Portland Trail Blazers vs. Charlotte Hornets Preview
Where: Spectrum Center — Charlotte, NC
When: Wednesday, January 18, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Portland Trail Blazers (+5.5) vs. Charlotte Hornets (-5.5); total: 218.5 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: CSNW / FSS
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Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers (18-25)
Rip City continues to plummet in the standings, finishing with just a 6-15 record in the previous six weeks. The Trail Blazers also go into this game as losers of back-to-back contests with the most recent of which a 19-point setback against Washington last Monday.
That game already got out of hand early on as the Wizards used a 75-point first half and made 13 threes in total to coast to the easy win. Portland’s vaunted backcourt in Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum struggled to find their respective strokes, combining for 34 points on 11-of-29 shooting.
The former had a team-best 22 points and seven assists, but McCollum’s quiet output was a surprise after scoring 25 or more points in his last eight games. He’ll try to bounce back tonight in Charlotte, where the Trail Blazers have dropped five of their past eight visits. They, however, have won three of the last four meetings in this matchup.
Betting on the Charlotte Hornets (20-21)
Charlotte has lost its last five games, temporarily knocking them out of the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference. Put the blame on the Hornets’ defense, which is giving up a head-scratching average of 109.6 points per game in this current losing stretch.
On a bright note, Kemba Walker’s still posting All-Star numbers at least. He’s compiling 24.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists through seven games this month. Expect him to continue living up to those averages against Portland’s invisible defense (110.7 points allowed per game).
The Hornets have been stinging themselves on the road lately, but that’s not usually the situation when playing at home. They are 12-7 overall at Spectrum Center this season, including 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS in their last five games there.
Writer’s Prediction
Charlotte (-5.5) wins and covers.
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