Blazers Spurs Game 2 Point Spread – 2014 NBA Playoffs

Carrie Stroup here with your Blazers Spurs Game 2 point spread for the 2014 NBA Playoffs courtesy of Sportsbook.com.  Place your 1^st bet, get your 2^nd bet for FREE here.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (58-31) at SAN ANTONIO SPURS (67-23)

Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: San Antonio -6.5 & 208.5

The Spurs look to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals on Thursday night when they host the Trail Blazers.  

Portland was never competitive in Tuesday's Game 1, trailing 65-39 at halftime and losing 116-92. The biggest problem in for the Trail Blazers in the series opener was their 20 turnovers, as they can ill-afford to give the ball away against an efficient offense like San Antonio. It was a tough offensive night all around for Portland, as the team shot 38% from the field, and 25% (4-of-16) from the three-point line. Meanwhile, the Spurs committed only 12 turnovers and nailed 51% FG and 44% threes (7-for-16). In the first-round series against the Rockets, the Blazers did a great job of protecting the rim (9.2 BPG), but blocked only two shots on Tuesday. But this has been a resilient club on the road recently, going 13-2 ATS in the past three seasons on the road after trailing its previous game by 15+ points at halftime. This season, Portland is a strong 25-20 SU (27-18 ATS) in all road games and has not needed much rest between games, going 39-29 ATS (57%) with less than two off-days in between games. The club is also 13-4 SU over its past 17 contests. After looking beatable for most of the first round, San Antonio appears to be ready to make a run at the title. In the past two games, both at home, the club won by a combined 47 points, to improve to 27-7 SU (20-14 ATS) in the past 34 contests. While Tony Parker had a huge Game 1 with 33 points and nine assists, the Spurs' bench also stepped up by outscoring Trail Blazers reserves by a 50-18 margin. San Antonio is now 36-10 SU at home, but only 22-24 ATS. However, the club's recent offensive surge is a good sign for Thursday, as it is 22-5 ATS over the past three seasons after scoring 105+ points in three straight games. With the Game 1 win, the Spurs hold a tiny 36-35 ATS advantage in this series since 1996, which includes an even 18-18 ATS mark in San Antonio. There are no significant injuries for either team.

PF LaMarcus Aldridge (30.1 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 2.3 BPG in playoffs) was the only Portland player ready to go on Tuesday, finishing with 32 points (12-of-25 FG) and 14 rebounds. Just like he did in the first round of the playoffs, Aldridge was hitting the mid-range jump shot that makes him impossible to guard, but he also wound up with a game-worst rating of minus-23. However, the other part of the dynamic duo, PG Damian Lillard (24.3 PPG, 6.1 APG, 6.0 RPG in playoffs) had a difficult night in Game 1. He scored only four points with zero assists in the first half, and compiled the majority of his 17 points (6-of-15 FG) when the game was out of reach. Lillard finished with twice as many turnovers (six) as assists (three) and tallied a minus-16 rating. However, Lillard responded from a difficult Game 2 against Houston in the last series (18 points on 3-of-14 FG) with a big bounce-back effort (30 points on 9-of-16 FG). He tried to do too much at times, as veteran Tony Parker certainly got the best of the 23-year-old. SF Nicolas Batum (14.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.4 APG in playoffs) and SG Wesley Matthews (14.3 PPG, 1.6 SPG in playoffs) have to play much better than they did in Game 1 when they combined for 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting. The Trail Blazers are at their best when Lillard and Aldridge are attacking, and then dishing out to Batum and Matthews for wide-open three-point shots. Aldridge is such a great player that he is going to get his numbers regardless on how he is defended. The Spurs realized that, and really focused on stopping the role players of the Trail Blazers. The Portland bench really struggled shooting (6-of-19 FG) with the biggest culprit being SG Mo Williams (7.9 PPG in playoffs), who made only 3-of-11 shots and posted a minus-16 rating with four assists and four turnovers in his 28 unproductive minutes. If it was not for some garbage-time scoring by SG Will Barton (3.0 PPG in series) who scored nine points on 3-of-3 threes, the output of the bench would have been much worse.

PG Tony Parker (21.5 PPG, 5.3 APG in playoffs) is the leader of this team, and he was back in playoff form on Tuesday night with 33 points (13-of-24 FG), nine assists and a +27 rating despite his six turnovers. Parker is absolutely relentless at attacking the rim, and despite a lack of height and athleticism, finishes at the basket as well as any guard in the league. He is terrific at running the pick-and-roll, as he knows exactly what he wants to do as soon as the screen is set. When he is in control of the offense like he was in Game 1, the Spurs are nearly impossible to beat. SG Marco Belinelli (5.1 PPG in playoffs) gave the Spurs a huge lift off the bench in Game 1 with 19 points on 7-of-9 FG (3-of-5 threes) with a +13 rating. Belinelli and PG Patty Mills (6.4 PPG in playoffs), who scored 10 points in 12 minutes, were needed to pick up the slack for struggling SGs Manu Ginobili (15.8 PPG, 4.6 APG, 3.6 RPG, 2.0 SPG in playoffs) and Danny Green (6.3 PPG in playoffs) who combined for two points on 0-for-9 shooting in Tuesday's win. But the starting frontcourt for Game 1 was comprised of three productive players. PF Tim Duncan (16.6 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.9 BPG in playoffs) contributed a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, SF Kawhi Leonard (12.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.5 SPG in playoffs) had a well-rounded 16 points, nine boards and five steals, while C Tiago Splitter (10.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.3 SPG in playoffs) had only five points and five boards, but still posted a +24 rating. Leonard does not have a lot of plays drawn up for him, but he is a huge part of the Spurs' success, and did a terrific job of guarding Batum. San Antonio has so many players that can beat you on any given night, which makes the club very difficult to beat.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter