NBA Betting Free Picks: Portland @ Detroit
Added on Jan 23, 2010 by Jack Thurman in
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We cashed tickets at our respective sportsbook on the Portland Trailblazers on Friday night, who took the Boston Celtics to overtime before losing in OT. That’s what you get with a team that plays hard every night and looks for ways to win games with the lineup they have on the floor rather than use injuries–even to a superstar like Brandon Roy–as an excuse for losing them. We’ll come right back and look at the Blazers again tonight for more NBA betting oportunities as they take on the Detroit Pistons:
Portland Trailblazers at Detroit Pistons
January 22, 4:35 PM Pacific
The Blazers responded to Brandon Roy’s injury just as we thought they would against the Boston Celtics, taking the favored home team to overtime before losing by three though easily covering the pointspread. Blazers have some serious problems with their frontcourt depth, but clearly have a nice group of talented guards including Rudy Fernandez who has just returned from injury. There’s some concern in theory about the back-to-back spot, but Portland is 6-3 ATS in the second of back to back games so far this season. They’re also not in a position to take a ‘night off’ against a team they should be able to beat easily even without B-Roy in the lineup. Portland simply can’t afford it in the insanely competitive Western Conference. Their 26-18 record is good enough for only a fifth place tie with San Antonio. They’re only one game ahead of the 6 through 8 teams (Houston, Utah and Phoenix) and only 1 1/2 games ahead of 9th place Oklahoma City.
Thanks to scheduling, they’ve got a good chance to pick up a game tonight as they face the Detroit Pistons. And thanks to public perception its a good wagering value. How else can you explain Detroit as a -2′ point favorite in this spot? Pistons have only won four of their last 20 games SU and have gone 5-15 ATS in that stretch. They’re also a woeful 4-13 SU against the Western Conference. Pistons could be without shooting guard Ben Gordon again tonight (he missed Friday’s game against Indiana). Portland wins outright and at this price that’s all we need them to do.
Bet Portland +2′ over Detroit
