Today at 4:00 p.m. PST, the Portland Trail Blazers visit the Orlando Magic. The Trail Blazers lost their second consecutive game Wednesday night and hope to avoid a three game losing streak tonight. The Magic, losers of six straight, are trying to finish the season on a positive note and have a few up-and-coming players that are great building blocks. The game will be broadcast on CSNNW and Rip City Radio 620 AM will have the radio call.
Wednesday night’s loss against the Miami Heat was tough to watch. The Trail Blazers had another late game meltdown which included a few big miscues. Aldridge took the blame for the loss, even though he had the best performance on the team. After posting 34 points and 12 rebounds in the loss, he told Casey Holdahl that he takes majority of the blame: “I take a lot of blame down the stretch because I feel like I didn’t come through all the way,” Aldridge said. “It’s not about being good. I’m trying to be great, and I felt like in the moments where I could have been great or elite, I wasn’t.”
It’s great to see Aldridge disappointed with his late game play, but he can’t take the blame in it’s entirety. Down two with 13 seconds to play, he reached for an inbound pass intended for C.J. McCollum, causing a costly turnover. However; miscommunication like that is just one more thing to add to the list of worries for the Trail Blazers as a collective going forward. Tonight the Trail Blazers play their first game of a back-to-back set. They head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies tomorrow night which will be a very tough game. They can’t look past the Magic, as every game is important during the final stretch of the season.
The Magic have a few young players that definitely have bright futures. Rookie point guard Payton recorded his first career triple-double in a loss against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. Payton had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists and almost lifted his team to an improbable victory. He is in the conversation for Rookie of the Year with Andrew Wiggins and probably earned a few more votes with his performance on Wednesday.
Oladipo is another young star in the making. He is second on the team in scoring (17.6 per game) and is only in his second season. Oladipo is a dynamic player that is capable of going off on any given night. His season-high 38 points came against the Phoenix Suns earlier this month. When you look at the Magic, one other player comes to mind and I’m sure the Trail Blazers remember him.
Vucevic is a terrific young center. In the first meeting with the Trail Blazers this season, he had game-highs in both points and rebounds, posting a ridiculous career-high 34 points with 16 rebounds. Lopez was still sidelined recovering from his broken hand and Vucevic took advantage of his matchups with Chris Kaman and Meyers Leonard. He is averaging 19.3 points and 11.2 rebounds this season and will be the main focus of the Trail Blazers defense tonight.
Harris could miss another game against the Trail Blazers with an ankle injury. He did not play in the first meeting and would add another layer to the Magic’s starting unit if he does play. Aldridge continues to be the workhorse of the Trail Blazers offense and if Harris is forced to sit out, Aldridge could have the upper hand against former teammate Channing Frye. In the first game against the Magic, Aldridge led the Trail Blazers with 25 points.
The key for the Trail Blazers will be to limit the points in the paint. The Magic had a 12 point edge in the first game and will be more difficult to handle if Harris plays. The Trail Blazers just gave up 52 points in the paint to the Heat on Wednesday. The Trail Blazers must also curb their turnover problems and force the Magic to turn it over more. In the first game against the Magic, they turned it over 20 times. They are averaging 13.8 per game. The Magic have the sixth worst turnover total this season and the Trail Blazers must take advantage.