The San Antonio Spurs (6-13) travel to Moda Center Thursday to take on the Portland Trail Blazers (11-11). Tip-off is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Spurs vs. Trail Blazers odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
The Trail Blazers are about to hit a rough stretch of games and they’ll be without superstar G Damian Lillard. Lillard is dealing with an abdominal injury and is expected to miss at least 10 days.
The Blazers are still favorites at home despite his injury. They’ve been playing .500 ball but have a rough 9-13 record against the spread (ATS).
San Antonio has been far better sitting at 10-9 ATS. The Spurs are led by star G Dejounte Murray. He hasn’t done enough to keep his team afloat as they’ve drastically disappointed so far this season.
Spurs at Trail Blazers odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:25 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Spurs +160 (bet $100 to win $160) | Trail Blazers -200 (bet $200 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Spurs +4.5 (-105) | Trail Blazers -4.5 (-120)
- Over/Under (O/U): 215.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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Spurs at Trail Blazers key injuries
Spurs
- F Zach Collins (ankle) out
- F Doug McDermott (knee) probable
- F Devin Vassell (quad) probable
Trail Blazers
- G Damian Lillard (abdomen) out
- G Norman Powell (quad) questionable
Spurs at Trail Blazers odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Spurs 108, Trail Blazers 105
Money line
“LEAN” to the SPURS (+160).
I prefer to take the points as the sportsbooks are giving a decently wide margin here. Banking on a competitive game as the Spurs have arguably the best player on the court seems like the smart move.
Against the spread
BET on the SPURS +4.5 (-105) as the best bet in this game.
The Blazers are 6-9 without Lillard in the lineup over the last two and a half seasons. It’s a good sell-high spot for them coming off a double-digit win over the Pistons, who are one of the worst offensive teams in the NBA.
They’ll have to actually keep pace with the Spurs, a team averaging 107.2 points per game.
The Blazers are awful defensively and allow the highest opponents effective shooting percentage, a stat that accounts for threes being worth more than twos.
The Spurs are a top-five team in turnover rate and they won’t give away easy opportunities. At nearly full strength, I fully expect them to come out and cover this spread, especially riding hot on a two-game win streak.
Over/Under
“LEAN” to the UNDER 215.5 (-107) as the better play. It’s tough to have a good gauge on the Blazers without Lillard. Given his absence, I’d rather take fewer points than more. There’s not much more to it than that.
If the Blazers want to stay in this game without their star, they’ll have to defend. With F Robert Covington, they should have a chance to slow the Spurs down.
I’d lean to the Under but heavily prefer hammering the spread.
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