By Devan Cook
TV: Comcast SportsNet Channel 37 || Radio: 750am KXL
Opening night is tonight at the Rose Garden for the Portland
Trail Blazers, who hope to fair better at home than they have on the
road. After going 0-3 to three tough oppenents, Spurs, Rockets and Hornets (combined records of 11-2),
the Trail Blazers look to get their first win of the season.
In the last match-up against the Hornets, reigning Rookie of the Year
Brandon Roy had a stand-out game with 23 points. This wasn't enough
as the Trail Blazers fell 113-93 to a team led by the 2006 Rookie of the Year, Chris Paul (19 points, 6 assists).
Needless to say, the match up of these two guards tonight is one to see (7:30 pm Comcast SportsNet channel 37), and with Portland
hungry for a win, while Hornets will be looking to maintain their
impressive record, this game is going to be intense with energy.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who has been capitalizing this year on more playing time since the departure of
Zach Randolph, is averaging 18.3 PPG. He will look to redeem himself against
the Hornets as Tyson Chandler and David West held him to 8 points in the latest matchup.
Nate McMillan will shake things up with the starting line-up. According to
Mike Barrett's blog,
both Steve Blake and Channing Frye will get the starting nods at the point guard and
center positions respectively. Look for James Jones to put in some minutes as well, the
former Phoenix Sun scored 14 off the bench in their last game against
New Orleans.
New Orleans is off to a blazing 4-0 start finishing off the Lakers, 118-104 last night in Los Angeles.
In the win, Peja Stojakovic set a franchise record, 10 3-pointers to end up with 36 points. Chris
Paul also set a franchise record, 21 assists to go along with 19 points. Currently ranked #4 on the
nba.com
Power Rankings, the Hornets look to continue their winning ways tonight.
Side note, the three opponents the Trail Blazers have lost to are currently ranked #1 (Houston), #2 (San Antonio) and #4 (New Orleans) on the Power Rankings.
Tonight is sold-out, so tune-in to the game on TV or radio. The next homegame is Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies. The
first 10,000 fans through the gate will get a free Greg Oden Bobblehead.
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