Texans face a must-win game!
Only the champions from Oklahoma finished ahead of the Spurs in the final standings. The visitors, meanwhile, once again secured their spot in the 2026 NBA Playoffs via the play-in tournament. There, they prevailed on the road in Phoenix against the Suns, although the victory was a very narrow 114-110 win.
However, the victory also highlighted the visitors’ tremendous mental toughness. The Trail Blazers were still trailing by double digits midway through the fourth quarter, but Coach Tiago Splitter’s team remained ice-cold in the ensuing crunch time.
Deni Avdija, in particular, delivered a top-notch performance. He finished with 41 points, making him by far the top scorer on the court. Given his current consistently strong form, a prediction of at least 24 points from him in Game 1 between the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers seems reasonable.
Furthermore, we don’t expect a blowout for the visitors, which is why the Spurs vs. Portland odds on the Trail Blazers not losing by more than 11 points also look promising. Additionally, the odds on Victor Wembanyama scoring a maximum of 28 points for the home team could be worth considering.
The Frenchman missed the last four matchups against Portland due to injuries, but when he was on the court against this opponent, he admittedly put up strong performances. In the two games against Portland the season before last, he averaged 26.5 points, and in three games last season, he averaged 23.3 points. While those numbers are respectable, he failed to break the 28.5-point mark in the majority (3) of their head-to-head matchups.
San Antonio Spurs – Portland Trail Blazers Head-to-Head Record
The two teams last faced off just under two weeks ago, with the Spurs securing a 112-101 home victory. It was the second win for the basketball team from the “Lone Star State” in their third meeting of the season.
For the upcoming matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers, the betting odds also point toward a home win.
San Antonio Spurs – Portland Trail Blazers Prediction
The visitors are participating in the NBA Playoffs for the first time in four seasons! Their morale is therefore very high, and their recent road win in Phoenix during the play-in tournament has shown that the team from the Moda Center can also perform well on the road.
Against the Spurs, they are still the underdogs, but we believe Portland at least has the potential to make this a close series.
Another factor in their favor is that Portland has Deni Avdija, a guard who is currently in excellent form.
His 41 points in the last game against the Suns once again demonstrated his consistent form. In the past seven games, the Tel Aviv native has scored at least 25 points, averaging 30.
In his second year in “Rip-City,” the Israeli is thus experiencing his breakthrough. This is clearly evident in the fact that his average of around 24 points represents an increase of about a third compared to last season.
We now expect Avdija to lead the way in the postseason as well, especially since Damian Lillard, the team’s actual top scorer, has to sit out due to a season-ending injury. In light of this, the betting odds for Avdija to score at least 24 points again in Game 1 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Portland Trail Blazers look promising.
This prediction is supported by a look at his three regular-season games against the Spurs. In each of those games, he played strongly and scored at least 29 points!
