The Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the better home court teams over the past several years, something that has kept them in contention for the playoffs. But this year the Moda Center has been a house or horrors and the Blazers will take on the Philadelphia 76ers looking to end a six-game home losing skid. Both teams will be well rested with each having multiple days off since their last game, but the Sixers are travelling across the country for the Western Conference swing of a season-long five-game road trip.
Don’t miss the hardwood action from the Moda Center at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 28, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on TNT. We’ll have NBA opening odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Thursday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Both teams ended losing streaks in their last game with the Sixers stopping a five-game slide by knocking off the Knicks and the Blazers halting a three-game run with a win over the Lakers. Portland has endured some painful moments at home recently, losing six straight at the Moda Center while going 1-5 ATS. Overall the Blazers are just 7-10 SU and 4-11-2 ATS at home this year. The Sixers, meanwhile, are just 2-5 SU and 2-4-1 ATS in their past seven road games.
Injury Report
The Blazers were without leading scoring Damian Lillard for their last two games and they earned a split, defeating the Lakers on Saturday. Lillard pulled a hamstring in the team’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs last week and he sat in a 102-85 home loss to the Nuggets. The Blazers are hopeful Lillard can be back on the floor when they meet the Sixers, but the injury could require a longer recuperation period.
Lillard is averaging 25.2 points, 6.4 assists and 5.0 rebounds this season and along with C.J. McCollum is part of a dynamic backcourt that combines to average nearly 46 points per game. Shabazz Napier made his first start of the season in place of Lillard on Saturday against the Lakers and scored 21 points. But if the Blazers are to make a run in the West, they need Lillard on the floor running the show. The schedule will work in Portland’s favor leading up to Thursday with four full days off between games, giving Lillard and the rest of the club a mini-break.
Player to Watch
The Sixers also had a little break between games and that allowed time for Joel Embiid to heal. Bothered by injuries that forced him to miss his first two seasons and limited him to 31 games last season, Embiid is taking over from where he left off last season. He scored 25 points with 16 rebounds, three blocked shots and three assists in the Sixers’ Christmas Day win over the Knicks to stop a five-game losing streak.
The team continues to be cautious with his fragile body and has given him random days off while sitting him for one game in a back-to-back situation. But with two days off between games, Embiid brings his 23.7 points per game average and dominating inside presence against a team that has struggled with its interior defense. The Blazers gave up 42 combined points to Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge in a loss to the Spurs and they were torched by Nikola Jokic and Wilson Chandler for 48 combined points in a loss to the Nuggets.
Free NBA ATS Picks
Having Lillard back in the lineup will certainly change the direction of this game. Lillard missed the previous two games and while the Blazers split them, they averaged just 90 points, which is 10 points below their season average. Ben Simmons will give the diminutive Portland backcourt fits with his length and Embiid and Robert Covington will own the middle, much like the bigs did against the Blazers in previous games.
Portland has been awful at home this season and the Sixers are coming off a big Christmas Day victory in New York. Both teams should be well-rested, but Embiid will take advantage of Portland’s weak interior defense for a monster game, Simmons and J.J. Redick will counteract the Blazers duo of McCollum and Lillard, if he plays, giving the Sixers enough of an edge to get the upset road victory.
NBA Odds: 76ers 106, Trail Blazers 101
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