Post by DiamondThief on Nov 14, 2014 19:42:28 GMT -8
Brooklyn Nets
at
Portland Trail Blazers
What: The Nets make their lone appearance of the season in Portland.
When: Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
Media: CSNNW, NBATV (TV); Rip City Radio 620 AM (radio).
Note: Pick your storyline in this one: Robin Lopez vs. Brook Lopez; Blazers champion Lionel Hollins comes back to Portland as head coach of the Nets; the Nets look to avenge their 44-point loss in Portland from last season.
Forum: To comment, please login or register.
The Nets (4-4, 1-3 on the road) are coming off a 107-99 road loss to the Warriors on Nov. 13. They are lead by Joe Johnson (19.0 points) Kevin Garnett (8.0 rebounds) and Deron Williams (6.5 assists). The Blazers (6-3, 5-1 at home) are coming off a 130-113 road drubbing of the Nuggets in Denver on Nov. 15 which was not nearly as close as the final score indicates. They are led by LaMarcus Aldridge (21.9 points and 7.9 rebounds), Damian Lillard (6.2 assists) and Robin Lopez (1.6 blocks).
Blazers' Will Barton (5) and Wesley Matthews (2)</font></b>Brooklyn Nets
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 7 Joe Johnson
PF - 2 Kevin Garnett
C - 11 Brook Lopez
SG - 44 Bojan Bogdanovic
PG - 8 Deron Williams
RESERVES
G - 6 Alan Anderson; 22 Markel Brown; 13 Jose Gutierrez; 0 Jarrett Jack
F - 21 Cory Jefferson; 10 Sergey Karasev; 47 Andrei Kirilenko; 33 Mirza Teletovic
C - 9 Jerome Jordan; 1 Mason Plumlee
INJURIES
no injuries reported
HEAD COACH
Lionel Hollins
Portland Trail Blazers
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 23 Allen Crabbe
PF - 11 Meyers Leonard
C - 42 Robin Lopez
SG - 2 Wesley Matthews
PG - 0 Damian Lillard
RESERVES
G - 5 Will Barton; 25 Steve Blake; 23 Allen Crabbe; 3 CJ McCollum
F - 18 Victor Claver; 41 Thomas Robinson; 1 Dorell Wright
C - 19 Joel Freeland; 35 Chris Kaman
INJURIES
F - 12 LaMarcus Aldridge (upper respiratory infection) - out
F - 88 Nicolas Batum (right knee) - out
HEAD COACH
Terry Stotts
Angi's Take
For the first time in recent memory, the Nets are completely healthy. They have been relatively banged up over the past couple of seasons. In fact, this will be the first time since the 2011-12 season that Brook Lopez has been uninjured and able to face his twin brother, the Blazers' Robin Lopez. The Nets started the season 4-2 before dropping their last two games on the road, to the Suns and Warriors, respectively. This will be their third game of a three-game western road trip. Johnson is a proven offensive threat and while Garnett is in the twilight of his career, he can still have an impact on a game. Williams is an average point guard, though he can carry the load at times. The Blazers will once again be without Batum and possibly also without Aldridge. Like he did with Batum, Stotts is being coy about who will start at the four should Aldridge not be able to play. Freeland would be the best matchup against Garnett, but Wright could force the latter to play defense on the perimeter. Without Aldridge, it could be up to Lillard and Matthews to carry the offensive load for the first unit, while the proven Kaman could pace the second. This will be the first trip to Portland as head coach of the Nets for Hollins, who was the starting shooting guard on the Blazers 1977 championship team. In a bit of irony, Hollins served as an assistant coach to Paul Westphal with the Suns from 1988-95; Westphal now serves as an assistant to Hollins. Certainly, the Blazers are unlikely to match their 124-80 win on Feb. 26 at the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter (a game in which Aldridge, Freeland, Robinson and Leonard all sat with injuries), but behind the crowd and solid play the Blazers should be able to emerge with the win. To do so they will need to shoot the ball effectively (I would say at least 47.5 percent), Matthews' defense will need to slow down Johnson and Robin will need to counter Brook in the battle of the Lopezes. Matchup to watch: Brook Lopez vs. Robin Lopez.
OFFICIALS
TBA
QUOTABLE
Robin Lopez on why he and Brook's mom is rooting for the Blazers and how he approaches the matchup between the two: "I'm the loveable one ... He gets a few licks in; I've got to make him feel a little bit better about himself. He's going to score once or twice, but I'd be cruel not to."
The entire interview on TBTV:
FEATURED TWEETS
M
Regarding Fropez vs. Bropez:
EXTRA
SC2C made it to Trail Blazers Pulse following the Blazers 130-113 win over the Nuggets on Nov. 12 when we pointed out that the team is 3-0 over its Northwest Division opponents at this early point in the season.
Graphic courtesy of David.
