Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 2/23/21
2021-02-23 22:00:00 EDT
The Portland Trailblazers and the Denver Nuggets duke it out at the Ball Arena on Tuesday night.
The Portland Trailblazers have been in good form lately as they’ve won eight of their past 11 games, but they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after last night’s 132-100 road loss to the Suns. Damian Lillard led the team with 24 points and seven assists, Nassir Little added 18 points off the bench while Carmelo Anthony scored just 10 points. As a team, the Trailblazers shot just 44 percent from the field and 12 of 39 from the 3-point line as they struggled to get going in the first half, before getting blown out in the third quarter by 37-17 to fall behind by as many as 37 points. Gary Trent Jr. had a night to forget as he scored just 11 points four of 18 shooting from the field.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets have been in a bit of a rut lately as they’ve lost three of their last four games and they will be hoping to bounce back after falling to the Hawks in a 123-115 road loss on Sunday. Jamal Murray led the team with 30 points on 11 of 20 shooting, Frank Campazzo added 16 points off the bench while Will Barton and Nikola Jokic each scored 15 points. As a team, the Nuggets shot 51 percent from the field and 16 of 36 from the 3-point line as they got off to a nice start with 33 points in the first quarter, before getting outscored by 66-43 in the second and third quarters combined as the Hawks’ Trae Young killed them in pick and roll situations.
Looking at the betting trends, the Trailblazers are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games, 5-0 ATS in their last five games as an underdog and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games overall. The Nuggets are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games as a favorite and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Head to head, the over is 11-4 in the last 15 meetings overall and the Trailblazers are 5-12-1 ATS in the last 18 meetings overall.
The Trailblazers were playing some of their best basketball of the season before dropping their last two games and they will still be licking their wounds after last night’s beating at the hands of the Suns. The Nuggets have cooled off lately are a hot stretch and they will be keen to bounce back from their loss to the Hawks on Sunday. The Trailblazers are just 5-12-1 ATS in the last 18 meetings overall and they are playing on zero days’ rest, so I’m taking the healthier Nuggets team to take advantage here in a much-needed win.
