By: LT Profits Sports Group
NBA Pick: Blazers +1½ (-102) ---
The Portland Trail Blazers have won three straight games and they are now going up against the worst defense in the NBA in Phoenix. The Suns are heading in the other direction with three straight losses so take Portland on Wednesday.
Two teams heading in opposite directions square off in the desert Wednesday night when the hot Portland Trail Blazers (5-5, 2-2 away) pay a visit to the cold Phoenix Suns (4-7, 3-3 home) at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ at 9:05 ET.
The point spread at Pinnacle Sports has Portland as a tiny underdog for this contest with acurrent line of +1½ at odd of -102.
The Blazers got off to a hot start this season that saw rookie point guard Damian Lillard become just the second rookie ever to average over 20 points and seven assists in his first three NBA games with the other one being Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.
However, Portland then slumped to 2-5 following a four-game losing streak with three of those losses uncharacteristically coming at home. The Blazers have regrouped nicely however by winning their last three games to even their record, and Lillard still leads all rookies with 19.0 points and 6.1 assists per game.
The steak began with a road win at Sacramento and was followed up by home wins over the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls, and the Blazers averaged 108.0 points in the three wins with the smallest output being 102 points. That leaves Portland seventh in the NBA in scoring at 100.4 per game overall and the Blazers rank sixth in three-point shooting at 38.5 percent.
The best thing about the Portland offense has been a balanced attack that has seen all five starters averaging double-digits, and that includes center J.J. Hickson, a defensive specialist and rebounding machine whose 10.3 points per game can be seen as a bonus.
Besides Lillard running the point and shooting guard Wesley Matthews adding 16,4 points per contest, the Blazers are getting over 40 points per game from their starting frontcourt of LaMarcus Aldridge (21.1) and Nicolas Batum (20.8). Portland is a matchup nightmare for even the best of defenses, and the Blazers are now going up against the worst defense in the NBA in terms of points allowed.
The 4-7 Suns have lost three straight games with the latest defeat coming to LeBron James and the Miami Heat on Saturday, and the Suns have lost two straight home games to fall to just 3-3 here in Phoenix. Not only are the Suns surrendering an ungodly 104.3 points per game, but they also rank dead last in three-point defense at a hideous 43.2 percent and they rank 28th out of 30 NBA teams in field goal percentage allowed overall at 47.8 percent.
That makes for a nightmarish matchup vs. an excellent three-point shooting team like Portland as the Suns try to avoid a three-game home losing streak, which believe or not would match their longest losing streak in Arizona in the lest eight years. Then again, that was mostly with one of the best point guards ever in Steve Nash there to help compensate for the team’s defensive deficiencies.
Look for each team to continue on its current path with Phoenix losing its fourth straight game and Portland winning its fourth straight as a tiny underdog on Wednesday.
The point spread at Pinnacle Sports has Portland as a tiny underdog for this contest with acurrent line of +1½ at odd of -102.
The Blazers got off to a hot start this season that saw rookie point guard Damian Lillard become just the second rookie ever to average over 20 points and seven assists in his first three NBA games with the other one being Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.However, Portland then slumped to 2-5 following a four-game losing streak with three of those losses uncharacteristically coming at home. The Blazers have regrouped nicely however by winning their last three games to even their record, and Lillard still leads all rookies with 19.0 points and 6.1 assists per game.
The steak began with a road win at Sacramento and was followed up by home wins over the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls, and the Blazers averaged 108.0 points in the three wins with the smallest output being 102 points. That leaves Portland seventh in the NBA in scoring at 100.4 per game overall and the Blazers rank sixth in three-point shooting at 38.5 percent.
The best thing about the Portland offense has been a balanced attack that has seen all five starters averaging double-digits, and that includes center J.J. Hickson, a defensive specialist and rebounding machine whose 10.3 points per game can be seen as a bonus.
Besides Lillard running the point and shooting guard Wesley Matthews adding 16,4 points per contest, the Blazers are getting over 40 points per game from their starting frontcourt of LaMarcus Aldridge (21.1) and Nicolas Batum (20.8). Portland is a matchup nightmare for even the best of defenses, and the Blazers are now going up against the worst defense in the NBA in terms of points allowed.
The 4-7 Suns have lost three straight games with the latest defeat coming to LeBron James and the Miami Heat on Saturday, and the Suns have lost two straight home games to fall to just 3-3 here in Phoenix. Not only are the Suns surrendering an ungodly 104.3 points per game, but they also rank dead last in three-point defense at a hideous 43.2 percent and they rank 28th out of 30 NBA teams in field goal percentage allowed overall at 47.8 percent.
That makes for a nightmarish matchup vs. an excellent three-point shooting team like Portland as the Suns try to avoid a three-game home losing streak, which believe or not would match their longest losing streak in Arizona in the lest eight years. Then again, that was mostly with one of the best point guards ever in Steve Nash there to help compensate for the team’s defensive deficiencies.
Look for each team to continue on its current path with Phoenix losing its fourth straight game and Portland winning its fourth straight as a tiny underdog on Wednesday.
NBA Pick: Blazers +1½ (-102) ---
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