NBA: Brooklyn Nets vs. Portland Trail Blazers Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Brooklyn Nets will have a long trip to Portland, where they meet the Trail Blazers tonight. Both teams had games this Sunday night, and they both won, but the difference is that the Trail Blazers won’t have to travel for a few thousand miles, while on the other side, the Nets will have to recover in the airplane. Back-to-back games are usually the toughest for any team in the NBA, and we expect it to be like that now as well.

Preview

Brooklyn Nets (25-13, -750) have finally won a game at home, but they did that following one hell of trouble against the mediocre San Antonio Spurs. The final result of this event was 121-119 for the Nets, who looked pretty pale on both ends of the court.

We really don’t know what happened to Steve Nash’s team, but they aren’t looking like the top contender for the NBA title. We are aware that Joe Harris’ absence is a very big hit and that ever since he isn’t playing, the Nets have unbelievable struggle behind the three-point line, while with Harris, they are among the best in that aspect of play.

Against the Spurs, they were 8-for-28, and we don’t remember when is the last time Brooklyn had 10 or more threes in one event. Kevin Durant had 28 points with six assists, while James Harden scored 26 with 12 assists and seven boards. Nic Claxton added another double-double with 16 points and 14 boards.

Despite losing Norman Powell to health and safety protocols, Portland Trail Blazers (15-24, +525) defeated the Sacramento Kings. The franchise from the RIP City won, 103-88, successfully controlling the match right from the start and limiting the guests to only 40 points in the opening two periods.

On the other side, Portland dropped 53 in the same interval, getting away to a double-digit lead and pretty much killing the morale of the Kings, who did hope to post a victory here. Anfernee Simmons was the man with 31 points, hitting seven threes in 11 tries and posting six assists.

Jusuf Nurkic capitalized his dominance under the rim, with 14 points and 16 rebounds, while Nassir Little and Ben McLemore had 13 each. The Trail Blazers scored 17 threes in 40 attempts. Interestingly, the Kings had more points from the paint, 42-34, but that didn’t help them too much.

Head to Head

The Nets and the Blazers didn’t meet this year. In 2020/21, they faced twice, and each team got a win. The funny thing is that the triumphs were posted on the road – the Nets won in Portland, 116-11, and vice versa, 128-109.

Prediction

The Nets are very tired because of the trip and last night’s overtime game. But many forgot that they now have Kyrie Irving on the road. And that is a major boost for this team. Despite being tired and everything else, Brooklyn is the big favorite here and our choice, too. The spread on their win is 11 points, and we believe that the guests have enough power to cover it. Kyrie is hungry for some basketball, and Nash will allow him to play a bit longer than usual, thus keeping the Nets’ rhythm high.

Pick: Nets -11