Denver Nuggets vs Portland Blazers Prediction, 5/27/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Portland Blazers

Date: Thursday, May 27, 2021

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: NBC Sports Northwest

Odds/Point Spread: Denver (+4)

Moda Center is the venue where and the Portland Blazers (42-30) will take on the Denver Nuggets (47-25) on Thursday in Game 3 of their series. The series is tied 1-1. The line on this matchup has Portland as 4-point favorites. The total has been set at 227.5.

The Nuggets notched a win by a score of 128-109 in Game 2. Denver wrapped up the game having earned a 53.5% field goal percentage (46 out of 86) and buried 12 out of their 28 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Nuggets buried 24 of their 30 attempts for a percentage of 80.0%. When discussing rebounding, they earned 35 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 29 assists in this contest while forcing the other team into 21 turnovers and getting 12 steals. When talking about defense, Denver let their opponent shoot 47.9% from the floor on 35 out of 73 shooting. Portland dished out 15 assists and had 3 steals for the game. On top of that, Portland totaled 40 boards (10 offensive, 30 defensive) and had 3 blocked shots. Portland shot 82.1% from the free throw line by making 23 of 28 shots. They made 16 of 33 attempts from downtown.

Nikola Jokic is one guy who was a contributor for the game. He ended up walking away with 38 points on 15 of 20 shooting. He was on the court for 31:18 mins and collected 8 rebounds. Jokic walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the field and distributed 5 dimes. Someone else that was a determining factor in the game for the Nuggets was Michael Porter Jr.. He grabbed 4 rebounds in 32:48 min played. He finished the contest at 38.5% from the field in the game by going 5-of-13 (18 points). When all was said and done, Porter had 1 assist.

Denver will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 47-25 this season. The Nuggets are hitting 37.7% on 3-point shots (927 of 2,462) and 80.3% from the free throw line. They average 115.1 points per game (8th in the league) while hitting 48.5% from the field. They cough up possession 13.5 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 19.1 personal fouls per game. As a team, Denver is collecting 44.4 boards per game and is sitting with 1,933 assists on the season, which is 5th in basketball in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Nuggets are able to force 14.1 turnovers every game while drawing 19.2 personal fouls. They rank 24th in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 1,864 surrendered on the season. The Nuggets defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 46.9% (1,014 of 1,379) and they relinquish 41.2 boards per game as a group. They are giving up 36.3% from 3-point land while they are 8th in the league in opponents points per game (110.1).

In their Game 2 loss, the Blazers were able to corral 30 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 40 for this game. They also turned it over 21 times, while getting 3 steals for the matchup. The Nuggets were called for 25 personal fouls for this game which took the Blazers to the charity stripe for a total of 28 tries. They were able to knock down 23 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 82.1%. In regard to 3-point shots, Portland buried 16 of their 33 attempts (48.5%). When all was said and done, the Blazers went 35 out of 73 from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.9%. The Blazers permitted the Nuggets to bury 46 of their 86 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 53.5% in this contest. They went 42.9% from distance by going 12 of 28 and walked away from this one shooting 24 out of 30 at the free throw line (80.0%). In the matter of how they rebounded, Portland permitted Denver to snag 35 in all (10 on the offensive glass).

Damian Lillard was important for the Blazers for the game. He buried 11 out of 24 in this game giving him a rate of 45.8%, and had 4 rebounds. Lillard had 42 points in his 42:23 mins on the hardwood and added 10 assists for the contest. An additional guy that played a role for Portland was CJ McCollum. He ended up walking away with 2 assists in his 38:06 minutes played, and he shot 9 out of 12 from the floor. McCollum finished going 75.0% from the floor in addition to totaling 21 points and 6 boards.

Portland has a win-loss record of 42-30 on the campaign. The Blazers are committing 18.9 personal fouls per contest and they go 82.3% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 21.3 times per contest (30th in the NBA) and they turn the ball over 11.1 times per contest. Portland has scored 8,360 points for the season (116.1 per game) and they collect 44.5 rebounds per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Blazers are connecting on 45.3% from the field, which has them ranked 23rd in the league. The Blazers are ranked 23rd in basketball in points given up per game with 114.3. They have given up 24.9 assists and 45.4 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 16th and 21st in basketball. The Portland defense surrenders 37.2% on shots from beyond the arc (928 of 2,494) and their opponents are knocking down 78.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They have forced 12.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 47.3% from the floor (25th in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Denver (+4)

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