Nets vs. Trail Blazers Betting Line

Carrie Stroup here with your Nets vs. Trail Blazers betting line. Portland -11.5, Total: 211

BROOKLYN NETS (15-41) at PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (29-27)

The Blazers will be going for their sixth straight victory when they host the Nets on Tuesday.

Brooklyn has been lousy all season and the team is now coming off of a 104-96 loss as a seven-point home underdog on Sunday. The Nets have lost two of their past three games both SU and ATS and 13 of their past 17 SU as well. Where Brooklyn really struggles is on the defensive end. The Nets have allowed 15 of their past 17 opponents to shoot over 45% from the floor and that is not going to cut it.

The Blazers have now won-and-covered in five straight games and will be more than ready to go up against this Nets team. Portland has been one of the most explosive teams in the league offensively as of late, averaging 120.0 PPG over the past four games. The team will be looking forward to facing this porous Brooklyn defense and the Blazers have actually been dominant in this head-to-head series recently. They are 4-1 both SU and ATS against the Nets over the past three seasons and that includes a 2-0 record both SU and ATS at home.

There are some noteworthy trends that favor both teams coming into this one. The Nets are 21-7 ATS versus up-tempo teams that average 83 or more shots per game in the second half of the season over the past two seasons. The Blazers, however, are 9-1 ATS in home games versus terrible teams - outscored by their opponents by six or more points per game – over the past two seasons.

The Nets are not a good team right now and things are going to be very difficult in Portland on Tuesday. One guy that absolutely must play well if Brooklyn wants to stay competitive in this game is C Brook Lopez (20.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.9 BPG). Lopez is still one of the best offensive big men in basketball and he’ll need to dominate the post against the Blazers. Portland is a perimeter oriented team, so it’s possible that Lopez can really have his way in this one. He’ll just need to make sure that he isn’t overly focused on his offense, as the team also needs him to defend the rim.

PF Thaddeus Young (15.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG) will also need to play well for the Nets around the rim. Brooklyn will need to win the battle inside, as the team lacks the firepower to keep up with the Blazers’ backcourt. Young can do some damage in this one, as Portland is weak at the power forward position.

It would also help the Nets if SG Joe Johnson (11.6 PPG, 4.1 APG, 3.9 RPG) can find his stroke in this one. Johnson is averaging just 10.0 PPG over the past five games and he is taking just 7.2 shots per game in that span. The Nets need him to be aggressive and get it going from the outside or they just will not be able to score the amount of points required to win this game.

There aren’t many teams in the league that are playing as well as the Blazers at the moment and PG Damian Lillard (25.0 PPG, 7.3 APG, 4.3 RPG, 1.1 SPG) is big reason for that. Lillard has looked like an MVP candidate recently and is clearly motivated by his snub from the All-Star Game. Over the past five games, Lillard is averaging 33.2 PPG, 7.2 APG and 2.2 SPG on 46.9% shooting from the field and 43.9% shooting from the outside. Lillard dropped 51 points in an upset win over the Warriors on Friday and followed that up with 30 against the Jazz on Sunday. He should have no problem lighting it up against a Nets team that is lousy at the point guard position.

Brooklyn also struggles to defend the shooting guard position so SG C.J. McCollum (20.9 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.2 SPG) should be able to get it going as well. McCollum really gave the Jazz issues on Sunday, finishing with 31 points in 37 minutes of action. He is just as dangerous as Lillard with the ball in his hands and his ability to change speeds will haunt the Nets.

Former Net C Mason Plumlee (9.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.0 BPG) will be important in this one for Portland. He will spend a lot of time guarding Brook Lopez and must hold his own defensively in order for the Blazers to win this one.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter