The Trail Blazers are now up 2-0 against Westbrook and co., and the Thunder are more than happy to be returning to the comforts of Oklahoma after suffering a 20 point loss on Wednesday night. Bettor activity after that game shifted NBA Futures quite a bit. Going into Wednesday’s game, each was listed at +3000 to win the Western Conference, but as we enter Friday’s meeting, Portland is priced much better, at +1800 to take the Division, while Oklahoma City slipped down to +4000. But don’t count the Thunder out yet as they are sure to bring it to Chesapeake Energy Arena.
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Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City
When: Friday, April 19, 2019, 9:30 PM ET
Line: Portland Trail Blazers (odds) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (odds) – view all NBA lines
Series: 2-0 (in favor of Portland)
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers (53-29 Regular Season)
The Trail Blazers’ guards painted the town red in Portland on Wednesday night. CJ McCollum went off with 33 points in 36 minutes against the Thunder, while his buddy Damian Lillard dropped in 29 points, collectively accounting for 54% of their team’s points. Typically not spreading the offensive wealth works against a team, but not in this case, with the Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts more than happy to take the win. As a team, Portland went 46.7% from the field and 40.6% from 3-point range while giving up for less turnovers (12) than their opponent. Heading into OKC territory this Friday, Stotts will want to encourage more involvement from the other starters and the bench.
Portland is second best in the league when it comes to covering after a win, doing so 56.6% of the time. They are also third best in the NBA this season against the spread (ATS) with 47-36-1 ATS record, delivering the exact same percentage as when they play after a win. This will make for an interesting Good Friday.
Betting on the Oklahoma City Thunder (49-33 Regular Season)
Thunder guards didn’t play quite as well as their opponents’ on Wednesday. While Russel Westbrook almost nabbed another triple double, with 9 rebounds, 11 assists, and 14 points, the latter wasn’t enough to get his team over the hump after giving up their 31-26 lead at the end of the third quarter. Portland took over after that and didn’t look back. OKC guard Terrance Ferguson was a non-factor with just 7 points and 3 rebounds. Paul George did his thing of course, with 27 points on 41 minutes, and center Steven Adams managed 16 points on the night.
The biggest shortcoming for the Thunder was found beyond the arc, where as a team they shot just 17.9% which is simply not acceptable in NBA basketball over the last five years or so. While OKC is ranked 23rd in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (34.4%) and are 28.7% in their last three games, last night’s figure is laughable. They will have to find their points from deeper within and in the paint in Game 3.
OKC is just 14-20 ATS after a loss, covering only 41.2% of the time. On the season as a whole, the Thunder are 42-42 ATS.
Writer’s Prediction
While the numbers don’t like them, sheer will, will work in OKC’s favor as they take a win at home, 99-92.
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