The Portland Trail Blazers travel to the East Coast for the first time this year to take on the Philadelphia 76ers.
At 10-7 on the season, the Portland Trail Blazers face the Philadelphia 76ers on the road. With a win, the team can separate themselves into a top-four seed in the Western Conference.
Portland’s last five games nearly went as hoped. They crushed Denver, pulled out two tough victories over Orlando and Memphis, but dropped the first of a back-to-back versus Sacramento. Without that blunder, the Blazers would be riding a five-game win streak into Wednesday night’s matchup.
Behind Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, the 76ers have bounced back from an 0-3 start to the season. They’re 7-3 in the last ten, two losses of which came from the Golden State Warriors. The matchup tonight against Portland marks game two of a five-game home stand. Philadelphia can jump the Eastern Conference rankings with a positive record from this home stand.
Starting Lineup:
Noah Vonleh posted 11 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks on Monday versus the Memphis Grizzlies. This was his second straight start after taking the spot back from Caleb Swanigan. Both games he started resulted in wins, encouraging Terry Stotts to keep the youngster at power forward.
Next: Lillard wished for mentor in Aldridge
Al-Farouq Aminu is at the end of his three-week timetable, but will not play tonight. Vonleh’s recent performances have certainly earned him that starting spot, but Aminu may find his way back in the first five once healthy.
PG: Damian Lillard | SG: CJ McCollum | SF: Maurice Harkless | PF: Noah Vonleh | C: Jusuf Nurkic
Even though Harkless is at small forward, he’ll most likely be the player defending Ben Simmons.
Players to watch for:
Jusuf Nurkic
Nurkic has his hands full tonight with Joel Embiid. Embiid tore up the city of Los Angeles on two separate occasions and is proving to be an elite big in the league. His post moves and ability to shoot outside will get Nurk moving a lot on defense.
As he commits most of his energy to defending, Jusuf might not be as big a contributor on offense. Noah Vonleh can fill the void if he continues to play at the level of the past two games.
Damian Lillard
In years past, the Blazers have normally sacrificed one game to the 76ers due to a lackluster effort. Lillard recognized this:
Damian Lillard on the 76ers: "I think in the past we took them lightly … this year, you have no choice but to respect what they’ve done and how they are playing."
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) November 21, 2017
This season, Philadelphia is back to being a respectable team with a record almost as good as Portland’s. Lillard can exemplify the hustle needed to pull out a victory tonight as leader of the team.
On a separate note, he and McCollum have their hands full on defense. The 76ers run a big lineup with Simmons at point guard, so Dame and CJ will most likely defend J.J. Redick and Robert Covington. Portland has touted a top-five defense this year, but it will be put to the test as the team is out-sized.