The Brooklyn Nets welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to the Barclays Center. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Monday, Apr. 6 and can be seen on NBA TV, CSN-NW and YES.
The Nets are are expecting a better outcome after their 131-99 loss to the Hawks on Saturday. Bojan Bogdanovic was the team’s leading scorer with 19 points. The Trail Blazers, meanwhile, are coming off a 99-90 win against the Pelicans on Saturday. Chris Kaman claimed his fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Deron Williams and Brook Lopez have been better than usual over the last five games for the Nets. During that stretch, Williams has averaged 18.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.6 three-pointers, while Lopez has recorded 22.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 2.4 blocks a game.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Trail Blazers winning the first matchup 97-87. Damian Lillard put up 28 points and 10 assists.
The odds for Brooklyn and Portland are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Nets come into this game 35-41 Straight Up (SU) and 36-38-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 13-16 SU and 15-13-1 ATS against the Western Conference. The Nets have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 107.1 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 98.0 points per game.
Over on the other bench, the Trail Blazers have 50-26 SU and 39-36-1 ATS records. Against the Eastern Conference, Portland is 20-9 SU and 14-15 ATS. The Trail Blazers rely heavily on three-pointers on offense, ranking fifth in the league with 756 made (9.9 per game). The Trail Blazers have controlled the glass with an average of 46.0 rebounds per game, second in the league. The Trail Blazers are a problem for teams on the defensive side, allowing only 484 field goals from three-point range to their opponents (6.4 per game).
The Trail Blazers’ win over Brooklyn in their last clash bumped their SU record over the last 10 meetings to 7-3. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record. Portland held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers three times in the last 10 matchups. On the other side of the court, Brooklyn never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – POR, ATS Winner – POR
Notes
On average, Portland puts up 102.9 points per game (ranked ninth). Brooklyn ranks 19th in points allowed per game with 101.1.
Portland scores an average of 102.0 points per away game (ranked eighth). Brooklyn ranks 24th in points allowed per home game with 101.8.
Brooklyn has a winning 24-15 record when it allows under 100 points this season. Portland is 13-16 when it scores under 100.
The Brooklyn Nets have a subpar 11-26 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Portland Trail Blazers are 37-10 when they hit triple digits.
The Nets have an offensive rating of 101.6 (ranked 18th). The Trail Blazers rank eighth for their defensive rating of 100.5.
With 96.4 possessions and 1.016 points per possession, the Brooklyn Nets perform worse on both metrics than the Portland Trail Blazers. Portland averages 97.4 possessions and 1.056 points per possession.
The Portland Trail Blazers have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking ninth in the league with an EFF% of 50.8%. When their opponents record a similar or higher EFF%, the Brooklyn Nets have a losing 10-26 record.
On average, the Portland Trail Blazers make 21.9 assists per game and the Brooklyn Nets make 20.8. Portland is ranked 11th, while Brooklyn is ranked 23rd.
The Brooklyn Nets average 4.2 blocks per game for a rank of 25th. The Portland Trail Blazers rank higher (16th), earning 4.6 blocks each contest.
The Portland Trail Blazers are the NBA’s best defensive rebounding team. The Brooklyn Nets rank 24th in offensive rebounding.
The Brooklyn Nets make an average of 7.0 steals per game. When the Portland Trail Blazers allow 7 or more steals, they are a solid 30-19.
