Editor’s note: The Blazers money line was moved from +240 to +195. Our staff is not as encouraged at that number.
The Portland Trail Blazers continued their road struggles on Wednesday in Sacramento, falling 125-121 to the Kings to drop to 10-9 overall and 1-8 away from home.
Hopefully they got plenty of mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner because they’ll need all the energy they can muster to take on the league-best, 16-2 Golden State Warriors in San Francisco on Friday.
Portland will be without Anfernee Simons for the second game in a row, who is out with an upper respiratory infection.
Golden State has won five straight and sports a 10-1 record at the Chase Center despite still being without Klay Thompson or James Wiseman thus far this season. Jordan Poole (18.3 PPG) and Andrew Wiggins (19.1 PPG) have filled in admirably though, and this Warriors team is deep and versatile.
In fact Golden State leads the league in pretty much everything: win percentage, points, 3-pointers made, defensive rebounding, assists, and point differential. They’re also second in field goal percentage and steals.
Putting the numbers aside, they just look like the championship Warriors of a few seasons back. So what’s in store when the league’s worst road team comes to town?
Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors Betting Guide: point spread, moneyline, and over/under
As of Thursday afternoon, WynnBet has Golden State as 5.5-point favorites and at -230 to win, with the Blazers moneyline set at +195. The over/under is 225 points.
Jump on the Warriors at -5.5 before betting drives that number to 9. Golden State has been the best team in the league all season and its leading scorer in Stephen Curry. Meanwhile the Blazers can’t beat anyone on the road and are coming off a tough loss in Sacramento.
I’d be surprised if the Warriors don’t win by double digits, but I’d be tempted to put some hedge money on the Blazers to win straight up. +195 is hard to turn down for a team this talented, even if that money might evaporate by the middle of the third quarter.
For the second game in a row, Portland gets assigned an astronomical over/under number, but this one is understandable given that this is a face-off between two of the league’s top five scoring teams.
The over seems like the right call here. I doubt that any of these professional athletes have indulged on Thanksgiving to a level that would bog them down the next night, and the Blazers haven’t been on the road long enough to have tired legs.
Picks: Golden State -5.5 for $200, Blazers +195 for $100, and over 225 for $100
Trail Blazers at Warriors Television and Radio
The game will be broadcast on Root Sports TV and KPOJ-AM 620 in Portland, and on NBA League Pass nationally. Start time is 7:00 PM Pacific.
Blazers Upcoming Games
Portland closes out their three-game road trip with another tough assignment in Utah on Monday before returning home to host Detroit, San Antonio, Boston, and the Clippers in a span of six days.