Oklahoma City Thunder vs Portland Trail Blazers Picks and Predictions March 7th 2025

Thunder Believe Defense Is Back on Track, Welcome Blazers

Oklahoma City head coach Mark Daigneault wasn’t overly concerned about his team’s slow defensive start after the All-Star break. However, after a strong showing in Wednesday’s 120-103 win at Memphis, Daigneault believes his team has regained its defensive identity.

“Some of it was shooting variance,” Daigneault said of the Thunder’s early post-break struggles. “I mean, these other teams were banging shots in an uncharacteristic way in terms of what we would expect. But I didn’t think our energy level and juice was quite to the level that it’s been for much of the season.”

Now, as the Thunder prepare to host the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, the goal is to maintain that defensive momentum.

Oklahoma City Looking to Stay Hot

Oklahoma City has been one of the league’s hottest teams, winning five straight games and 14 of its last 16. Since the All-Star break, the Thunder are 7-1, averaging nearly 132 points per game during that stretch.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s leading scorer, has been unstoppable, racking up a combined 92 points over the last two games.

However, the Thunder will be without their superstar guard on Friday as he sits out for rest. It’ll be just the second game he has missed this season.

Oklahoma City will also be shorthanded, as Luguentz Dort (right knee soreness), Jalen Williams (right wrist sprain), and Isaiah Hartenstein (nasal fracture) will all sit out.

Chet Holmgren is listed as questionable after missing Wednesday’s win.

Despite the absences, the Thunder remain confident in their ability to continue their dominant run.

“We’ve been talking about it,” Dort said. “(The) All-Star break was a break. Everybody felt good about themselves. Went out, got some time off, and it just happened like that (where) it took us a couple games to get the car back on the road.”

Blazers Wrap Up Long Road Trip

Portland will be closing out a season-long seven-game road trip, where it has gone 4-2 so far.

The Blazers, however, have dropped two of their last three, including a 128-118 loss in Boston on Wednesday.

Injuries have forced head coach Chauncey Billups to shuffle his lineup, with several key players missing time.

“We’re playing a lot of lineups and combinations that we don’t usually play,” Billups said. “So it’s the first time for some of these combinations.”

One of the emerging players in an expanded role is third-year forward Jabari Walker, who played a season-high 30 minutes against the Celtics. Walker delivered his best game of the season, scoring 22 points with a career-high six three-pointers.

Portland may also be without Deni Avdija, who left Wednesday’s game after reaggravating a quad injury.

The Blazers are already missing Deandre Ayton (calf), Jerami Grant (knee), and Robert Williams (knee).

Explore in-depth NBA Eastern Conference odds and expert predictions to uncover this season’s key matchups

Head-to-Head and Streaks

The Thunder have owned this matchup, winning 15 consecutive games against the Blazers.

Portland’s last win over OKC came in April 2021, and Oklahoma City has taken all three matchups this season.

Friday marks the fourth and final meeting between the teams this season, as Oklahoma City looks to close the series with a sweep and stay near the top of the Western Conference standings.