Oklahoma City Thunder at Portland Trail Blazers NBA Picks

Oklahoma City suffered one of its worst shooting nights in recent memory in last night’s 107-92 road loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.  The Thunder managed to shooting just 39.3 percent from the field and suffered their second straight loss of the 2010-11 campaign.  “I’m the leader of this team,” star forward Kevin Durant commented.  “We’ve got to figure this out.  Two games in a row, teams just did whatever they want on us.”  The All-Star managed to shooting just 6-for-24 in the loss.  Oklahoma City will be playing the second half of its first back-to-back of the season tonight, as the squad posted a 9-9 mark on the first night and 8-10 on the second night last year.  The club is 0-2 ATS on the road this season and 51-36 ATS away from Oklahoma the last three seasons.

The Thunder played its fourth straight opponent searching for their first win of the season and the lack of high caliber opponents was a hurdle the team was concerned about.  “We’ve got to worry about ourselves,” said Durant.  “That Utah game, our energy wasn’t there at all.  I know if we bring our energy we can play with a lot of teams in this league.”  Oklahoma City’s start on the road is a bit surprising due to the club coming off a 23-18 road record last year, which exceeded the combined road win total for the prior two seasons (15).

Portland travels home after a successful road trip that saw them capture three of our games, including a 90-76 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the final game.  The Blazers limited the Bucks to 37.5 percent shooting overall and held them to 3-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc.  “A very good road trip for us,” exclaimed head coach Nate McMillan.  He has to be especially excited to see that the team’s bench scored 43 points last time out, including 26 in the first half.  “That’s what we’re supposed to do,” said Wesley Matthews.  “Bring energy and sustain what the starters do.”  The starters are led by guard Brandon Roy, who is currently averaging 21.8 points, which is 17th best in the NBA.  Portland is 2-0 ATS as a favorite and 65-47 ATS in this role the past three years.

The Blazers won the season series with the Thunder, 3-1, for the second straight year.  In fact, Portland has won six of the past seven contests versus Oklahoma City, with three of last season’s four meetings decided by less than 10 points.  One key stat in last year’s series was three-point shooting, with the Trail Blazers hitting just 25 percent from beyond the arc, while the Thunder managed to connect on just 26.8 percent.  The defense held Durant to 36.1 percent shooting from the floor and 3.1 points below his NBA leading scoring average in last year’s meetings.

Bettors may elect to lay the Thunder due to their 1-7 ATS mark on zero days rest, while the Blazers are 1-5 ATS in their last six games on a days rest.?