The Portland Trail Blazers pay a visit to the Los Angeles Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night.
The Portland Trail Blazers have been in a rut as they’ve lost four of their past five games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight loss after getting blown out by the Thunder in a 98-81 road loss on Monday. CJ McCollum led the team with 21 points and seven assists, Norman Powell added 17 points while Jusuf Nurkic chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot just 42 percent from the field and seven of 38 from the 3-point line as they stormed out of the gates to an 18-point lead, but they couldn’t keep up the pace and scored just 34 points in the second half to lose big in the end. Anfernee Simons had a night to forget as he finished with just eight points on three of 16 shooting.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers have been in a real funk lately as they’ve lost eight of their past 11 games overall and they will be hoping to put an end to a three-game skid after falling short to the Hawks in a 129-121 road loss on Sunday. Malik Monk led the team in scoring with 33 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Anthony Davis added 27 points on 10 of 20 shooting while Russell Westbrook chipped in with 20 points and 12 assists. As a team, the Lakers shot 54 percent from the field and 15 of 35 from the 3-point line as they looked to be in control after leading by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, but they went ice-cold in the fourth quarter and got outscored by 38-20 to see the Hawks steal the game late.
Looking at the betting trends, the Trail Blazers are 8-18 ATS in their last 26 road games, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games with a losing record and 5-1 ATS in their last six games following a loss of more than 10 points. The Lakers are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games playing on two days’ rest and 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record.
Head to head, the under is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings in Los Angeles, the Trail Blazers are 5-11 ATS in the last 16 meetings overall and the Trail Blazers are 14-5 ATS in the last 19 meetings in Los Angeles.
The Trail Blazers have been struggling for consistency all season and their confidence took a major hit after getting blown out by the slumping Thunder in their last outing. The Lakers could really do with a win to get their season back on track, but the news is that LeBron James is listed as doubtful, so the Lakers could be shorthanded once again. The Trail Blazers are more than capable of getting the win on the road, but the Lakers need this win more and I think they can squeeze out a narrow win behind a big game from Davis in this spot.