Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers Game 2 Predictions, Odds & Picks

• The Los Angeles Lakers have now lost four of their last five matches.
• The Portland Trail Blazers are now undefeated in their last five games.
• Lillard led all scorers in Game 1 with 34 points.

Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers Odds

Odds from DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or check out more offers and promo codes for the best online sportsbooks.

Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers Predictions and Picks

The Portland Trail Blazers pulled off quite the upset in Game 1, but they weren’t without their own faults. We expect the Lakers to bounce back from a dreadful shooting night with a clear victory.

Picks:

Los Angeles Lakers def. Portland Trail Blazers   -278

Los Angeles -6.5 -110

Under 229.5 -108

How to Watch Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers

Head-to-Head: Portland Trail Blazers vs Los Angeles Lakers

Portland Need to Prepare for a Roaring Lakers Attack

The Portland Trail Blazers are an interesting team. While they’re not incredibly effective straight up on defense, they are good at funneling players to their shot blockers in the paint.

While the Blazers held the Lakers to just 15.6% shooting from three, they also allowed 32 attempts – many of which were good open looks. The Blazers are dancing on a tight rope, keeping balance only because of Damian Lillard’s scoring ability.

The Blazers’ offensive ability is well known, but if they don’t tighten up defensively they won’t survive an average shooting night from the Lakers. While Los Angeles is in poor form, it’d be foolish for the Blazers to think they’ll be able to hold the Lakers to such a poor shooting percentage again.

LeBron James is on an Island

He may be the best player in the world, but LeBron James needs help as much as anyone else in the NBA. In the Lakers’ most recent 93-100 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, James looked all-alone out on the court.

Yes, Anthony Davis scored 28 points, but it was on eight of 24 shooting from the field. James did his utmost on the court in Game 1, dishing out 16 assists on the Lakers’ 34 field goals.

Simply put, the Lakers need production. James’ supporting cast looked weak last time out, which spells concern for Game 2. In the defining years of James’ career, the 35-year-old forward needs more help than ever before.

Lakers Key Player: (G) Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

LeBron used to rack up assists when the Cavs would have Korver and Love play off each other’s screens.

Similar concept here, as Bron feeds KCP for three cutting buckets off AD’s pindowns. pic.twitter.com/LpXmMeJG36

— Joey Ramirez (@JoeyARamirez) December 5, 2019

If you didn’t know that KCP played in Game 1, you’d be forgiven for not realizing it. While he contributed his hustle on the defensive side of the ball, KCP rewarded LeBron James’ playmaking wizardry with a terrible shooting night.

Caldwell-Pope failed to make a single field goal in Game 1, going zero of nine from the field and zero of five from deep.

He’ll have a short leash in Game 2, as there are a number of willing shooters like Dion Waiters, J.R. Smith, and Quinn Cook waiting on the Lakers bench for an opportunity. Down 0-1 against the eighth seed, KCP must make an immediate impact.

Trail Blazers Key Player: (C) Jusuf Nurkic

Jusuf Nurkic with the dunk to put the Blazers up 7 with 16.1 secs left pic.twitter.com/IchvPDFvsX

— Main Team (@MainTeamSports) August 19, 2020

Playing with a heavy heart, Jusuf Nurkic is putting up some of the best performances of his career. While not a versatile offensive option, the Bosnian commanded the paint in Game 1.

Nurkic may have shot just four of 11 from the field in Game 1, but he had 15 rebounds while having to compete with both of the Lakers’ frontcourt players.

Terry Stotts is countering the Lakers’ speed by going with a smaller lineup, Nurkic being the only true big man for Portland. So long as he can stay out of foul trouble, Nurkic is a game-changer when he is on the court for Portland.