Tonight at 6:00 p.m. PST, the Portland Trail Blazers host the Minnesota Timberwolves for the first game in the four game season series. After having their nine-game winning streak snapped by the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, the Trail Blazers look to start a new streak against one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves are without three starters. The game can be viewed on CSNNW and heard on Rip City Radio 620 AM.
The Trail Blazers lost a game. One game. It’s not the end of the world or time to panic. The Grizzlies have the best record in the league and played very well in Portland on Friday. What the Trail Blazers need to figure out is how to get back on track. When you are winning, life is good; things seem a lot easier. When you lose, sometimes is can cause a relapse and send you backwards. Tonight, a matchup with the Timberwolves presents the perfect bounce back situation for the Trail Blazers.
Hopefully the Trail Blazers will have Lillard in the lineup tonight. He came down with a stomach bug (gastroenteritis for those who likes medical terms) but he has been officially listed as probable for tonight’s game. If for some reason Lillard can not go tonight, it would be his first missed game of his career. Talk about durability. Lillard came on late against the Grizzlies but recorded 20 points and nine assists. He did struggle from three-point range, going 1-6, but everyone outside of Matthews struggled in that area. Lillard will be up against a familiar face when he takes the court as Williams returns to the Rose City for the first time in a Timberwolves uniform.
Even though Williams only played one season as a Trail Blazer, many were sad to see him go in the offseason. He was Lillard’s back up point guard and a great sixth man for the team. In fact, he was really the only offensive threat they had off the bench last year. Williams averaged 9.7 points and 4.3 assists in his reserve role with Portland and is putting up similar numbers with the Timberwolves (9.8 points and 6.3 assists). He is now in the starting lineup as Rubio remains sidelined. In Williams’ last four games, he has averaged 16.3 points and 10.0 assists. Though he spent little time in Portland, playing against a former team seems to get players to give their best effort. I expect we will see a lot of Williams’ best effort tonight.
The main focus for the Trail Blazers should be in the paint. The Timberwolves have two centers out with injury (Pekovic and Turiaf) and enter the game with one healthy center (Dieng). They were given an exemption to expand their roster and did sign forward Jeff Adrien on Saturday. Adrien, who is 6′ 8″, will try to add some relief for Dieng in the frontcourt. Adrien played in 53 games last season with Milwaukee and Charlotte and averaged 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Lopez struggled on Friday against a tough Grizzlies defense. The Trail Blazers were able to sub in Chris Kaman and he gave his best performance of the season. Kaman played 25 minutes and was 7-16 from the field for 16 points and added 11 rebounds and two blocks. He did foul out of the game but really helped start a late surge by the Trail Blazers. Lopez and Kaman should clean up on the inside tonight (points and rebounds) against a depleted Timberwolves frontcourt, but keep an eye on Dieng, who is one of the better young centers in the league.