Go West, Young Men
After wrapping up a three-game homestand to start the calendar year, the Wine & Gold hit the road for their final West Coast trip of the season – traveling to Portland to face off against Anfernee Simons and the Blazers on Friday night.
Both teams come into the game needing to reverse some recent fortunes. The Cavs have dropped five of their previous seven, including a close decision on Tuesday night against Memphis. The Blazers have dropped five of six and 12 of their last 15 since the start of December.
In Cleveland’s final loss before embarking on the six-gamer, Ja Morant sealed the deal with a late bucket and steal in the closing seconds, spoiling Darius Garland’s return as the Cavs continue to get non-injured players back from the health and safety protocol.
Garland led both teams in the loss, finishing with 27 points and 10 assists, going 9-for-26 from the floor, committing just a single miscue in 35 minutes of work.
Jarrett Allen doubled-up with 22 points on 11-for-14 shooting, adding a game-high 12 rebounds to go with a team-best three blocks. And Kevin Love notched his third double-double in the last four outings – finishing with 18 points and 10 boards in 29 minutes off the bench.
The Blazers are coming off a tough home loss to Miami, rallying back from a 19-point deficit before the Heat pulled away late. In their previous outing, Portland snapped a four-game skid with a wild 136-131 home win over the Hawks, with Anfernee Simons going off for a career-best 43 points, offsetting a 56-point explosion by Trae Young.
Portland is without both Damian Lillard (abdomen) and CJ McCollum (lung), but Simons has averaged 35.5ppg over his last two outings and Norman Powell, who’s been good all season, is averaging 24.0ppg over his last four.
After taking on the Blazers tonight, the Cavaliers travel to Cali for a pair – facing the Warriors (and possibly Klay Thompson) on Sunday followed by a Monday night meeting in Sacramento. Cleveland closes out the trip with stops in Utah (Wednesday), San Antonio (Friday) and Oklahoma City (Saturday) before returning home for an MLK Day matchup with the Nets.
History
The Cavaliers took the first meeting of the season back on November 3, taking control of the contest late in the second quarter and holding off a late Blazers rally, with Damian Lillard missing the potential game-tying triple at the buzzer.
In the overall series between the two franchises that entered the NBA in the same season, the Blazers lead, 72-55. The Wine & Gold have always struggled in the Pacific Northwest, going 18-45 at the Moda Center, including the last seven straight and nine of the last 10 visits.
The all-time single game rebound leader for the Cavaliers against Portland is the underrated Cliff Robinson, who grabbed 23 boards in a 98-92 victory at the Richfield Coliseum. The Blazers all-time mark was set by Bill Walton, who grabbed 20 rebounds in an epic 4OT victory in Portland back in 1974 – offsetting Austin Carr’s game-high 34 points in the loss.
Connections
There are some minor connections with the Blazers – including for Kevin Love, who grew up and played high school hoops in nearby Lake Oswego, finishing his career as Oregon’s all-time leading prep scorer. Blazers assistant, Steve Hetzel, was the Charge’s head coach in 2013-14. Blazers assistant Scott Brooks briefly played for the Cavaliers during the 1997-98 and was also briefly Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ roommate during that time.
And of course, the major connections with Blazers forward and former Cavalier, Larry Nance Jr., who was traded to Portland in a three-team deal over the summer. Nance, the scion of the Cavs legend, played 182 games through three-and-a-half seasons after being acquired at the Deadline in 2018. One of the best guys who’s ever worn the Wine & Gold, Nance is averaging 6.9 points and 5.6 boards for Portland this season – coming off the bench to start the season before starting the last 11 games.