Portland Trail Blazers vs. Brooklyn Nets: Injury report, and how to watch

To clinch their sixth consecutive Playoff appearance, the Portland Trail Blazers must go through the Brooklyn Nets. Here’s a look at the injury report, and how to watch.

If someone told you that after everything the Portland Trail Blazers have dealt with this season, that the only thing standing between them and a postseason berth would be a Durant-less, Kyrie-less Brooklyn Nets team, would you believe them?

Such was the case for the 2019-20 Blazers — a team that had the fifth worst injury luck heading into the bubble, fell to nine games under .500, and were given just a 12 percent chance of making the Playoffs — a team that now controls its own destiny for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

The efforts of Damian Lillard have been herculean, and that’s putting it modestly. Like a toothpaste tube, the Blazers have needed him to coax every ounce of what he’s had, and he’s delivered. In bubble play, Lillard has averaged 37.0 points, 9.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds on 48.5 percent from the field, 41.4 percent from the field, and 88.4 percent from the free throw line.

Thursday night has the opportunity to be a milestone day for him; he has a chance to drive Portland to its sixth consecutive Playoff appearance, and, if he scores at least 41 points, he would finish this season averaging 30.0 points per game on the season.

The Brooklyn Nets come into this game having also gone 5-2 in Orlando. And while neither a win nor a loss holds any consequence for them, head coach Jacque Vaughn has said he will use this game as a tune-up for their upcoming postseason matchup against the Toronto Raptors.

For the Blazers, 9.5-point Vegas favorites, here are the scenarios:

— Win against Brooklyn, and they lock up the No. 8, regardless of anyone else’s results. At this point, they can simply prepare for the play-in against the No. 9.

— Lose against Brooklyn, and it gets weird. They will need the Suns, Grizzlies, and Spurs to all lose. Or, they could fall back to No. 9 if two of those three teams lose. And, if the Blazers lose and those three teams win, it’s time to look towards the 2020 NBA Draft.

In other words, just win.

Here’s a look at the details of today’s game:

How to follow the action:

— Date: Sunday, August 13th
— Time: 6:00pm PT

— How to watch: TNT, NBC Sports Northwest, NBA League Pass, or fuboTV

— How to listen: NBA League Pass, Rip City Radio 620 AM

Injury report, per CBS Sports:

— (POR) Nassir Little, dehydration (out, per Casey Holdahl)
— (BKN) — Chris Chiozza, hip (game-time decision)
— (BKN) — Jamal Crawford, hamstring (expected to be out until Aug. 17)

Projected Starting Lineups, Portland Trail Blazers:
— Damian Lillard (G), CJ McCollum (G), Carmelo Anthony (F), Zach Collins (F), Jusuf Nurkic (C)

Projected Starting Lineups, Brooklyn Nets:
— Caris LeVert (G), Garrett Temple (G), Joe Harris (F), Rodions Kurucs (F), Jarrett Allen (C)