Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers prediction and combined starting 5 featuring Devin Booker and Damian Lillard - March 11th, 2021
The Phoenix Suns will visit the Portland Trail Blazers' Moda Center to get the second half of the 2020-21 NBA season underway. This will be the second matchup between these squads, who are both in the Top-5 of the NBA's Western Conference at the moment.
In their previous meeting, the Phoenix Suns took a convincing victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Phoenix Suns arena, with a score of 132-100, back on February 22nd.
Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers prediction - March 11th, 2021
The Phoenix Suns are currently the second seed in the West with an impressive 24-11 record and eight wins in their last 10 games. The team is on a four-game winning streak and is just 2.5 games behind the Utah Jazz for the best record in the entire NBA.
On the other side, the Portland Trail Blazers are 21-14 in the 2020-21 NBA season and their season has been just as impressive, as shooting guard CJ McCollum has missed 22 games already with a foot injury, and their starting center, Jusuf Nurkic, has also been out for 23 matches.
Devin Booker and Chris Paul lead the Phoenix Suns' backcourt and the pair are the main reason behind the success of Monty Williams' team.
On the other end, Damian Lillard is the driving force of the Portland Trail Blazers, with Enes Kanter, Gary Trent, Carmelo Anthony and other solid role players providing good efforts on a consistent basis.
For this matchup at Portland, we can expect the Portland Trail Blazers to come out firing on all cylinders to avenge their tough loss at Phoenix on February 22nd. Still, the Phoenix Suns will not be easy to handle.
We can expect a close victory for the home team in a thrilling battle that might even require overtime to determine a winner.
Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers combined starting 5 - March 11th, 2021
Damian Lillard is totally one of the strongest candidates for the 2021 NBA MVP award, and he is performing at an extraordinary level for the fifth-seeded Portland Trail Blazers.
The Portland point guard is averaging 29.8 points, eight assists, four rebounds and a steal per game so far. He is also putting up a 45/38/93 shooting split.
On the Phoenix Suns' side, Devin Booker is the team's top scorer. The 24-year-old shooting guard is averaging 25 points per game, with an efficient 49.6% field-goal percentage and has made 36% of his triples and 83% of his free throws.
Mikal Bridges is having an impressive 2020-21 NBA season as a role player for the Phoenix Suns. Bridges is the starting small forward for the Suns and he is averaging a solid 14 points, five rebounds and a block per game with a 52/42/84 shooting split.
Moreover, Bridges' defense is a great quality for him and a great tool for the team. He is second in the team in total blocks behind Deandre Ayton, who is the team's big presence in the paint.
Ayton, a third-year player and the first overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, is having a strong campaign for the Phoenix Suns, even though his scoring numbers have dropped a bit.
Still, his versatility allows him to be effective for the team without scoring a lot every night. Ayton is putting up 14.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game in the 2020-21 NBA season and has made 59% of his field goals and 75% of his free throws.
After Nurkic's wrist injury, Enes Kanter took the starting role in the paint for the Portland Trail Blazers and he has delivered handsomely for coach Terry Stotts. Kanter is averaging 11.9 points and 11.9 rebounds so far this season, and has started in 23 of his 35 appearances so far.
He has 20 double-doubles in the 2020-21 NBA campaign and is putting up 13 points and 13 rebounds in his games as a starter. In his last outing, Kanter scored 22 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the Portland Trail Blazers' four-point win over the Sacramento Kings.