Tonight at 7:00 p.m. PST, the Portland Trail Blazers host the Los Angeles Lakers. This is the third game of the season between the teams. The Trail Blazers won the previous meetings and hope to enter the All-Star break on a high note. The Lakers have lost five consecutive games overall and a loss tonight will give them a franchise record 11th straight road loss. The game can be seen on KGW and heard on Rip City Radio 620.
The Trail Blazers enter this game winning three of their last four games. Sunday night was a very impressive win in Houston, where the Trail Blazers were able to recover from a overtime loss the night before in Dallas. They also won despite James Harden nearly recording a massive triple-double with 45 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Hosting the Lakers, who are second to last in the Western Conference standings, should provide the Trail Blazers with a less intense matchup as they reach the extended break.
In the win against the Rockets, the Trail Blazers shot a blistering 52.6 percent from the floor. The bench gave a huge boost, including 12 points apiece from C.J. McCollum and Meyers Leonard. Over the past three games, McCollum has averaged 11 points in 17 minutes of playing time. McCollum took the time to answer some questions after practice yesterday and he knows he can help the team. “I definitely can have an impact,” McCollum said. He has proved that recently and should continue to get the chance to do so.
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If the casual fan looked at the Lakers starting lineup, would they recognize more than a player or two? There is a good chance the resounding answer would be “No”. However; that doesn’t mean this game or this team is an easy out. The Lakers face losing a franchise-record 11 consecutive road games tonight. They will give their best effort, as they have in the previous two meetings with the Trail Blazers this season. They are playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing to the Nuggets last night. The Lakers are 1-8 in second game of back-to-backs this season, which is the second worst record in the league.
One big loss will be the inside presence of Hill. In the first game, Hill had 23 points and 14 rebounds, playing a team-high 32 minutes. He was cooled off in the second game where he only scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. Besides Sacre and Carlos Boozer, Hill is the only other option on the inside. Without Hill, the Lakers will have a hard time finding interior offense and a rebounding edge.
One matchup to look at tonight will be in the backcourt. Lillard has torched the Lakers this season and will have a chance to do it again before he heads to his second straight All-Star game. He is averaging 36.5 points against the Lakers this season and is shooting 50.0 percent from behind the arc in those games. Lillard will be matched up against Clarkson and I don’t see that going very well for the rookie. If Clarkson has trouble with Lillard, Jeremy Lin will come in off the bench to try his hand at stopping the Trail Blazers point guard.
I would like to predict that this game will not be another nail-biter for Rip City but that’s not a guarantee. I expect the Trail Blazers to hand the Lakers a franchise-record defeat and head into the All-Star break with a win.