Portland Trail Blazers: Game-for-game picks and analysis of the eight-game schedule

PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 18: Jusuf Nurkic #27 (L) and Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers have a conversation on the bench in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors during their game at Moda Center on December 18, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OREGON - DECEMBER 18: Jusuf Nurkic #27 (L) and Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers have a conversation on the bench in the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors during their game at Moda Center on December 18, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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Portland Trail Blazers
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

 Game 5 vs. Philadelphia 76ers

Score Prediction: Blazers, 114; 76ers, 108
Record Prediction: 33-38

Previous Matchups:
— Nov. 2 — 76ers, 129; Blazers, 128

On paper, this matchup never looks as though it should favor the Blazers, but as evidenced by that first meeting, Portland should be more than capable of holding their own against Philadelphia.

In what would become one of those “if we miss the Playoffs, this will be the game that hurts most” instances, the Blazers blew a 7-point lead in the final 2:38, and a 90.2 percent win probability per ESPN, thanks to Furkan Korkmaz’s game-winning shot.

But, there were some positives. Damian Lillard’s success against 6-foot-10 point forward Ben Simmons continued; he dropped in 33 points on 11-of-17 shooting, and eight 3-pointers. And, the catalyst in that game, Al Horford, has begun to heat up in the week pre-cancellation, but he’s still one of the worst seasons in his career.

There’s few things more entertaining than a potential Nurkic-Embiid matchup. Since coming to Portland, they’ve competed well — 28.5 points and 10.5 rebounds on 20.0 shots per game for Embiid, and 17.5 points and 11.5 rebounds on 13.0 shots for Nurkic. So, that’s worth watching for.

But, it’s hard to trust Philadelphia outside of, well, Philadelphia. In the words of Will Smith from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the Blazers could be the couple of guys up to no good, making trouble in the neighborhood. On the road, Philadelphia is 10-24, worse than any team invited to Florida, other than the Wizards. Give me Portland here.