Trail Blazers look to avoid Grizzlies’ sweep in Game 4
By Ryan Allison
Tonight at 7:30 p.m. PST, the Portland Trail Blazers host the Memphis Grizzlies. This will be Game 4 in this first round NBA playoffs matchup. The Trail Blazers have now lost all seven meetings with the Grizzlies this season and will try to get at least one win before their season ends. The Grizzlies are without starting point guard Mike Conley after he was injured in Game 3. The game can be seen on TNT and KGW. Rip City Radio 620 AM will have the radio call.
Can we please get one win against the Grizzlies? At this point, that’s all I want out of this game. The Trail Blazers have struggled with the Grizzlies all season and it would be nice to see that stop for at least one night. It may help that Conley will be out of the lineup, then again, the Trail Blazers have problems with any Grizzlies guard.
Udrih will take over the starting point guard role and he experience tells us that he can get hot. He sat out Game 3 with a sprained ankle but will be ready to go for tonight’s contest. Nick Calathes stepped into the backup point guard role in Game 3 and was forced to play more minutes after Conley went down in the third quarter. He found success against the Trail Blazers’ lackluster defense tallying 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Even though Conley is out, the Trail Blazers will continue to have a hard time defending against the Grizzlies backcourt.
There were definitely some positives that came out of the Game 3 loss:
- The Trail Blazers didn’t lose by double-digits which is only the third time in last seven games they’ve been able to say that. It’s disheartening that we find joy in that.
- After Aldridge shot 1-10 from the field in the first half of Game 3, he finished strong going 5-8 in the second half. He still hasn’t found his normal rhythm facing off against Randolph.
- Lillard was more aggressive overall and finished with nine assists. The Trail Blazers totaled 23 assists in Game 3, the most they’ve had this series.
- Batum and C.J. McCollum came alive and were solid contributors. Both finished with a playoff career-highs of 27 points and 26 points respectively. Those two are very important to a successful Trail Blazers team.
Tonight’s game plan will probably look very similar to Game 3 for the Trail Blazers. They will focus on sharing the ball and getting open shots like they did in Game 3. Aldridge and Lillard will try to carry the team to their first win over the Grizzlies this season. The big question mark will be how the Trail Blazers defend the Grizzlies’ guards. Whether it be Udrih, Calathes, or Lee, the Trail Blazers need to run them off the three-point line and make sure they don’t get any easy shots in the paint.
The Grizzlies will try to continue as usual without Conley. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The inside-outside game has been working great for the Grizzlies. They have outscored the Trail Blazers 144-102 in the paint thanks to the penetration of their guards. They have also shot 44.1 percent from behind the arc. The loss of Conley will have some impact since he is so well-rounded but the back-up guards will be ready.
For the Trail Blazers to win tonight, Lillard must take advantage of his matchup with Udrih. I expect him to push the tempo and penetrate, which will test Udrih’s ankle, but he needs to step up his defense in a big way too. Aldridge must find a way to beat Randolph one-on-one and rebound well. If the team leaders can find success while the role players hold up their end, the Trail Blazers may be able to avoid a sweep.