Thunder vs. Blazers Prediction
Will the Oklahoma City Thunder pick up an upset win on the road in Game 1 of their NBA Playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers today at 3:30PM ET?
513 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. 514 Portland Trail Blazers
Sunday, April 14, 2019
3:30PM ET – Moda Center
TV: ABC
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Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers, the Blazers are favored at home today, as they are getting odds of -3.5 points against the Thunder. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 225 points. The public betting for the contest has 73 percent going on the Thunder on the road. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our NBA Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game.
Thunder on fire
Despite struggling late in the season, Oklahoma City closed the regular season on a five-game win streak while going 4-1 against the spread. The Thunder are the 6 seed in the West. OKC is 49-33 on the season, 22-19 on the road, 42-40 against the spread and 41-40-1 with the under.
Oklahoma City is putting up 114.5 points per game on offense this season while shooting 45.4 percent from the floor and 34.8 percent from the arc. Defensively, the Thunder are giving up 111.1 points per game while holding opponents to 46 percent shooting overall and 35.6 percent shooting from 3. Paul George is leading the team with 28 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while Russell Westbrook adds 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game.
Blazers winning, not covering
Portland has won five of its last six games this season to get to the third seed in the West. However, the Blazers are just 1-3 against the spread in their last four games. Portland is 53-29 overall, 32-9 at home, 45-36-1 against the spread and 43-37-2 with the over.
The Blazers are a strong offensive team, averaging 114.7 points per game while shooting 35.9 percent from the arc and 46.7 percent from the field. Defensively, Portland is giving up 110.5 points per game while opponents shoot 45.7 percent against them and 35.9 percent from the arc. The team lost center Jusuf Nurkic for the season a couple of weeks ago, which could have an impact over the playoffs. Damian Lillard is leading the team this year with 25.8 points and 6.9 assists per game while CJ McCollum is adding 21 points per contest.
NBA Betting Trends
Oklahoma City
The Thunder are just 8-21 against the spread in their last 29 Sunday games and 4-13 ATS in their last 17 conference games.
Portland
The Blazers are 10-1 against the spread in their last 11 games playing on 3 days or more of rest, but just 7-24-2 ATS in their last 33 conference quarterfinal games.
Prediction:
Oklahoma City won all four meetings with Portland this season, covering the spread in all four as well. Those games all had Nurkic in the lineup for Portland as well. With him gone, that should make things even harder for Portland. Steven Adams will have a big factor on the glass and on defense. Portland certainly has the shooting to compete in this series, but Oklahoma City looks to have finally found its stride again over the final two weeks. The Thunder are a contender when playing to their potential and I think this is a great matchup for them.
NBA Prediction: Oklahoma City Thunder +3.5