The Portland Trail Blazers have been flying of late. They have won 7 of their last 10 games and have been by far the best team in the league in defensive rating during that stretch. It is no surprise that they have been able to hold 7 opponents under 105 points during that time. Tonight, they will host a New Orleans Pelicans team that could be heading into this contest without one of their leading scorers. Trey Murphy III has missed their last 3 games and is listed as questionable ahead of this one. The Pelicans suffered double-digit losses in each of those games that he missed.
In their last game, the Pelicans got completely dominated on the glass by the Houston Rockets, being out-rebounded 59-36. They gave up 22 offensive rebounds in the process. They now take on a team that is 3rd in rebounding percentage over the last 10 games, and Donovan Clingan has been a major part of that. The center also leads the league in total offensive rebounds this season. With him in the fold, the Pelicans should leak second-chance points and be held to one possession on most offensive trips. With how well this Trail Blazers team has been defending, it should set them up perfectly to cover the spread at home tonight.
Pelicans vs Trail Blazers prediction: Trail Blazers -6.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -8.5.