Game Thread GAME# 59: BLAZERS @ CLIPPERS - MARCH 4, 2015 - WEDNESDAY, 7:30 PM (PST), ESPN & CSNNW

• Wednesday marks the third of four matchups between the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers in 2014-15.

• The Clippers have won both of their contests against Portland this season. Los Angeles hasn’t won three consecutive games against the Trail Blazers since the 2005-06 season.

• With a win, the Clippers will clinch a win of their third season series against Portland in the past four years.

• In the last game between these two teams, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 37 points (14-28 FG, 9-9 FT) and hauled in 12 rebounds. Aldridge’s 37-point performance is the most points he has scored against the Clippers in 24 career games.

• In his past five games against the Clippers, LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 27.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.6% from the field (55-113 FG). Aldridge has recorded four double-doubles in his past five games against LAC (two straight).

• Damian Lillard has made four three-pointers in both games against the Clippers this season. Lillard has made at least three shots from beyond the arc in four consecutive games against LAC.

• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 139-69
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 85-19
AT THE CLIPPERS: Trail Blazers lead, 54-50

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Reserved

I feel good about this one.

So glad we have Lopez and Freeland back for this one. We can't let DeAndre Jordan dominate the boards the way he has been. He has 8 straight games of at least 15 boards, including games of 27, 26, 22 and 20 TRB. He had 17 points on 8 - 8 FG and 18 TRB the last time we played the Clippers, but that was without Robin and Joel. Just gotta box him out and not let him beat our bigs back for easy dunks.

BNM

A quick look at the standings has the Clippers just a half game behind Portland and Houston a full game ahead with their loss last night. As we all know the Blazers have yet to beat the Clippers this year so this game is indeed very important. At this point of the season exactly what game is not? Some are looking for the Blazers to "win out" the rest of the season but we all know that ain't gonna happen. Blazers should however be in great shape tonight to make a game of this and like usual be in a position to take this one at the end. Here is why...

Clippers are hurting a bit and the Blazers are getting healthier. No listed injuries for Portland is something we have not seen for a while and even the players that were playing hurt seem to be much better off. The Clippers will be without Griffin but Paul and Jordan have been making plays and carrying the load in his absence. The difference maker for the Clippers has been Jamal Crawford. JC has been coming off the bench but there is no doubt he is going to have a starters impact when he is out there. The calf injury might sideline him tonight but even if it doesn't his outside shot has been coming up short and he is not attempting the mesmerizing crossover nearly as much. Look for Crawford (if he plays) to move inside to score.

CP3 is the other issue the Blazers must deal with. What we have been seeing out of him is a limited amount of shots from beyond the arc and a lot of mid range with those high arching floaters that may or may not be a shot at all. Some seem to just get picked out of the air by Jordan for what looks to be a planned OOP. The problem with guarding that shot is defenders start to get called for goaltend if they get in the way of it? It works at an unbelievable rate for the Clippers.

The Clippers defense is lock tight at times and at others they seem to get confused and rely on Jordan to protect the rim. Barnes plays a big role here and again (if he plays) he will draw whoever is scoring for the Blazers. You can figure Jordan will clog the lane and Paul will be all over Dame. Hawes will get the task of trying to guard Aldridge. I like this matchup because LA can get his shot off but if he tries to go around or up and under on Hawes he will find Jordan looking to cap him. If Aldridge is making his outside shots things always go easier for the Blazers. The key for the Blazers offense tonight will be the wings. As you can see Aldridge, Dame and Rolo will be in a dogfight. If the Blazers can depend on Batum and Matthews tonight, all will go very well for them. If we suffer through another dismal performance from these two this might be a very long night.

The injuries again will be the question for the Clippers tonight as far as their bench is concerned. The reason their bench is so good is Crawford. Without him and possibly Barnes while moving Hawes into the starting position it puts them in the same place the Blazers were only a few short weeks ago when Kaman was pulled from the second unit. The Clippers will have to rely on TurkeyGlue and Little Rivers to get-er-done. At this point it looks like the Blazers bench is in a better position to perform.

One of my very least favorite things to watch in the NBA is the Hack-a- Shaq/Howard/Jordan. The NBA has absolutely got to do something about this. Intentional fouling however is safer and more controllable than not allowing it and having the opposing team foul the guy and try to make it look like it was not intentional. That of course would lead to huge ego's and tempers becoming inflamed and eventually fights. Reggie Miller i think said it best..." Maybe they should just get better at making FREE THROWS?" . If the Blazers are down 8-10 with 5 mins to go look for Stotts to implement this strategy. Jordan is just way too valuable on defense to take him out. To this point he is only making around 50% or just under on free throws so it does work. When the guy starts to miss it is almost painful to watch. I find myself cheering for him except against the Blazers of course. He will get better. You do all remember Duncan could not hit a free throw either when he was younger right?

Pick tonight is Batum. I was tempted to go with Wes but he will have to handle Reddick so the biggest advantage goes to Frenchy. Earn that contract Nic!

Go Blazers!

kjironman is a fan!!!

Gotta get this one to give us momentum into tomorrow night against Dallas.

Big game!

Getting tired of all these good Blazer games being on national TV while being blacked out on league pass.

This game can be a statement win for us if we can get it. Hope Dame plays well-- CP has consistently dominated him more than any other PG in the NBA in his 3 years.

Looked up the numbers. Head to head in 6 games:

CP: 5-1 record, 21 pts, 11 asts, 4 rebs, 3 stls, < 2 TO, with 51% FG
Dame: 1-5 record, 17pts, 6asts, 4rebs, 4 TO, with 46% FG

illmatic99 said:

Looked up the numbers. Head to head in 6 games:

CP: 5-1 record, 21 pts, 11 asts, 4 rebs, 3 stls, < 2 TO, with 51% FG
Dame: 1-5 record, 17pts, 6asts, 4rebs, 4 TO, with 46% FG

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Last game Blazers had no Rolo or Freeland so i expect him to do a bit better. Also there will be another option for scoring with AAA so maybe a few more assist numbers as well not to mention Batum is hitting some shots. If Aldridge's shot is falling and the wings are scoring Lillard will be fine.

Ahhh! Wish I could watch on LP! But, regardless, huge game! LETS GO BLAZERS!!!

kjironman1 said:

Last game Blazers had no Rolo or Freeland so i expect him to do a bit better. Also there will be another option for scoring with AAA so maybe a few more assist numbers as well not to mention Batum is hitting some shots. If Aldridge's shot is falling and the wings are scoring Lillard will be fine.

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Let's hope Dame gives CP3 a bitchslap from the 'clutchman'.

Here is an article that will make you think. Got to read it all the way through or you might think it's negative. It isn't....
http://www.clipsnation.com/2015/3/4...ard-lamarcus-aldridge-batum-matthews-clippers

I have church tonight so I will be with you guys in spirit!!!

The Clippers are the dirtiest team in the league. Notice the number of fights and technical fouls?

Last game, Rivers backed up his son for fighting with Garnett. I don't like Garnett, but Austin had paragraphs and paragraphs of quotes criticizing Garnett after the game (while Garnett stayed away from reporters, as he should), and his father said Austin should have hit him. No class.

They just said a Jalen Rose interview with Damian Lillard is coming up on ESPN at some point tonight.

kjironman1 said:

If the Blazers are down 8-10 with 5 mins to go look for Stotts to implement this strategy. Jordan is just way too valuable on defense to take him out. To this point he is only making around 50% or just under on free throws so it does work. When the guy starts to miss it is almost painful to watch. I find myself cheering for him except against the Blazers of course. He will get better. You do all remember Duncan could not hit a free throw either when he was younger right?

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Great post, but I disagree that Jordan's FT shooting will improve. He's now in his 7th season and still only shooting .410 from the stripe (career FT% = .422). If he hasn't gotten better by now, he's not likely to. He's only had one season in 7 above FT% = .500. Wilt played 15 years and never got any better (his FT shooting actually got worse over the course of his career), Shaq played 19 years and never improved his FT shooting - and Jordan is worse than both of these guys ever were.

Duncan was never anywhere near as bad as these guys. He only has one season in 17 below 60% and that was .599. His FT% was .662 as a rookie, up to .690 his second year an a very respectable .761 in his third season.

It sucks that teams foul Jordan for possession, but they do it for a reason - it works. When he misses 18 FTs in a game, it's the equivalent to 9 TOVs, only better as it also stops the clock. It's within the rules and just one example, of many, of exploiting an opponent's weakness to your team's advantage.

BNM

magnifier661 said:

I have church tonight so I will be with you guys in spirit!!!

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Father and son, too!

BNM

Boob-No-More said:

Great post, but I disagree that Jordan's FT shooting will improve. He's now in his 7th season and still only shooting .410 from the stripe (career FT% = .422). If he hasn't gotten better by now, he's not likely to. He's only had one season in 7 above FT% = .500. Wilt played 15 years and never got any better (his FT shooting actually got worse over the course of his career), Shaq played 19 years and never improved his FT shooting - and Jordan is worse than both of these guys ever were.

Duncan was never anywhere near as bad as these guys. He only has one season in 17 below 60% and that was .599. His FT% was .662 as a rookie, up to .690 his second year an a very respectable .761 in his third season.

It sucks that teams foul Jordan for possession, but they do it for a reason - it works. When he misses 18 FTs in a game, it's the equivalent to 9 TOVs, only better as it also stops the clock. It's within the rules and just one example, of many, of exploiting an opponent's weakness to your team's advantage.

BNM

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You may very well be right about Jordan and free throws. The thing i was going on was actually someone like Joel Pryzbilla. He went 7 or 8 years below 50% and finally hired a shooting coach after that he got up as high as 68% but really never any better than that. There was a noticeable difference with his shot after the coach worked with him. I just can't see in this day and age a player not making this their number one priority at that level when teams are using it to take a championship away from you? If the Clippers do indeed make it deep into the playoffs this will be their biggest challenge. 2nd round or WCF's the stakes become bigger and the pressure even more intense.
Here is a link on Joel FT shooting.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/przybjo01.html

Boob-No-More said:

Father and son, too!

BNM

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Holy Trinity Batman, he's right!

Both Crawford and Barnes are officially out for the Clips tonight.

KeepOnRollin said:

Both Crawford and Barnes are officially out for the Clips tonight.

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Good. Crawford always has our number, and I dont have to look at Barnes. It feels like we won already. lol.

No excuse not to come home with a big road win now - hope they come out with the right mindset and don't let up.

If Austin rivers kills us tonight it will be confirmed that scrubs kill us lol

BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94 said:

If Austin rivers kills us tonight it will be confirmed that scrubs kill us lol

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Spencer Hawes will. Ugh. I can feel it.

I can't believe I advocated for that guy on the podcast. lol.

Nah, Reddick will hit 11 threes on us lol

BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94 said:

Nah, Reddick will hit 11 threes on us lol

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In the first half.

Strenuus said:

In the first half.

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With his shooting hand tied behind his back and a blindfold on.

BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94 said:

With his shooting hand tied behind his back and a blindfold on.

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Over Rolo who has Freeland on his shoulders who has Beibs on HIS shoulders.

I dont know if I can handle another night of espn announcers.