Post by Kasey on Jan 27, 2015 1:53:13 GMT -8
Portland Trail Blazers at Cleveland Cavaliers
What: The Blazers visit the Cavaliers for their only game of the season in Cleveland.
When: Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m. (pacific time)
Blazers Media: TV - KGW; Radio - Radio - Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Cavaliers Media: TV- Fox Sports Ohio; Radio - WTAM 1100/100.7 WM.
Previous: Nov. 4 - Blazers 101, Cavaliers 82.
Note: The Blazers' four-game road trip turned into three games after their game against the Nets in Brooklyn on Jan. 26 was postponed due to sever weather conditions in the New York area. That game has been postponed until April 6. This game against the Cavaliers becomes game one of the road trip.
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The Blazers are 32-13, 12-8 on the road and 20-5 against the Eastern Conference. They are coming off a 103-96 home win over the Wizards on Jan. 24. They are scoring 103.3 points per game (6th in the NBA) and allowing 97.2 (4th). The Blazers, who have dropped five of their last seven games, are first in the Northwest Division and third in the Western Conference. The Cavaliers are 26-20, 15-9 at home and 8-11 against the Western Conference. They are coming off a 103-95 road win over the Pistons on Jan. 27. They are scoring 101.7 Points (10th) and are allowing 100.0 points (14th). The Cavaliers, who have won their last seven games, are second in the Central Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Cavaliers' LeBron James; Blazers' Wesley Matthews
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 88 Nicolas Batum
PF - 12 LaMarcus Aldridge
C - 35 Chris Kaman
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 - 11 Meyers Leonard
INJURIES
F - 88 Nicolas Batum (wrist) - will play
C - 19 Joel Freeland (shoulder) - out
C - 42 Robin Lopez (hand) - out
HEAD COACH
Terry Stotts
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points - LaMarcus Aldridge 23.3
Rebounds - LaMarcus Aldridge 10.2
Assists - Damian Lillard 6.2
Blocks - Robin Lopez 1.5
Steals - Damian Lillard 1.4
FG - Chris Kaman 48.7%
FT - LaMarcus Aldridge 86.9%
3pt - Wesley Matthews 39.9%
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 31 Shawn Marion
PF - 0 Kevin Love
C - 20 Timofey Mosgov
SG - 5 J.R. Smith
PG - 2 Kyrie Irving
RESERVES
G - 8 Matthew Dellavedova; 12 Joe Harris;18 Mike Miller; 4 Iman Shumpert
F - 1 James Jones; 13 Tristan Thompson
C - 33 Brendan Haywood
INJURIES
F - 23 LeBronJames (wrist) - out
C - 17 Anderson Varejao (achilles) - out
HEAD COACH
David Blatt
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points - LeBron James 26.2
Rebounds - Kevin Love 10.3
Assists - LeBron James 7.4
Blocks - Tristan Thompson 0.9
Steals - Kyrie Irving 1.6
FG - Tristan Thompson 53.7%
FT - Kyrie irving 83.9%
3pt - Kyrie Irving 38.7%
KASEY'S TAKE
Five days ago, it appeared the Blazers could be the victims of perhaps a string of losses. However, to the massive delight of the BlazerNation, Aldridge had other plans. The three- and possibly four-time all-star postponed the surgery on his thumb until after the season to start and lead his team to the win over the Wizards. Aldridge scored 26 points, pulled down 9 rebounds, had 3 assists and 2 steals in the win. Comcast's Dwight Jaynes and former Blazer Jerome Kersey remarked on Talkin' Ball that he looked like the same Aldridge as they'd become accustomed to seeing on a regular basis, despite the injury. Aldridge leads the Blazers in scoring, rebounding and free throw percentage, and is 13-3 in direct match ups against Love. Lillard scored 27 in the first meeting with the Cavs while dishing out 7 assists and getting the better of fellow rookie of the year Irving. Matthews scored 21 in the first meeting and is among the league leaders in three pointers made. The Blazers are without Lopez, but the Cavaliers have lost Varejao for the season, so Kaman could have a big night. Obviously, James is the leader for the Cavaliers. He's a two-time NBA champion with the Heat who started his career and has resumed it in Cleveland. He leads the team in scoring and assists. The Cavaliers will pretty much go as far as James takes them. Irving is one of the premiere NBA point guards who can score and dish the ball efficiently. He shot just 3-17 from the field in the first match up, but is always considered a major concern for opposing defenses. Love, a Lake Oswego native, is an able scorer and rebounder inside, though in the past, Aldridge's teams have gotten the better of him. Smith is an able shooter and Mozgov is a decent fill in. Haywood, who recently returned from injury, can provide some bulk in the front line. Rebounding and protecting the rim will be the keys for a Blazers win. Matchup to watch: Damian Lillard vs. Kyrie Irving.
OFFICIALS
Zach Zarba, Mark Ayotte, Derek Richardson.
QUOTEABLE
Blazers' guard Wesley Matthews on defending LeBron James: "He's arguably the best player in the game and he'll go down as one of the greatest to ever play, so you just try to make everything difficult and tough for him,"
Cavaliers' forward LeBron James on building the team: "It's like building a car from scratch. I've done that before. I hated the process, it got on my nerves. I sent it back to get repainted 100 times. But once it was completely finished I was excited about it."
FEATURED TWEETS
LaMarcus Aldridge's return is still getting some tweet action:
The weather in NYC took the Blazers by storm:
Blazers fans always support their team:
Grimm's Bitsie Tulloch is the Blazers version of Jack Nicholson, but better:
EXTRA
Here is a look back on Damian's buzzer beater against the Cavaliers from Dec. 17 last season.
MATCH UP MEME
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