Oklahoma City Thunder vs Portland Blazers Prediction, 1/25/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Portland Blazers

Date: Monday, January 25, 2021

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: NBC Sports Northwest

Odds/Point Spread: Oklahoma City (+6.5)

The Oklahoma City Thunder (6-8) go to Moda Center on Monday where they'll meet the Portland Blazers (8-6). Oklahoma City opens this matchup as 6.5-point underdogs. The O/U opens at 222.

The Oklahoma City Thunder faced off with the Los Angeles Clippers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 120-106 in their last game. Oklahoma City walked away from the game having earned a 47.1% field goal percentage (41 out of 87) and knocked down 14 out of their 42 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Thunder converted 10 of their 13 tries for a percentage of 76.9%. Concerning rebounding, they compiled 29 with 4 of them being offensive. They also doled out 24 assists in the game as well as getting 8 steals and 2 rejections. In the matter of defense, Oklahoma City allowed 51.2% from the field on 43 out of 84 shooting. Los Angeles distributed 21 assists and had 8 steals for this game. On top of that, the Clippers pulled down 48 rebounds (9 offensive, 39 defensive) and had 7 rejections. Los Angeles walked away from this one shooting 96.0% at the charity stripe by converting 24 of their 25 attempts. They also buried 10 out of their 33 tries from three-point range.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one guy who was a major contributor for the game. He accounted for 30 points on 11 out of 20 shooting. He played 38:37 minutes and pulled down 3 rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander went 55.0% from the field and distributed 8 assists. One more player that played a role in the matchup for the Thunder was Luguentz Dort. He snagged 3 rebounds and also accounted for 2 assists. He ended up going 53.8% from the floor for the matchup by going 7-of-13 (19 points). At the conclusion of this game, Dort was on the court for 31:55 min.

Oklahoma City comes into this matchup with a win-loss record of 6-8 for the season. The Thunder are connecting on 33.0% on shots from distance (182 of 551) and 72.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 105.6 points per contest (27th in the NBA) while connecting on 44.8% from the field. They lose possession via turnover 14.8 times per game and as a team are committing 19.0 fouls per game. As a team, Oklahoma City is collecting 43.6 boards per game and has racked up 313 assists on the year, which has them ranked 28th in the league in terms of passing the ball. On the defensive end of the court, the Thunder are able to force 12.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.6 personal fouls. They rank 8th in basketball in allowing assists with 351 surrendered so far this season. The Thunder defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 46.3% (179 of 275) and they concede 49.9 rebounds per contest as a unit. They give up 35.2% on 3-point shots and they rank 22nd in the NBA in points per game allowed (113.1).

In their last game, the Portland Blazers went home defeated by a final of 125-104 when they faced the San Antonio Spurs. The Blazers earned 26 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards for a total of 34 for the matchup. They blocked 6 attempts while recording 9 steals in this contest. The Spurs had 17 personal fouls for this contest which got the Blazers to the charity stripe for a total of 19 tries. They were able to knock down 16 of the free throws for a percentage of 84.2%. When discussing shots from beyond the arc, Portland made 10 of their 35 attempts (28.6%). When all was said and done, the Blazers walked away from this one shooting 39 out of 90 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.3%. The Blazers allowed the Spurs to make 48 of their 90 tries from the field which had them shooting 53.3% in the game. They finished 45.5% from beyond the arc by going 15 out of 33 and ended up shooting 14 out of 16 from the free throw line (87.5%). When talking about team rebounding, Portland allowed San Antonio to collect 48 in all (12 on the offensive side).

Damian Lillard ended up being a factor for the Blazers in the game. He made 10 out of 23 in the game for a rate of 43.5%, which gave him 35 points. Lillard snagged 3 rebounds in his 35:35 minutes of time on the court and had 6 dimes in the game. Another guy that was important for Portland was Rodney Hood. He scored 21 points in his 25:25 mins played by way of 9 of 14 shooting for this contest. Hood walked away from this one going 64.3% from the floor and also contributing 2 assists and 2 total rebounds.

Portland has a win-loss mark of 8-6 this year. When it comes to offense, the Blazers are shooting 43.8% from the field, which has them ranked 27th in the NBA. Portland has scored 1,608 pts for the season (114.9 per game) and they average 43.9 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 21.7 times per game (28th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 11.8 times per game. The Blazers are responsible for committing 20.4 fouls per game while shooting 81.0% from the charity stripe. The Blazers are ranked 26th in the league in points per game surrendered with 115.9. They allow 25.9 assists and 47.4 boards every game, which is 24th and 27th in the league. The Portland defense allows 36.1% on 3-point shots (184 of 509) and their opponents are converting on 79.7% of their foul shots. They are forcing 14.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 47.0% from the floor (23rd in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Portland (-6.5)

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