BOSTON vs PORTLAND 11/11/2018 Odds, Picks & Preview

The BOSTON and the PORTLAND will both be gunning for a victory on 11/11/2018 at 9:05 PM when they meet in a game matchup.

BOSTON CELTICS vs PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
When: 9:00 PM  ET, Sunday, November 11, 2018
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

TV: 9:05 PM
LINE: -2
PREDICTION: PORTLAND , BOSTON

Oddsmakers currently have the PORTLAND listed as -2 point favorites versus the BOSTON, while the game’s total is sitting at 213.5.

The Portland Trail Blazers are making easy work of the early part of their schedule and will try to push their latest winning streak to four straight when they host the Boston Celtics on Sunday. The Trail Blazers are still led by guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, but the progression of the rest of the roster is pushing the team to elite status.

Portland expanded its rotation to 11 players on Friday and watched five score in double figures as it cruised past the Los Angeles Clippers 116-105. “It was a grind-it-out kind of game,” Lillard, who finished with a team-high 25 points, told reporters. “I thought our team did a good job at just being present for the entire game. Our bench once again came through, gave us another spark down the stretch. The end of the third, beginning of the fourth, they had a really good stretch, opened up the game a little bit and left it there for us to come close it out. So, another team effort.” The Trail Blazers will be looking to take advantage of a Celtics squad that struggled to losses in three of the first four stops on its five-game road trip. “Effort is the most important thing and that takes heart,” point guard Terry Rozier told reporters after a 123-115 loss at Utah on Friday. “So, we’ve got to go out there and it isn’t just about scoring all the time. We’ve got to go out there and give effort, especially on the rebounding. They out rebounded us by (21) and that’s all effort so we need more of that.”

TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBCS Boston, NBCS Northwest (Portland)

ABOUT THE CELTICS (7-5): Boston center Al Horford was outplayed by counterpart Rudy Gobert in Friday’s setback and took the blame for the team’s struggles. “I wasn’t very happy with my performance,” Horford told reporters. “I felt like I wasn’t that presence I needed to be on the defensive end and it was a lot of miscommunications. I take blame for that and I need to be better, especially going into a game in Portland. Those guys are really good playing at home and we’re going to have to be great in order to win that one.” The Celtics allowed the Jazz to shoot 55.8 percent from the floor and surrendered an average of 115.7 points in the last three contests.


ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (9-3): Portland’s key players have been together with coach Terry Stotts for several years, and the continuity is paying off for the team. “I think our time together, how good we get along together, our understanding of what our coaches want us to do, our understanding of each other, I think it’s all coming together,” Lillard told reporters. “The time spent is really counting for us right now.” That familiarity is helping the team limit its turnovers, and the Trail Blazers committed just seven miscues in Friday’s victory.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Trail Blazers C Jusuf Nurkic is averaging 15.1 points and 9.9 rebounds in 24.8 minutes.

2. Celtics PG Kyrie Irving (personal) sat out Friday and is uncertain for Sunday.

3. Boston took the last three in the series and earned a 105-100 win at Portland last season behind 30 points from PF Marcus Morris.

PREDICTION: Trail Blazers 120, Celtics 114

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