Portland Trail Blazers at New Orleans Pelicans – 12/21/21 NBA Picks and Prediction

The Portland Trail Blazers and the New Orleans Pelicans collide at the Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night.

The Portland Trail Blazers look to have moved on from their ugly seven-game losing streak as they are now gunning for a third straight victory after sneaking past the Grizzlies in a 105-100 road win on Sunday. Damian Lillard led the team with 32 points and five assists, Norman Powell added 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting while Robert Covington chipped in with 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks off the bench. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 47 percent from the field and 11 of 32 from the 3-point line, but this win was more about their defense as cold stretch in the second quarter meant that they trailed for most of the game until the fourth quarter where they were able to hold the Grizzlies scoreless in the final 1:51 to escape with the much-needed win.

Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans have been in decent shape as they’ve won three of their past four games and they will be aiming for a third straight victory after outlasting the shorthanded Bucks in a 116-112 overtime home win on Friday. Devonte Graham drained eight 3-pointers to lead the team with 26 points on eight of 12 shooting, Jonas Valanciunas added 24 points on 11 of 15 shooting, Brandon Ingram scored 22 points with five assists while Herbert Jones chipped in with 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Pelicans shot 47 percent from the field and 13 of 37 from the 3-point line as they rallied to force overtime, where they escaped on free throws after plenty of drama including a pivotal flagrant foul.

Looking at the betting trends, the Trail Blazers are 3-12 ATS in their last 15 road games, 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a losing record and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games overall. The Pelicans are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a losing record and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 home games against a team with a road record below. 400.

Head to head, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Trail Blazers are 2-5 ATS in the last seven meetings overall and the Trail Blazers are 3-7 ATS in the last 10 meetings in New Orleans.

The Trail Blazers are starting to heat up now, but they could be without Damian Lillard in this one as he is currently listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. The Pelicans have come alive with three wins in their last four games and they will take plenty of confidence from their overtime win over the Bucks on Friday. Tough to pick this one as we don’t know the status of Lillard, but the Trail Blazers are only 3-7 ATS in the last 10 meetings in New Orleans, so I’m taking the Pelicans who should be well-rested as they haven’t played since Friday.