Denver Nuggets vs Portland Blazers Prediction, 5/16/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Portland Blazers

Date: Sunday, May 16, 2021

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: NBC Sports Northwest

Moda Center is the venue where and the Portland Blazers (41-30) will take on the Denver Nuggets (47-24) on Sunday.

The Denver Nuggets took the court against the Detroit Pistons and notched a win by a score of 104-91 in their last contest. Denver ended the game with a 48.8% field goal percentage (42 of 86) and buried 9 out of their 32 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Nuggets made 11 of their 14 shots for a rate of 78.6%. Concerning pulling down rebounds, they collected 49 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 29 assists for the contest while forcing 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Concerning defending, Denver allowed their opponent to shoot 41.0% from the floor on 34 of 83 shooting. Detroit dished out 21 dimes and had 6 steals for the matchup. Additionally, Detroit snagged 41 boards (9 offensive, 32 defensive) and added 3 rejections. Detroit shot 73.9% at the charity stripe by burying 17 of 23 attempts. They also converted 6 out of their 37 shots from downtown.

Markus Howard is a player who was a factor in the matchup. He ended up scoring 20 points on 9 out of 14 shooting. He saw the court for 33:54 minutes and also pulled down 3 boards. Howard ended up going 64.3% from the floor and also distributed 2 assists. One more player that came through in this contest for the Nuggets was Nikola Jokic. He totaled 15 rebounds in 26:28 minutes on the basketball court. He finished 63.6% from the floor in this contest by shooting 7-of-11 (20 points). When this game wrapped up, Jokic had 11 assists.

Denver comes into this game with a record of 47-24 so far this season. They have an average of 115.0 points per outing (7th in the league) while going 48.5% from the field. The Nuggets are hitting 37.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (913 of 2,425) and 80.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Denver is snagging 44.6 rebounds per contest and has totaled 1,913 assists on the campaign, which is 2nd in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 13.6 times per contest and as a group are committing 19.1 fouls on a nightly basis. Defensively, the Nuggets are forcing their opponents into 14.1 turnovers every game while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. They are surrendering 36.2% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 9th in basketball in PPG allowed (109.8). The Nuggets defense is giving up a FG percentage of 46.8% (1,000 of 1,363) and they relinquish 41.1 boards per game as a squad. They are 28th in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,840 surrendered this season.

The last time they took the court, the Portland Blazers took a defeat with a final score of 118-117 against the Phoenix Suns. The Blazers earned 32 defensive rebounds and 1 offensive boards for a total of 33 for the contest. They also turned it over 13 times, while getting 7 steals in this matchup. The Suns committed 17 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Blazers to the free throw line for 18 attempts. They were able to bury 14 of the free throws for a percentage of 77.8%. With regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, Portland made 15 of 33 attempts (45.5%). When all was said and done, the Blazers finished the game shooting 44 out of 81 from the field which had them shooting 54.3%. The Blazers permitted the Suns to convert 41 of 88 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 46.6% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 40.6% from behind the 3-point line by going 13 out of 32 and ended up shooting 23 out of 26 from the charity stripe (88.5%). When it comes to cleaning up the glass, Portland allowed Phoenix to collect 42 in total (10 on the offensive side).

Damian Lillard was important for the Blazers for the game. He buried 16 out of 23 in the game for a field goal percentage of 69.6%, and accumulated 5 rebounds. Lillard had 41 points in his 42:56 minutes on the court and had 5 dimes in the matchup. One more player that was pivotal for Portland was CJ McCollum. He ended up finishing with 6 assists in 39:20 minutes on the court, and he shot 11 out of 19 from the floor. McCollum finished going 57.9% from the field in addition to earning 27 points and 1 rebound.

Portland has a win-loss mark of 41-30 this year. When it comes to offense, the Blazers are connecting on 45.2% from the floor, which ranks them 23rd in the NBA. Portland has accounted for 8,228 pts on the campaign (115.9 per game) and they grab 44.5 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 21.2 times per game (30th in the league) and they are turning it over 11.1 times per contest. The Blazers are committing 19.0 fouls every game and they hit 82.2% from the charity stripe. The Blazers on the defensive end are ranked 22nd in the NBA in PPG allowed with 114.3. They are able to force 12.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 47.4% from the floor (24th in the league). The Portland defense surrenders 37.2% on 3-point shots (914 of 2,457) and their opposition makes 78.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 25.0 assists and 45.5 rebounds per game, which is 16th and 21st in the league.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Portland

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here