Blazers v. NOP Game Preview (11/17/14):
Our Last game: v. BKN 11/15/14. With Batum and Aldridge out, Damian Lillard added to his resume of Eventual Western Conference Player of the Week with a 28/10/5 effort on only 14 shots, and the bench added 36 in the first game that Allen Crabbe and Meyers Leonard both started for a 97-87 grinder over Brooklyn in which the game never really felt in doubt.
http://www.nola.com/pelicans/index.ssf/2014/11/new_orleans_pelicans_vs_portla_8.html
Their Last game:
NO Times-Picayune said:
The Pelicans, who are trying to move to three games above .500 for the first time since the 2010-11 season, are coming off a record shooting and scoring performance in their 139-91 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The final margin also was a franchise record. The Pelicans hope Eric Gordon, who made all four of his shot attempts against the Timberwolves, is out of his early-season shooting slump. Also the Pelicans, who are averaging 24.4 assists per game, will look to continue to share the ball well.
Changes to their roster:
nbcbasketball said:
In their first year as the Pelicans, New Orleans spent big to bring in Tyreke Evans and traded for Jrue Holiday. On paper, they should have been a playoff team, with a deep backcourt and a franchise centerpiece in Anthony Davis who is rightly viewed as the heir to the LeBron/Durant “best player in the world/destroyer of the universe” mantle. But Holiday went down partway through the season with a knee injury, Ryan Anderson had back surgery, and Davis and Eric Gordon both missed some time. With that many injuries, their playoff hopes were doomed, and the Pelicans finished 34-48... The addition of Omer Asik will be huge for Davis on the defensive end, as Davis won’t have to guard centers anymore. He’s a shot-blocking monster, but he gets bullied by more physical big men. He’s bulked up this offseason. Hopefully that helps.
Injury Updates: Nicolas Batum SF - Nov 17: Out LaMarcus Aldridge – Nov 17: Out Omer Asik C - Nov 17: Day-To-Day
Matchups:
PG: Damian Lillard v. Jrue Holiday 6-4, 205 (16.3 points per game, 2.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.4 steals): The marquee matchup if LMA doesn’t go. Another All-Star matchup for Dame, but
SG: Wesley Matthews v. Eric Gordon 6-3, 215 (8.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg). Eric Gordon’s not having an “Eric Gordon 2010” season, getting 8ppg on 33% shooting. Amazingly enough, about the same stats (though triple the sample size) that JJ Redick had on the season before going off for 30. Gordon isn’t going to be able to hang with Wes if he posts him down low, and if Davis or Asik rotate to help the Blazers will have at least 3 other shooters on the floor capable of making them pay. Even more so if one of the guards gets in foul trouble and we can start picking on Jimmer Fredette.
SF: Allen Crabbe v. Tyreke Evans 6-6, 220 (16.3 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 7.1 apg, 1.0 spg). Crabbe may not get the better of this one. Evans is filling up the box scores doing his best mini-LeBron impersonation, and Crabman will have his hands full. That said, sometimes letting Evans go hero-ball can be beneficial for the team defending him.
PF: Meyers Leonard v. Anthony Davis 6-10, 243 (24.5 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 2.1 apg, 4.1 bpg): Davis is pretty much regarded as the #2 or #3 player in the NBA right now, and Leonard is making his second start since the 2012-13 season. But Leonard showed energy and something of a jumper last game, so while hoping for a draw here probably isn’t realistic, hoping for Leonard not to foul out in 8 minutes and get some tough rebounds and loose balls is probably the best course of action.
C: Robin Lopez v. Omer Asik 7-0, 255 (9.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.2 bpg). Robin and Kaman didn’t have awesome games last time out, but both will “scrap” and do the dirty work necessary to keep Asik at bay. He’s dangerous deep in the paint and on the offensive boards, so we’ll see quickly if any of the bigs can keep that shut down.
Give-a-Rip (City) Factor—a.k.a. why you should watch: Seeing the development of the Blazers’ bench. Seeing two ASG point guards playing really well right now going against one another. Seeing teams that have put up 130+ in the last week. Seeing if the Blazers’ D stays hot against a good offense, or whether NOP’s will be exposed against a great offense.
Current Power Rankings:
RipCityTwo (PtldPlatypus): (7) On paper, one of the best starting 5's in the league. Monty Williams' McMillan-esque style may be holding this team back.
ESPN: (13) You expect logic-defying stat lines from Mr. Davis by now. But what we saw when the Pels hosted the defenseless Timberwolves went beyond even Davis' checks-every-box brilliance; New Orleans is the first team in NBA history to shoot 65 percent from the field and drain 15 3s in the same game.
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b]NBA.com[/b] (14) Pace: 96.2 (14), OffRtg: 109.2 (3), DefRtg: 102.8 (14), NetRtg: +6.4 (6)
The Pelicans have climbed into the top five in offensive efficiency by scoring 117 points per 100 possessions over their last five games (facing terrible defenses in their last three). Ryan Anderson has been ready to launch, averaging more shots per minute (20.0 per 36) than Carmelo Anthony (19.8). He went 8-for-12 from 3-point range in Cleveland.
covers.com (14) I continue to think that the Pelicans are eternally screwed by not only the conference, but the division that they are in. Sadly, their ceiling isn't much higher than this.
Link to Grandpa Blaze's Prediction Game
MediocreMan's Over/Under game
Links to other team’s site(s):
ESPN
NBA
Final ThoughtsI’m going to go against the grain and say that no one right now, especially a backcourt of Jrue and Gordon, is going to slow down Damian and Wes. RoLo/Kaman against Asik might be interesting, as he doesn’t want to come away from the hoop and all of our bigs can hit a 15-footer (and potentially further), but he has the ability to shut down the offensive boards. I’m (surprise) projecting a lot of made jumpers off of drive-and-kicks, enough blocks by Davis to make national media drool and the Blazers’ backcourt dominating again at home. Dame plays a little bit more “The Man” tonight (maybe 18 or so shots) and if he gets to the line, you might as well Cancel Christmas on the Pelicans’ hopes.
Blazers 122
NOP 111
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BLAZERS' GAME NOTES 
