Trail Blazers vs. Hawks Game Thread
The Trail Blazers survived the Nuggets with only 9 healthy bodies and now will finally welcome home their new addition, Gerald Wallace. With the win, Portland moves into a tie in the loss column for 5th out West and wins their 7th game in their last 8 tries. But just because Wallace is playing doesn't mean the team can take a night off on the boards. Even without a center, Portland won the rebounding battle 51-47 over Denver. It's been a while, November 16th , 2009, since Portland last played Atlanta, but not much has changed with ATL. They will showcase a new point guard, Kirk Hinrich, but the main pieces - J. Johnson, J. Smith, J. Crawford, and A. Horford - still remain.
For Portland to continue their climb up the Western Conference ladder, they must defend the paint, no big men or not. Denver provided the blue print on how to attack these Blazers: grab the defensive rebound, get out on the break, finish strong in the paint. Portland needs to find the happy medium in regards to defending the fast break and crashing the offensive glass. If Portland can control the paint, they should walk away victorious.
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