Super Bowl Sunday is upon us once again. There should be no surprises for one of our picks for today’s BGTBO. The Falcons and the Patriots will engage in a classic head-to-head matchup between a number one-ranked offense and a number one-ranked defense. The hype, the intrigue, and everything in between should boil up tonight!
2017 NFL MVP Matt Ryan and his Falcons will enter the championship game parading the number one scoring offense (33.8 PPG) and number two total offense (415.8 YPG) in the league. They followed up their great regular season by having an even greater postseason, as they poured in a combined 80 points and 915 total yards on the Seahawks and the Packers.
The Patriots, meanwhile, though not as good on offense, similarly left a carnage on their way to the Super Bowl. They plowed into the regular season and finished the year with a 14-2 record, and then continued it into the divisional and conference championship games. Like Atlanta, their pair of playoff contests this year also concluded in routs, as they beat the Texans and Steelers by 18 and 19 points, respectively.
Along with Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick, their unpredictable offense, the Pats are also bringing the best scoring defense in the NFL (15.6 points allowed per game).
Line: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – view all NBA lines
This game will feature three of the top five best scoring guards in the league. Russell Westbrook (30.8 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 10.3 APG), who has 25 triple-doubles under his belt this season, will be visited in Oklahoma by the lights out shooting and explosiveness of Damian Lillard (25.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 5.8 APG ) and CJ McCollum (25.9 PPG since January 1st).
The two squads last met almost two months ago, where the Blazers eased past the Thunder at home, 115-94. Six Portland players recorded double digit points and the team collectively shot 54 percent from the field, while OKC was horrible from everywhere and turned the ball 20 times. The Thunder’s 95-point output that night was their lowest against any team with a losing record this season.
Writer’s Prediction
OKC gets some revenge over their West rivals, 112-103.
