Kings vs Trail Blazers Pick – NBA Predictions & Odds 2/23/23

The Portland Trail Blazers and the Sacramento Kings collide at the Golden 1 Center on Thursday night.

The Portland Trail Blazers have been in decent form as they’ve won five of their last nine games overall, but they will be hoping for a better performance in this one after getting thrashed by the Wizards in a 126-101 loss last Tuesday. Damian Lillard tried his best as he led the way with 39 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, Cameron Reddish added 18 points while Anfernee Simons chipped in with 17 points. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot just 41 percent from the field and 12 of 42 from the 3-point line as they kept pace with the Wizards in a close contest, until the third quarter where they leaked 38 points to get completely blown away in the end.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings have been in decent shape as they’ve won three of their last five games overall, but they will be eager to bounce back here after getting stopped by the Suns in a 120-109 road loss last Tuesday. De’Aaron Fox led the team with 35 points on 12 of 22 shooting, Domantas Sabonis added 24 points with 15 rebounds and seven assists while Kevin Huerter chipped in with 18 points. As a team, the Kings shot 44 percent from the field and 14 of 38 from the 3-point line as they stayed within striking distance, until the fourth quarter where the Suns closed the final 6:29 on a 17-11 run to slip away in the end.

Looking at the betting trends, the Trail Blazers are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 games following a loss of more than 10 points, 2-9 ATS in their last 11 road games and 1-4-1 ATS in their last six games overall. The Kings are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games against a team with a losing record and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall.

The Trail Blazers could be shorthanded again with Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic all on the injury report, while the Kings are just about at full strength for this one. The Trail Blazers really struggled heading into the All-Star break except for Damian Lillard who is coming in fresh off his win in the 3-point shooting contest, while the Kings were building a bit of momentum before getting stopped by the red-hot Suns in their last game. The Kings deservedly start as favorites in this one, but the Trail Blazers won the lone meeting earlier in the season and I think they can do it again.