The Portland Trail Blazers (6-1) and Los Angeles Lakers (7-2) will clash in the NBA Cup tonight. Tipoff is set for 10:00 p.m. ET from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. The game will broadcast live on Amazon Prime Video.
The Lakers are 2.5-point favorites over the Trail Blazers on the spread, with the over/under set at 232.5 total points. The Lakers are -154 moneyline favorites to win outright, while the Blazers are listed as +130 underdogs to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Trail Blazers vs. Lakers predictions and NBA picks for Friday, November 6.
Trail Blazers vs Lakers Prediction
- Trail Blazers vs Lakers pick: Luka Doncic +35 Points (-122)
My Trail Blazers vs. Lakers best bet is Luka Doncic to score +35 points, with the best price currently available at FanDuel. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live NBA odds page.
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Trail Blazers vs Lakers Odds
- Trail Blazers vs Lakers spread: Lakers -2.5 (-114), Trail Blazers +2.5 (-106)
- Trail Blazers vs Lakers over/under: 232.5 (-110o / -110u)
- Trail Blazers vs Lakers moneyline: Trail Blazers +130, Lakers -154
Trail Blazers vs Lakers NBA Preview
Portland Trail Blazers Betting Preview
The Portland Trail Blazers are a fascinating team defensively because they are militant about playing drop coverage.
The Blazers are absolutely dedicated to it, primarily because they want to keep Donovan Clingan anchored near the rim where he excels, rather than pulling him out to the perimeter.
Because of this strict drop scheme, the Blazers' wings are able to stay home on shooters, which generally limits overall three-point opportunities.
However, the fatal flaw of this coverage is that they surrender the highest number of three-point attempts off the pick-and-roll in the entire NBA. They allow opposing ball-handlers to walk right into pull-up jumpers.
The Blazers might be holding teams to 29 percent on those looks, but when you face a high-usage star like Luka Doncic, that volume is going to burn you.
Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview
The Los Angeles Lakers offense completely revolves around Luka Doncic, and he is playing at an MVP-caliber level right now.
Luka's plus-minus numbers are staggering; when he is on the court, the Lakers are amazing, and when he sits, they are a huge negative.
Austin Reaves hasn't looked quite like himself lately, which means even more of the offensive burden falls directly on Luka's shoulders.
We also know that Luka tends to take a step forward in these NBA Cup tournament games.
Doncic also just dropped a massive 41-point performance on this exact same Portland team a couple of weeks ago, and the Lakers desperately need this win.
Trail Blazers vs Lakers Pick, Betting Analysis
I know this line looks ridiculous on the surface—it reminds me of the days when James Harden was getting lines of 39.5—but Luka has been on another planet this season. He has cleared this number in six straight games.
The sheer volume of three-pointers he is taking is outrageous; over his last few games, he's logged 13, 15, 12, 16, 15, and 18 attempts from deep.
Portland's drop coverage is practically begging ball-dominant guards to pull up from deep, which is exactly why guys like Devin Booker, Jamal Murray, and Darius Acuff have all gone off against them.
Luka is going to get whatever he wants out of the pick-and-roll tonight.
Pick: Luka Doncic +35 Points (-122)
Trail Blazers vs Lakers Betting Trends
