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December is here! The San Antonio Spurs take on the Portland Trailblazers in a Western Conference matchup. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Spurs-Blazers prediction and pick based on Spurs Blazers odds.
The San Antonio Spurs are off to a rough start this season as they are 6-13 on the year and 12th in the Western Conference. The problem has been playing conference opponents where they are 1-10 on the year. The Spurs seem to rather play the Eastern Conference where they are 5-3. We've seen them beat the defending champs Milwaukee Bucks, the Boston Celtics, and the improved Washington Wizards this year. There is light ahead of the tunnel but the Spurs are going to need to step up their conference play.
The Blazers are on the verge of a 10-game home winning streak if they can take care of the Spurs Thursday night. They are 6-8 in conference play and are one of the best scoring teams in the NBA at 110.4 points per game. They are fresh off of a 110-92 win over the Detroit Pistons after losing three straight. Here is the issue though, Damian Lillard will miss 10 days with an interesting injury.
Let's see how FanDuel set the line for Thursday night's game.
NBA Odds: Spurs-Blazers Odds
San Antonio Spurs: +5 (-115)
Portland Trailblazers: -5 (-105)
Over: 216 (-110)
Under: 216 (-110)
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Why The Spurs Could Cover The Spread
The Spurs are dealing with a few injuries to role players that could affect them in this matchup. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games but have a real chance to win this game with the absence of Lillard for Portland. The Spurs can cover this spread by taking advantage of that and defending CJ McCollum very well. San Antonio is on the verge of their 3rd-straight win and they really need this one to avoid going back to eight games under .500. Even though it's early the Spurs don't want to dig themselves into too big of a hole. San Antonio is 10-9 against the spread this year, however, and that is a good sign for betters. The Spurs have a real chance Thursday night but will need to find their rhythm on offense because Portland can still score with ease even without Lillard.
Why The Blazers Could Cover The Spread
The Blazers won their last game without Lillard even though it was against the 4-17 Pistons. That is a good sign that the team can still find other ways to score. McCollum is a huge part of their offense and so is Jusef Nurkic. Nurkic is quietly playing well this year averaging a double-double. He's averaging 12.5 points per game and his 10.8 rebounds a game is good for 10th in the NBA. Nurkic will need to step up big time in Lillard's absence so that all the pressure isn't on McCollum to lead the team. It's not going to be an easy game to cover, because the Spurs have a quick and young roster. The Blazers already don't defend too well so that is going to be the biggest factor in this game.
Final Spurs-Blazers Prediction & Pick
At the end of the day, the Blazers are the better team and maybe so even without Lillard. Although, I'm going to take the Spurs to cover this spread and potentially upset Portland. The Spurs played very well in their last two games and I think that is going to translate over to tonight. Dejounte Murray is a rising star in this league and I expect him to be the leader tonight. I also think this will be a high-scoring affair and so I would consider the over on 216 tonight.
Final Spurs-Blazers Prediction & Pick: Spurs +5 (-115) and Over: 216 (-110)
