Things are going from bad to worse for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they suffered yet another defeat, a 12-point loss to Indiana on Sunday night. Currently sitting in ninth place (37-43) in the Western Conference standings, they are faced with a must-win situation later tonight when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers.
Can the Thunder keep their playoff hopes alive? Read on below for a breakdown of tonight’s game and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the game between the Chicago Bulls and the Brooklyn Nets here.
[sc:NBAArticles ]Portland Trail Blazers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Betting Preview
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City
When: Monday, April 13, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Portland Trail Blazers at Oklahoma City Thunder – view all NBA lines
Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland ended its regular season campaign at home on a sour note after suffering a 111-105 defeat to the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. It was a costly result for the Blazers who were eliminated from the race for homecourt advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs with the loss.
[sc:NBA240banner ]What made this defeat a bitter pill to swallow for the Blazers was that it came against a team that was playing without three of its main stars. Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Trey Burke all sat out this game for the Jazz but still managed to pull off the win thanks in large part to the brilliance of Trevor Booker and Rodney Hood.
Trevor Booker had a career-high 36 points on 12-of-15 shooting while Rodney Hood chipped in 21 points and dished out eight dimes. Six players scored in double-figures for the Jazz which shot 45.6 percent from the field against the Blazers.
That’s uncharacteristic for Portland which allows opponents to shoot just 44.0% from the floor this season, eighth-best in the NBA. They will need to sort out their defense quickly as they will next face the high-scoring Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are fifth in the NBA in scoring this season, averaging 103.6 PPG.
Apart from improving their play on the defensive end, the Blazers also need to do a much better job in rebounding the basketball. With LaMarcus Aldridge sitting this game out, the Blazers found it difficult to control the glass as they were outrebounded by the Jazz, 48-39.
With Aldridge still a doubt for tonight’s ballgame, the onus is on Robin Lopez and Meyers Leonard to hold the fort for the Blazers against the Oklahoma City frontline. Lopez had 21 points and eight rebounds against the Jazz while Leonard scored 12 points and grabbed four boards in a losing effort on Saturday.
The Blazers are 4-6 SU and ATS in their last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City’s playoff bid is in serious peril after a heart-breaking 116-104 loss to Indiana on Sunday night. Russell Westbrook scored a career-high 54 points but it was still not enough to lift the Thunder to victory. The Thunder have now lost five of their last six games as they remained tied with New Orleans (43-37) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
What made the defeat so gut-wrenching for Oklahoma City was that they failed to take advantage of New Orleans’ slip-up against Houston. With the Pelicans owning the tiebreaker against the Thunder, they will need New Orleans to lose one of their last two games and hope that they sweep their remaining contests.
The latter task became much harder, though, with the news that Westbrook will be suspended tonight after picking up his 16th technical foul in the game against Indiana. That is a crippling blow for the Thunder who are already missing the services of last year’s MVP Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka.
His importance to the Thunder cause was pretty much evident in the game against the Pacers where he opened the contest with 22 points and four assists in the first quarter. He added 20 more in the payoff period as he almost steered the Thunder to the comeback win.
With Westbrook out, it’s crucial for the other Thunder players to pick up the slack offensively. One player who’s expected to shoulder the scoring load is Enes Kanter. Kanter has been superb since joining the Thunder in the trading deadline, averaging 18.3 points and 11.0 rebounds in 23 games with Oklahoma City this season.
He was somewhat subdued in the game against the Pacers, though, scoring just 13 points and grabbing five boards. The Thunder will need more production from Kanter later tonight if they are to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Oklahoma City is 7-3 SU and 5-5 ATS in its last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Oklahoma City wins, 103-100.
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