San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Blazers Prediction, 5/8/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Blazers

Date: Saturday, May 8, 2021

Location: Moda Center in Portland, OR

TV: NBC Sports Northwest

The Portland Blazers (37-29) host the San Antonio Spurs (31-34) at Moda Center on Saturday.

The San Antonio Spurs took the court against the Utah Jazz and went home with a loss by a final score of 126-94 in their last game. San Antonio walked away from the contest with a 40.2% FG percentage (37 out of 92) and made 7 of their 23 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the charity stripe, the Spurs converted 13 of their 20 shots for a percentage of 65.0%. Concerning grabbing boards, they collected 35 with 9 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 22 assists for the game while forcing 14 turnovers and earning 7 steals. In reference to defense, San Antonio allowed 55.7% from the field on 49 of 88 shooting. Utah doled out 24 dimes and had 5 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Utah pulled down 53 boards (7 offensive, 46 defensive) and earned 5 rejections. Utah finished shooting 71.4% from the charity stripe by making 10 of 14 shots. They converted 18 of 41 attempts from beyond the arc.

Devin Vassell is a guy who played a role for this contest. He recorded 14 points on 6 out of 10 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 30:36 mins and collected 4 boards. Vassell finished the game at 60.0% from the floor and distributed 2 dimes. Another guy that came through in the game for the Spurs was Jakob Poeltl. He snagged 4 rebounds in his 12:51 minutes on the court. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the floor in the matchup by shooting 4-of-8 (8 points). When the final whistle was blown, Poeltl accounted for 1 assist.

San Antonio will enter this matchup with a mark of 31-34 this season. They cough up possession 11.4 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 18.2 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, San Antonio is pulling down 43.8 rebounds per game and has 1,599 dimes for the year, which is 20th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Spurs are hitting 35.5% on three-point shots (662 of 1,863) and 78.7% from the free throw line. They average 110.8 points per outing (21st in the league) while shooting 46.1% from the field. On the defensive end, the Spurs are able to force 13.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.8 personal fouls. They are giving up 37.5% on 3-point shots and they rank 15th in the league in PPG allowed (112.0). The Spurs are allowing a field goal percentage of 46.9% (878 of 1,225) and they concede 47.6 boards per contest as a team. They are 7th in basketball in allowing assists with 1,583 surrendered on the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Portland Blazers got the victory with a final of 141-105 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Blazers collected 43 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 54 in the matchup. They also turned it over 10 times, while getting 7 steals in the game. The Cavaliers were called for 18 fouls for this game which got the Blazers to the charity stripe for a total of 25 tries. They were able to make 19 of them for a clip of 76.0%. Concerning shots from beyond the perimeter, Portland converted 16 of their 33 tries (48.5%). Overall, the Blazers finished shooting 53 out of 92 from the floor which gave them a rate of 57.6%. The Blazers allowed the Cavaliers to convert 37 of their 92 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 40.2% for this contest. They finished 34.2% from distance via 13 out of 38 and walked away from this one shooting 18 out of 26 from the free throw line (69.2%). Concerning team rebounding, Portland permitted Cleveland to grab 42 in all (12 offensive).

Damian Lillard was important for the Blazers in this game. He converted 10 out of 17 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 58.8%, and had 3 rebounds. Lillard earned 32 points in his 31:19 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 9 assists in this contest. One more player that ended being a contributor for Portland was Jusuf Nurkic. He came away with 3 dimes in his 20:36 mins on the court, and he shot 6 out of 10 from the floor. Nurkic finished going 60.0% from the field and also earning 15 points and 11 boards.

Portland has a mark of 37-29 on the year. On the offensive side of the court, the Blazers are connecting on 45.1% from the floor, which ranks 25th in the NBA. Portland has accounted for 7,636 pts so far this season (115.7 per game) and they average 44.4 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 21.1 times per game (30th in the league) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.2 times per contest. The Blazers commit 19.0 fouls every game and they shoot 82.5% from the charity stripe. The Blazers on the defensive side of the court are 23rd in the NBA in points given up per game with 114.7. They are forcing 12.6 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.6% from the field (27th in the league). The Portland defense surrenders 37.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (852 of 2,287) and their opponents are connecting on 78.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 25.3 dimes and 45.5 boards per game, which ranks 18th and 21st in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take San Antonio

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