Trail Blazers vs. Lakers Game Thread
When the Blazers and Lakers meet Wednesday night, it will be a tale of two teams going in two entirely different directions. Who would have thought it would be Portland ascending while L.A. is free-falling? Heading into the break, the Lakers have lost three straight games and must play the Hawks tonight at home then fly into the Rose City to take on the Blazers in the Rose Garden, a place that hasn't been very kind to them in recent years. Portland had won nine in a row at the RG until L.A. finally broke through last season.
But Portland will look to start a new home winning streak over Los Angeles and to do so, they must continue to play though LaMarcus Aldridge, get the crowd involved and rebound. Gasol is a great all-around talent, but he is not known for his defensive prowess and LA should be able to force his way deep into the paint and rack up easy buckets. If the Blazers' marksmen, Fernandez, Mills, Batum & Matthews, are on target from downtown, it could be another long night for the Lakers in the RG. But the key to the game will be Brandon Roy and if he plays. If he does, how will the team respond? Will it be a great emotional boost or will it just disrupt chemistry?
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