NBA Betting Preview: Phoenix Suns vs. Portland Trail Blazers

The Phoenix Suns (6-11) and Portland Trail Blazers (11-8) are set to meet in a Western Conference affair Friday night inside the Rose Garden.

Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers will be after revenge Friday night against the Phoenix Suns

Phoenix has dropped seven of its last nine games and will look to snap a two-game losing streak that includes a 99-96 defeat to the Toronto Raptors as six-point home favorites on Tuesday night.  “Very disappointing,” commented Suns head coach Alvin Gentry.  “I thought we played well and had a lot of energy the first quarter.”  The loss snapped a 14-game winning streak against the Raptors.  Center Marcin Gortat has been one of the few bright spots for the team, averaging a career-high 15.4 points, as he has accumulated nine-straight double-doubles.  Phoenix is 1-4 ATS as a road underdog of 6.5 to 9 points.

The Suns are 3-6 overall on the road this season and have won just one of six games away from home against Western Conference opponents.  Phoenix has won the last two meetings in this series, including a 102-77 win as three-point home underdogs on Jan. 6.  The franchise has won 14 of the last 21 regular-season meetings in this series.  Defensively, the franchise has really stepped up its game from years past, allowing just 94.9 points per game.  That mark is currently sixth-best in the team’s 44-year history.

Portland continues to be incredibly inconsistent and hasn’t won more than two games in a row since starting the 2011-12 season with three consecutive wins.  The Trail Blazers were handed a 101-93 loss by the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, while the game went over the posted total of 192.5.  “As a team, we did not play well,” stated Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.  Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge leads the team in averaging 22.5 points per game, as he has reached double-figure points in every contest during the 2011-12 season.  Portland is 2-0 ATS as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points.

The Trail Blazers scored over 100 points in all four matchups with the Suns last year, averaging 106.0 points per game.  The winning team has scored 100-plus points in 24 of the last 26 regular-season games in this series.  Portland’s 8-1 record inside the Rose Garden is the second-best home record in the Western Conference, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs (9-1).  Getting points off the bench is a strength of this team, as Nicolas Batum and Jamal Crawford both rank in the top 20 in scoring as reserves.

Bettors will likely back the Trail Blazers due to the home team covering four of the last five meetings in this series, while the Suns are 2-7 ATS as a road underdog of 5 to 10.5 points.

Recommendation:  Portland Trail Blazers -9