MIT Simulator - NBA Thursday Blazers vs Lakers Winner
MIT Simulator Score - Portland 113.63, Los Angeles 96.89 - Projected Margin of Victory: 16.74 - Current Line: 6.5 - Variance to Line: 10.24 - MIT Simulator shows Edge Factor of 10.24 points. Value is double digits! Key factors noted: Off of an overtime loss last night at Utah, fading the Blazers is the popular choice tonight. That is why the line has moved down but the Simulator is not buying it. Portland is the much better team and will be hungry because of the loss to the Jazz last night. Also, the Lakers are off of a rare win while the Blazers are off of rare back to back losses. From that standpoint, the set up here is perfect. The Lakers have yet to win OR cover back to back games this season. Portland just lost a 2nd straight game for the first time this season! The Blazers won their 4 meetings with the Lakers by an average margin of 12.8 points per win last season. Portland has won all 7 meetings the past two seasons and covered 6 of those 7 versus LA. Los Angeles is 5-13 ATS when off of a win by a double digit margin. Projected box-score shows Portland's defense being a key as they allow only 42.3% shooting and the Lakers allow 45.3% shooting. In terms of offensive stats, the projection shows a huge edge in 3-pointers for the Blazers as they are shooting 39.8% three pointers while the Lakers are shooting only 30.6% from long-range this season. Net edge factors for Portland equating to victory by 16.74 points per MIT Simulator. Play: BLAZERS