The table is set for the NBA’s first-ever play-in tournament. Thanks to Damian Lillard, who exploded inside the bubble – not literally, just on the scoring sheet – the Portland Trail Blazers earned the No. 8 seed and will face the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. Portland was 3.5-games out of the eighth spot when the season shut down, but the Blazers went 6-2 inside the bubble, including wins in their last three games with Lillard totaling 154 points. They edged Brooklyn by a point on Thursday in a do-or-die contest and now have two chances to claim the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. Memphis has to win two in a row to get the bid. The winner has a date with No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers.
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Date and Time: Saturday, August 15, 2020, 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Kissimmee, FL
NBA Odds: Check Back Later
Trail Blazers vs. Grizzlies TV Coverage: ABC
Head to Head
If the season series is any indication we should have a close game. The teams met in the first game of the reboot with Portland getting 11 of their 16 points in overtime from Lillard and C.J. McCollum to pull out a 140-135 victory. It was a much-needed win for the Blazers, who entered bubble ball 3.5-games back of the Griz for the No. 8 seed. McCollum finished with 33 points while Lillard added 29 and nine assists. Jaren Jackson had 33 points for the Griz, but he won’t be available after sustaining an injury.
There was a meeting before the shutdown. Back in February the Griz got a 111-104 win behind 27 points from Brandon Clarke and 20 from Ja Morant. Clarke took advantage of a weakened front court with Zack Collins and Jusuf Nurkic out. The COVID hiatus made sure those players would return giving Portland a more formidable lineup. The teams have alternated wins and losses over the last 12 meetings with the Griz going 6-5-1 against the closing betting line.
Portland Trail Blazers
I’m leaning toward Portland simply because Dame has been on fire. He scored 42 against Brooklyn to get the Blazers into the play-in, his LOWEST total in the last three games. Lillard dropped 61 on the Mavs Tuesday and had 51 against the Sixers last weekend. His team needed every one of them since they won those three games by a combined seven points.
Lillard said before the restart he wouldn’t play unless the Blazers had a chance to make the playoffs. They did and he delivered. Portland has been playing playoff basketball since entering the bubble. They had to make up a few games and promptly went 6-2 with every contest a nail-biter. Lillard averaged 37.6 points in the bubble with six of their games decided by five or fewer points.
Having Collins and Nurkic in the lineup along with Hassan Whiteside gives the Blazers an edge up front. Working his way back from injury, Nurkic had his finest game knocking down 11 of 17 shots for 22 points and 10 boards against the Nets. The Blazers are averaging 126 points in the bubble while cashing the OVER seven times, including the last five.
Memphis Grizzlies
Their trip to Florida was nearly a disaster. The Grizzlies lost their first four games and their second-leading scorer Jackson in the third outing. With their season on the line they needed to beat Milwaukee on Thursday night. It helped that the Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo and already locked into their position in the East, there wasn’t a lot of incentive. Credit the Griz, though. They came out swinging to earn the right to play for the final playoff spot.
It was a historic night for the franchise with Morant and Jonas Valanciunas the first two Grizzlies to have a triple-double in the same game. More of the same is needed against an inspired Portland club. Morant, the team’s leading scorer, had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Valanciunas had 26 points, 19 boards and 12 dimes. “It’s great to see in a meaningful game that our guys just stuck with it. We’re going to need that on Saturday,” coach Taylor Jenkins said.
By going just 2-6 in their eight bubble games, the Griz played themselves into a tough spot. As the lower seed they need to win twice over the weekend to advance. They haven’t won two in a row since early March and over their last 11 games, including three pre-shutdown tilts, they are just 3-8 SU and ATS.
Prediction
The Blazers are not only battle-tested they are an extremely resilient group. Plus they have Lillard, who’s been nearly unstoppable in the bubble. That’s quite alright if the Grizzlies try to stop Dame; that just leaves McCollum, Nurkic, Carmelo Anthony and Gary Trent, among others, to pick up the scraps. The injury to Jackson is a huge blow to the upstart Griz and one I don’t think they can overcome. The best chance Memphis has is to keep the score low giving value to the UNDER, but I like the Blazers to finish the deal on Saturday.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
