Portland’s schedule this week shows just how difficult it is to play in the Western Conference week-in and week-out. While Portland is on this homestand, they host the Clippers, Warriors and Thunder in succession. All three teams have high-powered offenses and some of the most recognizable stars in the NBA. With Portland being at home, this week will examine some specific players on the Trail Blazers and outline their performances in home games so far this season.
Damian Lillard
With the return of Damian Lillard to the lineup last night against Memphis, Lillard will be integral for the Trail Blazers over the next week. Lillard has been consistent both on the home and on the road, and his home splits are excellent: 24.7 PPG (40.3% from the field and 40.4% from three-point range), 4.8 RPG and 7.6 APG. With Lillard facing off against Chris Paul, Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook over the next week, hopefully he is fully healthy and providing his typical home numbers for both the Portland fans and the folks rolling with him on FanDuel.
CJ McCollum
While a healthy Damian Lillard is the alpha dog, CJ McCollum has progressed into one of the best scoring guards in the NBA in only his second season. McCollum, like Lillard, has similar home and away splits, and has been scoring 20.4 PPG (43.4% from the field and 37.4% from deep) and adding 3.3 RPG and 3.4 APG. With the offenses that McCollum and Portland are facing, he’ll have an opportunity to put up strong numbers.
Allen Crabbe
With Portland’s guard-oriented offense, Crabbe had been receiving consistent minutes even with a healthy Lillard. Crabbe’s been lights-out shooting the ball during home games, averaging 12.1 PPG (52% from the field and 45.1% from three-point range). With the strong offenses that Portland is playing this week, Crabbe is going to need to hit shots as consistently as he has at home so far this season. Crabbe retains strong value on FanDuel over the next three games.
Meyers Leonard
Meyers Leonard has put up 10.6 PPG on 48.2% shooting during home games this season for Portland. Leonard presents some additional value this week, especially if Portland goes small and Leonard is getting minutes at the Center position. Leonard has the ability to pull away DeAndre Jordan, Andrew Bogut and Steven Adams from the basket and open up the floor for the rest of the Trail Blazers offense. With his affordable pricing, Leonard is a solid candidate to put up great value on FanDuel over the next week.
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Tim McDonough, FanDuel Insider