The Portland Trail Blazers play Game 2 of their Western Conference Quarterfinals series against the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday at AdventHealth Arena in Reunion, Fla. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET tip-off. We analyze the Trail Blazers-Lakers NBA betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Trail Blazers vs. Lakers: Key injuries
Trail Blazers
- PF Zach Collins (ankle) out
- SF Nassir Little (illness) out
- SG C.J. McCollum (back) available
Lakers
- PG Rajon Rondo (thumb) questionable
- SF LeBron James (groin) probable
- PF Anthony Davis (knee) probable
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Trail Blazers vs. Lakers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 10:45 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Trail Blazers 124, Lakers 119
Moneyline (ML)
The Lakers (-278) open Game 2 of this series as heavy favorites over the TRAIL BLAZERS (+220). Portland comes into this game off an impressive Game 1 win over the Lakers despite not shooting all that well. PG Damian Lillard scored 34 points in the first matchup, but did not score a basket during the entire third quarter. Look for him to be more aggressive on the offensive end of the court in Game 2.
The Lakers will certainly make some adjustments in this game, but their ability to win will come down to shooting. After going 5-34 from the 3-point range in Game 1, look for that number to improve significantly tonight.
Still, Portland is the hottest team in the NBA and the Lakers just don’t have the guards to match up well. Considering the value, take Portland to steal Game 2 for a second straight win in this series.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Trail Blazers to win the game returns a profit of $22.
Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The Lakers (-6.5, -110) open this contest as big favorites over the BLAZERS +6.5 (-110) despite being awful against the spread of late. Los Angeles has failed to cover the spread in each of its previous six games. Due to the Lakers’ style of offense, they tend to keep games close until the end. With their poor free-throw shooting, they are rarely able to pull away from teams late.
Considering Portland ranked inside the top-three in 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage this season, expect this game to come down to the wire and for the TRAIL BLAZERS to eventually cover the +6.5 (-110) spread once again.
Over/Under (O/U)
The total for this Western Conference playoff game is set at 228.5, which shouldn’t be tough to clear if both offenses can play to their normal abilities. In Game 1, the Lakers actually held the Blazers to a modest 100 points, but they were only able to muster up 93 points on the offensive end.
Some of that had to do with pacing as both teams shot a ton of free throws. Look for this game to have more scoring from both sides and for the OVER 228.5 (-110) to hit in this critical matchup between the Blazers and Lakers.
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