Post by DiamondThief on Mar 20, 2015 22:48:39 GMT -8
Portland Trail Blazers at Memphis Grizzlies
What: The Blazers make their final appearance in the home of Graceland to face the Grizzlies.
When: Saturday, March 21 at 5 p.m. (pacific time)
Blazers Media: TV - CSNNW; Radio - Radio - Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Grizzlies Media: TV- SportsSouth; Radio - WMFS.
Previous: Nov. 28 - Grizzlies 112, Blazers 99. Jan. 17 - Grizzlies 102, Blazers 98. Feb. 22 - Grizzlies 98, Blazers 92.
Note: The Grizzlies, along with the Warriors, are the only teams in the Western Conference playoff race that the Blazers have not beaten this season.
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The Blazers are 44-23, 16-17 on the road and 24-14 in conference games. They are coming off a 111-104 road loss to the Magic on March 20. They are averaging 102.8 (9th in the NBA) and allowing 97.7 (7th). The Blazers, who have lost their last three games, are first in the Northwest Division and fourth in the Western Conference.
The Grizzlies are 48-21, 26-7 at home and 30-13 in conference games.. They are coming off a 112-101 road win over the Mavericks on March 20. They are scoring 98.8 points per game (16th in the NBA) and allowing 95.4 (2nd). The Grizzlies, who have won three of their last four, are first in the Southwest Division and second in the Western Conference.
Blazers' Damian Lillard; Grizzlies' Mike Conley
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 88 Nicolas Batum (9.6 pts, 5.9 reb, 4.9 ast)
PF - 12 LaMarcus Aldridge (23.6 pts, 10.5 reb, 1,8 ast)
C - 42 Robin Lopez (9.8 pts, 6.8 reb, 1.0 ast)
SG - 4 Arron Afflalo (13.8 pts, 3.2 reb, 1.7 ast)
PG - 0 Damian Lillard (21.2 pts, 4.8 reb, 6.2 ast)
RESERVES
G - 5 Steve Blake; 23 Allen Crabbe; 3 CJ McCollum
F - 33 Alonzo Gee; 1 Dorell Wright
C - 19 Joel Freeland; 11 Meyers Leonard
INJURY REPORT
G - 2 Wesley Matthews (achilles) - out
C - 35 Chris Kaman (shoulder) - out
HEAD COACH
Terry Stotts
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points - LaMarcus Aldridge 23.6
Rebounds - LaMarcus Aldridge 10.5
Assists - Damian Lillard 6.2
Blocks - Robin Lopez 1.6
Steals - Damian Lillard 1.3
FG - Robin Lopez 53.1%
FT - Damian Lillard 85.8%
3pt - Meyers Leonard 43.7%
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 32 Jeff Green (15.1 pts, 4.2 reb, 1.7 ast)
PF - 30 Zach Randolph (16.5 pts, 11.1 reb, 2.0 ast)
C - 33 Marc Gasol (17.8 pts, 7.9 reb, 3.8 ast)
SG - 9 Tony Allen (8.6 pts, 4.2 reb, 1.4 ast)
PG - 11 Mike Conley (16.3 pts, 3.1 reb, 5.3 ast)
RESERVES
G - 3 Jordan Adams; 12 Nick Calathes; 15 Vince Carter; 2 Russ Smith; 19 Beno Udrih
F - 0 JaMychal Green; 30 Jon Leuer; 1 Jarnell Stokes
C - 41 Kosta Koufos
INJURY REPORT
G - 5 Courtney Lee (shoulder) - out
HEAD COACH
David Joerger
STATISTICAL LEADERS (per game)
Points - Marc Gasol 17.8
Rebounds - Zach Randolph 11.1
Assists - Mike Conley 5.3
Blocks - Marc Gasol 1.7
Steals - Tony Allen 2.0
FG - Kosta Koufos, 50.0%
FT - Courney Lee 86.8%
3pt - Courtney Lee 41.8%
ANGI'S TAKE
The Blazers' Aldridge is on a tear. He is averaging 31.5 points and 11 rebounds over his last two games. He holds averages of 25.5 and 9.5 against the Grizzlies this season, but missed the Feb. 22 match up due a right thumb sprain. Against the Magic, Aldridge became the Blazers all-time leading rebounder. Lillard has not been as impactful over the course of the Blazers current road trip. He has averaged 20.3 points and 7.3 assists against the Grizzlies this season. Batum has played well since the All-Star break, but only took five shots against the Magic. Lopez will have his hands full with Gasol. If Kaman is unable to play, Leonard and Freeland could play pivotal roles in this game. McCollum scored 15 in the loss to the Magic. Blake tallied 13 points against the Grizzlies in the last meeting. The Grizzlies are lead by the two-headed monster on their front line, Gasol and Randolph, as well as the talented Conley. Gasol is averaging 20.7 points against the Blazers, while Randolph holds marks of 18.3 points and 12.3 rebounds against them. Conley is a talented point guard who many argue should be an all-star. He is averaging 8.5 assists in his two games against the Blazers, and nearly had a triple-double in the teams' first meeting (21 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists). Lee is a strong defender, while Green is a solid shooter who is always a threat to have a big game. Pondexter, Carter, Koufos and Udrih provide a potent punch off the bench. It was a pair of key late shots by Udrih which propelled the Grizzlies to the win on Jan. 17. The keys to a Blazers win are to limit the Grizzlies second chance points by controlling the boards, while limiting their turnovers. Matchup to watch: LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Zach Randolph.
OFFICIALS
Marc Davis, Karl Lane, Eric Lewis.
QUOTEABLE
Blazers' coach Stotts on playing the Grizzlies without Aldridge on Feb. 22: ""L.A. is obviously the guy we go to when we're struggling - the fact that we didn't have him in the fourth quarter, that's pretty obvious"
Grizzlies' Gasol on the team's Feb. 22 win over the Blazers: "They got the big lead, but we kept playing, came out scoring well in the fourth and getting stops.We kept scratching and clawing and getting closer and closer. Then we ended the game with a lot of stops."
FEATURED TWEETS
EXTRA
Number One: Aldridge gathered his 10th rebound with two seconds left in the third quarter of the Blazers game against the Magic on Friday night. With that board, he became the number one rebounder in Blazers history.
MATCH UP MEME
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Graphic courtesy of David.