Portland Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 2/26/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Portland Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Friday, February 26, 2021

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Portland (+4.5)

The Portland Blazers (18-13) go to STAPLES Center on Friday where they'll take on the Los Angeles Lakers (22-10). The odds on this matchup have Los Angeles as 4.5-point favorites. The over/under is set at 220.5.

The Portland Blazers took the court against the Denver Nuggets and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 111-106 in their last game. Portland wrapped up the game with a 47.1% FG percentage (41 out of 87) and buried 14 out of their 41 shots from distance. From the charity stripe, the Blazers buried 10 of 10 tries for a percentage of 100.0%. When talking about pulling down boards, they earned 47 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 21 assists in this matchup while forcing 1 turnovers and getting 0 steals. Pertaining to the defense, Portland allowed the other team to shoot 42.6% from the floor on 40 out of 94 shooting. Denver dished out 25 assists and had 8 steals for this game. On top of that, Denver totaled 40 rebounds (10 offensive, 30 defensive) and got 3 blocked shots. Denver went 94.4% at the charity stripe by making 17 of their 18 shots. They also made 14 of 36 attempts from distance.

Damian Lillard is one player who was a major factor in the matchup. He had 25 points on 9 of 21 shooting. He played 34:57 minutes played and also collected 7 rebounds. Lillard walked away from this one shooting 42.9% from the field and also dished out 13 dimes. An additional guy that was a determining factor in the matchup for the Blazers was Gary Trent. He collected 2 rebounds in 34:30 min on the court. He walked away from this one shooting 43.8% from the floor for the game by going 7-of-16 (18 points). When all was said and done, Trent collected 1 assist.

Portland comes into this contest with a mark of 18-13 on the season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.5 times per contest and as a group they are committing 19.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Portland is pulling down 44.5 boards per contest and has accumulated 617 dimes so far this year, which is 30th in the league in terms of passing. The Blazers are shooting 38.3% on shots from 3-point land (502 of 1,310) and 81.9% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 114.8 pts per contest (6th in the league) while hitting 44.4% from the floor. On the defensive end, the Blazers are forcing their opponents into 12.8 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.0 fouls. The Blazers defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.6% (398 of 558) and they relinquish 46.2 rebounds per contest as a team. They are ranked 16th in the league in giving up assists to the opposition with 773 conceded on the season. They are conceding 37.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are ranked 27th in the NBA in opponents PPG (115.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Los Angeles Lakers went home defeated by a final of 114-89 when they played the Utah Jazz. The Lakers snagged 33 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 45 in this game. They turned it over 14 times, while recording 5 steals in the matchup. The Jazz had 16 personal fouls in the game which took the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They were able to knock down 13 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 65.0%. Regarding shots from beyond the perimeter, Los Angeles converted 8 out of 33 tries (24.2%). When the final whistle blew, the Lakers ended up going 34 for 85 from the field which had them shooting 40.0%. The Lakers permitted the Jazz to make 41 of 87 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 47.1% for the matchup. They finished 45.8% from three-point range by going 22 out of 48 and ended up shooting 10 of 15 from the charity stripe (66.7%). Regarding attacking the glass, Los Angeles allowed Utah to collect 53 in all (14 on the offensive side).

LeBron James was important for the Lakers in this game. He made 14 of 29 for the matchup for a rate of 48.3%, and had 9 rebounds. James earned 31 points in his 43:15 minutes on the court and earned 13 dimes for the contest. Someone else that played a role for Los Angeles was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. He ended up walking away with 1 assist in his 39:53 minutes on the court, and he put in 8 of 15 from the floor. Caldwell-Pope finished going 53.3% from the floor in addition to contributing 21 points and 3 total rebounds.

Los Angeles has a mark of 22-10 this year. Los Angeles has earned 3,589 pts on the campaign (112.2 per contest) and they pull down 45.2 boards per contest. The Lakers have committed 18.8 personal fouls every game and they go 75.0% from the charity stripe. When it comes to offense, the Lakers are shooting 48.3% from the floor, which ranks 4th in the NBA. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 24.9 times per game (15th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 15.3 times per game. The Lakers on the defensive side of the court are 2nd in the league in points allowed per game with 106.2. They are able to force 14.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 45.1% from the floor (5th in basketball). The Los Angeles defense concedes 35.1% on 3-point attempts (363 of 1,035) and their opponents are converting on 75.9% of their foul shots. They relinquish 24.7 dimes and 41.9 total boards per game, which has them ranked 15th and 4th in the league.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Portland (+4.5)

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