San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers: Play-in contender Spurs host the depleted Trail Blazers

The Regular Season of the NBA is going to fold soon and the San Antonio Spurs will need a big boost to slate in a Play-in tournament. The Spurs will take on the Portland Trail Blazers, a team that has been struggling big-time. This is a vital time for the Spurs as the window to make a big run is collapsing.

The Spurs have done well recently

The Spurs have won five out of their last six games and this has propelled them to the tenth spot which means they have for the time being solidified their Play-in claim. The upcoming schedule isn’t that easy so the Spurs, a team that has struggled to fend off elite teams will need to do this with the few games remaining. The Spurs have done a great job on the offensive end and Ja Morant has been huge in terms of bringing in inside scoring, playmaking, and also top-notch rebounding. Keldon Johnson has been helping out Morant too while Jakob Poeltl has been huge as the Center with his rebounding, paint scoring, and defense. The Spurs have also found more than decent production from Josh Richardson, Devin Vassell, and Lonnie Walker IV that has helped the cause.

The Trail Blazers are just too hurt

The Trail Blazers are fielding their third unit at this point and as a result., they keep on losing games and are on a six-game losing streak and they have been highly vulnerable on both ends of the floor. Drew Eubanks has done a great job as the Center but at this point, Drew is auditioning for a bench role at best. For the next season, the lineup of Hart, Lillard, Simons, Little, and Nurkic sounds highly promising and Ingles can fill in from the bench. It will be interesting who the Trail Blazers will draft in the offseason and what changes they will make to the lineup. Bringing in a two-way wing or a two-way Power Forward can make the Trail Blazers a winning unit.

• Spurs: Doug McDermott is OUT for the game. DeJounte Murray and Joshua Primo are “Game Time Decisions”;
• Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons, Josh Hart, Justice Winslow, Jusuf Nurkic, Eric Bledsoe, Nasir Little, Joe Ingles, and Trendon Watford are OUT.

Points Range: The Spurs have been doing a great job at the offensive end and even if Murray misses the game, they can deploy an effective offensive lineup of Vassell, Johnson, Richardson, Collins, Tre Jones, and Walker IV. The Trail Blazers are a highly vulnerable team on the defensive end these days and the Spurs’ wealth of shot creators, long-range shooters, and slashers can hurt them. The Trail Blazers have seen decent production from Drew Eubanks but Ben McLemore has done a decent job as an isolation scorer while Keon Johnson is an interesting athletic option in the long run. Anyway, I believe the total points range here is 230-240

Prediction: The Trail Blazers will need to pull off a big defensive effort to stall the Spurs' wealth of shot-creators and also long-range shooters. The Spurs defeated the Trail Blazers 130:111 in the last game and this game can create a similar outcome considering how outmatched Portland look in this game. I pick the Spurs to win this 127:108.

• Total 1 Over 122.5 for 1.90;
• Handicap 1 -15.5 for 2.06;
• Team Props: Team Totals: POR Trail Blazers Under 108.5 for 1.86;