The Wizards are headed to Portland to play the Blazers for the second time in under a month. In their last meeting, Portland had the upper hand while on the road, but the Wizards have been dangerous lately. Taking down Denver and Detroit on the road, this team has some teeth. This should be a stellar matchup.
Marcus Smart Questionable
Corey Kispert Out
Malcolm Brogdon Out
Bilal Coulibaly Out
Saddiq Bey Out
Jabari Walker Out
Robert Williams III Ouut
Jerami Grant Out
Deandre Ayton Out
The Wizards have hit a mild hot streak late this year. They’ve picked up six wins in their last ten games. For a team with only 15 wins on the season, they’ve hit a new leaf. Obviously, this team still has their eyes set on a high draft pick in the Spring, but these players have begun to find interesting success.
Portland on the other hand, has gone through a rough patch, as their schedule hit one of the most challenging stretches of the season. Last night, they finally broke their losing streak with a late win over Toronto. Now, sitting in no man’s land in the draft and unlikely to sneak into a play-in spot, they’re beginning to shut down their veteran players. Anfernee Simons will likely be the only player with more than 5 years of NBA experience on the court. However, that’s not a bad thing for Portland. Their young core has been coming together nicely, with some massive performances out of Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija and Donovan Clingan.
This young core should perform well against the Wizards. The starting lineups pair nicely, with Portland having the advantage on defense, which could be critical. We know both groups can score, so defensive stops will be key in this game.
The Wizards can overwhelm Portland offensively. If Sarr has a game close to what he did in Denver on Saturday, Portland might be in trouble. The Wizards' main advantage tonight will be shooting. Middleton, Poole, Sarr, and George can all shoot the three-pointer well. If they spread Portland out and hit open threes, they could outpace Portland relatively easily.
Realistically, though, Portland should be able to keep up with the Wizards. With how Simons and Sharpe have been shooting, they’ll have the perimeter pressure to open up lanes tonight. This has allowed Henderson and Avdija to dominate while driving. We’ve seen back-to-back games where one of those two is putting up 30, which they’ve been doing primarily by attacking the basket and earning trips to the line. With that new weapon in Portland's arsenal, they should easily earn this win over Washington.
Money line: WAS (+185) / POR (-225)
Total Points: 231
Spread: +6 WAS (-112) / -6 POR (-108)
Even though this was a close game in Washington, playing in Portland puts this game firmly in the Blazer's control. Of course, with a young team like this, you never know what you’re going to get, but they’ve been solid lately. With the Wizards already deep in the tank, Portland should be able to run right over them. Even with the -225 odds, this line is a decent value, especially if you want to pair it with another game in a parlay.
The last game between these two teams had a final score of 250, so the 231 tonight looks decent. Both of these rosters have plenty of scoring, with Poole, Sarr, and Middleton playing tonight, the Wizards will have options all over the court. For Portland, they’re stacked on the starting lineup and on the bench with downhill players. The only worry about this line is that we have some terrible shooting tonight, as both teams rely heavily on the three ball dropping. Regardless, the over is the better bet.
This line will probably be the closest of the three main lines. The last time the teams met in Washington, Portland beat the Wizards by 8. With home-court advantage, a few injuries in Washington, and a better team, Portland should be able to win by more than 6.
Avdija has been fantastic in his last few games. In March, he averaged 21 points. However, he thrives against higher competition. In his last few games, he's had some modest performances against teams in the back end of the rankings. With his points total elevated to 20 for the over, this under is a solid bet.
Clingan has turned his rebounding to the next level. When he can avoid foul trouble he’s almost guaranteed to breach into the 10+ rebound mark. Going against a weakening Wizards team could lead to him getting a ton of boards on both sides of the ball!
Even though he’s 7ft, Sarr isn’t usually a beast on the boards. He’s had a few games where he can rack up rebounding totals in the teens, but those are the outliers. This 6.5 rebound line feels too low, though. With the number of jump shooters Portland has, there should be a solid number of rebounds Sarr will be in a position to grab.
Even though Poole isn’t exactly known for his defensive abilities, he still does come away with a fair number of steals a game. Averaging 1.5 steals a game on the season, the two-steal mark for this bet isn’t too bad. Especially going against Scoot Henderson, who can simply lose the ball at times.