The Portland Trail Blazers (21-26) will be at home when they face off against the Charlotte Hornets (22-23). Action begins at 10:00 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 29 and can be seen on CNW and FxS.
The Trail Blazers enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Kings 112-97 on Tuesday. Mason Plumlee played a pivotal role with 12 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. The Hornets, meanwhile, are coming off a 129-128 win against that same Kings squad on Monday. Troy Daniels led the team in scoring by accounting for 28 points on 10-for-15 shooting.
Kemba Walker has upped his play over the last five games for the Hornets, averaging 32.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 2.6 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 2.8 three-pointers.
Expect this one to be a clinic on boxing out, as two of the NBA’s top rebounding teams face off. Portland is among the league’s best on the offensive glass, ranking fourth in offensive rebound percentage at 26.6%. Meanwhile, Charlotte ranks second in the NBA at corralling defensive boards with a defensive rebound percentage of 79.5%. The Hornets should also expect to protect the ball well. They rank first at avoiding errors (turnover percentage of 12.2%). Conversely, the Trail Blazers force the third-fewest turnovers in the league (opponents’ turnover percentage of 12.4%).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Hornets winning the first matchup 106-94. Nicolas Batum was the game’s top overall scorer with 33 points.
The Trail Blazers are a four-point favorite against Charlotte and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 205 points. The Trail Blazers have gone 21-26 Straight Up (SU) and 25-22 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 4-11 SU and 6-9 ATS against the Eastern Conference. The Trail Blazers are one of the best in the NBA in terms of three-point field goals, making 10.0 shots per game from beyond the arc.
In the other locker room, the Hornets have 22-24 SU and 22-23-1 ATS records. Against the Western Conference, Charlotte is 9-12 SU and 10-11 ATS. The Hornets rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking fourth in the league with 464 made (10.0 per game). The Hornets are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking fifth in the NBA at 1.78.
Charlotte beat Portland in their most recent meeting this season, but the win was not enough to overtake Portland in the most recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 3-7 SU over the last 10 meetings. Furthermore, the Trail Blazers hold the advantage ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Por, ATS Winner – Cha, O/U – Over
Notes
Portland is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland’s last 5 games.
Portland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Portland’s last 7 games when playing Charlotte.
Portland is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games when playing Charlotte.
Portland is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Charlotte.
Charlotte is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Portland.
Portland ranks 10th in points per game with 102.0, while Charlotte ranks 16th in points allowed with an average of 101.6 given up.
On average, Portland puts up 105.1 points per home game (ranked sixth). Charlotte ranks 24th in points allowed per road game with 105.0.
In its last game, Charlotte won by a margin of one point. Portland is 0-4 in games decided by three points or less. Charlotte has a 2-4 record in close games.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Charlotte Hornets are a solid 16-6. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Portland Trail Blazers have an underachieving record of 2-16.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Hornets are just 6-17 this season. Portland is a winning 19-10 when registering triple digits.
The Trail Blazers have a defensive rating of 106.1 (ranked 23rd), while the Hornets rank ninth for their offensive rating of 104.1.
The Portland Trail Blazers average a field goal percentage of 44.6% this season. The Charlotte Hornets have a subpar record of 7-12 when opponents have a FG% of 44.6% or greater.
The Portland Trail Blazers and the Charlotte Hornets both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Portland is 17th and 10th in the league for FG% and EFF% respectively, while Charlotte is 29th and 20th in these categories.
On average, the Portland Trail Blazers make 21.3 assists per game and the Charlotte Hornets make 21.3. Portland is ranked 19th, while Charlotte is ranked 20th.
The Portland Trail Blazers average 4.1 blocks per game for a rank of 24th. The Charlotte Hornets rank higher (10th), earning 5.2 blocks each contest.
The Portland Trail Blazers are among the best offensive rebounding teams in the league (ranked fourth). The Charlotte Hornets are one of the top defensive rebounding teams (ranked seventh).
The Portland Trail Blazers make an average of 6.5 steals per game. The Charlotte Hornets are 12-13 when they allow 6 or more steals.
