2010 NBA Playoffs Betting: Trailblazers vs. Suns Prediction: April 18th 2010

Portland Trail Blazers vs. Phoenix Suns
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The final Game 1 of the Quarterfinal NBA betting playoffs tips off at 10:30 ET from the desert where the Portland Trail Blazers (50-32, 44-36-2 ATS) and Phoenix Suns (54-28, 48-33-1 ATS) collide. The Blazers held down the 6th seed in the West by taking out the Lakers, Thunder, and Warriors in the final week of the regular season. The Suns took out both Northwest Division leaders in their final two games of the regular season to snatch the 3rd overall seed in the Western Conference standings.

The Blazers will need to fill a huge void in their lineup for at least the first round of the playoffs with leading scorer Brandon Roy going under the knife to repair the meniscus tear in his knee. This is a huge hit for an offense that only averages 98.1 points per game; his 21.5 PPG will be sorely missed against the potent Suns. Where they’ll have to “Cowboy Up” is at the defensive end of the court where they come in ranked 3rd in points allowed (94.8 PPG), 18th in FG percentage allowed (46.4%), and 6th in defending the three (34.3%). HC Nate McMillan’s squad will most definitely look to get to the free throw line as much as possible considering the Blazers shoot 79 percent as a team (#3).

The Suns were arguably the most fun team to watch in the NBA this year, as they ranked #1 in the league in all of the major offensive categories. The team finished the regular season as the best scoring team (110.2 PPG), shooting team (49.2%), and three-point shooting team (41.2%) in the nation. PG Steve Nash had another phenomenal season at the ripe age of 36 to lead the team with 11 assists per game. C Amare Stoudemire is also playing like a man on a mission right now, as he has put up seven straight 20+ point performances and averaged 23.1 PPG throughout the regular season.

Portland won and covered the first two meetings of the year against the Suns winning105-102 as 1.5-point home chalk way back in December and 108-101 as 9.5-point underdogs in early February. The latter was played without Brandon Roy, so at the very least, the Blazers know they can win on the Suns court without him. They lost their most recent trip to the desert 93-87 in March, but pushed against the closing NBA odds. The favorite is 18-6-2 ATS the L/26 overall meetings, and the Suns have covered 13 of their L/17 as a home chalk (13-3-1 ATS).

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