The NBA betting board for Friday is headlined by a battle between a pair of MVP candidates as Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers take on Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite the heroics of their superstars, both teams have struggled lately with other key players sidelined.
With the Lakers installed as 5.5-point home favorites for this contest, we let you know which team will prevail with our best Trail Blazers vs. Lakers picks and predictions for Friday, February 26. Tipoff is at 10 p.m. ET.
Portland Trail Blazers at Los Angeles Lakers betting preview
Injuries
Trail Blazers: C.J. McCollum SG (Out), Jusuf Nurkic C (Out), Harry Giles III PF (Out).
Lakers: Dennis Schroder PG (Probable), Kyle Kuzma SF (Probable), Markieff Morris PF (Probable), Anthony Davis PF (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Trail Blazers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall. Find more NBA betting trends for Trail Blazers vs. Lakers.
NBA sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonThe Lakers rose from -4.5 to -5.5 overnight from Thursday evening into this morning at FanDuel, but the line spent most of today at -5 and returned to -4.5 tonight. Betting splits as of 9 p.m. ET correlate with the later line movement, as ticket count and money are both 2/1 on the Trail Blazers. The total opened at 221, peaked at 223.5, receded to 221.5 a couple of times and is at 222.5 an hour before tipoff. Bettors expect some scoring, with ticket count and money running 3/1 on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameAgainst the spread (ATS) pick
LeBron James continues to impress with his All-NBA play at 36 years old, but it's becoming increasingly clear that the Lakers are not championship material without Anthony Davis. The star power forward is a force on both ends of the floor and is expected to miss several more weeks with a calf injury that he suffered in a Valentine's Day matchup against the Nuggets.
The Lakers ended up losing that game by 17 points, and although they bounced back with a win against the Timberwolves, they've since lost four games in a row, including three at home. Even before the injury to AD, the Lakers have been an awful team to back on the spread, going just 5-12 ATS in their last 17 games overall and 1-6 ATS in their previous seven contests at Staples Center.
The Lakers have been one of the best teams in the league on defense but rank just 18th in the league in scoring, which can make it difficult to cover large spreads when you're the defending champs and the public loves you.
The Blazers are in a bit of a slump themselves, having lost three in a row. But prior to that losing streak, they had reeled off six consecutive wins, going 6-0 ATS during that span.
Portland is also without important pieces, in guard C.J. McCollum and frontcourt injuries to Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins and Harry Giles III. That said, the Blazers have been missing McCollum and Nurkic for more than a month and have still been very competitive.
With the Blazers 6-1 ATS in their last seven games as an underdog, back them again tonight.
PREDICTION: Portland +5.5 (-110)
Over/Under pick
The Lakers have really struggled to put the ball in the bucket recently, being held below 100 points in three of their last four games. The lone contest where they went above that total was in OT against the league's second-worst defense, the Washington Wizards.
That said, while the Lakers miss Davis' rim protection, they are still a solid defensive squad without him. They rank third in the league in scoring defense by holding foes to 106.5 ppg, and get to face a Blazers team also struggling on offense.
The Blazers are normally a high-scoring team, but they've really missed McCollum, especially over the last week where they've put up just 105.7 ppg in their last three games. And one of those contests came at home against the previously-mentioned Wizards.
The Lakers are 8-3 to the Under in their last 11 games against teams with a winning record and have a tendency to bounce back from defeats with lower-scoring duels, going 6-1 to the Under in their previous seven contests following a SU loss. Take the Under.
PREDICTION: Under 222.5 (-110)
Player Prop Pick
We mentioned that the Blazers have played without McCollum and his 26.7 ppg for more than a month now. Naturally, someone had to pick up the scoring slack, and that someone has been guard Gary Trent Jr. The 22-year-old is averaging 15.3 ppg this season but his offensive production soared after McCollum was sidelined with a fracture in his foot.
Over the last 12 games, Trent has averaged 19.4 ppg. The Over/Under on his points total for tonight is set at 16.5, a number he has gone Over in 12 of his last 16 contests. Take the Over.
PREDICTION: Gary Trent Jr. Over 16.5 points (-120)
Trail Blazers vs Lakers betting card
- Portland +5.5 (-110)
- Under 222.5 (-110)
- Gary Trent Jr. Over 16.5 points (-120)
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