Portland Blazers vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 5/2/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Portland Blazers vs Boston Celtics

Date: Sunday, May 2, 2021

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

The Portland Blazers (34-28) head to TD Garden on Sunday where they'll take on the Boston Celtics (33-30).

The Portland Blazers stepped onto the hardwood against the Memphis Grizzlies and went home with a win by a final score of 130-109 in their last contest. Portland finished with a 48.9% FG percentage (45 of 92) and converted 15 of 40 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Blazers buried 25 of their 28 attempts for a percentage of 89.3%. Regarding hauling in boards, they collected 51 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 23 assists for this game as well as creating 11 turnovers and getting 7 steals. With regard to the defense, Portland allowed their opponent to shoot 42.0% from the field on 37 of 88 shooting. Memphis earned 26 dimes and had 7 steals for the matchup. Additionally, Memphis snagged 44 boards (8 offensive, 36 defensive) and had 6 blocked shots. Memphis ended up going 86.7% at the charity stripe by converting 26 of 30 tries. They also converted 9 out of their 32 attempts from distance.

CJ McCollum is a player who played a role in the game. He scored 26 points on 10 out of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 34:28 minutes played and totaled 4 rebounds. McCollum finished 66.7% from the floor and totaled 6 assists. One more player that was a major contributor in this game for the Blazers was Norman Powell. He snagged 5 rebounds in 36:37 minutes played. He went 57.1% from the floor for the matchup by connecting on 8-of-14 (24 points). Overall, Powell totaled 4 assists.

Portland heads into this game with a mark of 34-28 for the season. They average 114.9 pts per game (7th in the league) while shooting 44.7% from the floor. The Blazers are shooting 37.9% on shots from beyond the arc (976 of 2,572) and 82.5% from the free throw line. As a team, Portland is grabbing 44.4 rebounds per game and has racked up 1,289 assists this season, which has them ranked 30th in the league in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 11.3 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 19.1 fouls every game. Defensively, the Blazers have forced 12.6 turnovers per game while drawing 18.9 fouls. The Blazers are allowing a shooting percentage of 47.8% (783 of 1,170) and they concede 45.6 rebounds per game as a group. They are currently ranked 19th in the NBA in giving up assists with 1,567 surrendered this season. They are conceding 36.9% from beyond the arc and they are 25th in the NBA in opponents PPG (114.7).

In their last game, the Boston Celtics walked away with a victory by a final of 120-111 against the Charlotte Hornets. The Celtics pulled down 35 defensive boards and 19 offensive rebounds for a total of 54 in this contest. They turned the ball over 14 times, while getting 9 steals for this contest. The Hornets earned 18 personal fouls for the contest which took the Celtics to the charity stripe for a total of 22 shots. They were able to convert 17 of them for a rate of 77.3%. In relation to shots from downtown, Boston knocked down 15 of 40 tries (37.5%). When the final whistle was blown, the Celtics finished shooting 44 for 92 from the floor which had them shooting 47.8%. The Celtics allowed the Hornets to make 37 of 87 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 42.5% in the matchup. They shot 37.1% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 13 out of 35 and ended up shooting 24 out of 32 from the free throw line (75.0%). Regarding rebounds, Boston permitted Charlotte to pull down 33 in all (11 on the offensive glass).

Jaylen Brown ended up being a factor for the Celtics for the contest. He knocked down 13 out of 23 for the contest giving him a rate of 56.5%, and had 7 rebounds. Brown accumulated 38 points in his 36:48 mins of playing time and totaled 4 assists for the contest. One more player that was pivotal for Boston was Jayson Tatum. He finished with 8 dimes in his 40:41 mins on the court, and he knocked down 12 out of 23 from the floor. Tatum walked away from this one going 52.2% from the field and also contributing 35 points and 8 total rebounds.

Boston has a record of 33-30 this year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Celtics are connecting on 46.6% from the field, which is ranked 16th in basketball. Boston has tallied 7,061 points so far this year (112.1 per game) and they pull in 44.4 rebounds per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 23.2 times per game (24th in the league) and they lose possession via turnover 14.2 times per contest. The Celtics are responsible for committing 20.3 personal fouls per game and they connect on 77.7% from the free throw line. The Celtics on the defensive end are ranked 10th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 110.4. They are forcing 14.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.2% from the floor (11th in the league). The Boston defense surrenders 37.1% on 3-point shots (813 of 2,193) and their opponents are making 77.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 24.1 assists and 42.2 total rebounds per game, ranking them 8th and 6th in the NBA.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Boston

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