#PORvsMIL Preview
PORTLAND - The Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the NBA's most improved defensive teams, but they figure to be tested without their starting center.
The Milwaukee Bucks could also be challenged with their second-leading scorer injured.
Robin Lopez will not play for Portland as it seeks a fourth straight home win Wednesday night over the Milwaukee Bucks, who will be missing Jabari Parker.
The Trail Blazers (19-6) had to rely on their fourth-ranked scoring offense in advancing past the first round of the playoffs last season for the first time in 14 years. They struggled defensively, allowing 102.8 points per game to rank 22nd.
While they're averaging 4.4 fewer points this season at 102.3 per game, their defense is vastly improved, limiting opponents to 95.6 points per game - the fifth-fewest in the NBA.
That defense lost a key piece in Monday's 108-95 home win over San Antonio, however, as Lopez fractured the third and fourth metacarpals in his right hand. The 7-footer is averaging 9.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and a team-best 1.5 blocks.
"It's a little frustrating," Lopez said. "I've been pretty fortunate with injuries in my career."
INJURY REPORT
Portland: CJ McCollum (broken right index finger) is probable. Robin Lopez (fractured right hand) is out.
Milwaukee: John Henson (left foot sprain) is out. Ersan Ilyasova (nasal fracture) is out. Damien Inglis (right ankle surgery) is out. Johnny O'Bryant (right knee sprain) is questionable. Jabari Parker (left knee sprain) is out.
KEY MATCHUP
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In Portland's Last Game...
PORTLAND – The Portland Trail Blazers got a small bit of retribution Monday night, defeating the San Antonio Spurs, the team that eliminated them from the 2014 NBA Playoffs, 108-95 in front of a sellout crowd of 19,441 at the Moda Center.
Well, maybe it wasn’t the exact same Spurs team, as Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter all sat out Monday night’s contest for various reasons, but it was a win nonetheless.
“It’s good to get a win,” said Stotts. “Obviously this wasn’t the game we probably expected with their players out, but nonetheless, to win every quarter, I thought we did what we needed to do to win the game. I think we could have played better, but you want to come away with the win and we did.”
The first quarter of Monday night’s game had all the trappings of a game featuring one team playing at home for the first time since returning from a five-game road trip and the other playing on the second night of a back-to-back. Both teams shot below 40 percent for much of the quarter and combined for 11 turnovers while taking turns leading by small margins.