Portland Trail Blazers vs Denver Nuggets Game 5 Betting Picks, Predictions, Odds & Lines

With the series tied at 2-2, the Blazers travel to Denver for Game 5 of the first round of playoffs. On Saturday, Portland bounced back from two straight losses and blew the Nuggets out 115-95. They’re now 44-32 straight up for the season and 40-36 against the spread. The Blazers also covered in both of their playoffs wins so far. The Nuggets had a chance to take a decisive 3-1 lead in the series but simply failed to show up. They continued their inconsistent form from the finish of the regular season when they went 4-4 in the last 8 games. At the moment, their overall SU record is 49-27. Against the spread, they’re 36-40. Including playoffs, the two teams have now played 7 times this season. Denver won four times.

Line Movement

Portland opened as a short -1.5 underdogs in this one. The spread has already moved to -2 at some sportsbooks, but it’s still the shortest line since Game 1. The total has been stable at 226.

Notes on Portland Trail Blazers

This whole season, the Blazers have found a way to get back on their feet when being knocked down. Usually, it was thanks to Damian Lillard. However, on Saturday, Portland’s best player had an off-night. Lillard, who averages 37.7 in the series, scored only 10 on a woeful 1-10 shooting. Still, everything else went the Blazers’ way. They shot 50% from the field, and had more blocks, steals, and assist than the Nuggets. Plus, the Blazers supporting cast came to the rescue when it was most needed. Norman Powell led the way in his career night scoring an extremely efficient 29 points. Powell was 11-15 from the field and shot 100% for three on 4 attempts. CJ McCollum added 21 while Jusuf Nurkic had 17. More importantly, Portland’s big man kept Nikola Jokic quiet all night. On Tuesday, Portland will be hoping for more of the same from their role players and return to the form for their star guard.

Other than Zach Collins who’s nearing the return, coach Stotts has no fresh injury concerns.

Notes on Denver Nuggets

In the absence of their 2nd-best player and with a depleted guard rotation, Denver has mostly relied on MVP-level performances from Nikola Jokic to win games. And, when Jokic plays as he did on Saturday, they simply have no chance. The Serbian center scored only 16 points, shooting 7-of-18, and had 9 rebounds. Furthermore, ha failed to at least get his teammates involved and had only 1 assist. Denver’s offense runs through Jokic and if he’s having a bad day we can hardly expect high-level performances from others. Michael Porter Jr who took a lot of scoring responsibilities when Murray went down, was a complete no-show. He shot only 3 times and scored measly 3 points. Denver continues to get outplayed on the perimeter, but that’s expected with three of their key guards missing. The only positive from this game for the Nuggets is that at least starters were able to get some rest in a blowout. No member of the starting 5 played more than 26 minutes.

Murray, Barton, and Dozier all remain out for the Nuggets. The latter two are nearing the return though and could be ready for game 6.

Betting Pick: OVER 226

Both teams have relied on their offense the whole season and this series is no different. The Nuggets simply can’t guard the Blazers on the perimeter and we can expect Jokic to bounce back and Denver to regain their offensive groove. Apart from the last game which was decided early, all other matchups in the series went easily above this number.