Thunder vs. Trail Blazers Prediction
Fresh off their win over the Lakers, will the OKC Thunder produce a small upset of the Portland Trail Blazers Friday night when the two teams square off at 10:30 p.m. ET? As of this writing, the Blazers are currently 1-point favorites.
Game Snapshot
543 Oklahoma City Thunder at 544 Portland Trail Blazers
10:30 p.m. ET, January 4, 2019
Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Our NBA Live Odds page pulls spreads and totals from multiple different online sportsbooks so you can compare betting odds to ensure you’re getting the best line.
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sportsbook BetNow.eu, the Trail Blazers are 1-point favorites to beat the Thunder. The total, meanwhile, sits at 223.5 points and as of this writing, 61% of the public betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Trail Blazers to cover the point spread.
Oklahoma City Thunder Fantasy Spin
Russell Westbrook triple-doubled again on Wednesday with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, despite shooting 3-of-20 from the field and 7-of-10 from the line. Westbrook also picked up his 12th technical foul of the season. When he hits 16 techs he’ll be assessed a mandatory one-game suspension. He’s now one tech ahead of Andre Drummond (11) in this dubious category. Scoring, rebounds, assists and steals are rarely a concern for Westbrook, but his fantasy value is damaged in leagues that count efficiency — he’s shooting 42.6% from the field, 62.1% from the line and committing 4.6 turnovers per game.
Portland Trail Blazers Fantasy Spin
Jusuf Nurkic got hot early and carried it into overtime, finishing with 24 points, 23 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and five blocks, and hit 5-of-10 shots and 14-of-16 free throws on his way to one of the fantasy lines of the year. He racked up 88.1 FanDuel points tonight, the rebounds and steals tied his career highs, and he absolutely owned Willie Cauley-Stein and company tonight with a rare 5×5 line. Nurkic has been killing it for the Blazers of late and gained some more confidence tonight, averaging 18.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocks over his last five. He’s shooting 52 percent over that stretch and nearly 80 percent from the free throw line, and we don’t know what else to say about how he’s playing right now. This was the ultimate Nurk Alert, and if there was ever a sell-high moment, this is it. And note to self – start centers against the Kings.
NBA Betting Trends
Oklahoma City
The under is 20-8 in the Thunder’s last 28 road games.
Portland
The under is 4-1 in the Trail Blazers’ last five games overall and is 11-1 in their last 12 games versus Northwest opponents.
Prediction
The Thunder are winless at the betting window in their last six games versus the Blazers and are 0-4 ATS in their last four games in Portland. The home team in this series has also covered in nine of the last 13 meetings between these two teams while the Trail Blazers are 29-13 against the number in their last 42 home games.
Friday NBA Prediction: Portland Trail Blazers -1