Trail Blazers vs. 76ers: Watch NBA online, live stream, TV channel, time, odds, picks, analysis

The Portland Trail Blazers continue to be one of the more underrated teams in the Western Conference. As the second half of the 2018-19 season begins, the Trail Blazers sit in fourth place with a 35-23 record and have won their last two games. The team also signed Enes Kanter to bolster their depth in the frontcourt, and the versatile big man is already paying dividends as he scored 18 points against the Brooklyn Nets in his Portland debut on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers really revamped their roster prior to the All-Star break with the acquisition of Tobias Harris. However, star center Joel Embiid is currently out of the lineup for at least the next week as he deals with a sore left knee. With Embiid out, one of the other players acquired in the Harris trade, Boban Marjanovic, becomes a huge pick-up and the massive center showed why as he scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in extended minutes against the Miami Heat earlier this week. Harris also stepped up in a huge way with 23 points and knocked down a trio of 3s in a 106-102 Philadelphia victory.

How to watch Trail Blazers at 76ers

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 23
• Time: 1 p.m. ET
• Location: Wells Fargo Center — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Streaming: fuboTV – (free trial – NBA League Pass add-on available)
• Live stats: GameTracker
• Odds: 76ers -2.0

Who wins Trail Blazers vs. 76ers? And which side of the spread can you bank on in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Trail Blazers vs. 76ers spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $4,000 on its NBA picks this season, and find out.  

Odds and analysis

Check Sportsline’s NBA pick sheet for all your daily odds.

Storylines

Trail Blazers: When it comes to the Trail Blazers, it usually starts and ends with how the team’s backcourt performs. It’s worth keeping an eye on CJ McCollum in this one because it’s a homecoming of sorts for the former first-round pick. McCollum was a star at Lehigh University, which is just one hour north from Philadelphia, and there will likely be a fairly large McCollum contingent on hand. In his sixth NBA season, the former mid-major star continues to thrive as he’s averaging 21.0 points this campaign and is coming off a 21-point performance against the Nets following the All-Star break.

76ers: Even without Embiid in the lineup, the Sixers still have plenty of star power in their starting lineup in the form of Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler and Harris. However, the one aspect of the game that will be interesting is how Marjanovic fares with another large workload. Due to his 7-4 frame, Marjanovic usually has his minutes spread out, but he logged 27 minutes against the Heat with Embiid out of the lineup. It’s not an easy task with the Trail Blazers possessing a few very talented big men in Jusuf Nurkic and Kanter.

So what are the optimal NBA DFS tournament lineups for tonight? And which player is a must-roster? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure’s complete optimal tournament lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash big on NBA DFS. 
   

Game prediction, pick

This has the potential to be an extremely competitive game with a pair of stellar backcourts. The line suggests that it could go either way without Embiid in the lineup. Take the home team, but it’s going to be a close one.