Intriguing storylines abound in the 2019 NBA Western Conference Finals, which begin Tuesday with the Golden State Warriors hosting the Portland Trail Blazers. It’s a 9 p.m. ET tipoff from Oracle Arena. This is the first time a set of brothers have met in the conference finals: Warriors star Stephen Curry is averaging 24.3 points in the 2019 NBA Playoffs, while his younger brother, Seth Curry, contributes 5.3 points per game off the bench for the Blazers. Another subplot involves when Golden State will get its best player, Kevin Durant, back from his calf injury during this series. He’s out for at least Game 1. Bookmakers peg Golden State as a 7.5-point favorite, with the over-under for total points set at 220.5 in the latest Warriors vs. Blazers odds. Before you make any Warriors vs. Blazers picks or NBA Playoff predictions, see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, is crushing its NBA picks. It entered the conference finals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs with a sterling record on its top-rated picks, returning more than $3,000 in profit to anybody following them this season. And it has been particularly red-hot on its A-rated NBA money line picks, entering the conference finals on a strong 85-61 run. Anybody who has followed it is way up.

Now, the model has crunched the numbers for Warriors vs. Blazers. We’ll tell you it is leaning over, but it also has a spread pick that cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations. That pick is available only at SportsLine.

The model has factored in Stephen Curry’s resurgence, which has helped compensate for the loss of Durant. In the last three games versus Houston, Curry poured in 88 total points and dished out 17 assists. Plus, Golden State will be highly confident given past playoff matchups with Portland. In the first round of the 2017 playoffs, the Warriors swept the Trail Blazers. In 2016, Golden State prevailed in five games. 

This series features the NBA’s top backcourts, but only one side — Curry and Klay Thompson — has a championship pedigree. And you can count on Golden State kicking things up a notch in this round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs. In their last 14 games in the conference finals, the Warriors have covered 10 times. Plus, Portland is just 1-5 against the spread when the line is +6 to +9 like it is on Tuesday.

But just because the Splash Brothers have regained their form doesn’t mean Golden State covers the Warriors vs. Blazers spread in Game 1.

The Blazers stunned most NBA observers by continuing to thrive without center Jusuf Nurkic, who suffered a season-ending leg injury in March. They captured the No. 3 seed, finishing just four wins behind top-seeded Golden State, and have reached their first Western Conference finals since 2000.

Led by the All-Star backcourt of CJ McCollum — who had 37 points in the Game 7 win at Denver — and Damian Lillard, Portland nails a healthy 36 percent of its 3-pointers (tied for 8th in the NBA). Seth Curry drained an astounding 42 percent of his treys in the regular season, with Rodney Hood at 38 percent. If the Blazers get hot from outside, they can not only cover but win outright.

So who wins Blazers vs. Warriors? And which side of the spread cashes in well over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see the Game 1 Blazers vs. Warriors spread pick, all from an advanced computer model that’s up over $3,000 on top-rated picks this season.