Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers NBA Picks, Odds, Predictions 2/26/21

The Portland Trailblazers and the Los Angeles Lakers collide at the Staples Center on Friday night.

The Portland Trailblazers were one of the hottest teams in the league a week ago, but they’ve really cooled off lately as they will be hoping to snap a three-game skid after getting stopped by the Nuggets in a 111-106 road loss on Tuesday. Damian Lillard led the team with 25 points and 13 assists, Carmelo Anthony added 24 points off the bench, Derrick Jones Jr. and Gary Trent Jr. each scored 18 points while Enes Kanter chipped in with 16 points and 14 rebounds on seven of nine shooting. As a team, the Trailblazers shot 47 percent from the field and 14 of 40 from the 3-point line but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Nuggets who were led by a game-high 41 points from Nikola Jokic.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers have been in their first slump of the season as they’ve lost five of their last six games and they will be hoping to snap a four-game skid after getting routed by the red-hot Jazz in a 114-89 road loss on Wednesday. LeBron James led the team in scoring with 10 points on seven of 13 shooting, Montrezl Harrell added 16 points off the bench while Markieff Morris chipped in with 12 points, but no other player scored more than eight points. As a team, the Lakers shot just 40 percent from the field and eight of 33 from the 3-point line as they allowed 39 points in the second quarter to fall behind by double-digits early, before scoring just 17 points in the third quarter where they fell behind by as many as 29 points.

Looking at the betting trends, the Trailblazers are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games, 6-1 ATS in their last seven games as an underdog and 7-2 ATS in their last nine games overall. The Lakers are 1-6 ATS in their last seven home games, 2-6 ATS in their last eight games following a loss of more than 10 points and 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall.

Head to head, the under is 11-3 in the last 14 meetings in Los Angeles and the Trailblazers are 22-8 ATS in the last 30 meetings in Los Angeles.

The Trailblazers were one of the hottest teams in the league before dropping their last three games, but they will be well-rested as they haven’t played since Tuesday and they’re always a chance with Lillard leading the way. The Lakers have gone ice-cold since Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder went down and they must still be scratching their heads after suffering their worst loss of the season to the red-hot Jazz on Wednesday. You could make an argument for either side here, but the Trailblazers are 22-8 ATS in the last 30 meetings in LA and I think they’ll be good enough to take advantage of the Lakers while they’re vulnerable.