The Oklahoma City Thunder head to Oregon on Sunday for Game 1 of their first round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. Oklahoma City shows up as a first game series dog even though two of the top 10 players in the NBA are on their team. Will the Thunder prevail, or will the Trail Blazers get it done? Check out NBA Playoff betting odds, a preview, and a prediction for Game 1 between the Thunder and the Trail Blazers!
Thunder vs Trail Blazers NBA Playoffs Game 1 Odds, Preview & Prediction
ONE. DAY. UNTIL. PLAYOFFS. pic.twitter.com/Tx0IgpXmv1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 12, 2019
- When: Sunday, April 14 at 3:30pm ET
- Where: Moda Center, Portland, OR
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: NBA League Pass
- Opening ATS Odds: Trail Blazers -3
- Over/Under Total Odds: 225
Why Oklahoma City Thunder are a good bet at +3
Oklahoma City struggled to make the playoffs just because of how deep the Western Conference is this season, but now that OKC is in the playoffs, it’s going to be difficult for any other team in the conference to beat them.
The Thunder are led by NBA MVP contender Paul George, who averages 28 points and 2.2 steals per game, and the great Russell Westbrook, who averages 10.7 assists, and 11.1 rebounds per game. They aren’t alone, though. Dennis Schroder, Steve Adams, Markieff Morris, and Nerlens Noel all contribute. Raymond Felton is one of the top backup point-guards in the NBA. OKC can get it done against Portland in Game 1.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Points/G: 114.5
- Field Goal %: 445.4
- 3-Point %: 34.8
- Free Throw %: 71.3
- Rebounds/G: 48.1
- Points/G: 111.1
- Field Goal %: 46.0
- 3-Point %: 35.6
- Free Throw %: 76.1
- Rebounds/G: 45.7
Why Portland Trail Blazers are a good bet at -3
The Trail Blazers lost Jusuf Nurkic for the season, but look what happened? They still managed to finish the season as the third best team in the Western Conference. Not only that, but after Nurkic went down, the Trail Blazers went 7-2 on the moneyline in their last 9 games.
It doesn’t mean that Portland’s a better team without Jusuf Nurkic. They aren’t, but it does mean that they’ve already faced adversity and have come out ahead. Mentally, Portland might be the strongest team in the NBA Playoffs.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Points/G: 114.7
- Field Goal %: 46.7
- 3-Point %: 35.9
- Free Throw %: 81.4
- Rebounds/G: 48
- Points/G: 110.5
- Field Goal %: 45.7
- 3-Point %: 35.9
- Free Throw %: 77
- Rebounds/G: 42.8
NBA Playoffs Betting Trends for Oklahoma City Thunder vs Portland Trail Blazers
- Thunder are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games after scoring more than 125 points in their previous game
- Thunder are 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings
- Thunder are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall
- Trail Blazers are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games playing on 3 or more days rest
- Trail Blazers are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games versus a team with a winning straight up record
- Trail Blazers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 versus the NBA Northwest
Thunder vs Trail Blazers Game 1 Final Analysis
The Trail Blazers have played exceptionally well even though they lost one of their top players for the season. However, we must put how Portland’s played in perspective. They lost Nurkic on March 26 and only played 9 games without him.
7 of the 9 games were against Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Minnesota, Memphis, the L.A. Lakers, and Sacramento. Those 7 games were versus 7 mediocre if not straight up bad teams. Beating those teams doesn’t impress while beating Denver 115-108 on April 7 doesn’t impress because by then the Nuggets knew they weren’t going to catch the Warriors for the 1-seed.
Portland’s got a significant disadvantage going up against Oklahoma City in this series. The Thunder have a real shot of sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers. The likely sweep starts in Game 1 with a big win on the moneyline.
NBA Playoffs Betting Pick: Thunder moneyline
