The Portland Trail Blazers (39-36) look to extend their five-game home winning streak in a matchup against the Boston Celtics (43-31). The game starts at 10:00 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 31 and will air on CNE and CNW.
The Trail Blazers enter this game hoping for similar success after topping the Kings 105-93 on Monday. Allen Crabbe was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting. The Celtics, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their blowout 114-90 loss at the hands of the Clippers on Monday. Isaiah Thomas had a game-high 24 points.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first matchup 116-93. Thomas was the game’s top overall scorer with 30 points.
The Trail Blazers have gone 39-36 Straight Up (SU) and 41-34 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 39-36 SU and 41-34 ATS versus the Eastern Conference.
On the other side, the Celtics have 43-31 SU and 38-34-2 ATS records. Boston has records of 43-31 SU and 38-34-2 ATS against the West. The Celtics rank fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 105.5 points per game. The Celtics convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking fifth in the league at .791. The last 10 games have really brought the worst out of the Celtics on the defensive end. They allowed 109.9 points per game during that span, which is higher than their season average of 102.1. Boston makes opponents pay for turning the ball over, ranking fifth in points off turnovers with an average of 18.4 per game.
In their previous meeting this season, Boston beat Portland, bringing its SU record in the past 10 games to 6-4. Furthermore, the Celtics lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – Bos
Notes
Boston ranks fifth in points per game with 105.5, while Portland ranks 18th in points allowed with an average of 103.8 given up.
Portland ranks 19th in points allowed per home game (102.1 PPG), while Boston ranks fifth in points per away game with 105.1.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Portland Trail Blazers are a formidable 20-5. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Boston Celtics have a losing record of 6-15.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Trail Blazers are just 19-31 this season. Boston is a winning 37-16 when it hits the century mark.
The Celtics have a defensive rating of 101.2, fourth-best in the NBA. The Trail Blazers also rank in the top half of the league for their offensive rating of 106.2 (ranked seventh).
The Boston Celtics average 101.5 possessions per game and 1.040 points per possession. The Portland Trail Blazers earn fewer possessions with 98.4, but they score more points with 1.062.
Portland is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 50.9% (ranked ninth in the NBA). Boston is an abysmal 4-20 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Boston Celtics make 24.1 assists per game and the Portland Trail Blazers make 21.2. Boston is ranked sixth, while Portland is ranked 20th.
Portland makes an average of 4.5 blocks per game (ranked 19th), while Boston makes 4.2 blocks per game (ranked 23rd).
The Portland Trail Blazers are among the best offensive rebounding teams in the league (ranked fifth). The Boston Celtics are in the top half of NBA teams in defensive rebounding (ranked 15th).
The Boston Celtics earn an average of 9.2 steals per game and are ranked second. The Portland Trail Blazers have a 12-15 record when they allow at least 9 steals.
