Blazers @ LAC Game Preview (11/8):
Our Last game: 11/8/14. Um, yeah. 106-102 loss to the Clippers. Damian Lillard had 25/8/7 and LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 and 10 rebounds, but mistakes, giving up offensive rebounds and, um, “foul problems” kept the Blazers from winning at Staples Center.
Their Last game: L 110-101 v. CLE.
ESPN said:
Randy Foye scored 28 points for the Nuggets (1-4), who have dropped four in a row. Denver played without speedy point guard Ty Lawson after he was scratched due to a sore left ankle.
Nate Robinson started out strong in Lawson's place, but didn't play at all in the fourth quarter since his minutes were maxed out. Robinson isn't supposed to play more than 20 minutes in his recovery from a torn ACL. He was on the floor for 25:49 against the Cavs and scored 14 points.
Changes to their roster:
Basketball Insiders said:
It’s kind of hard to believe that just two years ago, the Nuggets were one of the league’s most exciting upstart teams, but last season was the first without Masai Ujiri or George Karl, and it should have been obvious that life after losing one of the best execs and one of the best coaches in the NBA would be a little difficult. This year, things should be marginally better, with Nate Robinson, Danilo Gallinari and JaVale McGee both coming back healthy and Arron Afflalo (who was practically stolen from Orlando around the draft) back in powder blue. Rookie Gary Harris (and to a lesser extent Jusuf Nurkic) add depth to the rotation, making this an all-around better team than it was last year. They maybe aren’t as exciting as they were two seasons ago, but it won’t be anywhere near as painful to watch as it was in 2013-2014. Expect improvement out of the Nuggets this season.
Injury Updates: Joel Freeland still day-to-day, Ty Lawson PG - Nov 7: Day-To-Day; J.J. Hickson C - Nov 7: Day-To-Day
Matchups:
PG: Damian Lillard v. Nate Robinson. Krypto-Nate is instant offense, but in his return from injury, he’s not the dynamo we’ve grown accustomed to. That said, Nate always has a contingent down from his Seattle hometown, and his 15.9 ppg against POR in 16 career games is his highest against any team. Damian’s coming off of a Lillard Time Special, 25/8/7 with some 4th quarter heroics to keep the Blazers close. After a rough initial 3 games, he’s 21-40 (10-24 from 3) and averaging 24/7/6 in his last 3. I think we can stop worrying about Damian right about now.
SG: Wesley Matthews v. Aaron Afflalo/Randy Foye. Both can fill it up if needed, but Foye’s been playing (and shooting) a lot more than you may be used to. Wes has been W3$ so far, the most consistent Blazer on both D and O. Still, probably the toughest matchup the Blazers will face.
SF: Nicolas Batum v. Wilson Chandler. Chandler’s line so far looks a lot similar to JJ Redick’s before yesterday, but that’s where the similarity ends. Chandler’s 10 ppg on 33% shooting isn’t going to scare anyone, and he doesn’t have Redick’s pedigree of a career of 15ppg and 40% 3pt shooting to fall back on. Should be a chance for Nic to play fireman on D, rather than locking up a wing stud.
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge v. Kenneth Faried. The Blazers bigs need to ensure they have a body on Faried, who’s been among the best rebounders in the league since being traded from the Blazers on Draft Night so that we could get Nolan Smith and Raymond Felton. LMA has had his shooting percentages down since his hot start to the season, but is still dangerous if left open.
C: Robin Lopez v. Timofey Mozgov. Robin’s had a great week, going 18-27 in his last 3 games to average 15 (and 8 rebounds). Mozgov isn’t a slouch, but his 9ppg/5rpg are about his career high and (in a trend) won’t scare the Blazers.
Give-a-Rip (City) Factor—a.k.a. why you should watch: To get the taste of Saturday’s game out of your mouth. To see a wildly entertaining (hopefully) offensive game. DEN goes a legit 10 (sometimes 12) deep, so there’s some opportunity for the Blazers to make some hay against the Javale McGee’s and Jusuf Nurkics and Eric Greens of the world.
Current Power Rankings:
RipCityTwo (PtldPlatypus): (18) Ty Lawson thinking the Nuggets are a top 3 team in the West gives new meaning to the term "Rocky Mountain High"
ESPN: (20) Interesting bit of trivia to file away as LeBron's Cavs wind through their first extended road trip: Cleveland's final stop on this four-game excursion is Friday night in Denver, which happens to be the team against which King James has enjoyed his least success. The Nuggets are 12-8 all time against LBJ.
Covers: (20) I remember a time when the Nuggets were good and had a great homecourt edge. Then Brian Shaw came along.
Grantland: (Potential Interlopers) Remember when the Nuggets were fun to watch? Kenneth Faried had the occasional highlight, but the Denver offense was otherwise ugly through their first three halves of the season, shooting 19-for-86 (22 percent) from outside the restricted area. They made some shots in the second half in OKC on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to come back from 26 down.
The Nuggets should have more shooting on the wing with Gallinari and Arron Afflalo back, and Ty Lawson is a roadrunner with the ball as long as he can play on a balky ankle. Still: They were below average on both ends last season, and there’s a big jump from that level of output up toward 50 wins.
NBA.com (22) Remember when the Nuggets were fun to watch? Kenneth Faried had the occasional highlight, but the Denver offense was otherwise ugly through their first three halves of the season, shooting 19-for-86 (22 percent) from outside the restricted area. They made some shots in the second half in OKC on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to come back from 26 down.
Link to Grandpa Blaze's Prediction Game
(No MediocreMan's Over/Under game on weekends)
Links to other team’s site(s):
http://www.nba.com/nuggets/ Nuggets’ NBA page
Final ThoughtsBlazers should have a big bounceback game against their Northwest Divison rivals, even on a back-to-back. DEN’s giving up over 100 ppg, while the Blazers have been holding teams below 96. The only matchup the Blazers are even close on is the SG one (discounting the bench), which the Blazers will take every day of the week. Too much POR offense, and probably an extended look at Crabbe and Leonard tonight.
Blazers 119
DEN 99
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BLAZERS' GAME NOTES 
atta boy Wheels.
