in a single series, so expect the Nuggets to continue dumping the ball to the talented big man and to veteran Paul Millsap, who also abused Portland’s thin front line. Millsap had 19 points and six boards in Game 1.
Denver is 3-1 ATS in its last four home games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Nuggets win, 118-115.
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