Sean Blazek's Best 2 Picks for NBA Thursday Slate

Welcome to Sean Blazek's NBA Thursday Night Betting Preview where he brings us his two best bets for the night. If you are new to OddsCrowd, make sure you join up here. It’s free. We’re the home of sharp betting information; with sharp data driven picks, odds comparison, all the best Sportsbook promotions and much more!

Brooklyn Nets @ Portland Trail Blazers

Brooklyn will travel up the Pacific coast to finish off their four-game road trip in Portland against the Trail Blazers who hold the top spot in the Western Conference. The Nets will look to prevent a three-game skid and finish off their road trip with some positive momentum. Brooklyn is coming off an embarrassing performance against the Kings allowing 153 points in regulation time. The current game total line is set at 220.5 points. Look for a concentrated effort out of Brooklyn’s defense and for this game to go under the total in tonight’s matchup.

Portland has exceeded league-wide expectations this season coming out of the gate on a mission to prove its worth. They hold a 10-4 record and sit atop of the Western Conference. Their defense is exceeding expectations ranking 7^th on the season after finishing last season ranked 29^th in defensive rating. On top of their solid defense, they have three players averaging 20 or more points per game (Anfernee Simons, Damian Lillard, and Jerami Grant). The Blazers are averaging 109.9 points per game (23^rd) as a team and allowing 107.6 points to opponents.

Brooklyn is the 18^th in the league in scoring with 110.8 points per game. On defense, they are allowing 111.7 points per game to opponents. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving make up more than 50% of the scoring for the Nets. With Irving still suspended all the weight falls on Durant’s shoulders. The Nets need to find some consistent scoring out of players like Royce O’Neale, Joe Harris, and Seth Curry if they want to find ways to string together some wins.

Expect the Nets to come out focused on their defensive efforts after the disastrous performance we witnessed on Tuesday. Portland is 4-8-2 O/U on the season while the Nets have a 6-9 O/U record. Neither squad plays at a quick pace ranking 24^th and 28^th in the league. The Nets are having to rely too much on their bench for offensive production in the absence of Irving. Expect another solid performance out of Portland and for this game to finish under 221 points on Thursday.

Pick: Game Total UNDER 220.5 Points

See the Best Odds for this matchup here. To see the latest line moves and public consensus betting information, click here.

San Antonio Spurs @ Sacramento Kings

The San Antonio Spurs face off with the Kings inside Golden 1 Center. Both teams are trending in opposite directions with the Spurs losing seven of their last eight games, while the Kings are winners of four straight games. Tip-off begins at 7:00 PM ET. The Kings enter tonight’s matchup as a 7-point favorite.

The Kings offense has been lights out scoring 120 or more points in each game of their last four games. Expect their offense to feast again tonight going up against a Spurs defensive unit that ranks 29^th in defensive rating and is allowing a league-high 119.5 points per game to opponents. The Kings quietly rank 2^nd in the league in offensive rating. They love to shoot the deep ball making 14.6 three-pointers (4^th) per game on 38.8 attempts per game (5^th). This is an area of weakness for San Antonio. The Spurs struggle to defend the deep ball allowing opponents to shoot 39.2% from beyond on the arc (29^th). Sacramento may be without rookie Keegan Murray who is considered questionable with a back injury. The Kings have six players averaging double figures, so if Murray is forced to miss Thursday’s matchup, the rest of the starters should have no problem picking up the missing production.

The Kings have the second-highest cover rate going 10-3 (76.9%) against the spread this year. San Antonio has an average margin of victory of -7.6 points per game. The Kings are the NBA’s second-ranked scoring team, while the Spurs rank worst in points per game allowed in the league. Both teams love to push the pace ranking 7^th and 8^th in pace on the season. San Antonio will have trouble keeping up with the Kings scoring abilities. De’Aaron Fox will exploit the Spurs backcourt and should lead the Kings to a double-digit victory. Take the points and watch for the Kings to cover at home on Thursday.

Pick (Best of the Night): Sacramento Kings -7

See the Best Odds for this matchup here. To see the latest line moves and public consensus betting information, click here.