Portland Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 12/28/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Portland Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Monday, December 28, 2020

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: NBATV

Odds/Point Spread: Portland (+4)

The Los Angeles Lakers (1-1) host the Portland Blazers (1-1) at STAPLES Center on Monday. The line on this game has Los Angeles as 4-point favorites. The O/U opens at 222.

The Portland Blazers took the court against the Houston Rockets and walked away with a win by a score of 128-126 in their last contest. Portland walked away from the contest with a 46.1% FG percentage (47 of 102) and made 19 of their 45 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Blazers knocked down 15 of their 23 attempts for a percentage of 65.2%. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they collected a total of 45 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 27 dimes for the contest while earning 10 steals and 6 blocks. With respect to the defense, Portland let their opponent shoot 51.1% from the floor on 45 out of 88 shooting. Houston dished out 27 assists and had 5 steals for this game. Additionally, the Rockets pulled down 42 rebounds (10 offensive, 32 defensive) and added 5 rejections. Houston finished the game at 78.1% from the free throw line by converting 25 of their 32 attempts. They made 11 of 35 tries from 3-point range.

CJ McCollum is someone who was a major contributor for the contest. He walked away with 44 points on 17 out of 30 shooting. He was on the court for 43:50 minutes and also snagged 3 rebounds. McCollum finished the contest at 56.7% from the field and also totaled 8 assists. Someone else that was a determining factor in the matchup for the Blazers was Damian Lillard. He collected 5 boards and accounted for 9 dimes. He ended up shooting 39.3% from the field in this matchup by shooting 11-of-28 (32 points). At the conclusion of this game, Lillard played for 41:21 min.

Portland steps onto the court with a mark of 1-1 for the campaign. The Blazers are connecting on 39.7% on shots beyond the perimeter (31 of 78) and 72.5% from the free throw line. They average 114.0 points per game (15th in basketball) while connecting on 43.3% from the field. They turn it over 10.0 times per contest and as a group they are committing 19.0 fouls every game. As a team, Portland is pulling in 42.5 boards per contest and has racked up 50 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 12th in the league in terms of passing the ball. On defense, the Blazers are forcing their opponents into 13.0 turnovers every game and they draw 19.0 fouls. They are giving up 35.3% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 26th in the NBA in PPG allowed (123.0). The Blazers defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 48.4% (26 of 38) and they surrender 50.5 boards per game as a squad. They currently rank 18th in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 51 conceded so far this year.

In their last game, the Los Angeles Lakers walked away with a victory by a final of 138-115 against the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers snagged 36 defensive boards and 17 offensive boards totaling 53 for the game. They also stuffed 4 tries while earning 9 steals for the game. The Mavericks were called for 22 personal fouls for the game which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 70.8%. When it comes to three-point attempts, Los Angeles made 19 out of 39 attempts (48.7%). When the final whistle blew, the Lakers went 51 for 91 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 56.0%. The Lakers permitted the Mavericks to convert 41 of their 83 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 49.4% for this game. They finished 40.6% from distance by shooting 13 out of 32 and finished the game at 20 out of 26 from the charity stripe (76.9%). With respect to how they rebounded, Los Angeles allowed Dallas to snag 27 in total (3 on the offensive side).

LeBron James ended up being a factor for the Lakers for this game. He converted 8 out of 18 for the game for a field goal rate of 44.4%, which gave him 22 points. James snagged 7 boards in his 31:24 mins of time on the court and totaled 10 dimes in the matchup. Another guy who was a determining factor for Los Angeles was Anthony Davis. He totaled 28 points in his 30:17 minutes on the hardwood via 10 of 16 from the floor in this game. Davis ended up shooting 62.5% from the floor while earning 5 assists and 8 boards.

Los Angeles has a win-loss record of 1-1 this year. The Lakers are responsible for committing 21.5 fouls per game and they go 74.5% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 27.5 times per game (7th in the league) and they are giving up possession 18.0 times per game. Los Angeles has scored 247 points for the year (123.5 per game) and they pull down 49.0 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Lakers are shooting 51.7% from the floor, which ranks 3rd in the league. The Lakers on the defensive side of the court are 17th in basketball in points given up per game with 115.5. They have given up 21.0 dimes and 33.5 total boards per game, which is 6th and 1st in basketball. The Los Angeles defense surrenders 37.5% on 3-point attempts (27 of 72) and their opposition makes 75.6% of their shots from the free throw line. They are forcing their opponents into 12.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.3% from the field (19th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Portland (+4)

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