Thunder vs. Blazers prediction and odds for Sunday, March 26 (Must fade Portland)

The Portland Trail Blazers have tried to build a formidable roster around Damian Lillard, but the team has fallen out of postseason contention and now may shut down its superstar guard for the year.

Lillard has been fantastic this season, but it hasn’t yielded the results for the team. The guard is averaging a career high 32 points per game, but Portland is 32-41 on the year and three-and-a-half out of the Western Conference Play-In. Lillard is going to miss the team’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night.

OKC has been a surprise playoff contender, likely at the expense of Portland, as they are ahead of the Mavericks for the last Play-In spot due to a tiebreaker. Can the Thunder push closer to a playoff appearance?

Here are the odds for Sunday night’s matchup:

Thunder vs. Blazers odds, spread and total

Thunder vs. Blazers prediction and pick

The wheels are off for Portland, who won’t have Lillard available and are fresh off a 28 point home loss to Chicago. It seems steep to lay nearly double digits with the Thunder, but this is a team that has the defensive capabilities to shut down the reserves of Portland and a star guard in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to win with margin.

The Thunder are a top 10 defensive team this season in terms of points per 100 possessions allowed and they should cook on offense against a Blazers defense that is bottom five in the league.

I don’t believe the market is catching up to how poor this team is at the moment. Since the beginning of March, Portland has the same net rating as the Detroit Pistons, the worst team in basketball at -9.4. Lay it with the Thunder against a Blazers team that is far worse than the market is indicating.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.