Portland Trail Blazers vs Oklahoma City Thunder Prediction: Slippery teams look to sort out woes

The NBA trade deadline left a storm of big moves and compared to last season, more big names saw a change of scenery. Teams addressed different changes, be it the offense or the defense, so they will expect all of it bears fruits in the last quarter of the Regular Season. Anyway, in this game, the Portland Trail Blazers tackle the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Trail Blazers come here after defeating the Golden State Warriors 125:122 as Damian Lillard captured 33 points. This win broke a two-game losing streak and in the long period, the Lillard-led squad has won six of their last nine games. However, a rough patch in January means that the team is still a game behind the 50% win mark with 27 wins and 28 losses. Lillard has averaged over 30 for a sizeable window now but the team has been overly reliant upon him. The defense may receive a boost after getting Matisse Thybulle so let us see how the situation develops.

The Thunder comes into the game after defeating the Lakers 133:130 as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander inserted 30 points. This has been a rather lax period for the Thunder and they have lost three of their five games. However, the Thunder has made significant gains this season and for a team that fields multiple inexperienced players, a record of 26 wins and 28 losses is indeed impressive. Shai has led the way, Giddey is improving and rookie Jalen Williams has been showcasing a lot of promise. Even if the Thunder misses out on the Playoffs, currently injured Chet Holmgren will join a pumped-up unit.

The Trail Blazers have been a bit wayward in their approach and yes, they acquired Matisse Thybulle, but it may not bring transformative changes. On the other hand, the Thunder has been a bit lax too but their fighting spirit has been admirable. In this game, I side with the Trail Blazers and predict a scoreline of 121:116.