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Two struggling Western Conference teams will battle on Saturday when the Portland Trail Blazers (6-12, 9-9 ATS) travel to take on the Utah Jazz (6-13, 9-9-1 ATS). The Trail Blazers sit at 12th in the West, and the Jazz are back in 13th. Portland is coming off a win in Cleveland, beating the Cavs 103-95, as 12.5-point underdogs. Utah is coming off a road loss, losing to Minnesota 101-90, but barely covered the 11.5-point spread. These teams already met twice this season, splitting the matchups with the home team winning each time. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 EST from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
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Portland is still searching for their identity in the post Damian Lillard world. Are they tanking, or are they competing for a spot in the play in tournament? That is a problem for the front office to solve, as the players and coaches on the floor are trying to win games. Portland has won their last two games, defeating the Pacers and Cavaliers as part of their road trip. In their last game, the Blazers were led by Shaedon Sharpe with 29 points in the win over Cleveland.
Jerami Grant leads the Blazers in scoring with 22.8 PPG. Grant had a 34-point game in the win over the Pacers, and dropped 30 in the most recent win over Utah as well. Malcolm Brogdan has been in and out of the starting lineup based upon injuries, he is second on the team in scoring with 17.7 PPG, and leads the team in assists with 6.4 per. Shaedon Sharpe continues to grow his game, the 20-year old out of Kentucky is averaging 17.3 PPG in his second season with Portland. Deandre Ayton averages a double-double inside with 13.1 PPG and 10.8 RPG.
The Blazers were hoping for more from Scoot Henderson, the rookie is a solid role player in year one with 8.3 PPG, and will need to continue to improve. Portland is dead last in the NBA in offensive efficiency, and rank 20th in defensive efficiency according to dunksandthrees.com. The Blazers play slow offensively, they rank 24th in tempo in the league.
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Out: Anfernee Simons, Robert Williams III
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