Portland Trail Blazers face Eastern Goliath, Atlanta Hawks
By Ryan Allison
Tonight at 7:00 p.m. PST, the Portland Trail Blazers host the Atlanta Hawks. The Trail Blazers, fresh off an impressive overtime win against the Toronto Raptors, hope to start the New Year with a win. The Hawks are much improved from last season and will look to show that they are a threat in the Eastern Conference. The game can be seen on CSNNW and the radio call can be heard on Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Winners of nine of their last 10 games, the Trail Blazers are in a very similar position to the one they were in last year. They closed out 2013 with a 25-7 record. This season, at the close of 2014, they are 26-7. One more game was played and one more game was won. The Trail Blazers must avoid another mediocre January, where last season they went 8-6. It starts tonight against an improved and talented Hawks team.
The Hawks have seemed to turn things around since last season. In 2013-14, they finished with an unimpressive record of 38-44. The missing piece during the second half of the season was Horford, who had a season-ending injury in late December. This year, Horford seems to be fully healthy and the Hawks are primed to take advantage of a weak Eastern Conference. Teague has increased his production since last season as well, leading the team in points (16.9) and assists (7.0). He has three straight games with at least 23 points and seven assists.
Dec 30, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) goes up for a shot on Toronto Raptors forward Amir Johnson (15) during the fourth quarter of the game at the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
A healthy Aldridge is important to the Trail Blazers. Head Coach Terry Stotts intended to limit Aldridge’s minutes on Tuesday, but instead played him for 41 because he was hot. He was 10-19 from the field and recorded 23 points with 13 rebounds. He was also essential in plugging the enormous hole in the Trail Blazers interior defense. Tonight he will matchup against Millsap, who has long been a player I enjoy watching as he hustles and grinds out every possession. I’ll be looking to the power forwards to provide an enjoyable matchup.
The second and most intriguing matchup of this game comes at the point guard position. We’ve touched a little bit on how impressive Teague has been. He is a very sneaky scorer and forced Kyrie Irving to turn the ball over eight times on Tuesday. Lillard will definitely have his hands full. In four head-to-head meetings, these two floor generals have been evenly matched. Each game, Lillard and Teague were within two points of each other. Lillard may have the upper hand tonight since he plays at home and has been more productive over the last five games.
The Trail Blazers can secure a win but only if they play well on the interior. The Raptors scored 66.0 percent of their points in the paint on Tuesday. The Hawks may only be 13th in the league in field goal percentage on attempts 0-3 feet from the basket but they have Horford. He’s a terrific inside player and I’m worried that Freeland and Chris Kaman may not be able to keep him contained. Pero Antic is a big-bodied reserve for the Hawks that could clean up inside as well. If the Trail Blazers can have just a little more rim protection, they should be able to thwart the Hawks game plan.