Preview: Portland Trail Blazers to take on the Pacers in first scrimmage
By Ryan Gaskin
At last, Portland basketball is back. The Portland Trail Blazers face the Indiana Pacers in both team’s first scrimmage in Orlando. Find out where to watch this matchup.
We last saw our Portland Trail Blazers on a basketball court beating the Phoenix Suns by double digits. That, was 4 months ago.
Now, following an incredible amount of planning and work, live NBA games are finally a thing again, and the Trail Blazers will begin their preparation with vs. the Indiana Pacers.
Terry Stotts will likely use these scrimmages to iron out the rust in players returning from long injury layoffs in particular; Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic will probably be managed carefully, but should get a decent bit of playing time.
Stotts may also play around with his lineups a little, as this Pacers matchup is one of three scrimmages available to Portland- a chance to rotate for sure.
The Blazers actually lost their previous meeting with Indiana by 6 points, although Damian Lillard sat out that night. CJ McCollum put up 28 points and 8 assists, while Hassan Whiteside bulldozed his way to a strong 18-point, 16-rebound night.
On Thursday, Lillard will be returning, as will Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, who now looks set to play in the NBA restart.
Thursday’s scrimmage will be a fun look at a lineup we haven’t been able to see all season; watching Nurkic will be bittersweet without any fans in attendance, but I’m sure Portland fans are just as excited to see the Bosnian Beast in action.
Follow the Action
Date: Thursday July 23rd, 2020
Time: 12:30 p.m. PST
Where: HP Field House, Orlando, FL
Watch: NBA TV, NBC Sports Northwest, Fubo TV
Listen: Rip City Radio 620
Projected Starting Lineups and Injury Report
Portland Trail Blazers:
PG: Damian Lillard
SG: CJ McCollum
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: Zach Collins
C: Jusuf Nurkic
Injury report: Out/Unavailable– Rodney Hood, Trevor Ariza, Caleb Swanigan
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