The 4th place Blazers host the 6th place San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night in what should be a good competitive game. Today is the big "Deadline Day" in the NBA, meaning it's the final day that any player trades can be completed, and the league has been buzzing with rumors and news of various swaps. The Blazers picked up a quality wing player from Cleveland, Rodney Hood, and sent away shooting guards Nik Stuaskas and Wade Baldwin. Hood is scheduled to make his first appearance as a Blazer in this game. Will this guy be the game changer the Blazers need to send them in the conference finals? Probably not, but he should be a slight improvement. His presence also creates some drama in the Blazer ranks as Hood will be competing for minutes with the slumping Moe Harkless, and surging Jake Layman.
The Spurs are now in the middle of their famous "Rodeo Road Trip," a 22 day, 6 game journey undertaken while the The San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo takes over their home arena. They lost badly to the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, but they had elected to rest key players DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. Both those of those all-stars will be available tonight versus the Blazers. LaMarcus Aldridge, of course, is a former Trailblazer who somewhat controversially left our rainy city for the sunny plains of Texas in search of an NBA title. He hasn't gotten it so far. Aldridge usually receives a mixed welcome from the Blazer fans, and will be key to any hopes for a Spurs victory.
The Blazers are coming off a disappointing and lackluster loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night, their first loss at home in over a month. The Blazers and Spurs have played twice so far this season and have each won one game. These are both teams in the thick of the western conference playoff hunt and as such we should expect a high level of play and that little extra effort that makes a game fun to watch. It's about this time of year, as we near the all-star break, that many NBA teams shut down, giving up hope of making the postseason and eyeing changes for the year ahead. Fortunately that's not the case for this match-up. Tipoff is at 7:30 pm and this game will be nationally televised on TNT, further ramping up the drama. Tune in!
Speaking of the all-star break, Damian Lillard will be making his fourth appearance as an all-star that weekend (2/16-2/17) and Seth Curry will be participating in the three point shootout against his more famous brother, Steph. So there will be a little action for Blazers fans then as well. In the meantime, check out this coat that CJ McCollum wore to the last game. Stay warm CJ!
