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Oklahoma City Thunder will host the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday night in Game 4 of this Western Conference first round series.
The Thunder (6th seed) were not good in the first two games of the series back in Portland, mainly struggling to shoot the ball from distance. They faced a must win Game 3 a couple of nights ago in OKC, and they delivered – winning by 12 points. Another victory in Game 4 would get them right back into this series, one which they were initially favored to win.
The Blazers (3rd seed) didn`t necessarily play bad in Game 3, but clearly beating the Thunder in OKC is a much more difficult task than beating them in Portland. The Blazers will face another uphill battle in this Game 4 and they will have to think long and hard about what can they do differently, especially defensively.
Bet on Thunder v Blazers and claim your 100% (120 Eur) welcome bonus at LSbet!Team news: There are no new issues for either team, and the only notable absentee remains Portland’s Jusuf Nurkic.
After shooting around 17% from three point range in the first two games, the Thunder finally exploded in Game 3, shooting 51.7%. Surely they won`t shoot this good again in Game 4, but they won`t shoot 17% either. Shots always go in more often at home, particularly from the role players, so expectation is that the Thunder will have a solid shooting night. If they do that, they should win again.
The Blazers can`t play much better than they did so far in this series, and we can include Game 3 here. Their shooting percentages have been up all series, and Lillard and Mccollum have been on fire in all three games.
The law of averages would suggest Portland is finally due a bad night, and if that happens, they will lose this badly. But even if they continue to play well, it`s hard to see them winning in OKC against a Thunder team which is better than them. Not by much, but the Thunder are a better team than the Blazers, particularly with Nurkic going down before the series. And at home, OKC is a different animal in the playoffs with that crazy fan base behind.
The Thunder were an 8 point favorite in Game 3, which they won comfortably, and are a 5.5 point favorite in Game 4. There`s no reason for the line to drop, especially that much. Odds on a Thunder straight win have also risen up to around 1.40, so I will take this opportunity to bet on a simple OKC victory.
My tip will be Thunder to win, I think the price is high enough to take this as a singles bet, and I definitely find value in it. Look for them to come out with great intensity just like in Game 3, as this is another must win game for them. Prediction: OKC Thunder – Portland Trailblazers 110 – 100.
Pick: Thunder
Odds: 1.43 @ 18Bet
Stake: 10
Possible profit: 4.30
Event date: 22 April
