The Golden State Warriors reminded the basketball world that even without Kevin Durant, they have the best team in the NBA. A Game 6 win on the road against the Rockets vaulted them into the Western Conference Finals, where they will face off against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Warriors are at home in Game 1 and are the sizable favorites to take an early series lead. Portland knocked off the Denver Nuggets as road underdogs in Game 7 of their second-round series and will aim to pull off another upset in this one in NBA odds.
This NBA basketball game between the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers will be held at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 14th, 2019. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
We'll have NBA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for every game of the 2019 NBA season.
Odds Analysis
Even without Durant in the fold, the Warriors have been listed as eight-point favorites to claim Game 1 of this series. Golden State is -350 on the moneyline, while Portland is +281 to pull off the upset. The scoring total comes in at 218.5 points.
The Warriors have been listed as the -480 favorites to win this series and advance to the NBA Finals. Portland is the +371 underdog to shock Golden State in the series in NBA gambling.
Season Series
The teams played four times in the regular season and each side won a pair. The Warriors struck first in impressive fashion in late November as they cruised to a 125-97 win. Portland won a thriller in Oakland the next time out by a score of 110-109 in overtime. Jusuf Nurkic had a big game in that one with 27 points and 12 rebounds but he is out for the year due to injury now.
Golden State won the third matchup by a score of 115-105 in Portland despite Damian Lillard going for 40 points. The Trail Blazers won the final regular season head-to-head matchup by a score of 129-107 in mid-February.
Injury Report
Durant strained his calf in Game 5 against the Rockets and did not play in Game 6. He is not going to play in Game 1 of this series, which is obviously a huge boost for the Blazers.
It’s unknown exactly when Durant will return to the court, but it seems likely he could be ready around Game 4 or 5. The Blazers know they must take advantage of Duran’t absence in this one, but the Warriors still have an elite offense behind the duo or Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
Portland could be without small forward Rodney Hood in Game 1 as he deals with a hyperextended knee that he hurt in Game 7 against the Nuggets. Hood played a huge role against Denver and has been the third scorer after Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Blazers aren’t as talented as the Warriors but they match up pretty well without Durant. Portland’s backcourt is talented and should be able to create offense against Golden State, particularly against Curry.
Portland isn’t going to win Game 1 but should hang close enough to cover the spread in NBA gambling. The “under” is the pick as the pace isn’t going to be fast enough for the total to hit.
NBA ATS Pick: Golden State Warriors 111, Portland Trail Blazers 105
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