San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction: The Trail Blazers have their confidence back

The NBA prediction is an exercise that takes a lot of analysis and reading into the game but even then there is no chance that the predictions will land even if they appear safe, a 20% win team can beat a 60% win team on any given day, so you never know. The San Antonio Spurs have produced such results lately and in this game, they are going to take on a feisty Portland Trail Blazers outfit.

The Spurs enter the affair after defeating the Cavaliers 112:111 as Josh Richardson scooped up 24 points. They have now won three in a row after going on an 11-game losing streak. Their last two wins have been against highly rated squads so there have been some improvements. After the offense has been scoring under 100, the team has scored in the 112-118 range in the last three games while their defense which was conceding 115+ repeatedly hasn’t allowed more than 111 in each of the last three contests.

The team has two 20+ points scorers in Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson who are known to get the job done on the offensive end but have still not become Ace type of players. Tre Jones can be a handy playmaker but is shooting around just 30% from the three-point line. Apart from Keldon, the frontline lacks consistent scoring which has been a major issue whereas Josh Richardson has been inconsistent thus far. The Spurs have tried multiple lineups at this point and starters Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell have been coming off-the-bench.

The Trail Blazers come into this game after registering an impressive 133:112 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves as Damian Lillard drilled 38 points. Damian has now scored in the 36-40 points range in each of the last three games. With Lillard, the Trail Blazers have won 10 and lost five, when he has been injured, they have won just five out of 12 games so the presence of this emphatic scorer has been vital. The Trail Blazers’ defense isn’t anything special but their chances are huge when Damian is on song.

Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons have become two other 20+ points scorers which means that Portland has a lot of steam on the offensive end. Their current record can see further* improvement if Lillard is active but there is a sense that this team can become much more formidable going ahead. They have decent Guard depth but the other positions have been rather vulnerable, this is also one of the causes why the Trail Blazers struggled when Lillard has been out. However, they have shown much more fight than they did all of the last season.

• Spurs: OUT: Jakob Poeltl, Blake Wesley. DOUBTFUL: Zach Collins, Romeo Langford. QUESTIONABLE: Keita Bates-Diop, Josh Richardson;
• Trail Blazers: OUT: Gary Payton II, Nasir Little. PROBABLE: Drew Eubanks. Game-Time Decision: Josh Hart.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Damian Lillard(33+ Points), Keldon Johnson(22-26 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Jusuf Nurkic(11-14 Rebounds), Charles Bassey(8-11 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Damian Lillard(8-11 Assists), Tre Jones(5-8 Assists).

The Spurs have won three in a row and are looking in majestic touch but it doesn’t mean that they have a squad that can sustain such momentum. Portland has found their groove since the return of Lillard but their play can be a bit suspect at times too. Defensively, both teams aren’t among the top ones but they still can inject a lot of energy on that end when the shots are falling. I believe the shots will fall for Portland here and I predict their win. I also predict a scoreline of 118:110 in favor of Portland.