Post by DiamondThief on Dec 10, 2014 13:59:12 GMT -8
Portland Trail Blazers at Minnesota Timberwolves
What: Portland makes its first visit of the season in the City of Lakes to take on the T-Wolves.
When: Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. (pacific).
Blazers Media: TV - KGW; Radio - Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Timberwolves Media: TV - FS North. Radio - 830 WCCO.
Note: The Blazers have won seven straight road games.
Previous: Nov. 30 - Blazers 107, Timerwolves 93.
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The Blazers (17-4, 7-2 on the road) are coming off a 98-86 road win over the Pistons on Dec. 9. They are led by LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews. The Blazers are averaging 103.4 points (9th in the NBA) and giving up 96.0 points (4th). The Timberwolves (4-16, 2-8 at home) are coming off a 102-86 home loss to the Warriors on Dec. 8. They are lead by Thaddeous Young, Andrew Wiggins and Shabazz Muhammad. The Nuggets are averaging 99.4 points (15th) and giving up 110.2 points (23rd).
Blazers' Damian Lillard and Joel Freeland; Timberwolves' Anthony Bennett and Zach LaVine
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 88 Nicolas Batum
PF - 12 LaMarcus Aldridge
C - 42 Robin Lopez
SG - 2 Wesley Matthews
PG - 0 Damian Lillard
RESERVES
G - 5 Will Barton; 25 Steve Blake; 23 Allen Crabbe
F - 18 Victor Claver; 41 Thomas Robinson; 1 Dorell Wright
C - 19 Joel Freeland; 35 Chris Kaman; 11 Meyers Leonard
INJURIES
G - 3 CJ McCollum (finger) - out
HEAD COACH
Terry Stotts
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Pts - LaMarcus Aldridge 22.3
Reb - LaMarcus Aldridge 9.9
Ast - Damian Lillard 6.3
Blk - Robin Lopez 1.5
Stl - Damian Lillard 1.4
FG - Robin Lopez 53.0%
FT - Damian Lillard 86.9%
3pt - Damian Lillard 39.7%
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 22 Andrew Wiggins
PF - 33 Thaddeus Young
C - 5 Gorgui Dieng
SG - 13 Corey Brewer
PG - 8 Zach LaVine
RESERVES
G - 1 Glenn Robinson
F - 12 Jeff Adrien; 24 Anthony Bennett; 10 Chase Budinger; 4 Robbie Hummel; 15 Shabazz Muhammad
C - 14 Nikola Pekovic; 32 Ronny Turiaf
INJURY REPORT
G - 9 Ricky Rubio (ankle) - out
G - 23 Kevin Martin (wrist) - out
G - 25 Mo Williams (back) - questionable
C - 14 Nikola Pekovic (wrist) - questionable
C - 32 Ronny Turiaf (hip) - questionable
HEAD COACH
Flip Saunders
STATISTICAL LEADERS (per game)
Points - Kevin Martin 20.4
Rebounds - Nikola Pekovic 8.1
Assists - Ricky Rubio 10.0
Blocks - Gorgui Dieng 1.5
Steals - Corey Brewer 2.1
FG - Shabazz Muhammad 51.6%
FT - Nikola Pekovic 88.6%
3pt - Kevin Martin 48.1%
Angi's Take
Aldridge is on fire for the Blazers, and he has registered double-doubles in his last eight games. The L-Train is coming off a 23-point, 11-rebound performance against. the Pistons. He has led the Blazers to a five-game winning streak and the team has won 14 or its last 15. Their seven-game road winning streak is just two short of the franchise record of nine set in 1991. Matthews, who always seems to play with a chip on his shoulder, shot 8-12 from the field in the win over the Pistons. Lillard had quiet night but is always a threat. Lopez brings the defense and Batum is the glue that holds the starting unit together. The bench was excellent in the first half against the Pistons, with Kaman and Crabbe scoring a combined 21 points on 10-13 shooting and Blake dishing out 4 assists. The Timberwolves would boast a better record if they had not had some many players banged up thus far. As it stands, they are riding a six-game skid. Young has played well against the Blazers in the past and Brewer is a solid veteran. Wiggins and Bennett are the last two number one draft picks, but are still young and being thrown on to the fire. Muhammad is beginning to show signs of why he was a first round draft pick; he scored 28 points in the teams' meeting . Dieng is a decent back up, but is not Pekovic or Turiaf (both missed the teams' game on Nov. 30). Former Blazer Williams is questionable, but can provide a spark should he be able to play. The Blazers will win this game if they control the boards and force the Timberwolves into taking tough shots. Matchup to watch: LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Thaddeous Young.
OFFICIALS
Ron Garretson, Pat Fraher, Tre Maddox
QUOTABLE
Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge on moving past Terry Porter on the Blazers all-time scoring list: “It's a big honor to pass Terry, because he was a big-time player for this franchise and a big-time player in this league. He means a lot to the city of Portland, and to pass him means that all the hard work is paying off. It also means I've been with this franchise for a long time."
Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders on his team's rebuilding: "Now we're looking at a situation where we might be going into a rebuild, which changes the dynamics of everything ... It's not pleasant for anybody ... But sometimes you're forced to do things that you don't plan on doing."
FEATURED TWEETS
EXTRA
Last night I dropped some knowledge on Trail Blazers Pulse.
MATCH UP MEME
2014 number one pick Andrew Wiggins was involved in the trade which sent Kevin Love to the Cavs.
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Graphic courtesy of David.