Post by DiamondThief on Feb 28, 2015 21:18:59 GMT -8
Portland Trail Blazers at Sacramento Kings
What: The Blazers are in California's capital for the third and final meeting between the teams.
When: Sunday, March at 3 p.m. (PT).
Blazers Media: TV - CSNNW; Radio - Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Kings Media: TV - CSN-CA - Radio - KHTK Sports 1140 AM.
Previous: Oct. 31 - Kings 103, Blazers 94. Jan. 19 - Blazers 98, Kings 94.
Schedule: N/A.
Note: Either team can win the season series with a victory in this game.
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The Blazers are 38-19, 13-13 on the road and 20-13 in conference play. They are coming off a 115-112 home win over the Thunder on Feb. 27. They are averaging 102.3 points (9th in the NBA) and allowing 97.4 (8th). The Blazers, who are 6-3 in their last eight games, are first in the Northwest Division and fourth in the Western Conference.
The Kings are 20-36, 13-18 at home and 14-23 in conference play. They are coming off a 107-96 home loss to the Spurs on Feb. 27. They are scoring 101.1 (14th in the NBA) and allowing 104.3 (21st). The Kings, who are 3-7 in their last 10 games, are fourth in the Pacific Division and 12th in the Western Conference.
Blazers' Robin Lopez and Dorell Wright; Kings' Omri Casspi
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 - 4 Arron Afflalo; 5 Steve Blake; 23 Allen Crabbe; 3 CJ McCollum
F - 33 Alonzo Gee; 1 Dorell Wright
C - 19 Joel Freeland; 35 Chris Kaman; 11 Meyers Leonard
INJURY REPORT
none reported
HEAD COACH
Terry Stotts
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points - LaMarcus Aldridge 23.2
Rebounds - LaMarcus Aldridge 10.5
Assists - Damian Lillard 6.2
Blocks - Robin Lopez 1.5
Steals - Damian Lillard 1.4
FG - LaMarcus Aldridge 45.6%
FT - LaMarcus Aldridge 87.0%
3pt - Wesley Matthews 39.2%
SACRAMENTO KINGS
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 8 Rudy Gay
PF - 24 Carl Landry
C - 34 Jason Thompson
SG - 23 Ben McLemore
PG - 3 Ray McCallum
RESERVES
G - 22 Andre Miller; 10 Nik Stauskas; 9 David Stockton
F - 18 Omri Casspi; 30 Reggie Evans; 13 Derrick Williams
C - 15 DeMarcus Cousins; 5 Ryan Hollins
INJURY REPORT
G - 7 Darren Collison (hip) - out
F - 25 Eric Moreland (shoulder) - out
C - 15 DeMarcus Cousins (ankle) - out
HEAD COACH
George Karl
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points - DeMarcus Cousins 23.7
Rebounds - DeMarcus Cousins 12.2
Assists - Darren Collison 5.6
Blocks - DeMarcus Cousins 1.7
Steals - Darren Collison 1.6
FG - Darren Collison 47.3%
FT - Rudy Gay 86.3%
3pt - Darren Collison 37.3%
ANGI'S TAKE
The Blazers have recorded two straight wins over playoff contenders, including the come-from-behind victory over the Thunder. The Kings are in a bit of a state of flux as they have just hired Karl as head coach. However, that does not mean the Kings in any way, shape or form are going to be a pushover. Aldridge came up huge for the Blazers in the win over the Thunder with 29 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists. He is averaging 14.5 rebounds in his past two games. Lillard also tallied 29 points against the Thunder using a combination of drives to the hoop and outside shooting. The big story of that game may have been the assimilation of Afflalo, who registered 18 points and played nearly the entire fourth quarter in just his third game with the team. Kaman continues to be a powerful presence in the second unit. The Kings are likely to be without Cousins, so they will be looking for some other players to step up. Gay has been a thorn in the Blazers' side as of late and could have a big game. McLemore has fit into the shooting guard role and is becoming more reliable with each game. He scored a team-high 21 points in the loss to the Spurs. Landry is more of a defensive presence and will attempt to cover Aldridge. Thompson and Evans each grabbed 11 rebounds against the Spurs. Former Blazer Miller had 10 points in that game. The Blazers can win this if they can outrebound the Kings and win the battle of bench scoring. Matchup to watch: Wesley Matthews vs. Ben McLemore.
OFFICIALS
Bill Kennedy, Mark Ayotte, J.T. Orr.
QUOTEABLE
Blazers coach Terry Stotts after the win over the Thunder on Afflalo fitting in: "He made some big shots. He was aggressive offensively, very active defensively, got out in transition, so I think he's looked like he's kind of rounding into shape for us."
Kings coach George Karl on the fourth-quarter collapse against the Spurs: "I just think the effort, the energy and the intensity we had was first class. But the basketball IQ in the fourth quarter? I am not saying it was bad, but it sure wasn't good."
FEATURED TWEETS
EXTRA
I took a few photos while watching the Blazers beat the Thunder at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter on Feb. 27. This is my favorite.
JEROME KERSEY MEMORIAL
The Blazers will hold a memorial for the late Jerome Kersey on March 2 at 4 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The location is fitting since Kersey's Blazers teams played at the coliseum until his last year in Portland, 1994-95, before moving to the then-Rose Garden the following season.
MATCH UP MEME
Is Russell Westbrook's injury from The Blazers-Thunder game really al that bad?
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Graphic courtesy of David.
