Online sportsbook basketball gambling is afoot: the Portland Trail Blazers visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, January 20th at Wells Fargo Center. The Blazers are losing the confidence of fans betting on NBA games. Portland is in the midst of a three-game losing streak, the last of which was an 85-107 massacre at the hands of the Hornets. That’s what happens when you stir a hornet’s nest.
Basketball Gambling Milestone for the Blazers
The Charlotte game might have been a milestone in the Blazers’ season, and not the good kind – from postseason hopefuls to NBA draft contenders. With an 18-26 record, Portland is eight games under .500 and one game behind Western Conference eighth place the Denver Nuggets. The Blazers are too talented to be struggling like this – or maybe it’s the tense that’s wrong; they were great last season, a basketball gambling dark horse that made it farther than it had any right to. Many fans betting on NBA games expected them to build on that success.
Slippery Slope
Unfortunately, it’s a slippery slope and you’re just as liable to slip back down as to make it over the hump. At this rate, Portland is projected to win 34 games, ten fewer than the previous season. Following the loss to the Hornets, several Blazers players admitted they were lacking something that they just couldn’t quite put their finger on. It’s the defense, guys. Ever heard of a double-edged sword? Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are single-edged swords; very sharp on offense, very dull on defense.
Sixers Game
The Sixers defied basketball gambling odds and beat the Raptors 94-98 on Wednesday. Joel Embiid scored 26 points and had nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocked shots, as he bathed in the local fans’ “MVP” chants. Drink it in, man! Embiid’s status was questionable due to the flu. Which we can only hope prompted head coach Brett Brown to say, “now, if Mr. Embiid is feeling a little flu-ish, don’t wanna walk, put him up on that cloven-hoof animal. We got ground to cover.” The 76ers themselves seemed to be rather a little under the weather back in December, but after winning seven of nine (the Jeri Ryan streak) Philly is, as the AP put it, “no longer the laughingstock of the NBA.” Or of fans betting on NBA, games for that matter.
Sixers on a Streak
The Sixers as a whole are not the only ones on a streak, though. Embiid has scored 20 points in 10 consecutive games, and is shooting 84.1 from the free-throw line, with 11.3 attempts per contest. Whatever happens from here, this season can already be counted as a success – in fact, Philly has already improved on last season’s record. The future looks bright for the Sixers, up to and including the very near future. The 76ers can’t help but have a very good basketball gambling shot at the crestfallen Trail Blazers. Embiid is averaging 19.7 points per game, and that’s bound to go up against Portland’s flimsy defense. And Philly’s own D has the potential to keep Lillard and McCollum in check.