Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, 2/20/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs Portland Trail Blazers

Date: Thursday, February 20, 2025

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: Rip City Television Network

The Portland Trail Blazers (23-31) will go up against the Los Angeles Lakers (32-19) at Moda Center on Thursday.

The Lakers played the Jazz and earned the victory with a final of 132-113 in their last game. Los Angeles finished the contest with a 54.3% FG percentage (50 out of 92) and converted 15 of their 42 shots from beyond the arc. When they shot from the free throw line, the Lakers knocked down 17 of 18 tries for a percentage of 94.4%. Pertaining to grabbing rebounds, they earned 44 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 28 assists in this matchup in addition to forcing 19 turnovers and having 11 steals. When discussing the defense, Los Angeles allowed 46.4% from the field on 39 of 84 shooting. Utah totaled 29 dimes and had 6 steals for this game. Moreover, Utah grabbed 39 rebounds (11 offensive, 28 defensive) and got 2 rejections. Utah ended up going 85.2% from the free throw line by burying 23 of 27 attempts. They knocked down 12 of 40 attempts from three-point range. Concerning personal fouls, the Lakers ended up with 22 and the Jazz totaled 17 personal fouls.

LeBron James is one guy who was a factor in the matchup. James finished the game at 58.8% from the field and dished out 8 assists. He played 29 mins and also snagged 7 rebounds. He scored 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting.

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Los Angeles will take the court with a mark of 32-19 so far this year. They turn the ball over 13.6 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.6 fouls every game. As a unit, Los Angeles is grabbing 41.9 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 1,360 assists on the season, which is 18th in the league in terms of passing. The Lakers are connecting on 35.8% on shots from downtown (620 of 1,730) and 79.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 113.2 points per outing (15th in basketball) while going 48.4% from the field.

On defense, the Lakers are able to force 13.8 turnovers per game and they draw 19.4 fouls. They are ranked 17th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,404 conceded on the season. The Lakers are allowing a FG percentage of 46.6% (2,132 of 4,574) and they surrender 43.0 boards per contest as a basketball team. They concede 35.3% on 3-point attempts and they are 14th in the league in PPG allowed (112.1).

When they last stepped on the court, the Trail Blazers took a loss by a score of 146-117 when they faced the Nuggets. In reference to how they rebounded, Portland allowed Denver to pull down 38 overall (6 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 32.0% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 8 out of 25 and walked away from this one shooting 18 out of 20 at the free throw line (90.0%). The Trail Blazers permitted the Nuggets to make 60 out of their 91 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 65.9% for this game. When the final whistle blew, the Trail Blazers went 40 out of 88 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.5%. Regarding 3-point attempts, Portland buried 15 out of 37 tries (40.5%). They were able to bury 22 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 84.6%. The Nuggets were called for 23 personal fouls in the game which took the Trail Blazers to the free throw line for a total of 26 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 16 times, while recording 4 steals for the contest. The Trail Blazers snagged 23 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 33 in this matchup.

Dalano Banton ended up being a major contributor for the Trail Blazers for this game. He knocked down 6 of 16 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 37.5%, and had 1 rebound. Banton scored 22 points in his 28 mins on the court and added 6 dimes in the game.

Portland has a record of 23-31 this season. The Trail Blazers are responsible for committing 19.4 fouls per game and they connect on 77.7% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 23.3 times per contest (27th in basketball) and they cough up possession 16.0 times per game. Portland has accumulated 5,885 points for the season (109.0 per contest) and they average 43.6 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Trail Blazers are shooting 45.0% from the field, which is 23rd in basketball.

The Trail Blazers on defense are ranked 20th in basketball in points allowed per contest with 114.5. They have forced 15.0 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.5% from the floor (23rd in basketball). The Portland defense allows 36.4% on shots from 3-point land (695 of 1,909) and their opponents are making 79.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 26.5 assists and 44.1 total boards per game, which ranks 16th and 14th in basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Portland

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