Blazers look to bounce back, start new streak versus Celtics

The streak is over and the second seeded Boston Celtics are coming to town tomorrow night. How can the Blazers use the positives of Tuesday’s loss to vanquish one of the East’s elites?

In a day when CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard couldn’t make a shot, Portland came within one possession of knocking off the top ranked Rockets. The loss was full of positives, however.

1. Portland limited Houston’s starting front court to 14 points on 5/12 shooting.
2. The Blazer’s front court dominated Houston’s defense, scoring 60 points on 21/26 shooting and 9/11 three-point shooting (not to mention 7 blocks).
3. Despite CJ and Lillard combining for an abysmal 0/12 from downtown, the Blazers as a team actually shot above its post All-Star average, knocking down 11/28 shots from distance.
4. A loss by OKC before tipoff allowed Portland to maintain a full two game lead over the fourth seed in the West.

Tuesday clearly could’ve been much worse for the Trail Blazer’s faithful. Portland will have to rebound quickly, though, as Boston comes to the Moda Center Friday night.

Boston Celtics

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Tuesday was a great day to be a Celtics player or fan. Trailing OKC by a score of 98-92 with 24.7 seconds to play, Boston reeled off an 8-1 run to win the game, punctuated by a Marcus Morris three pointer with 1.2 seconds on the clock to win the game, 100-99. A win like this can energize a team, just in time to face Portland.

The week hasn’t been all good news for the Boston faithful. New injury concerns have cropped up about Kyrie Irving‘s knee injury. According to a press release by ESPN, Kyrie Irving will seek a second opinion on his knee before returning to action. Rest still appears to be the treatment of choice for the All-Star guard.

An Irving-less Celtics team is not one that Portland should take lightly, as Boston beat the Blazers 97-96 in their earlier matchup this season without him. Portland held a 16-point advantage but was unable to hold on as Al Horford hit a step-back buzzer beater from the elbow to break the Blazers’ hearts.

Matchup

Boston (48-23) are very secure in their playoff seeding. They sit 4.5 games behind the Raptors for first seed and 6 games ahead of the Cavs in third. The Celtics will look to use this game to jump-start their stagnant offense in time for the playoffs.

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Portland (44-27) will look to get back on the right foot with a victory over this elite Eastern Conference opponent. Their post-All-Star leading plus/minus of 11.3 can get the team back on track with a victory.

The Blazers are only two games ahead of OKC in the fourth seed and four games ahead of the Jazz in the eight spot.

This game is hugely important for the Trail Blazers if they want to keep pace in the perennially crowded West. Here’s to Dame and CJ finding their shot, our front court’s continued domination and a win against the second seed in the East.

Go Blazers!