The Portland Trail Blazers (42-40, 8th in West) take on the Phoenix Suns (45-37, 7th in West) in the second game of the NBA Play-in Tournament. The winner will secure a spot in the postseason, while the loser will take on the winner of Wednesday’s game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers.
The Blazers are a young team that finished the season strong, but they’re in a tough spot on the road against an experienced Suns squad. Both teams are solid defensively, so this could be a low-scoring game.
Read on to find out why the Suns have the advantage over the Blazers in this NBA Play-in Tournament matchup.
Trail Blazers vs Suns Odds
All NBA odds used for these Trail Blazers vs Suns best bets are current as of Monday, April 13, and courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
- Moneyline: Trail Blazers (+140) vs Suns (-166)
- Spread: Trail Blazers +4.5 (-115) vs Suns -4.5 (-105)
- Over/Under: Over 217.5 (-110) / Under 217.5 (-110)
Trail Blazers vs Suns Prediction
Trail Blazers vs Suns Score Prediction: Suns 102, Trail Blazers 95
You can make a legitimate argument that the Suns are better than their 45-37 record, since both Devin Booker (missed 18 games) and Dillon Brooks (missed 26 games) have faced extended absences.
While each of these veteran guards is questionable for this game, the expectation is that they’ll be able to play. This has been reflected in the point spread, which opened at Suns -2.5 and is now -4.5.
Even though the Blazers have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games coming into the playoffs, this is an inexperienced team, led by Deni Avdija. It may be too daunting a task for them to go into Phoenix and upset a Suns squad that has been around the block.
Both Portland (14th) and Phoenix (11th) are rock-solid defensively, while the Suns like to slow the game down (24th in Pace), so this feels like a low-scoring win for the home team.
Trail Blazers vs Suns Best Bets
Suns -4.5 (-105) vs Trail Blazers
The Suns were terrific against the spread this year, posting a 45-33-3 record that ranked third in the NBA.
Phoenix is also tough to beat at home, where they went 25-16 (compared to 20-21 on the road). Meanwhile, Portland hasn’t been nearly as good on the road (18-23) as at home (24-17).
While the Blazers beat the Suns in Phoenix 92-77 back on February 22, that was a game where both Booker and Brooks were out.
In the only game that Booker played against the Blazers, the Suns won 127-110 in Portland. With that in mind, we’ll take Phoenix -4.5 as one of our NBA best bets today.
Trail Blazers vs Suns: Under 217.5 Points (-110)
This number is so low for good reason, so we’re riding with the Under here.
Both the Blazers (14th) and Suns (11th) are rock-solid defensively. With a stud perimeter defender like Brooks back in the lineup, we could see the Blazers have a tough time scoring points.
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Things tend to tighten up during the playoffs, and I expect this game to be a grind. It wouldn’t surprise me to see it stay comfortably under.
