Historically, Portland has struggled to find success when they travel to play the Golden State Warriors. At just 13-5 SU on the road in Oakland, Portland needs to reverse the past and notch a win if it hopes to continue to climb in the Western Conference standings. Portland sits securely in 8th place in the west, comfortably ahead of Memphis by 3.5 games but they can’t afford any slip ups.
What’s weird about Portland’s failures in Golden State is that they’re actually a great road bet. With a 10-3 ATS record on the road, Portland has been giving back to their betting backers whenever they travel. However, the Warriors’ ability to burn down the scoreboard at home has caused Portland to fall to just 1-8 ATS in their last 9 visits to Oakland.
Before you go running in to the sportsbook to stand behind Golden State, keep in mind that this team has been gutted by injuries. Monta Ellis, who dropped 34-points on Portland in the last game at Oracle Arena, is probably going to have to sit out with a recurring back injury that has sidelined him for the past six games.
With Ellis in the lineup, I’d probably be quick to jump all over the Warriors with a moderate cushion on the betting line but I’m hesitant to have faith in Anthony Morrow, the guy eating up Ellis’s minutes. Morrow has averaged 20.0 points and 4.4 boards in his past five games, including a 28-point outburst in the loss to New Orleans.
Portland Trail Blazers (38-28) vs. Golden State Warriors (17-46)
Thursday, March 11th
Oracle Arena — 10:30pm EST
NBA Betting Line: Portland -5.5 (214.5)
The Warriors went on the road for five straight games and got torn apart, losing every single game. They have, however, gone 4-2 ATS in their past 6 games and despite a horrific win/loss record, they’re still a great team to bet on when they play at home. They remind me a lot of the New York Knicks team that used to dominate the spread at home. Ah, the good ol’ days.
Overall and at home as well, Golden State is the third best scoring team in the league. They average 110.3 points per game at home and simply find points for anyone that they roll on to the court. The fact that they can continue to do so without stars like Anthony Randolph, Ellis and Kelenna Azubuike is staggering but I just can’t go against the grain here.
Portland is a formidable and dangerous team, but Golden State is just one of those home bets I can’t stomach betting against. It’s rough advice, but I’m following the trends. Take the points and watch this game obliterate the OVER. Portland knows it’ll have to score in bunches to keep up with Golden State at home, but it won’t be enough to clear the spread.
Furious Free Pick: Golden State +5.5 (OVER) > > SIGN UP here!
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
