Portland Trail Blazers vs. Phoenix Suns Prediction, NBA Play-In Tournament Odds
Two Western Conference squads absent from the playoffs entirely last season meet up in Phoenix on Tuesday as the Suns host the Portland Trail Blazers at 10 p.m. ET.
Portland has been a playoff ghost. Nobody has seen the Blazers in the postseason for four years. It was a good bet to be five after coach Chauncey Billups was suspended indefinitely, but Tiago Splitter has kept the team on target.
The Blazers won seven of 10 to close the season, including a 122-110 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. Deni Avdija led the way with 25 points and 10 assists.
Phoenix is stumbling into the postseason somewhat, having lost four of seven. The Suns did defeat OKC on Sunday, 135-103, in a matchup littered with reserves so deep on the bench that even a game program wouldn’t be able to list them.
The winner advances to the actual playoffs. The loser has to play again on Friday to achieve that goal.
Trail Blazers vs. Suns NBA Betting Odds
The Trail Blazers are slight 3.5-point road underdogs on the NBA odds. They sit at +135 on the moneyline, while home favourite Phoenix is listed at -160.
The over/under is set at 217 points. These teams played to the over in two of their three battles this year.
Portland Trail Blazers
The only Portland player listed in the injury sheet is Jerami Grant. The team’s third-leading scorer at 18.6 points per game missed the final seven games of the regular season, dealing with a calf issue.
Avdija has been a revelation in his second season in Portland after escaping Washington after four years with the lowly Wizards franchise. He leads the team in most major categories, and established career highs in scoring (24.2 ppg) and assists (6.7 AST), to go along with a healthy 6.9 rebounds per contest.
A trio of 22-year olds, including Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson and double-double machine Donovan Clingan, have provided energy and production in droves.
Phoenix Suns
Grayson Allen, Phoenix’s fourth-leading scorer at 16.5 points per game, is nursing a hamstring issue and is questionable for Tuesday. He is the only Suns player who is a doubt.
In his 10th season with Phoenix, Devin Booker is still the straw that stirs the team’s drink. The five-time All-Star led the Suns with 26.1 points and 6 assists.
Perhaps most surprising was Dillon Brooks, a ninth-year forward who came over from Houston in the offseason and set a career-high with 20.2 points per game. He is still just as agitating to opponents on the court as ever.
NBA Prediction: Who Will Win Trail Blazers vs. Suns?
This should be a tight contest throughout, with the X-factor potentially being Portland’s Jrue Holiday, who went through two consecutive comprehensive playoff runs with Boston over the past two seasons.
Are Booker and Brooks enough? The Suns have already defeated Portland without both of the Suns’ leading scorers.
But not Tuesday. Tuesday, Portland sends word that its youth movement, with a dash of veteran leadership from Holiday and Grant, pulls off the mild upset.
Clingan averaged 15.3 points and 13.3 rebounds in the three meetings with Phoenix this season. Look for him to be a difference-maker in a 117-113 Trail Blazers triumph.
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