#PORvsUTA Preview
PORTLAND - For a lot of teams in the Western Conference, eight losses in 10 games would be a legitimate cause for panic.
The Portland Trail Blazers have the confidence - and perhaps more importantly, the margin for error - to avoid any anxiety.
Back home after an empty trip against the East, the Blazers look to avoid their first four-game skid in nearly 11 months Tuesday night against a Utah Jazz team they'll see often between now and April.
Portland (32-16) had the West's second-best record Jan. 14, but it went 2-5 before departing on a forgettable trip where the high point was having a game postponed in Brooklyn due to a snowstorm.
The Trail Blazers blew fourth-quarter leads against red-hot Cleveland and Atlanta when they finally got back on the court, then capped a rough end to January with a 95-88 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday as they matched a season low by shooting 37.1 percent.
"It's been a tough month," said Damian Lillard, who's shooting 33.0 percent in the past 10 games and had six turnovers apiece against the Hawks and Bucks. "I'd rather it be this month than next month or March. I think we can learn something from it."
Now with the West's fifth-best record, one thing that can make Portland feel better is simply remembering the division in which it plays. Second-place Oklahoma City is closer to fourth-place Utah (17-30) than it is the Trail Blazers, and winning the Northwest would guarantee Portland no worse than the No. 4 seed.
INJURY REPORT
Portland: Robin Lopez (right hand fracture) is probable. Joel Freeland (right shoulder strain) is out.
Utah: Alec Burks (left shoulder surgery) is out. Rodney Hood (left foot inflammation) is out.
Participation Status Key:
- Probable – 75% chance that the player will play in the game
- Questionable – 50% chance that the player will play in the game
- Doubtful – 25% chance that the player will play in the game
- Out – Player will not play in the game
Projected Starters
SF
PF
C
SG
PG
Season Series
Remaining Games
Series Notes
- The Trail Blazers have the third lowest opposing field goal percentage in the NBA at 43.5%, while the Jazz have allowed opponents to shoot 46.1% (27th in NBA).
- Portland is eighth in the league in scoring at 102.4 points per game, while the Jazz is averaging 95.9 points (23rd in NBA).
- After recording just four double-doubles through his first 18 career regular season games against Utah, LaMarcus Aldridge has now accomplished that feat four times in his past five matchups against the Jazz.
- In 15 career games against the Jazz (all starts), Wesley Matthews is averaging 18.7 points per game and has produced double- digit scoring in 13 consecutive regular season matchups. Matthews has also made 3+ three-pointers in seven of his 15 career games against Utah
- In his past five games against Utah, Wesley Matthews is shooting 57.5% from the floor (38-of-66).
Promotions
In Portland's Last Game
“Milwaukee is playing very well,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. “Their defense showed what they’ve been doing all year. They’re very long, they’re athletic, they create steals. They kind of set the tone with their defense from the start and we were kind of playing from behind most of the night.”
With the loss, the Trail Blazers are now 32-16 on the season, 12-11 away from the Moda Center and 0-3 on the now completed road trip, which would have been a four-game trip had the scheduled game versus the Nets in Brooklyn on Jan. 26 not been postponed due to Winter Storm Juno.
“We knew that each game was going to be tough,” said Lillard. “I don’t think we fell like it’s a (bad) road trip because we lost the games, I think it’s because they were all winnable games. Two of them we had an opportunity down the stretch to win the games… We cut ourselves short, we didn’t give ourselves the best chance to win those games.”
Portland has now lost three-straight for just the second time this season, with both streaks coming in the last month. The loss moves Portland to 6-9 in the month of January and is their eighth in the last 10 games.
“It’s been a tough month,” said Damian Lillard. “I’d rather it be this month than March or next month. It’s good that it happened to us. I think we learned something from it by seeing that if we don’t stick to what makes us who we are, these are the type of things that can happen. The positive thing is that this has happened to us and we’re 32-16. We’ve just got to get back to doing those little things. We’ve got to commit ourselves again to doing the things that make us an elite team.”
Playing on the second game of a back-to-back after having lost to the Hawks in Atlanta the night before, the Trail Blazers struggled from the get go. With Meyers Leonard getting the surprise start in the place of Chris Kaman, Portland shot 39 percent from the field in the first quarter and 20 percent from three while turning the ball over seven times. Milwaukee, playing a five-man rotation in the first quarter, shot 52 percent from the field and 43 percent from three to build a 12-point first-quarter lead.