NBA Best Bet - Tuesday
- Handicapper
- Jim Feist
- League
- NBA
- Competition
- Portland Trail Blazers vs Washington Wizards
- Release Date
- 01/27/2026 06:40 AM
- Event Date
- 01/27/2026 07:10 PM
- Bet Type
- Point Spread
- Pick
-
Portland Trail Blazers -6.5 (-118)
(DraftKings)
- Outcome
- Loss
- Analysis
- Portland sits primed to beat the spread against Washington on Tuesday night due to the nature of the matchup between both team talent and recent form. Blazers currently sit at approximately a 23-24 win pace while the Wizards are at 10-34. First and foremost, Portland’s defense has noticeably improved over the past few weeks. Blazers have been significantly better on that end of the floor in January and tracking has them defending like a playoff fringe team rather than a lottery team lately, especially in terms of opponents shooting free throws. This is key against Washington because they’re already hard-capped in their ability to create efficient half-court offense, and they don’t have leeway to miss shots without drawing fouls.
The Wizards also are thinning out as players hit the injury report. Officially, Marvin Bagley is out and Bilal Coulibaly and Khris Middleton are both listed as questionable to play, among other rotation players. Either player sitting or even playing limited minutes tilts Washington’s offense to being one-dimensional, and it makes it hard for them to keep up for 48 minutes.
Even with injuries of their own recently keeping Deni Avdija out and other names being banged up, Portland has demonstrated an ability to hang with teams because they defend and rebound, and they can create enough offense through various options. Washington is a good opponent to capitalize on that and turn steady pressure into an insurmountable lead, especially if the Wizards’ bench has to play huge minutes.
Portland’s defense forces opponents into empty trips, they control the boards, and they build a lead in the middle quarters once Washington can no longer score. I look for a Portland cover here tonight in Washington.
Jim's Play: 529. Trailblazers
