The Portland Trail Blazers welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to the Moda Center. Action begins at 10:00 pm ET on Saturday, Apr. 4 and can be seen on FSN-NO and CSN-NW.
The Trail Blazers are are hoping for a better outcome after their 126-122 loss to the Clippers on Wednesday. Nicolas Batum had a solid performance, putting up 21 points, four rebounds, and four assists for Portland. The Pelicans, meanwhile, are coming off a 113-92 win against the Lakers on Wednesday. Anthony Davis led the game in scoring by accounting for 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting.
The Trail Blazers have emerged victorious in both games against the Pelicans this year, including a decisive 114-88 victory in their last matchup. LaMarcus Aldridge put up a double-double in the victory with 27 points and 12 rebounds.
The odds for Portland and New Orleans are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Trail Blazers come into this game 48-26 Straight Up (SU) and 37-36-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Over their last 10 games, they have only managed a record of 3-7 ATS. The Trail Blazers lead the NBA in free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .797 from the free throw line. The rebounding edge goes to the Trail Blazers in this matchup, who are one of the top rebounding teams in the league with an average of 45.9 boards per game. Opposing teams know they’re in for a battle when they play Portland’s stingy defense. The Trail Blazers are one of the top teams when it comes to defense, allowing just 95.6 points per home game. The Trail Blazers prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking first in the league with 472 total three-pointers allowed (6.4 per game).
Over on the other bench, the Pelicans have a record of 43-31 ATS and 40-34 SU. Against the Western Conference, New Orleans is 24-20 SU and 27-17 ATS.
In their previous meeting this season, Portland beat New Orleans, bumping its SU record to 7-3 over the Pelicans in their last 10 meetings. With a 7-3 record, the Pelicans have the advantage ATS. Portland and New Orleans both held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers once over the last 10 games.
Predictions: SU Winner – NO, ATS Winner – NO
Notes
New Orleans ranks 16th in points per game with 99.5, while Portland ranks 10th in points allowed with an average of 98.3 given up.
New Orleans scores an average of 97.2 points per away game (ranked 21st), while Portland gives up 95.6 points per home game (ranked fifth).
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Trail Blazers are 37-8 on the season. When the Pelicans score fewer than 100, they are a subpar 10-25.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Trail Blazers are just 11-18 this season. New Orleans is a fantastic 30-9 when it reaches the century mark.
The Pelicans have a defensive rating of 104.3 (ranked 23rd). The Trail Blazers rank seventh for their offensive rating of 105.4.
The Portland Trail Blazers average 97.6 possessions and 1.054 points per possession in games this season. The New Orleans Pelicans average fewer possessions with 94.4, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.054.
Portland is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 50.8% (ranked eighth in the NBA). New Orleans is an underachieving 9-22 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Portland averages 27.4 three point attempts per game, and New Orleans attempts 19.2 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Trail Blazers have a winning 34-21 record while the Pelicans have a 4-5 record.
Portland has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.64 this season (ranked 15th). New Orleans ranks higher with an A/TO of 1.73 (ranked eighth).
The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the best rebounding teams in the league, earning 45.9 rebounds per game (ranked second). The New Orleans Pelicans rank 16th, rebounding 43.6 times each game.
The New Orleans Pelicans are among the best offensive rebounding teams in the NBA at 10th. However, the Portland Trail Blazers are the top-ranked defensive rebounding team.
On average, the Pelicans force a turnover rate of 12.6%. When the Trail Blazers turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 27-15 record.
