Warriors vs. Blazers Game 2 Betting Preview: Bank on a Blazers Bounceback?

Warriors vs. Blazers Game 2 Betting Preview: Bank on a Blazers Bounceback? article feature image
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Photo credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Damian Lillard

Game 2: Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors Betting Odds

  • Spread: Warriors -7.5
  • Over/Under: 218
  • Time: 9 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Series Score: Warriors Lead 1-0

>> All odds as of Wednesday evening. Download The Action Network App to get real-time odds and live win probabilities on your bets.


The Warriors covered again without Kevin Durant, and he's already been ruled out for Game 2.

Expect more of the same or can the Blazers make this a closer affair? Our experts weigh in.

Betting Trends to Know

The Warriors are back to their old selves again. They beat the Blazers at home by 22 points in Game 1 while shooting 50% from the field; they hit their patented assist mark of 30 as well.  So how does that bode for Game 2?

Since 2005, teams that shot at least 50% from the field and hit that 30-assist mark in their previous game have gone 42-25 ATS (62.7%) in their next game, including 27-11 ATS (71.1%) when favored. Put simply: Good teams keep playing well. – Evan Abrams

That said, a lot of that was hot shooting from the outside specifically: Golden State made 17-of-33 (51.5%) 3-point attempts. The Dubs easily covered as 7.5-point favorites, but bettors shouldn’t bank on the same result in Game 2. Since 2005, teams that made 50% or more of their 3s in the previous game have gone 91-91-6 ATS in the playoffs — likely thanks to regression from behind the arc. – John Ewing

Can the Blazers bounce back in Game 2? Recent history says no. In the past 10 years, teams that lost their previous playoff game by 20 or more points have gone 52-65-1 (44%) ATS in the next one. – Ewing

Terry Stotts has had a tough time covering the spread in playoff games. In his career as a coach in the playoffs, he is 17-34-2 ATS (33.3%), the second-least profitable coach ATS ahead of just Dwane Casey.

The biggest pain point for Stotts is his track record on the road, where he is 8-19-2 ATS (29.6%) in the playoffs. He's also the second-least profitable coach in that spot ahead of just Mike Woodson.

In the 2019 playoffs, though, Stotts has done a good job at not losing consecutive road games; the Blazers are 3-0 straight-up and ATS in their next road game after a road loss. – Abrams

Under Steve Kerr, the Warriors are 16-14 ATS (53.3%) when they play at home after a straight-up and ATS win. Of those 30 games, Kevin Durant has played in 12 of them and missed 18. The Warriors are 3-9 ATS in this spot with him and 13-5 ATS without him. – Abrams


Locky: How I'm Betting Game 2


I thought Jeff Van Gundy said it best at the end of Game 1. When Mike Breen pointed out that the Blazers had some things going for them, including the performance of Rodney Hood, Van Gundy said something to the effect of “Well, that’s actually it. That’s the entire list of things.”

It would certainly be hard to play worse than Portland did for much of the game. But, in reality, if not for Steph Curry’s superhuman 3-point shooting (which we’ve seen before, aided in some part by the Blazers' pick-and-roll defensive scheme) the Blazers really were in that game for large portions of it.

Basically every time they made it a 4-6 point game, Curry made a shot. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were BOTH completely ineffective, something which is unlikely to happen in tandem for the rest of the series.

If we attribute some of the Blazers' play to the inability to get back to the level they were at against Denver, due to fatigue or other things, and if this spread is identical to what we saw in Game 1, I think there is a bounce back for them to a certain extent.

I’m not sure they can win the game, but the final score in Game 1 is a little misleading because the Warriors pulled away so dramatically late. For about 40 minutes, this game stayed easily within the margins set by the Game 1 and Game 2 spreads.

With Portland having a game to reassess what they want to do with Curry and Klay Thompson, I think it’s more likely than not they can stay within the margin for all 48 minutes this time. I like Portland ATS here. — Ken Barkley


Editor’s note: The opinions on this game are from the individual writers and are based on their research, analysis and perspective. They are independent of, and may not always match with, the algorithm-driven Best Bets from Sports Insights.

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Mar 28, 2024 UTC