The Portland Trail Blazers won 50 games last season straight up and they were a profitable team against the NBA betting point spread as well. Making an NBA bet on Portland this season at Sbg global will likely be popular on the Blazers when they are at home but not so much when they are on the road.
Last Year’s Record 50-32 SU, 44-36-2 ATS
The Blazers had a solid season a year ago but did nothing in the playoffs as they were beaten by the Phoenix Suns. Portland was hurt by injuries last season but that seems to be the story every year for the Blazers. Portland is normally a very strong team at home but a team that can struggle a bit on the road.
Projected Starting Lineup
Guard – Brandon Roy
Guard – Andre Miller
Center – Marcus Camby
Forward – Nicolas Batum
Forward – LaMarcus Aldridge
Prediction
The Blazers still don’t have centers Greg Oden and Joel Pryzbilla healthy but both should return sometime this season. The Blazers made a boneheaded draft day move taking Oden over Kevin Durant and they will never live that one down. Portland would like to get something out of Oden this season but getting him to stay on the court without getting hurt has been next to impossible. The Blazers do have a solid team though even without a strong center. Brandon Roy is one of the best players in the game and Portland has other players who can score. LaMarcus Aldridge is very good forward and Andre Miller can still score. The Blazers made a nice addition in the off-season as they picked up Wesley Matthews but they lost Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw. Portland has a solid but not spectacular starting five. They do not have a lot of inside scoring and that means they are not a serious contender to win the title in the Western Conference. They will likely still make the playoffs though and they are worth an NBA bet at times. For Portland to take the next step they need Oden to become a force and they need to have a little bit more depth on their bench. It doesn’t seem likely that either of those things will happen so the Blazers could take small step back in NBA betting although they should still make the playoffs.