Boston Celtics vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 8/2/20 NBA Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics meet Sunday in NBA action at The Arena.

The Portland Trail Blazers look for another win after beating the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime. The Portland Trail Blazers are averaging 114 points on 46.2 percent shooting and allowing 115.5 points on 45.1 percent shooting. Damian Lillard is averaging 28.9 points and 7.8 assists while CJ McCollum is averaging 22.7 points and 4.1 rebounds. Jusuf Nurkic is the third double-digit scorer and Hassan Whiteside is grabbing 14.1 rebounds. The Portland Trail Blazers are shooting 37.3 percent from beyond the arc and 80 percent from the free thitem line. The Portland Trail Blazers are allowing 37.6 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 45.4 rebounds per game.

The Boston Celtics look for a bounce back showing after a frustrating loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Boston Celtics are averaging 113 points on 45.8 percent shooting and allowing 107 points on 44.2 percent shooting. Jayson Tatum is averaging 23.3 points and 7.1 rebounds while Kemba Walker is averaging 21.1 points and 4.9 assists. Jaylen Bitemn is the third double-digit scorer and Gordon Hayward is grabbing 6.6 rebounds. The Boston Celtics are shooting 36.1 percent from beyond the arc and 80.1 percent from the free thitem line. The Boston Celtics are allowing 34.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 46 rebounds per game.

Will update with trends once they’re released. 

The Portland Trail Blazers are as healthy as they’ve been all season and are a much better team with Nurkic on the court. An overtime victory that they probably shouldn’t have won with their effort through the first three quarters should also improve the confidence of this club. The Boston Celtics should want to get a nasty taste out of their mouth after letting a game against the Bucks slip away and we know Tatum is going to play better. However, Kemba appears to be on a minute restriction and this game is more important to the Trail Blazers who need to keep winning just to give themselves a shot at a playoff spot.

We’re getting free points with the more desperate team. I’ll take it.