Portland at Los Angeles

The Portland Trailblazers and the Los Angeles Clippers are both off to 3-2 starts, so this becomes a pivotal psychological game for both teams in the early going. The loser will slip to .500 while the winner will feel good at 4-2. Portland may have some trouble finding their "A" game here as they are off a pair of big home wins coming in against Cleveland and Dallas, and now must go into a hostile arena vs. yet another elite team. The Clippers will be glad to get home as they seek quick redemption for a 17-point loss at Golden State so I expect they will be the hungrier team in this contest. The Blazers have had recent road issues, going back to the end of last season, as they are now 0-5 ATS in their last five, while the Clippers have risen quickly after a big double-digit loss at 5-1 ATS in their last six. Take the Clippers to win this one straight-up.