Pistons Prepare for Blazers
By J.M. Poulard
Essentials
- Teams: Detroit Pistons (23-41) at Portland Trail Blazers (42-20)
- Date: March 13
- Time: 10:00 p.m.
- Television: FSD
Get in the Game
The Detroit Pistons face a formidable foe tonight in the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Blazers are the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and could conceivably finish second if the Memphis Grizzlies falter just enough with injuries creeping up at an inopportune time.
Speaking of health setbacks, Portland recently lost Wes Matthews to a devastating Achilles tear, an event that likely strips the team of a real chance at the title. Matthews gave the Blazers some edge and swagger both offensively and defensively.
He’s the team’s best perimeter defender because of his combination of size, quickness and smarts; plus he’s not the type to leave opponents off the hook when he gets the ball.
Matthews is one of the most prolific shooters in basketball because of his accuracy and ridiculously high confidence level. He takes a fair amount of contested jumpers and buries them without flinching. In addition, Matthews isn’t shy about going down into the low post to punish his opponent.
His absence robs the Blazers of one of the best two-way guards in the sport, and I highly doubt there’s a way to replace that even with the arrival of Arron Afflalo at the trade deadline.
And yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if Portland forged a path all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
Favorites to get there?
Hardly.
But do I give them a puncher’s chance? Absolutely.
The tandem of Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge is just too lethal. Lillard is a nightmare off the bounce and from deep, while Aldridge is a beast on the block and a nightmare to guard on the perimeter given his shooting proficiency.
What’s more, the duo’s pick-and-pop game might be the best in the league, and that’s before one accounts for the fact that Aldridge might just switch things up by rolling to the rim instead of floating out to the elbows.
Opponents have the choice of staying at home on the big man, but that opens up the floor for Lillard to create havoc all over the place. The twosome coupled with head coach Terry Stotts has morphed into an artifact like the Egyptian pyramids.
Portland will run some of the most complex stuff anyone will see around the league save for the San Antonio Spurs, but then, just to seemingly mess with its counterparts, the coaching staff will run borderline primitive sets and confuse defenders that are expecting additional layers to the scheme.
Really, this isn’t a team anyone wants to mess with, and well, the Pistons kind of have to do just that tonight.
Read about the Trail Blazers