Post by DiamondThief on Nov 10, 2014 21:35:29 GMT -8
Portland Trail Blazers
at
Denver Nuggets
What: Portland visits Denver for the first of two times this season.
When: Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. (pacific)
Media: KGW (TV); Rip City Radio 620 AM (radio).
Note: This is second of a pair of games between the teams over a four-day span.
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The Nuggets (1-5, 1-2 at home) are coming off a 116-100 loss to the Blazers at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter on Nov. 9. They are lead by Ty Lawson (13.6 points, 7.8 assists), Kenneth Faried (8.7 Rebounds) and JaVale McGee (2.0 blocks). The Blazers (5-3, 0-2 on the road) are coming off a gritty 102-100 home win over the Hornets on Nov. 11. They are led by LaMarcus Aldridge (23.1 points, 8.0 rebounds), Damian Lillard (18.9 points, 5.9 assists) and Robin Lopez (1.8 blocks).
Nuggets' Ty Lawson; Blazers' Damian Lillard
Portland Trail Blazers
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 23 Allen Crabbe
PF - 12 LaMarcus Aldridge
C - 42 Robin Lopez
SG - 2 Wesley Matthews
PG - 0 Damian Lillard
RESERVES
G - 5 Will Barton; 25 Steve Blake; 3 CJ McCollum
F - 18 Victor Claver; 41 Thomas Robinson; 1 Dorell Wright
C - 19 Joel Freeland; 35 Chris Kaman; 11 Meyers Leonard
INJURIES
F - 88 Nicolas Batum (right knee) - out
HEAD COACH
Terry Stotts
Denver Nuggets
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 21 Wilson Chandler
PF - 35 Kenneth Faried
C - 25 Timofey Mozgov
SG - 10 Aaron Afflalo
PG - 3 Ty Lawson
RESERVES
G - 4 Randy Foye; 11 Erick Green; 14 Gary Harris; 5 Nate Robinson
F - 00 Darrell Arthur; 8 Danilo Gallinari; 1 Alonzo Gee; 7 JJ Hickson
C - 34 JaVale McGee; 23 Jusuf Nurkic
INJURIES
none reported
HEAD COACH
Brian Shaw
Angi's Take
For the Blazers, this is their fourth game in five days. For the Nuggets, this is their second game in six days -- against the same opponent. The Blazers have won four of their last five, but are still searching for their first road win of the season. Portland nearly let the Hornets come in and steal one at their home, but were able to emerge with a gritty come-from-behind 102-100 win on Nov. 11; a game in which they played without Batum, but saw Freeland, Blake and Kaman do a solid job off the bench. Aldridge reminded everyone that he is one of the top (if not the top) power forwards in the league with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Lillard led the Blazers' charge pretty much throughout the game and finished with a game-high 29 points and a co-game high 7 assists (with Matthews). The Blazers outrebounded the Hornets, 48-38 with the bench providing a 21-12 edge over their Charlotte counterparts. The Nuggets have talent. The question is if, and perhaps when, they might put it together. Games against them could be easy to overlook. The Nuggets could be a team battling for a final playoff spot in the Western Conference in April. Several Blazers fans feel the Blazers missed out in the 2011 draft by not drafting Faried over Nolan Smith. While Faried has not had the strongest of starts this season, he is always fierce match up nightmare. Gallinari is back from last season's injury and provides an effective shooting punch off the bench. Lawson could very well be an all-star if he played in the Eastern Conference. The Blazers will be fighting possible fatigue by playing in Denver's high altitude on the second night of a back-to-back. They can counter that with solid bench performances from Kaman, Blake, Freeland. The Blazers will win if they contest the Nuggets' shots and put in a full 48-minute effort. Matchup to watch: Damian Lillard vs. Ty Lawson.
OFFICIALS
Ken Mauer, Mark Lindsay, JT Orr
FEATURED TWEETS
Daniel giving Freeland some props for his defense
More, shall we say "props" for Freeland from Teen Mom
Tobyus Sanchezo on the Blazers resiliency
AND
From our own Yeseeka on her fellow Cal Bear in the starting lineup
EXTRA
Not to be self-serving but, in response to Trail Blazers Pulse's question to establish a nickname for Chris Kaman, here are my own and another fan's suggestions from Nov. 9.
Graphic courtesy of David.
