The Portland Trail Blazers (20-26) will have their hands full against the top scoring defense in the league when they take on the Sacramento Kings (20-24) at the Moda Center. The game starts at 10:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 26 and will air on CNW and CSA.
The Trail Blazers won big over the Lakers 121-103 on Saturday. Damian Lillard was the game’s high scorer with 36 points on 14-for-19 shooting. The Kings, meanwhile, are coming off a tough 129-128 loss at the hands of the Hornets on Monday. DeMarcus Cousins had a solid game, recording his 26th double-double of the season with 56 points and 12 rebounds.
Cousins has been on a tear over the last five games for the Kings, averaging 36.6 points, 13.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.4 blocks, and 0.8 three-pointers.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Trail Blazers won the first game 98-94. C.J. McCollum put up 35 points and 11 rebounds.
The Trail Blazers are a three-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 215 points. The Trail Blazers look to improve upon their records of 20-26 Straight Up (SU) and 24-22 Against The Spread (ATS). They have a record of 16-15 SU and 18-13 ATS versus the Western Conference. The Trail Blazers are a high-volume three-point shooting team with 10.0 made per game, one of the highest marks in the NBA.
Across the court, Sacramento has a SU record of 20-23 and an ATS record of 22-21. Sacramento has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 7-3. They sport the third-ranked scoring offense in the league, averaging 106.1 points per game.
The Trail Blazers’ win over Sacramento in their last game moved their SU record against Sacramento to 7-3 over the last 10 meetings. The teams have an even record ATS, 5-5.
Predictions: SU Winner – Por, ATS Winner – Sac, O/U – Over
Notes
Portland is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland’s last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Portland’s last 6 games at home.
Portland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Sacramento.
Portland is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Sacramento.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland’s last 5 games when playing Sacramento.
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Portland’s last 12 games when playing at home against Sacramento.
Portland scores an average of 101.8 points per game (ranked 14th). Sacramento ranks 30th in points allowed per game with 107.2.
Sacramento ranks third in points allowed per road game (108.8 PPG), while Portland ranks eighth in points per home game with 104.8.
In its last game, Portland won by an 18-point margin. Sacramento is 3-4 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Portland has a 4-4 record in blowouts.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Trail Blazers are 11-4 on the season. When the Kings score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 3-12.
Portland is a poor 9-22 when it gives up 100 or more points. Sacramento has a 17-12 record when it reaches the century mark.
The Kings have a defensive rating of 105.5 (ranked 22nd). The Trail Blazers rank eighth for their offensive rating of 104.4.
Portland averages fewer possessions per game than Sacramento, with 97.5 compared to 102.9. However, the Trail Blazers score an average of 1.044 points per possession, more than the 1.036 that the Kings score.
Portland is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 50.5% (ranked 10th in the NBA). Sacramento is a poor 7-16 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Sacramento Kings make 24.8 assists per game and the Portland Trail Blazers make 21.2. Sacramento is ranked fourth, while Portland is ranked 20th.
The Portland Trail Blazers average 4.0 blocks per game for a rank of 24th. The Sacramento Kings rank higher (21st), earning 4.4 blocks each contest.
The Trail Blazers and the Kings are well matched when it comes to rebounding. Portland is ranked fourth in offensive rebounding, and Sacramento is also ranked fourth in defensive rebounding.
Sacramento averages 8.3 steals per game (ranked 10th). Portland is 9-13 when allowing at least 8 steals.
