San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers
Thursday, February 4th – 10:30 PM ET
Rose Garden, Portland
Basketball Betting Spread: Spurs -2
The Week That Was: Spurs
The Spurs started off the week without starting point guard Tony Parker, who is day-to-day with an ankle injury. Luckily for San Antonio, second-year pro George Hill stepped up when he needed too, dropping 18 points in a 104-97 win over Memphis. Hill made just the 9th start of his young career. Hill’s fellow bench-riders also chipped in big, outscoring the Grizzlies bench 42-21. Tim Duncan was his solid self, scoring 19 and adding 9 boards.
San Antonio’s second game without Parker did not go as well. The Spurs were crushed 103-89 by the visiting Denver Nuggets, who themselves were playing with a superstar: Carmelo Anthony. The Denver defense was dominant, holding the Spurs to 43% shooting. San Antonio was a pitiful 3-of-17 from beyond the arc. Some good news, however, came in the form of the returning Michael Finley. Finley was playing in his first game since December 5th when he injured his ankle. He scored zero points in seven minutes played.
Yesterday, George Hill recorded career-highs with 23 points and 9 assists in the Spurs 115-113 road win over the Sacramento Kings. Four different players scored at least 20 points for San Antonio, who won game one of their annual Rodeo Road Trip.
The Week That Was: Trail Blazers:
The Trail Blazers started off strong last week, opening a 10-point lead in the first quarter in their road game against the Rockets. But all that momentum was swept away 12 minutes later, as the Blazers found themselves down two. The end result: a 104-100 loss to Houston, their fifth ‘L’ in their last seven games. Houston played an effectively aggressive game, scoring 52 in the paint going to the line 43 times.
Portland followed that up with a big 114-112 OT win over Dallas the next day. Andre Miller scored a career-high 52 points, including 25 in the fourth and OT periods. The win snapped a three-game losing streak, and was just the second time in six games Portland had won without Brandon Roy.
One of the Blazers’ most complete games of the season came on Monday, a 98-79 win over the visiting Charlotte Bobcats. Portland led from start to finish, stopping a Bobcats team that had averaged 112.7 points in their last 3 contests. The Blazers shot 53.3% as opposed to Charlotte’s 40.6%, and held the Bobcats to just 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Yesterday the Blazers flew into Utah and got hammered by the Jazz, 118-105. Utah shot an incredible 62.7% from the field, playing a Portland team that just forgot how to play defense. The Jazz took 20 less shots from the field than the Blazers, but still drained five more baskets (42-of-67 for Utah; 37-for-87 for Portland).
Outlook & Pick
Both teams are playing for the second time in two days, although the Blazers have the luxury of playing at home. The Spurs are just starting their annual February long road trip (called the Rodeo Road Trip), in which they will play nine of their eleven games this month on the road. Right now the Spurs are 9-9 away from the AT&T Center, while the Blazers are 17-9 at the Garden. Both teams will be checking their infirmary before the game to see if either Roy or Parker will be available, although neither is expected to suit up. But as the Blazers have struggled without Roy, going 3-5, George Hill has filled in admirably in three games without Parker. The Spurs depth will be showcased in this one.
NBA Free Pick: Spurs