The Portland Trail Blazers were one of the hottest teams in the NBA before the All-Star break, pulling to within five games of the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference by winning 10 of their last 14 games.

Now, they find themselves as home underdogs on Thursday night against a Los Angeles Lakers team that is playing the second night of a back-to-back after yesterday’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets. 

Los Angeles has a shiny new toy in Luka Doncic on its roster, but it still has some work to do to lock up a top-six seed in the East – or better – in the 2024-25 season.

While Portland may end in the lottery (and it probably wants to be there), some of its young players have shown flashes that they could get this squad turned around sooner rather than later.

Here’s a full breakdown of the odds, prop bets and my prediction for this Western Conference battle. 

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Spread

Moneyline

Total

Lakers Injury Report

Trail Blazers Injury Report

Portland Trail Blazers Best NBA Prop Bet

Rookie Donovan Clingan is averaging just 6.8 rebounds per game this season, but he’s played behind Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III in Portland. Now, Ayton is out and Williams is questionable for this matchup.

The Lakers’ frontcourt isn’t nearly as good as it was earlier this season with Anthony Davis now in Dallas, and Clingan had 20 rebounds in 31 minutes in his final game before the All-Star break. If he starts and plays a major role for the Blazers, asking him to get 10 boards isn’t crazy.

As a starter this season, Clingan is averaging 10.8 rebounds per game, clearing this number five times.

Portland has been dominant this season as a home underdog, covering the spread in 17 of 25 games in that spot.

With ESPN’s Shams Charania reporting earlier this week that the Lakers are weighing whether or not they should rest LeBron James out of the All-Star break, I’m not sold on the Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back. 

The Blazers, to their credit, are the No. 10 team in net rating over their last 10 games, playing elite basketball on the defensive end of the floor. 

While Portland did lose three games in a row going into the All-Star break, it has really made a push to be in the play-in conversation over the last month. 

Plus, the Lakers have struggled against the spread as a road favorite (4-7-1). 

I’ll take the points tonight. 

Pick: Blazers +4 (-110)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on  BetStamp here.

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