Re: GAME THREAD: GRIZZLIES @ BLAZERS - NOVEMBER 28, 2014 - FRIDAY, 7:00 PM (PST), CSN
Blazers vs. Memphis Game Preview (11/28/14):
Them: 13-2, best record in the league
Our Last game: @ CHA 11/26/14
ESPN said:
Wes Matthews scored a season-high 28 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 105-97 on Wednesday night for their ninth consecutive victory. The fifth-year NBA veteran was 10-of-15 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range as Portland (12-3) improved to 7-0 against Eastern Conference teams.
"I knew it was just a matter of time before that drought ended and I'm back to being myself," Matthews said. "Hopefully tonight was a step in that direction."
Even with LaMarcus Aldridge struggling through a 3-of-18 shooting night, the Trail Blazers prevailed, getting 22 points from Damian Lillard and 15 points and 10 rebounds from Robin Lopez.
"To be able to have a game like this with (Aldridge) struggling, Wes and Damian in particular really stepped up," coach Terry Stotts said.
Their Last game: @ LAL, W 99-93 11/26/14
ESPN said:
Marc Gasol had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Conley added 19 points and the Grizzlies beat Los Angeles 99-93 Wednesday night for their seventh victory in eight games.
Zach Randolph scored 16 for the Grizzlies, who improved to 13-2 and kept pace with Toronto atop the overall standings. But Memphis barely withstood a strong effort from Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, who kept it close throughout a tense fourth quarter.
"It says a lot about our focus early this season," Conley said. "That's all we want to do, is to come out focused for the first couple of months of the season, set a good standard for ourselves, and have to just hold ourselves accountable and try to get better."
Coming off back-to-back 30-point games, Gasol scored 16 points in the second half, including 12 in the third quarter while the Grizzlies moved ahead. Gasol saw a familiar pattern in the final minutes for Memphis.
Changes to their roster:
BasketballInsiders said:
Guard Vince Carter may not be the “Vinsanity” of his past, but the 37-year-old Carter can still be a valuable offensive contributor off the bench. One of the biggest holes for the Grizzlies last year was their lack of bench scoring. As Carter showed last postseason against the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs in a seven-game series, he can still bring some magic to the court with his three-point shot and an occasional vicious dunk. The Grizzlies are hoping Carter can be the Sixth Man of the Year candidate they need off the bench and a go-to scorer once the starters come off the floor.
After spending $3.9 million of their Mid-Level Exceptions, the Grizzlies locked in a hard cap at $80.6 million. The team used their $2.1 million Bi-Annual Exception to bring back Beno Udrih, and an additional $725k of their MLE on rookie Jarnell Stokes.
Injury Updates Portland: CJ McCollum (out). MEM: Nick Calathes (out). Fun fact to know and tell: ESPN’s matchup shows up with “no significant injuries” (even though CJ is out) while putting Nick Calathes on their list. Lazy reporting? Inattention to detail?
Matchups:
PG: Damian Lillard v. Mike Conley, Jr.(16.4ppg, 6.2 apg) Fun to think that some people wanted a swap of Conley for Lillard after the rookie year, when Dame is on his way to following up his 3rd Team All-NBA with something even better this year. Conley is scoring efficiently (as a lefty, homeless-man’s Nash) and is always among Top 5 in steals, but MEM’s gameplan will not let him chase Dame out farther than Dame’s willing to shoot. If he’s not completely off, he can have a big game tonight.
SG: Wesley Matthews v. Courtney Lee (13.5ppg, 53% FG%),
SF: Nic Batum v. Tony Allen (9.9ppg, 6.1rpg, 2.6apg). A tale of two wing positions. Tony Allen is your consummate 3-and-D (but mostly D) guy, and Courtney Lee can fill it up from all over the court. Wes and Nic won’t have their hands full, but with the expectation that the bigs will go off a bit, they have to make sure that they don’t leave Lee/Allen open because they’re focusing on Gasol and Z-bo.
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge v. Zach Randolph (16.1ppg, 11.6rpg, 47% FG%) The student becoming the master is kind of trite, but this matchup is one that it seems to be going LMA’s way more often. They’re 7-7 against each other all time, with Z-bo having the edge on stats (21/11 vs. 19/7.5),but LMA’s outscored Z-bo every game since 2010. Unfortunately, the Blazers are 2-3 in those games.
C: Robin Lopez v. Marc Gasol (19.8ppg, 8.3rpg, 3.1apg, 50% FG%) Gasol has slimmed down a bit, but his profile has never been bigger. He’s scored 30 in 2 games in the last week after doing so twice in his entire career before that, all while facilitating offense and playing his normal outstanding D. He’s garnering MVP attention early, and he’s putting the Grizzlies on his back and winning while doing it. Don’t expect that Lopez gets a lot today unless they put Gasol on LMA, in which case RoLo can out-quick Z-bo (though he’ll have his hands full on the boards).
Give-a-Rip (City) Factor—a.k.a. why you should watch: After a road trip where the team went 3-0 against 3 bad E-League teams by playing about 5 good quarters out of 12, it’s time to come back to home holiday cooking against the best record in the league. A frontcourt easily on par with ours, as well as a rest of the starting lineup that has talent, defined roles and has played together for a while. Their tough D against our amazing offense (at least at home). Our league-leading rebounding against MEM’s frontcourt. Oh yeah, and trying to extend the league’s longest winning streak to 10-games.
Current Power Rankings:
RipCityTwo (PtldPlatypus): (6) Vince Carter is going to be a busy, busy man chucking 3's in Memphis. I forsee many 90-85 games in their future
ESPN: (2) Jealous of how svelte Marc Gasol looks every time I turn on the TV! He's slimmed his way right into the heart of the MVP race ... if we're allowed to discuss such things before Thanksgiving. Playing the grit-grindy D they always play, with this Gasol and a reborn Courtney Lee, Memphis is a major threat.
NBA.com (2) Pace: 94.3 (23), OffRtg: 106.0 (6), DefRtg: 97.9 (4), NetRtg: +8.1 (5)
We can get caught up in the matchups at power forward and point guard when the Grizz face the Clippers. But on Sunday, L.A. had no answer for Marc Gasol (30 points and 12 boards), who has won his last seven games against the Clips and is an early MVP candidate as the anchor on both ends of the floor for the team with the league's best record.
covers.com (2) The Grizzlies remain unbeaten at home and in the conference. They've covered four in a row, starting with a destruction of Houston, and are five points away from still being unbeaten overall.
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 They have 121 steals on the year, and with how the Blazers tossed the ball around on the road trip there’s danger if they keep playing loose. And MEM defense is very, VERY good. But this isn’t the L*kers they’re playing tonight, it’s Portland at home. I think the Blazers burn the nets down from 3, that LMA gets off the 3-18 schneid and takes the jumpers MEM gives him, and that the team overcomes good games from Gasol and Z-Bo to win relatively handily.
Blazers 119
MEM 104
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BLAZERS' GAME NOTES 
