Charlotte at Portland
Time: 10 PM ET
Line: POR -12
Total: 200
Odds courtesy of Bovada
The Portland Trail Blazers are 25-7 on the season and are starting to join the talk of real contenders in the Western Conference. The Blazers knocked off Oklahoma City 98-94 on Tuesday night, and All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 14 rebounds.
The Blazers rank 1st in the Association in scoring (108.3 points per game), and the squad is much improved defensively with Robin Lopez starting at the 5-spot instead of J.J. Hickson like a season ago. Tonight the squad will take on the Charlotte Bobcats in a game NBA oddsmakers at Bovada favor the Blazers by 12-points.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard has an outside shot at being an All-Star in his second season. Thus far, he is averaging 21.3 points and 5.9 assists per game, while shooting guard Wes Matthews chips in an additional 16.6 points per game.
The Blazers, if it lacks anything, are not a team replete with depth and the team’s reserve bigs are inexperienced and subpar (Meyers Leonard, Joel Freeland and Thomas Robinson). While the Blazers are off to a hot start, the lack of depth and still rather porous defense may spell its downfall.
Charlotte fell 112-85 to the Los Angeles Clippers last night and the team is 14-19 on the season, which is still good for the sixth best record in the East. The Bobcats are a strong defensive team but still lack scoring punch, and 2012 No. 2 overall draft pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist isn’t proving much of a scoring presence and has made small, incremental strides. He’s out four to six weeks with a broken hand.
The Bobcats are still a team desperately lacking a superstar, and Kemba Walker has assumed the No. 1 option role each of the past two seasons. The second-year guard from UConn is averaging 18.5 points per game and he also leads the team in minutes per game (35.6).
CHARLOTTE TRENDS: 5-0 ATS in last 5 following an SU loss of more than 10 points; 11-1-1 ATS in last 13 on road; 7-1 ATS in last 8 vs teams with winning home records.
PORTLAND TRENDS: OVER 8-0 in last 8 following an ATS win; OVER 4-0 in last 4 playing on 1 days rest; OVER 3-0-1 in last 4 Thurs games.
Head-to-head: Bobcats 0-5 ATS in last 5 in Portland; Bobcats 1-7 ATS in last 8 meetings; UNDER 5-1 in last 6 meetings in Portland.
