Jan 31st vs Utah Gametime 7 pm Pacific Time CSN We last played the Jazz in Portland on December the 11th. They came to town and spanked us on home court despite a 33 point effort from Brandon Roy. [video=youtube;mzPBp8uNUjY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ZHIQxe-qg]And, of course we have a recap of that 9 point loss you can watch here on YouTube.[/url] And our 103-96 loss in Salt Lake The Jazz have seemed to have our number this season, although anytime you play a team coached by Jerry Sloan you can expect a tough game. Even though the Jazz have been awash in injuries and Sloan has used 13 different starting lineups he still has the team in contention and has managed to beat us twice. No word yet on the availabilty of AK-47. The Jazz only can hope a third cortisone shot is the charm for Andrei Kirilenko , who will undergo surgery unless he sees improvement in his injured right ankle over the next two or three days Much of the season the Jazz have been playing without Carlos Boozer, but due to the terrific play of backup Paul Milsap one could argue they haven't missed him.Milsap will be seeking a new deal this summer and Boozer has indicated he plans on opting out of the last year of his contract. It's unlikely the Jazz will keep both and my guess is that Boozer will be the one with a new home next year. Boozer will be reevaluated today in Los Angeles with the expectation that he will be cleared to increase his rehab work. Boozer underwent left knee surgery Jan. 9 and said Tuesday that the swelling in his knee had decreased. The Jazz originally said Boozer would take part in a four-week rehab program before possibly returning, but Boozer said his timetable was more like four to six weeks. At this writing its not certain whether Steve Blake will be able to make his return to the Blazer lineup. After a few more days off he may decide to give it another try. Nate being Nate will let Blake reclaim his starting spot if he does. Otherwise we'll once again see Sergio Rodriguez start the ballgame at the point. The Blazers are on a nice little roll and seem to be picking up steam to make a bit of a run here before the all-star break. They easily handled the Bobcats Wednesday night, who were without Gerald Wallace, and will have a few days off before taking on the Jazz Saturday night in Portland. Greg Oden had another nice game and another double double against the Bobcats, and fan favorite TRex himself, Jerryd Bayless came off the bench and scored 11. The Blazers were led by LaMarcus Aldridge and his 25 points. LA has elevated his game lately and has become much more active at both ends of the floor. This team wants to make a run for the playoffs and is looking more and more like they deserve a postseason shot. This game against the Jazz will be another marker for us to gauge the growth of our team. The Jazz have had their way with us so far this season and Saturday night its time for us to show them what we can do on our home court. I'll be looking for a Blazer victory Saturday night. Jeff Sagarins ratings system, which has lately been a very accurate predictor of Blazer basketball games, also predicts a Blazer home court victory. Projected starters Portland Trailblazers Steve Blake -PG Brandon Roy-SG Nic Batum-SF LaMarcus Aldridge-PF Greg Oden-Center Projected starters Utah Jazz Deron Williams-PG Ronnie Brewer-SG CJ Miles SF Paul Milsap-PF Mehmet Okur-Center As always there will be pregame, gametime, and postgame discussion of the game in the gameday forum If you happen to miss the game you can click here and catch the video recap and hdtv highlights of the game
We will win. They're beat up. They've been struggling. It'll also be the second game of a back to back. Chalk it up as a W. If we don't win, I promise to say nothing but kind words to/about Mixum all day long the following day (read: I won't be posting at all on Sunday if we lose).
We need this one bad. We are playing really good basketball and are at home vs. a division rival w/o AK47 and Boozer... this is a really important game that I think we need. They win the season series is they take this, and it may come in very useful near the end of the year. Big game! A win will also further put us ahead of the Jazz with a nice little cushion.
The Garden is going to be on FIRE Saturday night! I'm going to get good and liquored up for this one. I can't WAIT!!!!!!!
if we cant beat the jazz at home without boozer and AK.... it would be pretty embarrassing for us. also, dallas, hornets, and thunder coming up. This stretch starting Saturday could determine whether we make the playoffs or not. We have a chance to do major damage. Ive always felt if a team can get about 30-32 wins by the all star game...they should be in solid shape for playoffs.
A big game for sure. If we can just stop Utah's role players from going off, we have a great chance and somehow limit Okur.. that guy kills us with his 3s every time.
problem is...we dont match up well with utah. millsap is a banger and thats not LA's game. he kills us on the boards. okur is a prob for oden since he makes oden come out on him...and can shoot the 3. williams is so much better then any of pgs...he kills us too.
