Preview: Portland Trail Blazers at Philadelphia 76ers
By Ryan Allison
This evening at 4:00 p.m. PST, the Portland Trail Blazers take on the Philadelphia 76ers. This is the second game of a back-to-back on the road for the Trail Blazers. The 76ers, winless on the season, will try to trap the Trail Blazers for their first victory. The game can be viewed on CSNNW and heard on Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Another gutted-out win for the Trail Blazers and this time, on the road. They defeated the Boston Celtics last night 94-88 and extended their win streak to seven games. As sloppy as they played, last night’s game helped confirm a growing question for this Trail Blazers team: Is their defense for real? At this specific juncture I’d have to say it is. They started their current win streak by scoring points, as they averaged 116.0 points over the first three games. The next four, however, they have only averaged 99.5 points. The Trail Blazers have been able to win their last four games because of their defensive effort.
Tonight’s game may be seen as a trap game. I’m not one that likes to use that term but I could see it being used tonight. The Trail Blazers have the longest active winning-streak in the NBA. The 76ers have yet to win a game this season, starting the year 0-13. After struggling most of the night against the Celtics, can the Trail Blazers afford to be as sloppy tonight? The popular answer based on Phildelphia’s terrible start to the season would be yes. I believe the answer should be no, the Trail Blazers cannot afford to play like they did last night; especially in the second half of a back-to-back.
Lillard has really turned his season around during this win streak, but last night was one game he can put behind him and start over. He was 4-14 from the field (10 points) and coughed up a team-high five turnovers. The lone highlight from Lillard’s performance was his career-high nine rebounds. The offense starts at the point guard position and the Trail Blazers have a great one. Look for Lillard to shake off the struggles from last night and have a productive game.
The 76ers have been woefully awful this season. They are averaging 88.8 points on 40.7 percent shooting, which ranks dead last in the league. They also have struggled to make up for the lack of offense with their defense, allowing 105.2 points to their opponents. Only four of their losses have been single digits so you know they have a lot of problems. Their starting guards are the only players averaging double figures.
Wroten and Carter-Williams run the show in Philly. In a roster with a lot of unrecognizable names, Carter-Williams has made a name for himself by playing consistently. He has only played in the last six games after sitting out the beginning of the season as he recovered from shoulder surgery. In those six games, Carter-Williams is averaging 14.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. Saturday’s game against the Knicks was his first game where he failed to score in double digits.
Lillard and Carter-Williams will be the main matchup in tonight’s game. There is not really another star-studded matchup in this game. Lillard will try to recover from his relapse last night and Carter- Williams will try to get back to scoring double digits, while trying to provide a lift for his team. I’ve long said that I would hate to be the team that gave the last winless team their first win. Here’s to hoping it doesn’t happen to our Trail Blazers.