Free NBA Picks Today: Portland Trail Blazers vs Boston Celtics 3/17/23

The Boston Celtics (48-22, 22-13 Away), one of the NBA’s top scoring teams, travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers (31-38, 17-16 Home) on Friday. Boston edged past the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-102 at Target Center on Wednesday. Jaylen Brown was a top performer with 35 points and 10 rebounds.

The Celtics are trailing the Milwaukee Bucks by 2.5 games in the Eastern Conference, currently sitting in second. Portland lost their fourth in a row on Tuesday at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, falling to the New York Knicks 123-107.

Damian Lillard had 38 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in defeat to lead the team. The Trail Blazers are 13th in the Western Conference. The teams are meeting for the final time this season. After winning the only earlier season game against Portland 115-93 at TD Garden on March 8, Boston will be pursuing a season sweep.

Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 30 points and seven rebounds. Lillard had 27 points and eight assists in the losing effort. Tatum and Brown, averaging 30.1 and 26.8 points per game, respectively, have led the Celts in scoring this season. Both are among the league’s top scorers, as Tatum is sixth and Brown is 10th.

Tatum also has grabbed 9.0 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Marcus Smart is dishing 6.4 assists per game. Lillard has been the primary provider of the Blazers’ offense, averaging 32.3 points per game. He ranks as the third-highest scorer in the NBA.

Lillard also has recorded 7.3 assists per game, ninth-most in the league. Jusuf Nurkic has averaged 9.1 rebounds per game. The Celtics are one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league, ranking fourth with 117.5 points per game.

The Celtics have had the advantage in recent visits to Moda Center at the Rose Quarter, winning six of the last 10. Boston is 5-5 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +0.7 (113.1-112.4). Portland has gone 3-7 over the last 10, allowing 119.5 points per game on average while scoring only 111.8 (-7.7 margin).

CELTICS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Grant Williams: 9.5 | 14.6 | -5.1
Rebounds per game:
Al Horford: 4.5 | 6.2 | -1.7
Assists per game:
Marcus Smart: 3.8 | 6.4 | -2.6

TRAIL BLAZERS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Trendon Watford: 19.5 | 11.8 | +7.7
Jusuf Nurkic: 14.8 | 25.2 | -10.4
Points per game:
Jusuf Nurkic: 6.5 | 13.2 | -6.7
Rebounds per game:
Damian Lillard: 7.8 | 4.7 | +3.0
Jusuf Nurkic: 5.8 | 9.1 | -3.4
Assists per game:
Damian Lillard: 9.5 | 7.3 | +2.2
Anfernee Simons: 2.3 | 4.1 | -1.7