This Sunday, the (11-8) Portland Trailblazers will travel to Brooklyn, NY to take on the (9-11) Brooklyn Nets. Tipoff will be at 3:00 PM EST inside the Barclays Center. The Trail Blazers have continued to turn heads this season and the Nets are still struggling to find their identity. The last time these two teams matched up, the Nets walked away with a 109-107 win.
The Portland Trail Blazers are coming into this one after taking down the New York Knicks, 132-129 in overtime. They looked great on the offensive end of the court, as they shot 49.4% from the field. They will have to stay hot in this one if they want to challenge the Nets on the road.
The Brooklyn Nets are entering this game after falling to the Indiana Pacers, 128-117. Brooklyn struggled on the defensive side of the field, as they allowed the Pacers to shoot 50% from the floor. They have to contest more shots and apply more pressur e if they want to take care of business at home.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Portland Trail Blazers are currently (5-5) in their last 10, as they have continued to stay competitive. They are also in fifth place in the Western Conference standings, as they only trail the Suns by 1.5 games. On offense, they are scoring 110.4 points per game and they are shooting 47.8% from the floor. This is the 19th most points scored per game and the 16th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Blazers have an adjusted offensive rating of 113, which is the 10th-highest rating in the league. Anfernee Simmons continues to lead the way for Portland, as he is scoring 23.6 points per game on 42.7% shooting from the field. The Trail Blazers have also shown that they can step behind the three-point arc and knock down deep jumpers. They are shooting 37.7% from deep, which is the seventh-highest three-point shooting percentage in the NBA. Portland has not been as good at the free-throw line, though. They ha ve only shot 77.4% from the charity stripe, which is the 23rd-lowest team free-throw shooting percentage in the league. They can't miss out on these points and still expect to win these games.
On the defensive end of the court, the Trail Blazers have continued to contest shots in the paint and on the outside. They are allowing 110.3 points per game and their opponents have only shot 46.7% from the field. This is the 10th least amount of points given up per game and the 19th-highest shooting percentage allowed from the field. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Trail Blazers have an adjusted defensive rating of 111.4, which is the 15th lowest rating in the NBA. Their perimeter defense has saved them, as they continue to contest shots from behind the arc. They are only allowing their opponents to shoot 35.3% from deep, which is the 12th-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. Portland has also snatched 42.7 rebounds per game, as this i s the 21st most. They have to clean the glass and secure the ball after missed shots if they want to keep the Nets from crashing the offensive glass.
Injury Report: Damian Lillard PG (Calf), Keon Johnson SG (Hip), and Gary Payton II (Abdominal) are listed as out for this game. Drew Eubanks PF (Back) is questionable.
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