NBA Picks & Predictions for Thursday, January 20, 2011
By Drew Sharper
PORTLAND, OR (TheSpread) – The Los Angeles Clippers look to continue their rise on Thursday when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday. Here is a breakdown of my pick for this game.
Los Angeles is 16-25 on the season and just 3-12 on the road but the Clippers have won 3 straight and 7 of their last 10 games. Portland is 23-20 on the season and 14-5 at home. The Blazers have won 3 straight and 6 of their last 10.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook Sportsbook.com have released their odds for this game and they have made the Blazers a 3.5-point favorite at home against Los Angeles. The over/under total has been set at 194.5 points. Here are some trends to consider and my pick for tonight’s game:
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers, 10:30PM ET
The home team has covered in 4 of the last 5 games in this series but the Clippers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 against the Northwest Division. My pick goes with the surging Clippers as they seem to have figured out their identity and are posing problems for some good teams. I will take them with the points against a banged-up Portland team.
NBA FREE PICK: LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS +3.5