Damian Lillard said it best when summing up the Portland Trail Blazers’ recent six-game trip that produced a 2-4 record.
“I think we underachieved,” he told reporters following Friday’s loss at Denver.
But have they underachieved so far this season?
The Blazers (17-16) return home to host Charlotte Monday night at the Moda Center. The season has featured some fantastic highs and steep lows that have the Blazers in ninth place in the deep Western Conference.
“To win consistently in his league, you’ve got to be able to sustain your focus and you got to be engaged on a nightly basis,” Lillard said. “Everybody has talent. Everybody has guys with ability. But the difference in the good teams, the average teams and the bad teams is who can sustain that focus and who can be engaged for longer periods of time. Not just over the course of the game but over the course of stretches of games and over a long season. And right now, we’re that team sometimes and then sometimes we’re not.”
The Blazers have a stretch of games coming up where they could elevate themselves should they discover consistency.
The Blazers have played 20 road games (10-10), tops in the West, and 13 at home (7-6). After Monday, they go back on the road Friday at Golden State, return to Moda Center a home game against Detroit then venture back out on the road for games at Minnesota, Indiana and Toronto.
By that point, the Blazers will have played 15 home games and 24 road games. Obviously, that must even out to 41-41 by the end of the season. Such balance begins to take place once the Blazers return home from Toronto.
For the rest of the month of January, the Blazers will play 10 out of 11 games at home. That will get them to having played 25 home games and 25 on the road.
Playing at home and winning at home are two different things. Should the Blazers remain at around .500 by the end of January, then maybe that’s just who they are and their destiny is to be a play-in team. But a good run in January could get the Blazers back into the top four in the West.
“I think we’re a good team,” Lillard said. “I think the best teams right now, you’re starting to see them kind of separate themselves from the bunch.”
Unless the Blazers turn things around in January, they certainly could fall further behind the conference’s elite.
The Blazers won 105-95 at Charlotte on Nov. 9.
LILLARD CELEBRATION
The Blazers plan to honor Lillard becoming the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with a ceremony following Monday night’s game.
Lillard surpassed Clyde Drexler (18,040 points) during Monday’s loss at Oklahoma City. Lillard now has 18,098 points.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. CHARLOTTE HORNETS
What: Trail Blazers (17-16) vs. Hornets (9-24), 7 p.m., Monday.
Where: Moda Center.
Radio: Rip City Radio (KPOJ 620 AM).
TV channel: Root Sports Plus (in Portland: Comcast 1253, DirecTV 687-1).
Watch the game live online: You can watch this game live for FREE with fuboTV (free trial). You can also get this game on DirecTV Stream’s “CHOICE” package (promotional offers), if you are out of fuboTV trials, or simply prefer that platform and their pricing plans. If you already have a cable or satellite provider that carries Root Sports and want to watch online, you can watch this game live on Root Sports Live. Games can also be watched through EvocaTV with a monthly subscription.
ODDS (Oregon Lottery/DraftKings)
Moneyline: POR -230 | CHA: +195
Spread: POR -6 | Over/Under: 238
INJURIES
Blazers: Josh Hart (ankle sprain) and Jusuf Nurkic (right calf soreness) are probable. Justise Winslow (left ankle sprain), Nassir Little (right hip fracture) and Gary Payton II (return to competition reconditioning) are out.
Hornets: Dennis Smith Jr. (left ankle sprain) is questionable. Nick Richards (right ankle sprain) is doubtful. Cody Martin (left knee procedure) is out.
NEXT UP
The Blazers go back on the road to play at Golden State at 7 p.m. Friday.
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook). Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcast
"TV" - Google News
December 26, 2022 at 09:35AM
https://ift.tt/eZpf0yI
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Charlotte Hornets: Game preview, time, TV channel, how to watch free live stream o - OregonLive
"TV" - Google News
https://ift.tt/8RiYPNe
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Portland Trail Blazers vs. Charlotte Hornets: Game preview, time, TV channel, how to watch free live stream o - OregonLive"
Post a Comment