Free Daily NCAAF Lock Pick, Tuesday October 31st: Central Michigan vs Northern Illinois 7:00pmET
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The Portland Trail Blazers (1-3; 1-3-0 ATS) will take their only trip to Detroit on Wednesday night. Waiting are the Detroit Pistons, (2-2; 3-1-0 ATS), who will finally get a second game in Little Caesars Arena. They'll try to snap Portland's seven-game winning streak against them. At 7:00 p.m. EDT, these two young teams will square off. Who will walk away with their heads held high?
It took four tries, but the Blazers finally came out on top Monday night. Jerami Grant had 22 points and newly acquired guard Malcolm Brogdon finished with 21 off the bench. Another one of their trade pickups, Deandre Ayton, ended the game with 23 rebounds. A nine-point swing in the third quarter gave Portland the lead before they held Toronto to 17 points in the fourth. It was an unexpected showing from a squad that's currently 27th in adjusted defensive rating. The main thing that Portland does well on the defensive end is force a turnover on 15.4% of possessions. They've also held foes to 28.3% shooting on midrange attempts. Otherwise, the Trail Blazers are allowing 40.0% shooting from three (24th), 66.7% efficiency at the rim (24th), offensive rebounds 28.9% of the time (28th), and a free throw rate of 35.1 (30th). Most nights have been rough for this defense.
Offensively, things aren 9;t looking much better. Portland is 29th in effective field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and shooting percentage within five feet of the rim. The Blazers also have the NBA's worst assist percentage and rank 25th in turnover rate offensively. They may hit 83.3% of their free throws (4th) but don't get to the charity stripe often enough for it to make a major difference. A 28.9% offensive rebounding rate (6th) is the offense's greatest asset. Still, that also hasn't been enough, hence Portland failing to reach 100 points in three consecutive games since their season opener. If only they had a guy like Damian Lillard on the floor.
Free Daily NCAAF Lock Pick, Tuesday October 31st: Central Michigan vs Northern Illinois 7:00pmET CLICK TO SEE PICK NOW