After a great East Coast road trip in which the Blazers went 4-1, they return home to start a four-game homestand.
Portland’s first game of their home stretch is a rematch against the Milwaukee Bucks. The game is at 7:00 p.m. PT and can be viewed locally on NBCSNW or through Rip City Radio 620.
The Blazers, who are 13-8 on the season, have won three straight games and won their last matchup at New York. The other road victories included the Memphis Grizzlies, Brooklyn Nets, and Washington Wizards. Portland’s only loss came at the hands of the young Philadelphia 76ers.
No matter how close the games got, the Blazers found a way to come home 4-1 from the East coast. The very successful road trip should give them momentum for the tough upcoming matchups.
They got very good play from Noah Vonleh, who had four games of double-digit rebounds. Jusuf Nurkic had five good games for Portland on the trip and seems to have gained some of his confidence back.
Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are 10-9 on the season and come off a 112-87 blowout against the Sacramento Kings. Milwaukee was in the news earlier in the week after their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and an assistant coach got into it on the sidelines during a loss to the Utah Jazz.
The Bucks have a day to rest and figure out the unrest before facing the Blazers on Thursday.
This will be the 2nd and final matchup between these two teams in 2017-2018. The first game was at Milwaukee on Oct. 21; the Blazers lost 103-100. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum both scored 26 points and Nurk had 17. The Greek Freak was too good though and led with 44 points on 17-23 shooting. He also added eight rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Key points for the game
Al-Farouq Aminu is back after missing 13 games! He was missed by the Blazers and is really needed against the Bucks, making this return very timely. Aminu will reportedly come off the bench and be on a minutes restriction of around 20 minutes.
Players to watch:
Evan Turner
Evan Turner is going to play an important role of the defensive side. He will be guarding more than one guy. Expect to see Turner on Giannis, Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, and Tony Snell.
Turner might be the Blazers best defender and will need to be physical with these guys to not let them find easy shots. Offensively, he needs to knock down his signature midrange shot and get to the basket to can dish the ball out for open three-pointers.
He had 11 points, seven assists and one steal the last time Portland played Milwaukee.
Pat Connaughton
Pat Connaughton is in the startling lineup now and will be counted on to make plays. Against the Bucks, Pat really needs to have his shot going. The Bucks are a very long and athletic team and are eighth in the league at blocking shots. The Blazers will have a hard time getting easy shots at the rim and will dish the ball outside a lot.
Pat should see plenty of good looks and needs to knock them down. He scored 17 points last game against the Knicks and can hopefully carry that over to Thursday.
Pat will also be guarding multiple players on defense. It should be a good game to see what kind of three-and-D player Pat has become.
The Blazers need more shooters to knock down shots besides Dame and CJ, and Pat should be the man for the job.
Next: Blazers end five-game road trip 4-1
Starters
Portland has won three straight game since including Pat Connaughton in the starting lineup in place of Maurice Harkless. Don’t expect coach Stott’s to change anything.
PG: Damian Lillard | SG: CJ McCollum | SF: Pat Connaughton | PF: Noah Vonleh | C: Jusuf Nurkic