NBA: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Philadelphia 76ers Preview, Odds, Prediction

There is no time to rest for the Portland Trail Blazers, who head to Philadelphia to meet with the 76ers on the first day of November. After losing last night in Charlotte, the Trail Blazers are ahead of another massive challenge. The Sixers may have all sorts of trouble but are very, very nasty at home. Joel Embiid, when healthy, is among the top five players in the league, and that will be a problem for the guests who don’t have such a dominant center. Meanwhile, their run-and-gun basketball might also create problems for the hosts because Embiid can’t move that fast up and down the court.

Preview

Portland Trail Blazers (3-3, +230) didn’t have the energy in the final period of their matchup with the Hornets last night, which was the difference-maker in that event. The hosts outscored Portland, 36-25, to reach a valuable win.

The Trail Blazers fired 54 three-point attempts, hitting only 17, which is 31.5%. Overall, they had 44.3% of shooting from the field, while on the other side, the Hornets shot 51.7% from the field.

CJ McCollum scored 25 points with 8 assists, but had only two free throws. Damian Lillard only had two free throws, too, which tells us that the Trail Blazers’ duo wasn’t very aggressive when attacking the rim. The whole Portland team had 11 free throws. Anfernee Simmons scored 19 points off the bench, with five threes, Lillard had 14, hitting only five of his 20 shooting attempts. Jusuf Nurkic posted a double-double with 13 buckets and 14 boards.

Philadelphia 76ers (4-2, -290) are coming off back-to-back victories, the first against the Detroit Pistons, 110-102, and the second over the Atlanta Hawks, 122-94. Both of these triumphs were at Wells Fargo Center.

A win against the Hawks was very important for the Sixers, who lost in the East semis last year against this rival. At the moment when Ben Simmons isn’t with the team and wants to leave, and Embiid has all sorts of injury problems, defeating Atlanta is a big boost.

Tobias Harris had a double-double with 22 points and 11 boards, while Embiid scored 19 and had only five rebounds. Tyrese Maxey is doing his job perfectly, having 16 buckets while shooting 6-for-8 from the field, and Seth Curry had 15. Maxey might be one of the best things that happened to Philly lately because the 20-year point guard shows flashes of massive talent, we would say an All-Star in the future.

Head to Head Games

Portland was victorious on both occasions last year, defeating the rivals in both Philly, 121-105 and at home 118-114.

Prediction

The Over/Under line for this matchup is 225.5 points, which is, in our opinion, excellent for betting on over because of Portland’s style of play. The guests are always dictating a high tempo, regardless of whether that goes in or against them, and it would be odd to see them changing anything tonight. Meanwhile, Philly knows to score 120+points, while on the other side, seeing Portland dropping 110 is normal. The odds on our suggestion currently sit at -110, which is great. If you want to bet on the winner, the Sixers are our choice.

Pick: Over 225.5 points