Portland Trail Blazers (0-0-0) vs. Sacramento Kings (0-0-0)
The NBA betting action is back and brings a loaded 12-game Wednesday card, so we are taking a closer look at the Western Conference showdown from Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, to get you the best Trail Blazers vs. Kings betting pick and odds.
Portland heads to Sacramento as a small 1.5-point underdog. The visitors are +100 moneyline dogs, while the Kings sit at -120 moneyline odds with a total of 226.5 points.
The 27-55 Portland Trail Blazers finished the 2021-22 season at the 13th spot in the West, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2013. They were dead last in the league in defensive efficiency, yielding 116.9 points per 100 possessions. Also, Portland’s defense ranked 28th in both field goal percentage (47.9%) and 3-point percentage (37.1%), so the Trail Blazers will have to improve a lot this time around if they want to return to the postseason.
Portland signed Gary Payton II in the offseason, and the 2022 NBA champ with the Golden State Warriors should boost the Trail Blazers’ defense. The Blazers also traded for Jerami Grant, who averaged 19.2 points and 4.1 rebounds wit h the Detroit Pistons last regular season. Grant is not a top-notch defensive stopper, but he’s capable of guarding multiple positions.
2012 ?? 2022#RipCity | @Dame_Lillard pic.twitter.com/yS31Bq6YxP
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 17, 2022
Damian Lillard will continue to drive Portland’s offense after extending his contract through the 2026-27 season. The six-time All-Star played just 29 games last season due to an abdominal injury, tallying 24.0 points and 7.3 assists a night. Anfernee Simons will join him in the backcourt after averaging 17.3 points per game in 2021-22, while Jusuf Nurkic (15.0 PPG and 11.1 RPG in 56 games last season) remains a go-to guy in the paint.
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