Post by DiamondThief on Jan 28, 2015 21:36:04 GMT -8
Portland Trail Blazers at Atlanta Hawks
What: The Blazers look for some payback in Atlanta against the NBA's hottest team.
When: Friday, Jan. 30 at 4:30 p.m. (pacific time)
Blazers Media: TV - CSNNW; Radio - Radio - Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Hawks Media: TV- SportsSouth; Radio - 92.9 FM "The Game".
Previous: Jan. 3 - Hawks 115-107.
Note: This will be the second of their three-game road trip against east coast team.
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The Blazers are 32-14, 12-9 on the road and 20-6 against the Eastern Conference. They are coming off a 99-94 road loss to the Cavaliers on Jan. 28. They are scoring 102.8 points per game (8th in the NBA) and allowing 97.2 (5th). The Blazers, who have dropped six of their last eight games, are first in the Northwest Division and tied for third in the Western Conference. The Hawks are 38-8, 21-3 at home and 12-2 against the Western Conference. They are coming off a 112-103 road win over the Pistons on Jan. 28. They are scoring 103.4 Points (6th) and are allowing 96.2 points (1st). The Hawks, who boast an NBA-high 17-game winning streak, are first in the Southwest Division, as well as first in the Eastern Conference.
Hawks' Jeff Teague; Blazers' Damian Lillard
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) - questionable
C - 19 Joel Freeland (shoulder) - out
C - 42 Robin Lopez (hand) - out
HEAD COACH
Terry Stotts
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points - LaMarcus Aldridge 23.6
Rebounds - LaMarcus Aldridge 10.2
Assists - Damian Lillard
Blocks - Robin Lopez 1.5
Steals - Damian Lillard
FG - Chris Kaman 48.8%
FT - LaMarcus Aldridge 87.6%
3pt - Wesley Matthews 39.8%
ATLANTA HAWKS
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 5 DeMarre Carroll
PF - 4 Paul Millsap
C - 15 Al Horford
SG - 26 Kyle Korver
PG - 0 Jeff Teague
RESERVES
G - 24 Kent Bazemore; 12 John Jenkins; 8 Shelvin Mack; 17 Dennis Schroder; 25 Thabo Sefolosha
F - 9 Elton Brand; 33 Adreain Payne; 32 Mike Scott
C - 6 Pero Antic; 31 Mike Muscala
INJURIES
G - 8 Shelvin Mack - (calf) - questionable
HEAD COACH
Mike Budenholzer
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points - Paul Millsap 17.2
Rebounds - Paul Millsap 8.1
Assists - Jeff Teague 7.5
Blocks - Al Horford 1.4
Steals - Paul Millsap 1.7
FG - Al Horford 55.1%
FT - Kyle Korver 92.3%
3pt - Kyle Korver 53.4%
ANGI'S TAKE
What can you say about the Blazers' LaMarcus Aldridge that hasn't been said over the past six days? He postponed surgery on his torn-ligament thumb only to show he can't be stopped. He's averaging 32.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in the past two games since coming back. he might have more boards if Kaman had not pulled down 10 and 13 boards, respectively, in the past two games. Lillard is the Blazers second option, thought he has struggled from the field over the past six games, going 38-121 for 31.4 percent. Matthews has emerged as the team's third option, though he can be inconsistent. Batum, who played Wednesday against the Cavaliers, has been nursing a sprained wrist and is questionable for the game. Millsap leads the Hawks in scoring, but it's Teague who makes this team go. he's averaging 17.0 points and 7.5 assists. Korver and Matthews have spent much of the past month battling for the NBA lead in three point makes. Both have been invited to the all-star weekend's three-point shootout. Korver is shooting an NBA-best 53.4 percent from behind the arc. Millsap has caused problems for the Blazers since he played with the Jazz. He should match up well against Aldridge. Horford is an inside scorer who can hammer the boards when needed. In all, the Hawks play as a team and are the top team in the Eastern Conference. To win, the Blazers will have to get yet another solid performance, and Lillard will most definitely have to step up. The real match up might be between Matthews and Korver; which makes more threes could propel his team to victory. Matchup to watch: Damian Lillard vs. Jeff Teague.
OFFICIALS
Tom Washington, Kevin Cutler, Kane Fitzgerald.
QUOTEABLE
Blazers' coach Terry Stotts on LaMarcus Aldridge: "He's been a consummate pro since I've been here. I like the fact he was very aggressive. He didn't shy away from contact. He didn't show any ill effects of the hand bothering him at all."
Hawks' coach Mike Budenholzer on what is working: "We're trying to grow and improve. We want to keep our mindset there, just play each night, go out there and compete. That's been good for us so far."
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