San Antonio Spurs Vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Predictions, Starting Lineups (12/29/23)
For the second night in a row, the Portland Trail Blazers will host the San Antonio Spurs in a Western Conference contest. See our San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers predictions, best bets, predictions, and analysis throughout this article!
San Antonio Spurs Vs. Portland Trail Blazers Prediction
It is hard to think of more embarrassing things to happen to an NBA team at this point than losing to the San Antonio Spurs at home. Obviously, losing to the Detroit Pistons, who have now extended their losing streak to 28 games, would be worse; however, the point remains that Portland’s loss on Thursday was rough.
The Trail Blazers got strong performances from Jerami Grant, Malcolm Brogdon, and Scoot Henderson, who all combined for 83 points. Unfortunately, the remaining seven Blazers players could only record 22 points.
Luckily, Portland had a very acceptable excuse: it was without Deandre Ayton, Shaedon Sharpe, Robert Williams III, and Anfernee Simons. The Blazers had a substantial lack of talent, particularly in the frontcourt, due to these injuries, which explains their struggles in defending Victor Wembanyama.
Wemby popped off for 30 points, six rebounds, six assists, and seven blocks in what will likely be regarded as one of his best games as a rookie. Portland’s only option was to deploy Moses Brown, who played merely 14 minutes. After Brown, the Blazers were thinner in the frontcourt than many of the NBA teams were during some of the games in the COVID years.
Still, there could be help on the way in the form of Sharpe, Simons, and Ayton. If they return to action for Friday night’s game, the Blazers are an easy team to back in this spot. Even without one or two of those players, the Blazers are in a solid spot for a bounceback game, especially with Victor Wembanyama likely to miss the game due to rest purposes.
San Antonio Spurs Vs. Portland Trail Blazers Prediction: Trail Blazers -5.5 (-110)
Contents
Best NBA Betting Promo Codes
San Antonio Spurs Vs. Portland Trail Blazers Best Odds
Despite getting steamrolled by the San Antonio Spurs the night before, Portland enters this back-to-back matchup against Wemby and company as six-point home favorites. Victor Wembanyama will be unavailable for this game due to rest purposes, which gives Portland an understandable edge.
The Spurs have Moneyline odds of +195 to rattle off their second consecutive win on the road against Portland, while the Blazers have -238 odds to exact revenge on San Antonio. The point total for this game rests at 226 points, which is just over the 223 total that last night’s game between these two teams finished at.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
PG: Devin Vassell
SG: Malaki Branham
SF: Julian Champagnie
PF: Jeremy Sochan
C: Zach Collins
Portland Trail Blazers Starting Lineup
PG: Malcolm Brogdon
SG: Scoot Henderson
SF: Toumani Camara
PF: Jerami Grant
C: Moses Brown
San Antonio Spurs Vs. Portland Trail Blazers Injuries
After Victor Wembanyama’s exceptional outing in the Spurs’ game against Portland last night, San Antonio will force Wemby to sit for rest purposes, especially after he has rolled his ankle a few times in the past couple of weeks. Meanwhile, Devonte’ Graham will miss Friday night’s bout due to an illness, and Charles Bassey will also be unavailable because of his unfortunate ACL tear.
The Blazers’ injury report is a little less clear than San Antonio’s as of Friday afternoon; they didn’t play Shaedon Sharpe (thigh), Anfernee Simons (illness), or Deandre Ayton (knee) last night, but there is a chance that a few of them return for this game. Robert Williams III will not suit up for the rest of the season after undergoing a knee surgery.
