The Portland Trail Blazers overcame the odds to beat the Denver Nuggets on the road in Game 7 to reach the Western Conference Finals. Now, one step away from the NBA Finals, all the Trail Blazers need to do is take down the two-time defending champions.

Portland will open the best-of-seven series on the road with Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors set to take place on Tuesday night. The Trail Blazers, which overcame a substantial deficit in order to upset Denver on Sunday, have an opening here as the Warriors are without Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins. Can they capitalize?

NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis

The fact that the Trail Blazers are listed as an eight-point underdog heading in to Game 1 should illustrate just how unlikely the oddsmakers think it is that they win the series opener. Portland is just 1-5 against the spread (ATS) in its last six games following a straight up win. The Trail Blazers also weren’t particularly good on the road this season with a 21-20 record as the visiting team during the regular season.

Meanwhile, Golden State went 30-11 on its home floor during the regular season. However, one of those losses was a 110-109 overtime defeat at the hands of Portland back in December. The Warriors are 4-1 ATS in their last five games versus teams from the NBA’s Northwest Division. Golden State is also 10-4 ATS in its last 14 conference finals games over the past few years.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers should come out firing on all cylinders following Sunday’s Game 7 win over Denver. The Trail Blazers might be substantial underdogs, but they won’t be phased by a Warriors side that they split their four-game regular season series with. C.J. McCollum is playing the best basketball of his career heading in to this series and will need to continue to do exactly that. Meanwhile, Damian Lillard has starred in the postseason and is coming off a series where he faced incredible defensive attention.

The key for Portland will be to use their defense and make these games low-scoring. That’s how the Blazers beat Denver. If Game 1 is in the late 90’s or early 100’s, they’ll have a great shot to steal it.

Golden State Warriors

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr will have his team in the right mindset as they continue their pursuit of their fourth championship in five seasons. Golden State will be without Kevin Durant for at least the first two games of this series because of a calf injury. However, they looked just fine without him closing out their second round series with the Houston Rockets. Stephen Curry exploded for 33 second-half points in Game 6 on the road in Houston after being held scoreless throughout the first half. Meanwhile, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodola combined for 44 points in that victory.

The Warriors should feel relieved to see the Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals as this is an inferior team to what they just saw. The Trail Blazers don’t do much inside, have little depth behind Rod Hood and don’t have much experience. Look for the focused Warriors to send a message in Game 1 that they are still the boss.

TRAIL BLAZERS

Away

108

WARRIORS

Home

114

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