You can be forgiven for not paying close attention to your hometown Trailblazers in the early days of the season. Diehard fans may follow the ebb and flow of every game, but the NBA season is long, and of course not every matchup holds the same weight. In fact some games don't mean much at all. But folks, tonight's game is not one of those games. In fact, I think it's fair to say that tonight's game versus the Oklahoma City Thunder is the biggest game of the season so far. This one here is worth your time. Allow me to explain why....
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Portland and OKC are currently locked in a three-way tie with Houston for third place in the Western conference. The winner of this game can leapfrog into sole possession of the crucial 3rd seed. Of course there are still 18 more games left in the season, but at this point every game counts a lot. OKC has been a thorn in the side of the Blazers all year. They've won all three previous match-ups. One might expect them to walk away with this final game as well, except Portland has changed in the past two weeks. They've added two significant players, wily wingman Rodney Hood, and backboard bruiser Enes Kanter. This will be Kanter's first home game as a Trailblazer and he will likely get a rousing ovation from the crowd. The Blazers have only lost one game with Kanter on the roster, and he represents a welcome upgrade at back-up center.
Bruce Ely/Trailblazers.com
Speaking of centers, it's always fun to watch Portland's Jusuf Nurkic battle down low with OKC's Steve Adams. These guys are two of the strongest, biggest men in the NBA and they always put on a show. OKC's Paul George is having the best season of his career and may well win MVP. Portland has been helpless to stop him, but this is one of the reasons they brought in new guy Rodney Hood, a quality defender with enough size to actually slow George down. Of course the true clash of the titans will be point guard Damian Lillard versus OKC's notorious loudmouth Russell Westbrook. As great as Dame is, he's had a lot of trouble with Westbrook and the two of them have openly expressed disdain for one another (see Lillard's "warfare" instagram post at the beginning of this article). Even without the pending playoff implications this superstar rivalry alone makes the game worth the price of admission.
Bruce Ely/Trailblazers.com
This game will be broadcast nationally on TNT, a primetime "marquee matchup" with tip-off at 7:30. This is the type of game they talk about when they refer to "playoff intensity" during the regular season. Hopefully the Blazers will have even bigger games to come this year, but a lot of that will depend on what happens tonight in the Moda Center. So tune in Rip City—or better yet, get your ass to the arena and cheer!
