Portland Blazers vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 5/22/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Portland Blazers vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Saturday, May 22, 2021

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Portland (+1)

The Denver Nuggets (47-25) play the Portland Blazers (42-30) at Ball Arena on Saturday in Game 1 of their series. Portland opens this matchup as 1-point underdogs. The over/under opens at 227.5.

The Blazers faced off with the Nuggets and took home the win by a score of 132-116 in their last game. Portland finished with a 52.9% field goal percentage (46 out of 87) and made 18 out of their 43 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Blazers buried 22 of their 26 tries for a rate of 84.6%. Regarding grabbing boards, they earned 51 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 24 assists for this contest while forcing the other team into 6 turnovers and having 3 steals. When discussing defense, Portland let their opponent shoot 44.9% from the floor on 44 out of 98 shooting. Denver doled out 20 dimes and had 8 steals for this contest. Moreover, Denver collected 36 rebounds (10 offensive, 26 defensive) and got 6 blocks. Denver finished the contest at 93.3% at the charity stripe by converting 14 of 15 attempts. They converted 14 out of their 37 shots from distance.

CJ McCollum is someone who was a contributor for the contest. He totaled 24 points on 9 of 17 shooting. He played 31:06 minutes played and also totaled 2 rebounds. McCollum walked away from this one shooting 52.9% from the floor and recorded 5 dimes. Someone else that came through in this contest for the Blazers was Damian Lillard. He pulled down 3 rebounds in his 31:13 minutes on the court. He shot 53.8% from the floor for the contest by connecting on 7-of-13 (22 points). When the final whistle blew, Lillard had 10 assists.

Portland heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 42-30 on the year. They average 116.1 points per outing (5th in the league) while connecting on 45.3% from the floor. The Blazers are hitting 38.5% on 3-pointers (1,132 of 2,939) and 82.3% from the free throw line. As a team, Portland is pulling down 44.5 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 1,531 assists so far this year, which ranks 30th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 11.1 times per contest and as a team are committing 18.9 personal fouls on a nightly basis. When they are on the defensive end, the Blazers are forcing 12.4 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.1 personal fouls. They currently rank 16th in basketball in allowing assists with 1,794 surrendered on the campaign. The Blazers defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 47.3% (892 of 1,374) and they concede 45.4 boards per game as a team. They concede 37.2% on 3-point attempts and they rank 23rd in the NBA in PPG allowed (114.3).

In their loss to the Blazers, the Nuggets were able to pull down 26 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 36 for the game. They turned it over 6 times, while earning 8 steals for this game. The Blazers were called for 16 personal fouls for this game which got the Nuggets to the charity stripe for 15 tries. They were able to convert 14 of them for a percentage of 93.3%. In reference to shooting from beyond the arc, Denver knocked down 14 of 37 tries (37.8%). Overall, the Nuggets ended up going 44 for 98 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.9%. The Nuggets allowed the Blazers to knock down 46 of their 87 attempts from the field which had them shooting 52.9% for the game. They finished 41.9% from three-point range via 18 of 43 and walked away from this one shooting 22 of 26 at the free throw line (84.6%). When discussing cleaning the glass, Denver permitted Portland to get 51 overall (11 offensive).

Nikola Jokic ended up having an impact for the Nuggets in the matchup. He made 9 of 17 for the matchup for a rate of 52.9%, and added 3 rebounds. Jokic scored 21 points in his 16:41 mins of playing time and had 2 assists in the matchup. One more player that ended up playing a role for Denver was Michael Porter Jr.. He came away with no assists in his 15:13 mins on the court, and he shot 3 out of 8 from the floor. Porter wrapped this one up going 37.5% from the floor as well as notching 9 points and 3 total rebounds.

Denver has a win-loss record of 47-25 so far this season. Denver has accumulated 8,284 pts on the campaign (115.1 per game) and they grab 44.4 boards per game. The Nuggets are committing 19.1 personal fouls every game and they connect on 80.3% from the free throw line. When it comes to offensive execution, the Nuggets are shooting 48.5% from the field, which has them ranked 4th in the league. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 26.8 times per game (5th in the NBA) and they turn it over 13.5 times per contest. The Nuggets defensively are ranked 8th in the NBA in points per game surrendered with 110.1. They give up 25.9 assists and 41.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 24th and 2nd in the NBA. The Denver defense concedes 36.3% on shots from distance (934 of 2,570) and opponents are connecting on 77.3% of their foul shots. They are forcing 14.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 46.9% from the floor (18th in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Portland (+1)

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