The Portland Trail Blazers begin a three-game Eastern Conference road venture on Thursday against the Indiana Pacers, tipping off at 8 p.m. ET on TNT.
The Blazers, who have lost two of three games since the All-Star break, have not won on the road since January 31 (against the Lakers), which is largely due to the temporary absence of Damian Lillard because of a groin injury sustained before the break began in a road game against New Orleans. He is not traveling with the team and will miss Thursday’s game.
The last time the Blazers played the Pacers, the game was played in the confines of the Moda Center as Portland won the first matchup via a 139-129 score. Though Indy has been trying to get back on the winning horse by winning two of their last three, they’ve been a mediocre 3-7 in their last 10 games. However, they’re not easy to beat at home, with a 20-10 record at Bankers Life Fieldhouse this season to show.
Again, CJ McCollum will be called upon to carry the load for a team still awash with injuries to the pieces filling their skill positions, and with his 32 points, 10.7 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game since the break ended, he’s certainly tried his best to keep the ninth-seeded Blazers on their feet and running in the marathon that is the Western playoff hunt. In the last game against Indiana, he dropped 28 points. He’ll likely need to show that same level of productivity if the Blazers want to get over the finish line with a little under two months left in the regular season.
As for Indiana, the combination of Domantas Sabonis (18.3 ppg., 12.5 rpg., 5 apg.) who posted a triple-double in the last time they played Portland and TJ Warren (18.5 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 1.4 apg.) who is shooting a little over 52 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from three cause troubles to all defenses across the league. And add in Victor Oladipo, their All-Star caliber guard that is still being assimilated into Nate McMillan’s system after missing a full year due to a quad injury, and this Pacers team is still worthy enough to pose a threat to the higher ups in the East as we round the corner of this year.
Again, the battle of the sixth seed in the East and the ninth seed in the West takes place on TNT at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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