Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Portland Trail Blazers Odds, NBA Betting Pick
The Portland Trail Blazers (24-35) will try to start a late-season push for the playoffs when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder (35-25) as small home favorites Thursday night.
The Blazers sit three games behind the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference heading into this matchup.
Point spread: The Trail Blazers opened as 1.5-point favorites; the total is at 219.5, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark (Line updates and matchup report).
NBA betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 111.9-105.4 Thunder (NBA picks on every game).
Why the Thunder can cover the spread
The Thunder are riding a four-game winning streak both straight up and against the spread. While all four of those games took place at home, Oklahoma City is also 8-2 ATS in its last 10 and continues to be one of the league's best teams versus the number this season.
The Thunder are also 6-2 ATS in the past eight meetings with Portland, including a 105-99 home win on February 5 as five-point chalk behind a game-high 42 points from Russell Westbrook.
Why the Trail Blazers can cover the spread
Even though the Trail Blazers are just 2-6 ATS in the previous eight games against Oklahoma City, the two covers both took place at home, including a 114-95 rout as two-point favorites on December 13. They are also 3-2 SU in the past five meetings and have won each of the last five head-to-head matchups at home.
With such a short number here, Portland will likely just need to win to cover the spread. And after dropping five of six, the pressure is clearly on the Blazers to come through with a victory in this spot.
Smart betting pick
Portland has failed to cover eight of nine and 13 of 18, continuing to be one of the most disappointing teams in the league from a betting perspective.
So why back the Blazers? This is a must-win situation on national television, and they simply cannot afford to lose many more games if they hope to sneak into the postseason for the fourth consecutive year. This is still a squad with a lot of young talent, so bet on the Vegas odds for Portland to get the job done.
NBA betting trends
Oklahoma City is 4-1 ATS in its last five games.
Portland is 2-6 ATS in its last eight games against Oklahoma City.
The total has gone under in five of Oklahoma City's last seven games on the road.
All NBA lines and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report’s official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.
