The Portland Trail Blazers will look to bounce back from a tough loss when they host the Utah Jazz at 7:00 p.m. Pacific tonight at the Moda Center.
The Blazers led the majority of the game, but allowed a 19-point advantage to gradually slip away in a 103-101 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night. They’ll have a great opportunity to erase that from their memories against the slumping, injury-plagued Jazz. A win would secure a 2-1 homestand and some positive momentum before the team heads out
on a five-game road trip starting this weekend in Philadelphia.
Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s matchup.
The Blazers Report
With 16 regular season games remaining entering tonight’s game, the Blazers are comfortably in position to make the play-in tournament. They currently sit in 10th place in the Western Conference, a full 7.5 games ahead of the 11th place Memphis Grizzlies, who have lost six straight.
The question now is whether or not the Blazers can make a run for the No. 8 or No. 9 seed and potentially give themselves an easier path to an actual playoff berth. The opening is there for the Blazers, who have a slew of upcoming games against teams below them in the standings, starting tonight against the Jazz.
The Jazz Report
The Jazz, losers of nine of their last 11 games, are limping their way to the end of another difficult season, but there are hopeful signs for the future. They traded for former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. at the trade deadline, held on to former All-Star Lauri Markkanen, and have an emerging group of talented young players highlighted by Walker Kessler, Keyonte George and rookie Ace Bailey.
They are already looking to next season, though. As they close out this season, the Jazz are trying to avoid winning games. Jackson Jr. and Kessler have been ruled out for the remainder of the year with serious injuries while Markkanen and George will miss tonight’s game with minor ailments.
That will place much of the burden on Bailey and third-year wing Brice Sensabaugh, who is taking advantage of increased opportunity. He has chipped in 20.3 points per game over the past four games, including a 29-point outing that saw him knock down six three-pointers in a loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
What you need to Know:
Portland Trail Blazers (31-35) vs. Utah Jazz (20-46) – Fri. March 13th – 7:00pm Pacific
How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network.
How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else
How to listen: Rip City Radio 620AM
Trail Blazers Injuries: Shaedon Sharpe, Damian Lillard (Out); Jayson Kent, Yang Hansen, Chris Youngblood (Questionable).
Jazz Injuries: Walker Kessler, Jaren Jackson, Jr., Jusuf Nurkic, Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Blake Hinson, John Konchar (Out).
What to Watch For:
An Opportunity for the Offense: The lowest-scoring team in the NBA (the Brooklyn Nets) averages 107 points per game. That’s about what the Blazers (107.8) have averaged over their past six games. During that stretch, they have failed to reach 100 points twice. In two other games, they have tallied just 101 points.
Enter the Jazz, who allow a league-high 125 points per game and have the NBA’s worst defensive rating. With Deni Avdija looking healthier and Scoot Henderson shooting the ball well over the past two games, can the Blazers get their offense on track?
They’ll need it against a Jazz team that shares the ball (29.5 assists per game, 2nd in the NBA) and is capable of lighting up the scoreboard on any given night.
Rebounding: The Blazers will have a significant size advantage in tonight’s game. Former Blazer Jusuf Nurkic emerged as a key contributor for the Jazz, but was ruled out for the season last month and hasn’t played since Feb. 11th. At that time, the Jazz were about league-average (13th) in defensive rebounding. But since his injury, which coincided with Jackson Jr.’s, the Jazz have been the third worst defensive rebounding team in the NBA.
Look for Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III to assert themselves, particularly on the offensive glass.
Homecoming: In his 18th NBA season, native Oregonian Kevin Love has played sparingly for the Jazz. But with their shortage of healthy big men, he has gotten more minutes lately.
When the Jazz came to Portland in January, he watched in street clothes, but he’ll likely get some playing time tonight. Will it be his last NBA game in Portland? If it is, look for him to come out firing. He has made six of his nine three-pointers over the past three games.
What Others are Saying:
The Blazers held steady at No. 20 in NBA.com’s power rankings this week. That’s exactly where they sat last week and where they’ve spent much of the season.
To date the Blazers have played the second most difficult schedule in the NBA based on the combined winning percentage of their opponents. In summarizing the road ahead for the Blazers, NBA.com’s John Schumann writes:
With their wins over Memphis and Indiana last week, the Blazers are 15-8 (10-6 with Avdija) in games played between the 13 teams currently below .500. If they can take care of business against lesser teams, they have a chance to get themselves to .500 and move up in the West standings, where they’re currently trailing the eighth-place Warriors by just two games. They’re playing 12 of their remaining 17 games against teams currently below .500.
