Portland Trail Bloggers

There are a few pretty interesting games on slate for Friday (besides the Blazers v Hornets).

1) Denver at Boston

This game might not have been too interesting two weeks ago, but now that Billups is in Denver, this game is very interesting. How will the now playoff contending Denver compete against the NBA elite? Denver will be playing their second game in a back-to-back after dropping to Cleveland on Thursday. They are now 3 - 1 with Billups. For Portland, it is essentially as important to win as it is to have other teams in the playoff hunt lose. If Denver loses and Portland wins on Friday then the Blazers pick up a whole game in just one night. The season is early, but don’t underestimate the importance of losses to for Denver in the eyes of a Blazers fan. Go Celtics.

2) Orlando at Dallas

The theme in this posting remains that teams looking for that 7th and 8th seed in the East are playing quality teams and have the real chance to lose on Friday. Dallas has tripped out of the gate this season and holds a 2 - 6 record. Orlando is a very good team (although they have had their own struggles so far), so this matchup should be one to watch. If Dallas moves to 2 -7, they would be 5 games under 500 and that is good news for any Blazers fan.

3) Houston at San Antonio

A battle within the Texas borders that provides a chance to beat San Antonio into an even bigger hole. The Spurs are 2 - 6 and (as per a previous posting) are looking to survive a tough period with no Manu or Tony. I, for one, am ready to say this MIGHT be the season that the Spurs dig a whole too big to climb out of in the late winter / early spring months. The Spurs’ spoils are to the cheers of Blazer fans.

If two of three (Denver, Dallas and San Antonio) lose on Friday I would say that is a push if the Blazers also lose. Say Portland wins and two of those teams drop a game… Well, that’d be a great way to start the weekend!

Go Blazers, Road Wins are the Key