Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 5/29/2021

The Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers meet Saturday in game four of the NBA West Playoffs at the Moda Center.  

The Denver Nuggets look for another win to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Denver Nuggets are averaging 119 points on 50.2 percent shooting and allowing 115.7 points on 46.6 percent shooting. Nikola Jokic is averaging 36 points and 11.7 rebounds while Michael Porter Jr. is averaging 19.3 points and six rebounds. Aaron Gordon is the third double-digit scorer and Austin Rivers is grabbing three rebounds. The Denver Nuggets are shooting 42.2 percent from beyond the arc and 76.9 percent from the free throw line. The Denver Nuggets are allowing 41.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 42.7 rebounds per game.

The Portland Trail Blazers need a bounce back showing to even up the series at 2-2. The Portland Trail Blazers are averaging 115.7 points on 46.6 percent shooting and allowing 119 points on 50.2 percent shooting. Damian Lillard is averaging 37.7 points and 9.3 assists while CJ McCollum is averaging 21.3 points and seven rebounds. Norman Powell is the third double-digit scorer and Carmelo Anthony is grabbing 2.3 rebounds. The Portland Trail Blazers are shooting 41.5 percent from beyond the arc and 86.7 percent from the free throw line. The Portland Trail Blazers are allowing 42.2 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 41.3 rebounds per game.

The Nuggets are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 playoff games as an underdog and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games. The Trail Blazers are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The over is 4-0 in Nuggets last 4 overall. The over is 4-0 in Trail Blazers last 4 overall. The Nuggets are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings in Portland and 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings.

The Portland Trail Blazers need this game if they have any chance of winning this series, so I’d lean them if forced to pick a side. However, I’m leaning toward the over in game four. Neither team has shown much ability to play defense in this series and they’re both getting torched from deep. The over has also hit in four straight meetings between the Nuggets and Trail Blazers. This seems like a series where there’s going to be fireworks every game. Give me the over.