The Portland Trail Blazers travel to Crypto.com Arena tonight to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in their first of at least four Emirates™ NBA Cup games. The first meeting between these two teams saw the Blazers outlast a Luka Doncic-led offensive explosion, winning 136-129. Viewers can expect a similarly high-scoring outing. This time, however, the court will be obnoxiously yellow.
What You Need to Know
Portland Trail Blazers (6-1) at Los Angeles Lakers (7-2) – Friday, November 6th, 7:00pm Pacific.
Where to Watch: NBA on
Prime Video
How to Listen: Rip City Radio 620AM
Trail Blazers Injuries: Vit Krejci, Shaedon Sharpe, Ja Morant, John Tonje (Out).
Lakers Injuries: Sandro Mamukelashvili (Questionable).
Emirates™ NBA Cup
It’s a brand new year of colorful courts, confusing group-stage math, and debates over whether or not to hang banners for an in-season tournament. The Emirates™ NBA Cup is back! Relative to prior years, the Blazers seem to possess a decent-to-good chance of coming out of their Emirates™ NBA Cup group. Whereas the two previous seasons saw the Blazers routinely placed into the West’s so-called “Group of Death,” this year’s collection of teams seems far more manageable.
Beyond the Lakers, West Group C contains the San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, and Sacramento Kings. Each one of those games is winnable, especially that Sacramento one.
Tonight’s matchup against the Lakers will set the tone for the rest of the Emirates™ NBA Cup. A loss against the Lakers severely diminishes any chance of exiting the group stage. That said: The Blazers are flawless on the road, the Lakers’ Emirates™ NBA Cup court is an affront to graphic design and eyeballs, and Damian Lillard is very good when he plays in Los Angeles. Karma is on the Blazers’ side.
If (when) the Blazers do make it all the way to the championship game, you can say goodbye to half-full, low-energy Las Vegas crowds. The NBA has decided to move the championship venue to Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The league has also opted to move the semifinal games to the home venue of the higher-seeded participant. Las Vegas will always be Summer League’s temple.
The Blazers Report
Still perfect on the road, baby!
After another belt-to-butt performance against the middling Phoenix Suns, the Blazers’ move to 6-1 on the season and are still unbeaten away from the Moda Center. Unfortunately, the injury bug continues its league-wide rampage as Vit Krejci is out for an undetermined period of time with an ankle fracture. With such a hot start to the season, it may be time to consider signing and/or trading for another piece to fill out the roster.
Donovan Clingan has looked like a man possessed over his past two contests, posting two double-doubles with at least 3 blocks against both the Suns and the Denver Nuggets. His first matchup against Lakers’ big man Walker Kessler left plenty to be desired, though. Given that him and Kessler both represent a similar archetype as giant, rim-rolling big people, expect Clingan to get up for this matchup.
Even in the absence of Ja Morant, the Blazers offense continues to hum — and it’s humming 1950s union solidarity music. The egalitarian nature of their offense continues to be on full display, with six players averaging double-figures in scoring. The contrast between the Blazers’ fluid, movement-heavy, drive-and-kick laden offense and the Lakers’ “Go Luka, I believe in you!” strategy was on full display in their first contest. Given that Luka’s averaging 38.5 points per game on 50-40-90 shooting splits, I figure that the Lakers won’t be deviating from this strategy.
The Lakers Report
To repeat one more time: Luka is averaging 38.5 points per game on 50-40-90 shooting splits. In the words of Kevin Harlan, “You cannot stop him, you can only hope to contain him.” Although no one has a chance to guard Luka, Toumani Camara has the best chance of all the guys who don’t have a chance.
In that same sense, it’s going to be imperative that the Blazers force Luka to beat them. Heliocentric offense has its limits: Luka is not the best-conditioned athlete in the league. The Blazers’ best chance to defeat the Lakers will be by inhibiting everyone but Luka. Unfortunately — despite his ball-dominant nature — Luka is very good at enabling his teammates to score. Limiting three-point attempts by the rest of the Lakers roster will be imperative to a Blazers win.
Realistically, this game will come down to shotmaking. The Blazers are chalked full of very capable shotmakers. The Lakers possess perhaps the best shotmaker in the league. It’s anyone’s game. Beat LA.
