NBA: Portland Trail Blazers VS Washington Wizards Pick and Predictions 02/03/2023

Game: 7:10 PM ET,  Friday, February 3rd, 2023

Venue:  Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

TV: NBA League Pass

Blazers: 25-26, 11th place Western Conference

Wizards: 24-26, 9th place Eastern Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Wizards -4.5, O/U 236.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Wizards -4.5, O/U 236.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Wizards -4, O/U 236.5

Trail Blazers: PG Damian Lilliard, SG Anfernee Simons, SF Josh Hart, PF Jeremi Grant, C Jusuf Nurkic

Wizards: PG Monte Morris, SG Bradley Beal, SF Kyle Kuzma, PF Kristaps Poirzingis, C Daniel Gafford

An NBA inter conference matchup between two teams that make everyone yawn.  Not the stars.  The stars of these teams make everyone cheer, but overall these teams are yawners.  The wins are few and the yawns are many.  We would all pay to see Damian Lilliard and Bradley Beal in a one on one tournament.  The sad part of a matchup like this is they have to bring their respective teams along with them. An 11th place team VS a 9th place team and they have nearly identical records.  Boring.  However there is a great betting opportunity.  It will be found in the point spread.

The Portland Trail Blazers have won 6 of their last 10 games.  They are on a 2-game winning streak.  They won their last game against the Memphis Grizzlies with a shocking 122-112 for an easy win ATS since they were3 underdogs to begin with.  In the win they got 42 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists from PG Damian Lilliard.  Damian is the often forgotten star since he plies his trade for a traditionally rudderless Blazers team.  If Damin were teammates with Giannis or Jokic.. The duo would have 3 recent rings and are looking for more. But he is not.  He got support from his backcourt mate SG Anferenee Simons who has easily filled the CJ McCollum shoes.  The shocking part of the win is the drastic ZERO points out of SF Josh Hart in 31 minutes.  Plus the team got to watch as C Jusuf Nurkic left the game with only 2 minutes played.  The list of Portland Centers who were not able to finish a season because of injury is longer than the list of girls I wanted to kiss when i went to high school (they all made the list)... It was a big high school.  It helped that PF Jerami Grant got 18 points… but man oh man this was entirely a Damian Lilliard win.

The Washington Wizards have won 7 of their last 10 games.  They are on a 6-game winning streak.  All they had to do was give PF Rui Hachimura to the Lakers for 3 second round picks… well that is not why… but it is close in timeline for sure.  IN their last win they beat the San Antonio Spurs 127-106 to complete a 6-game ATS winning streak.  In the win they got 25 points, 9 rebounds and 1 assist from bench small forward Deni Avdija in 33 minutes. C Kristaps Porzingis got 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.  PF Kyle Kuzma got 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.  SG Bradley Beal chipped in 21 points with 7 rebounds and 7 assists.  Everything was clicking as it should and the Wizards beat one of the worst teams in all of basketball. The problem with the Wizards is that there is no problem… They have a strong roster, they just don’t win enough games to be taken seriously… This recent 6 game streak will either be broken and forgotten or used to build something nice for a team that should have done better this year.. And last.. And before that.. And before that… etc.

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The Blazers are 16th in scoring with 114.3 points per game, 22nd in rebounds with 42.2 per game.  On defense they rank 16th in defense of points while holding opponents to 1123.7 points per game.  They are a +0.6 points per game which is so thin that they are 1 game below .500.

The Wizards are 20th in scoring with 113 points per game, 8th in rebounds with 44.4 per game. On defense they are 14th in defense of scoring with 113 points per game.  That wonderfully EVEN points scored and points allowed is why they are 2 games below .500 and treading water at the “play-in game" status of the conference. Do they really think that better teams like the Raptors and Pacers will really let them stay there?... Do they even want to stay there?

Our prediction for Friday, February 3rd is….  Wizards 110 - Blazers 100

Bet on the Wizards.  I hate recommending the Wizards but there is injury concern in the Blazers starting five while the Wizards starting five has been rolling. The combination of these trends AND the Wizards being at home will be enough for the Wizards to cover a small spread while getting the win.

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Portland is 2-0 ATS versus the Wizards at Washington the last 3 seasons.

Both games have gone OVER the total the last 3 seasons.

Washington is 2-8 ATS as a home favorite of 6 points or less this season.

Blazers: SG Anfernee Simons.  Anfernee is small.  At SG he represents what the Blazersw always do.. Which is pair the diminutive star PG Damian Lilliard with another little guy and prevent them from ever being able to switch to bully-bal when Damin is off the court.  Anfernee is doing everything right in that he is scoring well… That will hypnotize the Blazers into never getting a “big” guard to play with Lilliard.

Wizards: SG Bradley Beal.  Bradley has been the star of this team for years and years.. Every single year he has been a much wanted trade piece.  Every single year the Wizards have held fast.. And the Wizards simply never win.  At this point Beal’s value has tumbled from 2-3 usable players and 3-4  first round picks to almost nothing at this point. Bradley is still wonderful and all that… but c’mon.. Who trades 2-3 usable players and 3-4 first round picks for a HUGE salary and an aging declining player?... Nobody.    

Blazers: Chauncey “Swagger for days” Billups

Wizards: Wes “Sleeping swagger” Unseld Jr