It was a bad day for the Portland Trail Blazers.
We first learned that rookie guard Elliot Williams will miss the season with a dislocated right patella, an injury the team knows far too well.
A short time later, we learned that Fabricio Oberto, who was signed because other knee injuries depleted the frontline, was forced to retire due to a recurring heart condition.
And, with an important game against the Oklahoma City Thunder approaching, the late Maurice Lucas was in the thoughts of so many. Safe to say, Portland needed a pick-me-up in front of the Rose Garden crowd.
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OSU (15-1-1) vs. Stanford (16-0-2) - 8 PM Pacific Time Friday, November 5th, Fox Sports Northwest, Fox Soccer Channel
Oregon State is No. 13 in the nation according to the NSCAA. They’re on a 10-game winning streak, including a 7-0 Pac-10 record. Keeper Colleen Boyd hasn’t been scored on since October 8 and has 13 shutouts in 17 games on the season.
And they’re about to play at No. 1 Stanford.
Both teams are good enough that the team who has the better day is going to walk away with the win and probably the Pac-10 championship. The mental discipline of the Beavers has been outstanding for most of the season, but their wins over ASU and Arizona last weekend showed signs of that discipline breaking down, and if it does, you can bet Stanford will take advantage of it. On the plus side, as soon as OSU takes the lead, they’ve been relentless in shutting opposing teams down completely.
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Portland Trail Blazers (4-1) at home vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder (2-2) – 7:30pm PST
Portland’s first Northwest division matchup is tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the preseason, the Thunder were the popular pick to win the division and possibly even challenge the Lakers for the top overall spot in the West.
In the 2010-2011 NBA General Manager Survey that took place before the season began, 63% of the GM’s voted for the Thunder to win the Northwest division, while only 22.2% voted for the Blazers. Perhaps all the hype was a bit premature, however, as the Thunder have already dropped two of their first four games -- one to the Los Angeles Clippers and one to the Utah Jazz.
The Thunder will be hoping to avoid a third straight loss, meaning they’ll come out angry and determined to avoid a 2-3 start to the year. The Blazers will also come out emotional, as this will be the first game at home in the Rose Garden since the passing of Maurice Lucas.
Both teams have something to prove and this game is shaping up to be quite the battle.
Tonight’s game in Milwaukee started out looking like a mirror image of last night’s ugly loss in Chicago. The Blazers couldn’t buy a field goal at the start of the game and quickly dug themselves into a 12-point hole just four and a half minutes in. Luckily for Portland there are 48 minutes, and the players were eventually able to weather the storm and fight their way back into the game.
Wesley Matthews came off the bench and lit up the Milwaukee Bucks like he had a personal vendetta against them, scoring 16 of Portland’s first 32 points. Without his early offense, the game could have easily spiraled out of control.
Playing in Milwaukee was a homecoming for Matthews, who spent his college days enrolled at the University of Marquette, just one mile down the road from the Bradley Center. After getting off the bus from Chicago last night, Matthews and Armon Johnson convinced assistant coach Kaleb Canales to join them over at the university gym for a late-night workout.
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Portland Trail Blazers (3-1) @ Milwaukee Bucks (1-2) – 5pm PST
Probable Starters:
Blazers Look to Bounce Back
Portland is already facing another back-to-back, and it's time to dig deep and grind out a win. The players will be tired and they’ll be emotional after the news of Maurice Lucas still fresh in their minds, but they’re probably a little angry and embarrassed about yesterday’s loss, too. After all, they didn’t just lose to the Bulls, they were blown out right from the start. But this game against the Bucks is one the Blazers can, and probably should, win.
