Portland to Blaze Past Engineless Pistons

The second half of the season promises to excite and this is one game NBA betting lovers are eager to watch.

Portland: Contenders In The West?

The Portland Trail Blazers are currently third in the Northwest behind Utah and Denver, but they are a genuine Western Conference contender in 2021.

Portland enters this contest with three consecutive wins over Miami, Orlando, and Toronto. The trip to Florida was a fruitful one for the Trail Blazers, who now set their sets on Detroit.

They improved to 28-18 with the win over Toronto and in two of their wins, they scored over 120 points. It could be enough to beat the Pistons, which have scored totals of 86, 111, 111, 92, and 118 over the last five games.

Damian Lillard has picked up his level of play, if that’s even possible. Lillard now averages 29.8 points per game and with CJ McCollum also playing at a higher level, the sky’s the limit for the Trail Blazers.

McCollum averages 24.4 PPG and the acquisition of Norman Powell, as reported by ESPN, has been a success so far. The former Raptor has averaged 17.5 PPG in two games for Portland, so it has been a quality introduction to this roster.

“I think he’s going to fit in really well with our team,” coach Terry Stotts told ESPN. “He defends, he’ll take on tough perimeter assignments, he’s a very good 3-point shooter, a good person. He’s been in big games in Toronto, he’s won a ring, so I think what he brings is going to be very welcome for us.”

Portland is a serious contender in the West and it will be heavily favored to beat Detroit in online sports betting markets on Wednesday.

Pistons Falling Further Behind

2021 was never going to be a great season for the Detroit Pistons, but it wasn’t meant to be 13-33 bad.

There isn’t much for Pistons’ fans to get excited about, but they did beat Toronto 118-104 last time out court. It could help spark this team into first gear, but it has been stuck in reverse all season.

The problem has predominantly been on the offensive end. Detroit scores only 107.2 points per game and allows 110.9. That’s a solid average on defense, but teams need to score more than 110 PPG to be competitive in this day and age.

Detroit has won four of its last 15 games, but three of those wins came against the equally-dreadful Toronto Raptors. The fourth win came against Houston, so the Pistons’ form guide doesn’t read well for Wednesday’s game.

Trading for Hamidou Diallo had immediate effects with Diallo scoring 19 points against Toronto. If the 22-year-old shooting guard can continue scoring the bucket for his new team, Detroit could start having more success.

Hamidou Diallo (19 PTS, 10 REB, 2 BLK) propels the @DetroitPistons to victory!

Saddiq Bey: 19 PTS
Saben Lee: 19 PTS
Cory Joseph: 17 PTS pic.twitter.com/l4KZWFC7VJ

NBA (@NBA) March 30, 2021

“At this time of year that’s what you need is an energy guy like that, playing hard, athletic,” Dwane Casey said after the game. “A lot of teams don’t want to fight that right now. That’s what we didn’t have against Washington.

“Once he came in the game, the game changed and it kinda lit a fire under everybody,” Casey continued. “The game sped up and the rest is history. Athletic young man, just scratching the surface of who he can be in this league.”

Game Pick

Detroit has the ability to cause an upset, but not over a team as polished as the Portland Trail Blazers.

Portland is playing good basketball at present and although it’s another road game, it’s more than capable of winning its fourth straight.

Bettors should get value odds for Wednesday’s game at Little Caesars Arena and we’re expecting a double-digit victory.

Pick: Trail Blazers -7½ (-110)