Warriors vs. Trail Blazers Free NBA Picks for February 24 (Archive)
The Golden State Warriors welcomed the All-Star break with open arms as they needed a break following a poor stint of results. Steve Kerr’s side suffered four losses in the last five games, but now has a good chance of getting a win against injury-depleted Portland. The Portland Trail Blazers were on a four-game winning streak before the break, which is their best run this season.
These Western Conference rivals have met twice this season, and Golden State won both duels. The Warriors were better in six of the previous ten H2H encounters. This game will tip-off at 10:00 PM EST on Thursday, February 24. Let’s see what the NBA odds for this matchup tell us!
Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Thursday, February 24, 2022 – 10:00 PM EST at Moda Center
Betting Preview
The Golden State Warriors were close to going to the All-Star break with a win, but Monte Morris hit a buzzer-beating triple to give the Denver Nuggets a 117-116 victory in San Francisco. The Warriors had a lead for the most part of the game, and Denver’s first lead came in the final minute of the tilt.
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Stephen Curry converted a three-point play, but Morris prevented the host from getting Golden State shot 51.1% from the floor and forced 19 turnovers while committing 11 on the other end, but it wasn’t enough for the win. The Warriors didn’t cover a -5 spread, the seventh consecutive game they failed to cover to drop to a 29-26-4 ATS record.
Curry (25 PTS and 6 AST), Klay Thompson (16 PTS, 4 REB, and 4 AST), Jordan Poole (15 PTS, 5 AST, and 2 STL), and Kevon Looney (13 PTS and 9 REB) led the Warriors in this one. Draymond Green (calf) and James Wiseman (knee) are out indefinitely, while Andre Iguodala (back) is questionable to feature on Thursday.
The Warriors have the 12th offense in the NBA that is scoring 110.6 points per game, while their defense is 4th in the league as it allows 103.7 points to the rivals. The Portland Trail Blazers recorded their fourth win in a row for the second time this season as they beat the Memphis Grizzlies 123-119 on the road.
Chauncey Billups’ team shot over 50.0% from the field and over 40.0% from downtown. The Blazers covered a +12.5 spread, the fourth straight game they managed to cover to improve to a 25-34 ATS record.
Betting Analysis
The Warriors remain one of the season's true bright spots even as they've hit a slump. Prior to the All-Star break, the Warriors had lost four of their last five games and failed to cover in five straight games. This veteran team clearly needed a break, and the trends favor them covering against Portland.
Golden State has won eight of their last 12 against Damian Lillard's crew thanks to their explosive offensive ability. The total has gone over in 14 of their last 18 games in Portland. This is a major trend we can't ignore.
Meanwhile, Portland's trends prior to the break may be a bit more of fools gold. Their defense has been much better lately, hitting the under in eight of their last 10 at home. It's hard to imagine continuing against a rested and determined Golden State team that's fighting for their playoff seeding.
Expert Pick
While the All-Star break did the Warriors a favor, it didn’t come at the right time for the surging Blazers, who were on a four-game winning streak. They also lost Nurkic for several weeks, and now the Blazers are looking very weak. I don’t think they can compete with the Golden State Warriors with only two healthy players who are averaging double digits this season.
Portland will be extremely shorthanded in this one, and I am afraid they will experience a blowout defeat on Thursday. Curry and co. will feast on the Blazer’s leaky defense that will be even more vulnerable here.
NBA Pick: Warriors -9 (-110) with Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
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