Blazers @ PHI Game Preview (11/24/14):
Our Last game: v. BOS 11/23/14 94-88
ESPN said:
The Blazers held Boston to 38.9 percent shooting in a 94-88 victory in Sunday's opener to a three-game Eastern Conference trip and are now allowing 94.6 points per game on 41.3 percent shooting. The Blazers have kept rolling by giving up an average of 88.8 points on 39.8 percent shooting, and are on their longest run since taking 11 in a row Nov. 8-25, 2013.
Their Last game: L 91-83: Nerlens Noel had career highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds, but for naught in a Philadelphia defeat at New York. The 76ers rank last in the league offensively with 88.8 points per game and 40.7 percent shooting. The 76ers (0-13) are also near the bottom with their averages of 105.2 points allowed on 47.3 percent shooting.
Changes to their roster:
basketballInsiders said:
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie was both lauded and ridiculed for his approach last season. He kicked off the season by trading the established Jrue Holiday for Nerlens Noel and the Pelicans’ 2014 first-round pick. Hinkie then proceeded to trade every veteran of note over the next 14 months, culminating in a swap of Thaddeus Young to the Timberwolves for a 2015 first rounder and salary jetsam. Noel did not play in 2013-14, and remains a rookie. Meanwhile, the Sixers took Embiid and Saric in the 2014 draft, and it is very likely neither will take the court for the team in 2014-15.
These trades leave the Sixers with perhaps the worst season-opening roster in league history, sporting precisely one player (Michael Carter-Williams) who was much above replacement level last year. Thus, what happens on the court this year is ancillary, aside from the development of Noel and Carter-Williams. The strategy in Philadelphia (which I have defended) is essentially to develop younger players while staying bad enough to continue to acquire high draft picks. The Sixers remain almost $30 million below the salary floor, so at some point in the next few years one would think they would finally spend to acquire complementary talent. But that certainly seems unlikely in 2014-15.
Injury Updates Portland: CJ McCollum (out). PHI: No significant injuries
Matchups:
PG: Damian Lillard v. Michael Carter-Williams (14.3ppg, 5.7rpg, 4.3apg) The matchup of the last two Rookies of the Year should be squarely in Damian’s corner. MCW can fill up a box score but, much like Rondo, doesn’t possess the game yet that allows him to get decent looks against a good defense that’s focused on him. With the dearth of offensive options outside Wroten on the squad, it could be a long day.
SG: Wesley Matthews v. Tony Wroten (17.7ppg, 5.5apg, 3.8rpg). Should be a fun matchup. Wroten is a bit like a lefty Barton on steroids, and has the opportunity to get minutes to show off his skills (or, at least, pump up his stats). He won’t be the toughest matchup for Wes this season, but he has the game to make Wes work.
SF: Nic Batum v. Luc Richard Mbah-a-Moute (8.3ppg, 5.5rpg). While Mbah-a-Moute isn’t going to wow you with his offensive skills, his D could give Nic fits.
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge v. Nerlens Noel (7.5ppg, 6.5rpg) Noel’s showing flashes of being a useful NBA player, as his 17/12 showed last night. And his length could potentially give LMA fits. But he doesn’t yet have the strength to keep LMA out of the paint, so expect that Aldridge (and Kaman, for that matter) have their way against the rookie.
C: Robin Lopez v. Henry Sims (8.5ppg,5.9 rpg)
Give-a-Rip (City) Factor—a.k.a. why you should watch: To see what could be the second-easiest victory all year (I don’t believe in jinxes). To see some garbage time action from the Deep Bench Mob. To see if the team breaks out of its collective dumpster-fire shooting from last night.
Current Power Rankings:
RipCityTwo (PtldPlatypus): (30) The worst team in the league. Possibly the worst team we've ever seen. Seriously. They might be good enough to win the NIT. Maybe.
ESPN: (30) Update from our predictive pals at numberFire: Philly is no longer favored in any of its remaining 73 games this season despite finding a way to stay as close as 88-87 with the Rockets in Houston. In related news, our friends at HoopsHype.com have started a campaign to call 'em the Six-and-76ers.
NBA.com (30) Pace: 100.0 (2), OffRtg: 88.8 (30), DefRtg: 105.2 (23), NetRtg: -16.3 (30)
As the Sixers approach the worst start in NBA history (0-18) with the worst offense since the league started tracking turnovers in 1977, their defense hasn't been so bad in four of their last five games. They've allowed less than 92 points per 100 possessions in 133 minutes with Nerlens Noel and Henry Sims on the floor together, which is pretty good, really.
covers.com (30) Three of their last four losses have come by at least 25 points. They probably won't be favored to win a single game all season.
Link to Grandpa Blaze's Prediction Game
Link to MediocreMan's Over/Under game
Links to other team’s site(s) NBA.com
ESPN
Final Thoughts Blazers didn’t worry about actually making a ton of shots last night, so maybe they’re due. The 76ers have some raw talent and ability, but not the discipline required to play shutdown D against our offense for 48 minutes. I expect PHI to be overmatched physically by LMA and Kaman and out-disciplined by Dame, Wes, Blake and RoLo. Projecting a lot of garbage time in this one—you might see Leonar_ get about 10 minutes. No chance that the Blazers petition the league for 14 active players so that Claver might see the floor. Remember, PHI is a team that was losing 54-14 at one point last week.
Blazers 125
PHI 88
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BLAZERS' GAME NOTES 
