Portland Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio Spurs Game 5 Preview, Picks & Odds for Tuesday, April 28, 2026

By Braxton Reynolds | Apr 27, 2026, 7:31pm

Game 5 between the Portland Trail Blazers (1-3) and San Antonio Spurs (3-1) is slated for 9:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. If Portland can steal this game on the road, then it has a chance to even the series at home.

Trail Blazers vs. Spurs Betting Analysis

The Blazers have to be kicking themselves about blown opportunities. They led by 15 points with five minutes left in the third quarter of Game 3 and also possessed a 17-point halftime lead in Game 4. Portland lost both contests by double digits. The complexion of this series would be vastly different if it held onto just one of those leads, but there’s no point in crying over spilled milk. What matters is the Blazers know they are good enough to hang with the Spurs for long stretches.

The Donovan Clingan minutes have been rough. He’s not giving the Blazers any scoring juice inside the arc, and San Antonio is clogging the paint when Clingan hangs out around the arc. The Spurs are essentially daring him to prove he’s not a pseudo-threat from deep, and the sophomore is not delivering.

Excluding garbage time, Portland’s offense has scored 95 points per 100 possessions with Clingan on the court and 111.9 points per 100 possessions when he takes a breather. Clingan has been especially harmful to Deni Avdija’s slashing, as Portland’s offense is 22.9 points per 100 possessions better with Avdija on the court without Clingan compared to when they share the court.

Robert Williams III has been phenomenal off the bench, but he’s too much of an injury risk to play more than 25 minutes per game. Perhaps the Blazers decrease Clingan’s minutes in Game 5 by playing Jerami Grant at center more and hope they can outscore the Spurs? It’s a desperate, bad idea, but something has to change during the non-Williams minutes (lineups, scheme, etc.). Clingan operating as a dribble handoff big who steps back to the arc is not working.

The best bet is taking Portland to cover the 7.5-point first half spread. The team is getting off to great starts but fading once they experience regression and San Antonio makes second half adjustments.

Trail Blazers vs. Spurs Best Bet, Pick & Prediction

Best Bet: Trail Blazers +7.5 1st Half Spread (-115)
Score Prediction: Spurs 113, Blazers 104

Trail Blazers vs. Spurs Game Odds

Trail Blazers vs. Spurs Game Information

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
Network: ESPN
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Venue: Frost Bank Center – 231 ppg; 17-23 O/U
Series Score: Spurs 3-1

Trail Blazers vs. Spurs Betting Resources

Trail Blazers vs. Spurs Key Players

Trail Blazers

Deni Avdija – Last Game: 26 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Jrue Holiday – Last Game: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
Scoot Henderson – Last Game: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 2 assists

Spurs

Victor Wembanyama – Last Game: 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
De’Aaron Fox – Last Game: 28 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists
Stephon Castle – Last Game: 16 points, 1 rebound, 8 assists

Braxton Reynolds

Braxton has been covering the NBA for Lineups since the 2022 season. He's worked with multiple collegiate coaching staffs regarding analytics and scouting, which has allowed him to understand the game on a deeper level. Braxton also currently writes about the Oklahoma City Thunder for Thunder Roundtable.