Game Thread GAME# 63: PISTONS @ BLAZERS - MARCH 13, 2015 - FRIDAY, 7:00 PM (PST), CSNNW

[Darkwebs]

---------PROBABLE STARTERS---------

PG

REGGIE JACKSON VS DAMIAN LILLARD

SG

KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE VS ARRON AFFLALO

SF

CARON BUTLER VS NICOLAS BATUM

PF

GREG MONROE VS LaMARCUS ALDRIDGE

C

ANDRE DRUMMOND VS ROBIN LOPEZ






WHEN: 7:00 PM (Pacific), FRIDAY, 3/13/2015​

WHERE: Moda Center, Portland, OR

TV BROADCAST:

RADIO BROADCAST:

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

DETROIT PISTONS

DINWIDDIE , LUCAS III , MEEKS , MARTIN

PRINCE , WILLIAMS , TOLLIVER , ANTHONY

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

BLAKE , McCOLLUM , CRABBE

WRIGHT , FREELAND , LEONARD , KAMAN



INJURIES
PISTONS
Brandon Jennings (ruptured left Achilles' tendon): OUT
TRAIL BLAZERS
Wesley Matthews (ruptured left Achilles’ tendon): OUT
Alonzo Gee (oral surgery): OUT



HEAD COACHES

- VS –

STAN VAN GUNDY--- TERRY STOTTS




OFFICIAL BLAZERS GAME NOTES ​

• Friday marks the second and final matchup between the Trail Blazers and Pistons in 2014-15.

• Portland defeated the Pistons 98-86 on Dec. 9 in Detroit behind 23 points and 11 rebounds from LaMarcus Aldridge.

• Portland is 10-2 against the Pistons dating back to the start of the 2008-09 season.

• The Trail Blazers haven’t lost to the Pistons in Portland since Mar. 14, 2007. Portland is 6-0 against Detroit at home during that time.

• Both teams are ranked in the top-5 in rebounding. Portland is second in the league with an average of 46.1 rebounds per game, while the Pistons are fourth in the NBA (45.5 reb/game).

• The Pistons are ranked first in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game (13.1), while the Trail Blazers are ranked first in the NBA in defensive rebounds per game (35.3).

• Portland has limited opponents to 43.3% shooting (4th in NBA), while the Pistons have shot 42.6% as a team (29th in NBA).

• LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 27.4 points over his past seven games against the Pistons while also recording five consecutive double-doubles.

• Robin Lopez grabbed 11 rebounds against Detroit earlier this season and has now hauled in 10+ rebounds in four of his past five games against the Pistons.

• Chris Kaman has scored 10+ points against the Pistons in eight of his past nine games. Kaman scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Detroit on Dec. 9.

• Arron Afflalo has scored 10+ points against Detroit in four of his past five games. As a member of the Nuggets this season, Afflalo averaged 10.5 points in two games against the Pistons.

• Greg Monroe’s 22-point performance against Portland on Dec. 9 is his largest scoring output against the Trail Blazers in eight career games. His 10 rebounds also matched his highest total (recorded one other time).

• Arron Afflalo was originally drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the first round (27th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft. Affl alo averaged 4.2 points in 149 games (17 starts) with the Pistons.

• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 60-49
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 36-17
AT THE PISTONS: Pistons lead, 32-24

OFFICIAL PISTONS GAME NOTES




GO BLAZERS!!!​

 

[Darkwebs]

Reserved

 

[Strenuus]

Dinwiddle is gonna go off... I just feel it.

 

[KingSpeed]

His name is Dinwiddie, DarkWebs. Not Dinwiddle. And he may go off. He's a good player.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Dinwiddle is gonna go off... I just feel it.

Caron Butler is gonna go 2008 on our asses.

 

[Blazer4ever]

My main man Joel Freeland has to start getting some minutes!

 

[stampedehero]

Like that Piston 11-20 road record. All we need is a fair Ref crew to add another number to their loss column. Like to see Meyer Leonard score two 3's and a dunk in under 8 minutes.

 

[Boise Blazer]

Im gonna go with Afflalo has a great game. This is the team that drafted him and he is starting to settle in so I think he may have a good game.

 

[rasheedfan2005]

Like that Piston 11-20 road record. All we need is a fair Ref crew to add another number to their loss column. Like to see Meyer Leonard score two 3's and a dunk in under 8 minutes.

If all we need is a fair ref crew im going to guarantee a loss now. Luckily we will win, this is a momentum builder for our up comming road trips

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Meyers Leonard is the best passer on the blazers. When he eventually gets 24 minutes a game we'll all marvel at his outlet passes into fast breaks.

 

[kjironman1]

Here comes Stan "The Man" Van Gundy and the Detroit Pistons. Earlier in the year Detroit looked like it was going to contend in the Eastern Conference but coming out of the gate losing 6 of their first 9 and then going on a 13 game losing streak pretty much put them on the ropes. Van Gundy took over and traded Smith and immediately the Pistons rattled off a bunch of wins. All was good until they lost Jennings to (you guessed it) a ruptured Achilles tendon. Very tough situation and bringing in Reggie Jackson has not cured all the problems.

The Pistons do have one of the best young front courts in the game and they do have some pieces to build around in Drummond and Greg Monroe. Their biggest problem is that they just don't have many guys that can shoot the ball from further than 10 feet out. That problem is mitigated a bit when you have Drummond in there cleaning up offensive rebounds but it really hurts just about all the rest of the time. A quick look at the stat lines will tell you the Blazers must work as a team to get rebounds and keep their bigs out of foul trouble. I think Lopez is up to the task and again he will make a huge difference in this game.

I think a lot of the questions about Afflalo were answered in the game against Houston. He is going to work hard on defense and he can hit shots in clutch time. I thought he looked good and seems a bit faster than Wes but gives up a little strength. He runs the court better and still can post up but can't quite "Bull" his way through screens the same way Wes does. I give him the advantage tonight against KCP.

Lillard has been playing all around ball lately. Teams are making sure he doesn't get open looks so he is doing the little things but tonight might be a game where he becomes the main threat. Detroit does not have the kind of guards to shut Lillard down so a big game from him might be on the horizon.

Aldridge will see doubles tonight. This is why i see lots of other opportunities for open looks. LA is becoming an even better passer this year but teams are starting to cruise the lanes on him and this leads to some turn overs. Long cross court passes will be picked off. Blazers need to stay active and move without the ball.

Butler gets the start but Detroit brings in Prince and a mix of Martin, Meeks and Tolliver. I would guess after Batum and AAA the Blazers will stick with bringing in Wright, Gee with Kaman and Blake but with this front court and possible foul troubles, Freeland could become a big factor.

Nicolas Batum has almost doubled his scoring average in the last 7 games at just over 16 PPG. He has been positive +- in every game except the T-Wolves. In turn the Blazers have won 6 -8 and should have put Memphis away also. In that run they have beat the Spurs, Thunder, Clippers, Dallas and of course Houston. There just is no question in my mind how much this guy means to this team.

For the second game in a row i am going with Batum for my pick. Look for triple double numbers from him tonight in front of the home crowd.

Go Blazers!

kjironman is a fan!!!

PS. Here is a look at Nics per game stats. Quite a change since the break.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/batumni01/gamelog/2015/

 

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[Strenuus]

It's gonna be like that every game for Wes, isn't it?

 

[kjironman1]

It's gonna be like that every game for Wes, isn't it?

Yeah. They will list him from now on.
Looks like they go with CJ again......

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Meyers Leonard is the best passer on the blazers. When he eventually gets 24 minutes a game we'll all marvel at his outlet passes into fast breaks.

Yyeah, I was considering who to give it to, deciding between LMA and Rolo. All of Our bigs pas very well, while as of late there has been a rash of lazy entry and over the top cross court passes that you can not get away with this late into the season.
Think I have to give it to LMA.

 

[BBert]

Aside from Dame bringing the ball up and basically handing it off on most plays, no one on the Blazers passes the ball more often than Batum. As far as making entry passes and passes to set up a teammate, Batum has to be the No. 1 passer on the team. That's largely his role on offense.

As far as the "best" passer? Batum again, and it's not even close.

 

[H.C.]

Meyers Leonard is the best passer on the blazers. When he eventually gets 24 minutes a game we'll all marvel at his outlet passes into fast breaks.

lol

 

[stampedehero]

If all we need is a fair ref crew im going to guarantee a loss now. Luckily we will win, this is a momentum builder for our up comming road trips

Yes Spot On. Hey gotta say I'm a long time Ravens forum member and they erased my apt description of Wallace from Miami All I did was call him a prick. In here its REAL. This place is the best.

 

[stampedehero]

Meyers Leonard is the best passer on the blazers. When he eventually gets 24 minutes a game we'll all marvel at his outlet passes into fast breaks.

+> Besides his GQ look he has ability that should be exercised on this tough up coming road trip. Meanwhile KMan should not pass so much

 

[BBert]

The "KMan" is driving me crazy. I thought he was the perfect pick up. He exceeded my expectations for a while. Then he began to get worse and worse, until now, I don't even want to see him on the court. He does make the occassional big rebound or big play. After making two or three terrible ones. I just can't take it anymore.

 

[KingSpeed]

Good post kjironman

 

[kjironman1]

The "KMan" is driving me crazy. I thought he was the perfect pick up. He exceeded my expectations for a while. Then he began to get worse and worse, until now, I don't even want to see him on the court. He does make the occassional big rebound or big play. After making two or three terrible ones. I just can't take it anymore.

Respectfully disagree with ya there. His numbers are way up now that he is back to doing what he was brought here to do. When he was getting starting mins and going against starting centers he was looking old. Recently he has essentially cut his minutes in half and continued to put up the same numbers. Simply put he is a backup and not a starter. If you ask Blake to start you will see the same thing as well as Wright,CJ, Freeland or Meyers.
Kaman will continue to do a good job if he only has to do what he is capable of doing.
Here is a link. Just look at the graph when he went back to the bench.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kamanch01.html
Not only that but He has done great things with Meyers Leonard. That alone makes him worth the time. The other huge thing is he has played in 59 games out of 62 so far for the Blazers. How many saw that coming?

 

[H.C.]

Wonder how many rebounds Drummond will grab.
March 10th vs the Lakers - 21 rebounds, 6 offensive.
March 11th vs the Warriors - 27 rebounds, 17 offensive.
Hope Rolo, & Aldridge can keep this 21 year old man off the glass.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Wonder how many rebounds Drummond will grab.
March 10th vs the Lakers - 21 rebounds, 6 offensive.
March 11th vs the Warriors - 27 rebounds, 17 offensive.
Hope Rolo, & Aldridge can keep this 21 year old man off the glass.

I say he gets 14

 

[BBert]

Respectfully disagree with ya there. His numbers are way up now that he is back to doing what he was brought here to do. When he was getting starting mins and going against starting centers he was looking old. Recently he has essentially cut his minutes in half and continued to put up the same numbers. Simply put he is a backup and not a starter. If you ask Blake to start you will see the same thing as well as Wright,CJ, Freeland or Meyers.
Kaman will continue to do a good job if he only has to do what he is capable of doing.
Here is a link. Just look at the graph when he went back to the bench.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kamanch01.html
Not only that but He has done great things with Meyers Leonard. That alone makes him worth the time. The other huge thing is he has played in 59 games out of 62 so far for the Blazers. How many saw that coming?

I'll give you he was better as a sixth man and bad as a starter. And I suppose you are right his numbers are decent since going back to the bench. I guess it's some of his decision making that drives me nuts. Especially when he gets a rebound and is surrounded by defenders, instead of passing out to one of our three open shooters, he takes a terrible shot, or just throws the ball away. Pretty soon my skull is going to look like his!

And I agree 100% with you about Meyers. The work he is doing with Leonard is worth every penny.

 

[KingSpeed]

Respectfully disagree with ya there. His numbers are way up now that he is back to doing what he was brought here to do. When he was getting starting mins and going against starting centers he was looking old. Recently he has essentially cut his minutes in half and continued to put up the same numbers. Simply put he is a backup and not a starter. If you ask Blake to start you will see the same thing as well as Wright,CJ, Freeland or Meyers.
Kaman will continue to do a good job if he only has to do what he is capable of doing.
Here is a link. Just look at the graph when he went back to the bench.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kamanch01.html
Not only that but He has done great things with Meyers Leonard. That alone makes him worth the time. The other huge thing is he has played in 59 games out of 62 so far for the Blazers. How many saw that coming?

And one of the missed games was just because his wife gave birth. He's been very steady for us. He was huge on the glass vs Houston.

 

[KingSpeed]

I'll give you he was better as a sixth man and bad as a starter. And I suppose you are right his numbers are decent since going back to the bench. I guess it's some of his decision making that drives me nuts. Especially when he gets a rebound and is surrounded by defenders, instead of passing out to one of our three open shooters, he takes a terrible shot, or just throws the ball away.

Or scores. You forgot that part.

 

[kjironman1]

Especially when he gets a rebound and is surrounded by defenders, instead of passing out to one of our three open shooters, he takes a terrible shot, or just throws the ball away.

Absolutely hear ya and feel your pain. He seems hell bent on going back up every time. I wonder about that every game.

 

[kjironman1]

Or scores. You forgot that part.

Well yes there is that. he does take it back and score quite often. At times i have felt they are blessed to have the guy.

 

[Darkwebs]

Detroit is losers of 8 straight. Let's make it 9.