Portland Trail Blazers vs San Antonio Spurs Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 29/12/2023, 09:10  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 29/12/2023 at 14:00 in NBA Prediction

The Portland Trail Blazers will square off against the San Antonio Spurs at the Moda Center in the NBA on Friday night. These two sides are at the bottom of the Western Conference, with the visitors (5-25) sitting at the foot of the table while the hosts (8-22) are one spot above them. 

These two went at it last night, and Victor Wembanyama put up 30 points, six rebounds, six assists, and seven blocks to secure a rare road win for the San Antonio Spurs as they beat the Portland Trail Blazers 118-105 to snap a five-game losing streak. However, the Spurs will have to battle without rookie star Wembanyama when they look to sweep a back-to-back tonight. The team announced prior to the two-game trip to Portland that Wembanyama would skip the Friday contest as he continues to work back to full strength after sustaining a right ankle injury. San Antonio are ranked 25th in the NBA with 111.1 points per game and are conceding 122.6, which ranks 27th. Charles Bassey and Devonte Graham will join Wembanyama on the sidelines for this one. 

Meanwhile, Portland were very poor last night and found themselves 38-14 behind in the first quarter and were down by 28 by the second quarter. Jerami Grant scored 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists to lead the side in their losing effort. That result came after a mixed bag of results in their last four games, sandwiching two losses to the Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors with two wins against the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings. Portland are now ranked second-bottom in the NBA with 108.6 points per game, 14.2 fewer than the Spurs allow. Defensively, though, they are above average, allowing 114.8 PPG. Still, the Blazers will fancy their chances tonight with Wembanyama out, but they are missing a few players themselves. DeAndre Ayton, Robert Williams, Shaedon Sharpe, and Anfernee Simons are all listed as doubts.