Game Thread GAME# 74: CLIPPERS@ BLAZERS - APRIL 1, 2015 - WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM (PST), KGW & NBATV

[Darkwebs]

VS

2014-15 Regular Season Records
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
49-26 (22-16 Road)
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
48-25 (30-7 Home)






WHEN: 7:00 PM (PST), WEDNESDAY, 4/1/2015​

WHERE: Moda Center, Portland, OR

TV BROADCAST:

AND

RADIO BROADCAST:

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

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS

RIVERS , HUDSON , WILCOX , JONES

HAMILTON , TURKOGLU , DAVIS , HAWES

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

BLAKE , McCOLLUM , CRABBE , GEE

WRIGHT , FREELAND , LEONARD , KAMAN


INJURIES
CLIPPERS
Jamal Crawford (right calf contusion): OUT
TRAIL BLAZERS
Wesley Matthews (ruptured left Achilles’ tendon): OUT



HEAD COACHES

- VS –

DOC RIVERS --- TERRY STOTTS




OFFICIAL BLAZERS GAME NOTES ​

• Wednesday marks the fourth and final regular season matchup between the Trail Blazers and Clippers in 2014-15.

• The Trail Blazers (48-25) are in the fourth position in the Western Conference standings, but remain one half of a game behind the Clippers (49-25) for home court advantage in the playoffs.

• The Clippers are 13-4 in the second game of back-to-back sequences this season, including a 10-3 mark when that second game is on the road. LAC hosts Golden State on Tuesday night prior to traveling to play Portland on Wednesday.

• The Clippers are ranked second in the NBA in scoring (106.6 pts/game), while the Trail Blazers have held opponents to 97.9 points per game (10th in NBA). The Trail Blazers are also ranked 10th in the league in scoring at 102.6 points per contest.

• Los Angeles is shooting 47.3% from the floor this season (47.3%), while Portland has held opponents to a shooting rate of 43.8% (7th in NBA).

• Los Angeles has won two of the first three games in this season series, with the Trail Blazers coming away victorious in the most recent game (98-93) at the Staples Center on Mar. 4.

• In Portland’s 98-93 victory on Mar. 4, the Trail Blazers ended the final 2:38 of regulation on a 12-2 run to force overtime. In that game, Nicolas Batum scored or assisted on Portland’s final 19 points. he finished the contest with 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting (4-8 3-PT).

• In three games against the Clippers this season, LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 29.0 points on 41.2% shooting. Aldridge’s 37 points against LAC on Jan. 14 represents his highest point total against Los Angeles in 25 career games.

• Portland won two of three games against the Clippers last season, making them one of five teams (Miami, Memphis, Indiana and San Antonio) to defeat Los Angeles in a regular season series.

• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 140-69
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 85-19
AT THE CLIPPERS: Trail Blazers lead, 55-50

OFFICIAL CLIPPERS GAME NOTES




GO BLAZERS!!!​

 

[Darkwebs]

This is a HUGE game in terms of Playoffs seeding. Clippers are on the second night of a back-to-back after losing to the Warriors. They'll probably get in late to PDX. This will hopefully help the Blazers a little.

 

[Strenuus]

Those blazers pictures at the top are amazing. Well done.

 

[Darkwebs]

Those blazers pictures at the top are amazing. Well done.

Lol. I didn't do those, exactly. I just took an existing pic from the Blazers' twitter and added some Blazers logo and fonts.

 

[Strenuus]

Lol. I didn't do those, exactly. I just took an existing pic from the Blazers' twitter and added some Blazers logo and fonts.

Regardless, they still look bad ass!

 

[KingSpeed]

Was Darkwebs nominated on the Best Poster thread? He should be.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

I think this game is going to be a barn burner

 

[jlprk]

Someone tell Stotts that Redick always kills us. Stop Redick!!

Stotts!! Did you hear me?

 

[stampedehero]

Redick is mean. Barbershop lost after 7 wins in a row so that is a good omen.

 

[illmatic99]

NBA TV again?!!! sigh. Fuck you, NBA and Turner Sports for blacking out games that should not be blacked out.

Sometimes I wonder why I pay for League Pass.

 

[kjironman1]

Blazers vs Clippers Pregame!

Interesting game tonight. With the Clippers loss last night it put Portland in a position to deal a heavy body blow to them in the fight for home court. The Clippers starters all played heavy minutes and still couldn't pull out the victory. The fact is the Clippers have a knack for making mind boggling mistakes at the end of games. Barnes fouling Iggy at the end was goofy and of course they ran way too much time off the clock working to get a 3 when they could have got a quick two. I can't say those who question Doc Rivers scheme on end game situations are wrong?

Now the Clippers come into Portland reeling a bit and i would expect their best effort again so Blazers better be ready to weather a storm and out work these guys with steady "heady" play and good defense. The way to beat the Clippers is to simply outwork them. A solid wire to wire effort and team energy is needed. The Rose Garden (I know what they are supposed to call it.....I'm a rebel!) crowd might be the real key in bringing a playoff type atmosphere. Those of you lucky enough to go to this one better bring your "A" game.

In the last game Lillard had an absolute STINKER of a game. He went 1-13 and 0-7 from 3. Throw in 5 turnovers with only 4 assists and it just doesn't get much worse when your counter part goes for 36 pts and 12 asts. Chris Paul has owned Lillard quite a bit over the last few years. The most interesting stat of that game however was Lillard did get 18 rebounds. Go figure? Lillard was a very respectable +14 while on the court and yes the Blazers did in fact win in OT. Kind of makes you want to throw stats out the window sometimes.

The big difference in this game compared to last will be Blake Griffin on the court. the Lamarcus Aldridge vs Blake Griffin has historically gone pretty well for Aldridge. No question this is the Marquee matchup of the night. There is little you can do to guard Griffin when he gets the ball in the paint and the same goes for Aldridge when he gets to his sweet spots on the floor. This game might come down to the free throw line.

I am so glad the Blazers have a center that can hit a free throw. There is absolutely no question Deandre Jordan is a beast but i just can't shake the feeling that in the end this year he will cost them a playoff series. He is the Clippers achilles heel. In this league you have got to make your free throws. I hate when the game goes to Hack a anyone, but if he made 65% or better this would not be a question.

The bench crew for Portland has begun to be a bright spot. Kaman is playing better than he has all year and the same goes for Steve Blake. CJ McCollum might be just beginning to show what he can do. It just cannot come at a better time for the Blazers. If CJ can in fact keep the scoring pressure on good teams with a solid post presence, and good solid wing play by Wright, this unit starts to demand a little more respect. Really the scoring is only part of it because this unit is also playing pretty decent defense. The Clippers are without Crawford and that is huge for their second unit however Rivers Jr has been putting up some decent numbers so they are not without a threat to score.

There is a lot to say about this game but when all is said and done it is in fact a big game. the tie breaker is at stake because of the division title. If these teams do in fact tie and have a series tie the division winner gets the nod. Another funny thing is Houston could also win a division and send Memphis tumbling down the seedings. Memphis of course holds the series advantage on the Blazers. You get what i mean? The Blazers need to play one game at a time and just play solid ball. Try to continue to improve defensively and not worry about the playoffs at this point.

Pick to night is the ROSE GARDEN CROWD! Make it loud in rose city even if you are screaming at the TV. Fun for all. I just love this time of year.

Go Blazers!

kjironman is a fan!!!

 

[Pinwheel1]

NBA TV again?!!! sigh. Fuck you, NBA and Turner Sports for blacking out games that should not be blacked out.

Sometimes I wonder why I pay for League Pass.

That would suck. For me on the other hand the NBA TV games guarantee HD. I hate the quality of picture for most League Pass games.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Blazers vs Clippers Pregame!


The big difference in this game compared to last will be Blake Griffin on the court. the Lamarcus Aldridge vs Blake Griffin has historically gone pretty well for Aldridge. No question this is the Marquee matchup of the night. There is little you can do to guard Griffin when he gets the ball in the paint and the same goes for Aldridge when he gets to his sweet spots on the floor. This game might come down to the free throw line.

Blake Griffin did average 35.5 ppg last season against us. Granted it was only two games, but in my mind he is still a major concern.
I do feel good about this game though.

 

[magnifier661]

Since this could be a possible first round matchup, I expect the Blazers to show up for this game.

 

[BlazerBeav]

I love how we match up with LAC, with the obvious exception of CP3 seeming to be able to get into Dame's head. Get past that, and we crush them.

 

[Pinwheel1]

My main concern is if LMA gets into foul trouble. Griffin throws himself into the defender, depending on who the refs are those calls could go either way. Maybe we put Robin on Blake and LMA on Jordan.

I wonder who plays more off the bench at PF, Joel or Wright.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

Darkwebs, you have outdone yourself.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I love how we match up with LAC, with the obvious exception of CP3 seeming to be able to get into Dame's head. Get past that, and we crush them.

I think Jordan gets in his head as well. He takes away Dame's drive to the basket.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

I want the Clippers dead!
I want their families dead!
I want their houses burned to the ground!

 

[Draco]

The most unpleasant team in the league to watch with their constant bitching and complaining for calls.

 

[Boob-No-More]

This is a HUGE game. Seeds 2-6 in the West are still up for grabs. With 5 teams fighting it out and 39 combined games left, there are just too many scenarios to even guess who finishes where. But...

The Clippers have the easiest remaining schedule of the 5. They only have 7 games left, and only two against playoff teams (POR and MEM). Their other games are pretty much gimmes (2 against LAL, 2 against DEN and the last game of the year against PHO - who will be eliminated from the playoff picture by then).

So, we REALLY need to beat them tonight if we hope to have HCA against them in the playoffs. Because we will be a division winner, we will likely have the higher seed, but if they have a better record, they get HCA. Winning tonight gives us a much better chance to have the same, or better record, than the Clipps and bumps the head-to-head record to 2-2. If we beat the Clippers tonight, they lose to MEM and beat the patsies, they finish with 54 wins and we still have a chance to have HCA against them in the first round. If we lose, they probably end up with 55 wins and hold the head-to-head tie breaker over us. We'd need to win our remaining 8 games to get HCA over them.

At this point, it's just too complicated to figure out all the potential tie breakers. It's not inconceivable that there will be a five-way tie for second in the West (or at least a 3-way pr 4-way tie), and then the tie breakers get complicated (first, you have to figure out which of MEM, HOU and SAS win the SW Division, then compare records against the other 4, etc.).

What it really comes down to is: we need to win as many of our remaining games as possible and the other 4 teams, especially the ones that already have more wins than us (MEM, HOU and LAC) need to lose as many as possible. Because head-to-head record against the other teams in a multi-way tie is the second tie breaker, if we do end up in a multi-way tie, we need HOU and SAS to be two of the teams we are tied with as we are 3-1 against SAS and 2-1 against HOU. Our 0-4 record against MEM kills us if we're involved in a multi-way tie that includes the Grizzlies.

So, beat LAC tonight, go 7-1 over our last 8 games to get to 56 wins and cheer for MEM to loose at least 3 of their final 7 games. That's the most viable scenario for grabbing the 2nd seed.

BNM

 

[BBert]

IOW: Just win baby. We need this one. Game of the year (so far).

 

[Boob-No-More]

IOW: Just win baby. We need this one. Game of the year (so far).

Yep, this game has huge playoff implications.

Anyone know who the officials will be tonight? I hope we get an experienced crew that isn't as likely to capitulate to Doc's nonstop whining.

BNM

 

[illmatic99]

Yep, this game has huge playoff implications.

Anyone know who the officials will be tonight? I hope we get an experienced crew that isn't as likely to capitulate to Doc's nonstop whining.

BNM

Tony Brothers, Tre Maddox, Sean Wright

 

[illmatic99]

Easily the biggest game of the year. Not gonna call it a must win, though. Those don't exist until elimination nights in the playoffs

 

[Boob-No-More]

Tony Brothers, Tre Maddox, Sean Wright

Thanks. Found it here, myself:

http://www.nba.com/news/referee.html

BNM

 

[magnifier661]

The most unpleasant team in the league to watch with their constant bitching and complaining for calls.

yep! I absolutely hate this team. The way they whine all damn game is so fucking annoying! And because of their cheesy whine, I expect them to dine of the refs gullibility.

 

[magnifier661]

This is a HUGE game. Seeds 2-6 in the West are still up for grabs. With 5 teams fighting it out and 39 combined games left, there are just too many scenarios to even guess who finishes where. But...

The Clippers have the easiest remaining schedule of the 5. They only have 7 games left, and only two against playoff teams (POR and MEM). Their other games are pretty much gimmes (2 against LAL, 2 against DEN and the last game of the year against PHO - who will be eliminated from the playoff picture by then).

So, we REALLY need to beat them tonight if we hope to have HCA against them in the playoffs. Because we will be a division winner, we will likely have the higher seed, but if they have a better record, they get HCA. Winning tonight gives us a much better chance to have the same, or better record, than the Clipps and bumps the head-to-head record to 2-2. If we beat the Clippers tonight, they lose to MEM and beat the patsies, they finish with 54 wins and we still have a chance to have HCA against them in the first round. If we lose, they probably end up with 55 wins and hold the head-to-head tie breaker over us. We'd need to win our remaining 8 games to get HCA over them.

At this point, it's just too complicated to figure out all the potential tie breakers. It's not inconceivable that there will be a five-way tie for second in the West (or at least a 3-way pr 4-way tie), and then the tie breakers get complicated (first, you have to figure out which of MEM, HOU and SAS win the SW Division, then compare records against the other 4, etc.).

What it really comes down to is: we need to win as many of our remaining games as possible and the other 4 teams, especially the ones that already have more wins than us (MEM, HOU and LAC) need to lose as many as possible. Because head-to-head record against the other teams in a multi-way tie is the second tie breaker, if we do end up in a multi-way tie, we need HOU and SAS to be two of the teams we are tied with as we are 3-1 against SAS and 2-1 against HOU. Our 0-4 record against MEM kills us if we're involved in a multi-way tie that includes the Grizzlies.

So, beat LAC tonight, go 7-1 over our last 8 games to get to 56 wins and cheer for MEM to loose at least 3 of their final 7 games. That's the most viable scenario for grabbing the 2nd seed.

BNM

So what you are saying is "8-0" and we are golden!

 

[Boob-No-More]

yep! I absolutely hate this team. The way they whine all damn game is so fucking annoying! And because of their cheesy whine, I expect them to dine of the refs gullibility.

Unfortunately, Tony Brothers sucks and isn't likely to T-up Doc, CP3 or Blake. Get ready for a real whine fest tonight (in other words, a typical Clippers game).

BNM

 

[magnifier661]

Unfortunately, Tony Brothers sucks and isn't likely to T-up Doc, CP3 or Blake. Get ready for a real whine fest tonight (in other words, a typical Clippers game).

BNM

We need this ref to call the game!