The Portland Trail Blazers travel to Indianapolis for a game with the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 4:30pm Pacific today.
The Blazers hope to stack a second consecutive win against a tanking team. Tonight’s matchup pits Portland’s 25th-best offense against Indiana which has the league’s worst offensive mark. A year after falling in the NBA Finals in seven games, the Pacers enter the contest on a 13-game losing streak. Six of those losses have come against other teams in the bottom third of the league.
At a point in the year when playoff teams hope to be approaching their peak, Tiago Splitter’s team has–at times–looked more like the Keystone Cops. They Blazers have a 6-7 record since the All-Star break. But it’s a long season and winning heals all wounds. A victory tonight would give the Blazers a 2-1 record heading into the home stretch of this five-game road trip.
Portland Trail Blazers (33-36) at Indiana Pacers (15-53) Tuesday, Mar. 10 – 4:30pm Pacific
How to stream: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else
Trail Blazers Injuries: Damian Lillard, Shaedon Sharpe, Jayson Kent, Caleb Love, Yang Hansen, Chris Youngblood Out. Vit Krejci, Robert Williams III Questionable.
Pacers injuries: Tyrese Haliburton, Johnny Furphy Out.
Kit: The Blazers will take the floor in its red Statement Edition jerseys. White will wear its Association Edition unis.
Trail Blazers: W vs. UTA, L at PHI, W at BKN
Pacers: L vs PHX, L vs. NYK, L at MIL
Trail Blazers: Points, Avdija (24 per game). Rebounds, Clingan (11.6). Assists, Avdija (6.7). Steals, Thybulle (1.9). Blocks, Clingan (1.6).Pacers: Points, Siakam (24 per game). Rebounds, Zubac (7). Assists, Nembhard (7.3). Steals, Slawson (1.3). Blocks, Huff (1.9).
Trail Blazers: Offensive rating: 112.4 (25th place) Defensive rating: 114.7 (18th place)
Pacers: Offensive rating: 108.8 (30th place) Defensive rating: 117.3 (25th place)
Subtraction by Addition?:
Myles Turner turned in a solid performance in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 134-123 win over the Pacers on Sunday. He provided an efficient 13 points while also notching a block, a steal, and four rebounds. The Bucks didn’t need him to be spectacular, and what he did was enough to secure the victory.
It was also enough to outdo Indiana’s replacement for Turner, Ivica Zubac, after letting the former leave in free agency.
Portland hasn’t had a game worth discussing in a long, long time. The last time the Blazers beat a team with a winning record was three weeks ago in Phoenix against a Suns team playing on zero days’ rest without Devin Booker, Dillon Brooks or Grayson Allen following a double-overtime win. But they own the head-to-head tiebreaker against a Warriors team that is getting chopped down to Portland’s own size. Portland also has two more games left against the Clippers. You can’t just ignore it yet.
What can the Blazers do to win back the respect of the league and build some positive momentum heading into the play in tournament? Cleaning up the turnovers and driving past the spiraling Pacers would be a good start.