Oklahoma City vs Portland NBA Betting Odds
The Portland Trail Blazers continue to shock the NBA world, and their most recent spectacle resulted in their most impressive win to date: a 106- 102 victory over the league-leading Indiana Pacers. [ad-4468020]
Oklahoma City (12-3) @ Portland (15-3)
Wednesday, Dec. 4 10:00 PM ET @ Moda Center
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Life doesn’t get any easier for the Blazers with the Oklahoma City Thunder coming to town. The two division rivals face off Wednesday night at 10:00 PM ET.
Oklahoma City
The Thunder aren’t garnering a lot of attention out West, which is a shame because they’re 12-3 on the season and have once again established themselves as a top-three team in the conference. On the year, OKC is getting it done on both ends of the court. It is averaging 104.1 points per contest—the eighth-best mark in The Association—and it is giving up just 99.2 points per outing—11th in the league.
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From a matchup perspective, Kevin Durant can expect to see different defensive looks in the form of Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews. Batum provides the length needed to contest jumpers, while Matthews gives strength and quickness when defending isolation plays toward the rim. Durant can find solace in the fact that neither player has both key attributes, so as long as he can adjust accordingly, he should put up big numbers.
The Trail Blazers have been giving up substantial looks at the rim this season, and as crazy as it sounds, it’s nearly 100 percent by design.
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The team is allowing easy looks down low as it focuses on defending the three-point line. Look for the Thunder to take full advantage of their opponents’ strategy, as OKC is just 23rd in the league in three-point shooting.
Portland
The Trail Blazers are riding high right now, and the players on the floor are as confident as ever that they can keep it going.
Confidence is crucial in the NBA, but so are X’s and O’s. At this juncture, Portland is a top-five scoring team, averaging 104.7 points per contest, while also picking up its game defensively. The team from Rip City is allowing just 99.7 points per game, and it has pulled down the 8th-most rebounds of any team around the league.
The question with the Blazers has become: How long can they keep this going? They have the best record in the Western Conference, and they’ve already taken down some of the league’s best teams in the Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls (with Derrick Rose).
For fans, the belief is that this is real. The team is thriving on offense while improving on defense, and a talented bench continues to complement an already-impressive starting five. Critics, however, say that this success is not sustainable, as it is too big of an improvement in too little of a timeframe.
In the long term, this team looks like it’s for real. The Blazers will compete for a much better seed in the playoffs than they anticipated, and they’ll be in much better position to retain LaMarcus Aldridge when his contract comes to an end.
In the short term, expect a bit of a hangover against a great team following a statement win. This game will be back and forth, but don’t be shocked if the Thunder steal one on the road.
Prediction: Oklahoma City 107 – Portland 98
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The team is allowing easy looks down low as it focuses on defending the three-point line. Look for the Thunder to take full advantage of their opponents’ strategy, as OKC is just 23rd in the league in three-point shooting.
