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Portland Trail Blazers vs. N.Y. Knicks Gambling & NBA Handicapping Prediction

Portland vs N.Y. NBA Betting Odds

The Portland Trail Blazers and New York Knicks have both been surprises throughout the 2013-14 NBA season, but only one has looked like a contender. [ad-4468020]

Portland (34-14) at New York (19-29)
Wednesday, Feb. 5 8:00 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden
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The Blazers, despite coming down to earth as of late, have looked like they could compete with the likes of the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder out West. New York, on the other hand, hasn’t even looked like a playoff team in a historically bad Eastern Conference.

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Luckily for the Knicks, they have home-court advantage in this one against a Portland tea that is coming off a bad loss.

Portland

The Blazers are fighting for a top-three seed out West, but it’s losses like the one they encountered this week that will put them behind in that race. Portland is coming off of a 10-point loss to the Washington Wizards. That’s the same Wizards team that hadn’t been above .500 in four years before Monday night.

Despite the strong start to the year, the Blazers have lost three of their last four contests. Even more disturbing for Rip City is that all three were by double digits, and the only win was a last-second victory over the Toronto Raptors in a game that saw Portland blow a big lead late.

Against New York, the Blazers must get back to their shooting ways. They’re still third in the NBA in terms of three-point percentage, and they’re going up against a Knicks team that is just 21st at defending that particular category.
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Portland must use LaMarcus Aldridge in the paint to set up the three-point shooting—not the other way around, as the ball hasn’t been dropping as of late.

New York

The Blazers may be fluctuating atop the Western Conference, but it’s the Knicks who have had an up-and-down start to 2014.

Since the start of the New Year, New York has encountered a winning streak of five, a losing streak of five and another winnings streak of four. Unfortunately, it is now in a losing streak of two with the Blazers threatening to make it three.

The Knicks give up 99 points per game, but the bigger story has been their offense. They’re scoring just 96.9 points per contest, which is only good enough for 22nd in the Association.

Luckily for New York, it is going up against one of the worst defenses in the league. Portland allows its opponents to score 103.3 points per game, making them the fourth-worst in that category.

This game comes down to whether or not the Blazers are making their long-range shots. Don’t expect much contribution off the bench, so expect the starters to see a lot of minutes.

Unfortunately for Portland, that’s a recipe for tired legs late, which doesn’t bode well in a close contest.

Prediction: New York 103 – Portland 95

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"