The surging Warriors will shoot for their fourth straight win tonight when they host the Trail Blazers at the ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. This evening’s game, which is scheduled for a 10:00pm ET tip off, will be broadcast live on ESPN. The latest NBA Odds have Golden State listed as a -5.5 against the spread home favorite; the game total is set at 196 points.
Perhaps no team in the league possesses a more Jekyll and Hyde nature than the Portland Trail Blazers. At home the Blazers are a formidable team, capable of beating the league’s best as evidenced by their 11-4 mark at the Rose Garden. On the road, though, Portland is a nightmare, capable of losing to any team outside of the Bobcats.
Right now, however, the Trail Blazers are just plain bad, regardless of location, as they have lost four of their last five games, including their last three at home. The lowly Wizards were the latest squad to rough up Portland, taking it to Nate McMillan’s troops 124-109 at the Rose Garden. Defensively the Blazers were abysmal, allowing Washington to hit 48-of-80 from the field and 9-of-17 from beyond the arc.
Portland’s main offensive threat, power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, finished with two points as he exited the game just two minutes in with an ankle injury. Gerald Wallace and Nicolas Batum combined for 58 points in the loss, but their efforts were not enough to keep pace with the Wizards.
Unfortunately for Portland it runs into a Golden State team that is just starting to hit its stride and it will do so without Aldridge, who did not travel with the team. The Warriors have won three straight and five of their last seven to improve to 11-14 and get within 5.5 games of the Pacific leading Clippers.
Golden State, which concludes a three game home stand tonight, last played on Monday when it downed the Suns 102-96. The back-court duo of Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis combined for 27 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists in the win, but it was forward David Lee that made the biggest contribution as he scored 28 points and 12 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season.
The Warriors, somewhat surprisingly, have dominated this series of late, winning the last four meetings and four of the last five at the ORACLE Arena. Their odds of making it five in a row seem favorable, especially without Aldridge in the Blazers lineup.
NBA Picks Betting Trends: Portland is 1-9 straight up and 3-7 against the spread in its last 10 as a road dog with a spread between 4 and 7.5 and total between 195 and 200. Golden State is 9-1 straight up and 7-3 against the spread in its last 10 games as a home favorite with a spread between 4 and 7.5 and a total between 195 and 200.
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Portland Trail Blazers vs Golden State Warriors 2012 NBA Picks: Provided by SBG Global
Portland Trail Blazers +5.5 (-110), Over 196 (-110), +200 (Moneyline)
Golden State Warriors -5.5 (-110), Under 196 (-110), -240 (Moneyline)
