San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, 12/28/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers

Date: Thursday, December 28, 2023

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: ROOT Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers (8-21) host the San Antonio Spurs (4-25) at Moda Center on Thursday.

The Spurs faced off with the Jazz and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 130-118 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Spurs ended up finishing with 18 while the Jazz accounted for 21 fouls. They also buried 16 of 43 shots from distance. Utah walked away from this one shooting 90.9% when shooting free throws by knocking down 20 of 22 attempts. Furthermore, Utah pulled down 53 rebounds (13 offensive, 40 defensive) and earned 8 rejections. Utah recorded 34 assists and had 4 steals for this game. In terms of the defense, San Antonio allowed the other team to go 49.5% from the floor on 47 of 95 shooting. They also distributed 36 assists in this game as well as forcing 14 turnovers and earning 8 steals. When discussing hauling in boards, they compiled 43 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Spurs buried 14 of their 21 tries for a rate of 66.7%. San Antonio ended the game having earned a 44.9% FG percentage (44 of 98) and converted 16 of 35 3-point shots.

Keldon Johnson is one player who was a contributor for the game. Johnson ended up shooting 45.0% from the floor and also totaled 3 assists. He played for 30 mins played and pulled down 4 boards. He finished with 26 points on 9 of 20 shooting.

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San Antonio will enter this matchup with a mark of 4-25 this season. They currently have an average of 110.9 points per outing (25th in the NBA) while going 45.4% from the field. The Spurs are shooting 34.5% on shots from beyond the arc (373 of 1,080) and 77.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, San Antonio is pulling down 43.3 boards per game and has totaled 844 dimes so far this year, which is 5th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 15.5 times per contest and as a group are committing 19.0 personal fouls per game.

On the defensive end, the Spurs have forced 13.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They rank 24th in basketball in giving up assists with 832 conceded on the season. The Spurs are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 49.4% (1,315 of 2,663) and they concede 46.3 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They surrender 39.2% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 28th in the league in opponents PPG (123.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the Trail Blazers got the win with a final of 130-113 against the Kings. In the matter of rebounds, Portland permitted Sacramento to snag 4 in all (11 on the offensive glass). They went 23.8% from downtown by connecting on 10 out of 42 and ended up going 13 of 16 at the free throw line (81.3%). The Trail Blazers permitted the Kings to convert 45 of 93 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 48.4% in this matchup. Overall, the Trail Blazers went 49 for 98 from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.0%. Pertaining to 3-point shots, Portland converted 16 of 40 attempts (40.0%). They were able to make 16 of the free throws for a rate of 80.0%. The Kings earned 16 personal fouls in this game which took the Trail Blazers to the charity stripe for 20 tries. They also coughed up the ball 7 times, while recording 5 steals in this contest. The Trail Blazers corralled 30 defensive boards and 16 offensive boards for a total of 46 for the contest.

Anfernee Simons was important for the Trail Blazers in the matchup. He made 12 of 25 for this contest for a field goal rate of 48.0%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. Simons scored 29 points in his 35 minutes on the court and accumulated 3 assists for the game.

Portland has a mark of 8-21 for the season. The Trail Blazers are committing 20.6 personal fouls per contest and they hit 79.9% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 22.6 times per game (30th in basketball) and they turn the ball over 15.1 times per game. Portland has accounted for 3,153 points this year (108.7 per game) and they snag 41.2 rebounds per contest. When it comes to offensive execution, the Trail Blazers are shooting 44.0% from the floor, which ranks them 29th in the NBA.

The Portland defense concedes 32.6% on shots from 3-point land (310 of 951) and opponents are connecting on 80.5% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 26.6 dimes and 44.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 17th and 24th in the NBA. The Trail Blazers on the defensive side of the court are 17th in the NBA in PPG given up with 114.7. They have forced 15.8 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 49.0% from the field (25th in basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take San Antonio

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