Game Thread GAME# 42: BULLS @ BLAZERS - JANUARY 9, 2019 - WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM, NBCSNW

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by Darkwebs, Jan 8, 2019.

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Half the season is over. How many Blazers games did you watch/listen to?

Poll closed Jan 15, 2019.
  1. None

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. Less than 50%

    9.3%
  3. More than 50%

    42.6%
  4. All of them

    48.1%
  1. Darkwebs

    Darkwebs Awakened to emptiness Staff Member Moderator

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    [​IMG]


    2018-19 REGULAR SEASON RECORD
    CHICAGO BULLS
    10 - 30
    (5-14 Road)
    PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

    24 - 17
    (16-7 Home)

    ______________________________
    ---------
    PROBABLE STARTERS---------


    [​IMG]
    [​IMG] PG [​IMG]
    KRISS DUNN VS DAMIAN LILLARD

    [​IMG] SG [​IMG]

    ZACH LaVINE VS C.J. McCOLLUM

    [​IMG] SF [​IMG]

    CHANDLER HUTCHINSON VS MOE HARKLESS

    [​IMG] PF [​IMG]

    LAURI MARKKANEN VS AL-FAROUQ AMINU

    [​IMG] C [​IMG]

    WENDALL CARTER Jr. VS JUSUF NURKIC

    -----------------------------------------------------------------
    [​IMG]---[​IMG]

    --------------------------------------------------------------


    WHEN: 7:00 PM (PST), WEDNESDAY, 1/9/2019

    WHERE: Moda Center, Portland, OR
    [​IMG]


    TV BROADCAST:

    [​IMG]


    RADIO BROADCAST:
    [​IMG]


    -----------------------------------------------------------------




    --------------BENCH--------------


    -------- CHICAGO BULLS --------
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
    ARCIDIANCONO , HARRISON , BLAKENEY
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
    ALKINS , SAMPSON , SELDEN
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    PARKER , FELICIO
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    PORTIS , LOPEZ

    --- PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS ---
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
    CURRY , BALDWIN , SIMONS
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
    TURNER , STAUSKAS , TRENT Jr.
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    LAYMAN , SWANIGAN
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    COLLINS , LEONARD



    INJURIES

    BULLS
    Bobby Portis (right ankle sprain): PROBABLE
    Denzel Valentine (left ankle surgery): OUT
    TRAIL BLAZERS
    Moe Harkless (left knee): QUESTIONABLE



    HEAD COACHES
    [​IMG] - VS – [​IMG]
    JIM BOYLEN --- TERRY STOTTS




    :reading:OFFICIAL BULLS' GAME NOTES
    :reading: OFFICIAL BLAZERS' GAME NOTES







    [​IMG]
     
  2. Darkwebs

    Darkwebs Awakened to emptiness Staff Member Moderator

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    HALF WAY HOME
    We have officially reached the half-way mark of the season, and Blazers have done quite well, arguably. Their 24-17 start is the best since the 2014-15 season. And yet, go figure, we are sitting in 7th place in the Wild, Wild West.

    Parity abound, as a total of 4 games separate the #3 to the #8 team in this competitive conference, but it has been this way for years and years. So the Blazers must take advantage of these home games against the (L)Eastern Conference teams if they want to remain in the playoff hunt. Teams currentlybelow us like the Jazz and Wolves will surely make a run in the second half of the season.

    DA COMPETITION
    The Bulls, similar to the Knicks whom we just beat, are obviously tanking. Chicago has lost four in a row and have 3 wins in their last 10 games. In fact, they currently have the same exact record as New York, with both teams being in the bottom 3 of the East. Still, you cannot sleep on any team in this league, as almost any player (even a scrub) can go off on you, a lesson the Blazers should know intimately (see Ferrell, Yogi; Brooks, MarShon; every end-of-the-bench player on the Warriors).

    ROCK STEADY
    41 games in, can you believe how solid-as-a-rock the Blazers have been after 3 quarters? 24 times they have lead after the 3rd quarter and those same 24 times they have gone on to win the game. Of course, yin & yang, the inverse is unfortuantely true, too: 17 times they've had a deficit after the 3rd, and 17 times they've failed to comeback. 41 games of being Steady Freddy. This pattern will come to an end eventually, right?

    INJURED MO' or (hark)LESS
    One thing that's not steady this season has been the availibiity of Harkless. Plagued by left knee issues, it's seemingly a coin flip whether he can play that night or not. Last outing, he started the game, only to be absent for the second half due to left knee soreness. In the last 5 games, he's played 2 and a half games (the very definition of "flip of a coin"). Speaking of coins, this Harkless injury saga must be coined: "Finding Knee-Moe."

    FEELING WHITE AT HOME
    And look, we are finally wearing white at home. What a novel idea! It feels like forever since this happened (in actuality it was the Dec. 21 game against Utah).

    JERRY SPRINGER'S FINAL THOUGHT
    Portland needs to go out, play hard, have some fun, and notch a win against the BEAT-A-BULLS!
    Till next time, take care of yourselves and each other.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2019
  3. Darkwebs

    Darkwebs Awakened to emptiness Staff Member Moderator

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    Lopez must be going for that Saturday morning cartoon villain look. Is he gonna twirl his mustache while cackling during the game? Tune in to find out.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. blazerkor

    blazerkor Well-Known Member

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    This should be another home game that we have control over and win. It may not be super easy but I doubt it's in question at any point. We're just a better team. GO BLAZERS!
     
  5. Labinot41

    Labinot41 Well-Known Member

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    Big Time loss incoming fams
     
  6. BonesJones

    BonesJones https://www.youtube.com/c/blazersuprise

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    What
     
  7. TBpup

    TBpup Writing Team

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    You just can't lose these games at home against such a crappy East team. Pad the record!
     
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  8. Blazer4ever

    Blazer4ever Finding a Way BANNED

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    Zach Levine is a good player, Markannen I think is gonna be great in the future, he has amazing talent, Bobby Portis is good and RoLo is RoLo, one of my favorite players of all time.
    We need to win it but they're not as bad as the Knicks minus-Porzingis and our matchups with them aren't great (for example Harkless being matched on their weakest player, Lavine is gonna give any of our guards trouble).
    We need to focus on every possesion defensively, get one stop after the other, then we can close this game early
     
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  9. SIeepwalker

    SIeepwalker The lone sane poster

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    It's reverse jinx
     
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  10. BonesJones

    BonesJones https://www.youtube.com/c/blazersuprise

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    Why couldn't we just put CJ on Hutchison and Harkless on Lavine?

    Harkless probably won't play.
     
  11. James lamphear

    James lamphear Well-Known Member

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    You will see who ever start at small forward properly will be on Levin.
     
  12. Chris Craig

    Chris Craig (Blazersland) I'm Your Huckleberry Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    Watch for him to bodyslam Blaze the Cat
     
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  13. Chris Craig

    Chris Craig (Blazersland) I'm Your Huckleberry Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    Probably not. The Blazers will look to rest him this game and probably the next. Hopefully, Layman starts over Turner.
     
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  14. PtldPlatypus

    PtldPlatypus Let's go Baby Blazers! Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    Turner in the starting lineup has actually worked out pretty well. I'd rather Layman come off the bench firing rather than be marginalized as the 5th option in the starting lineup.
     
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  15. James lamphear

    James lamphear Well-Known Member

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    We have to come more focused then we did the Knicks.
     
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  16. Bruno_Sabino

    Bruno_Sabino From Brasil (Belem-PA)

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    Need to play better than we play nyk. Good game for us, no travel, stay in pdx and prepare for the game. Its time to make a streak.
     
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  17. Bruno_Sabino

    Bruno_Sabino From Brasil (Belem-PA)

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    Need to play better than we play nyk. Good game for us, no travel, stay in pdx and prepare for the game. Its time to make a streak.
     
  18. BBert

    BBert Weasels Ripped My Flesh

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    Hahaha Love the "Bull" pic

    :cheers:
     
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  19. BBert

    BBert Weasels Ripped My Flesh

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    And starting Turner with better players limits his bang my head against the wall mistakes and three point shooting, plus allows him to cover for some of the defensive inefficiencies of our starting guards. Maybe?
     
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  20. illmatic99

    illmatic99 formerly yuyuza1

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    Dame looks awful by his standards. Clyde kept repeatedly saying last night on the Knicks telecast how Dame doesn't look like himself and is "lethargic" or "lackadaisical." This has been like this since the pretty much the XMas day game in Utah.

    I think he's burned out. Prolly a buncha nagging injuries followed by a cold.

    Give the man a day of rest. He'll fight it, but it will be better in the long run. No better team to do it against than the tanking Bulls.

    I'd do the same for Nurk one of these games.
     
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