On Friday, the Portland Trailblazers and Los Angeles Clippers will continue their first-round playoff matchup when they meet at the Moda Center in Portland. The Blazers currently lead the series 3-2, and have a chance to close it out in front of their fans. The game is scheduled to begin at 10:30 PM. ET.
Going into the series, the Clippers were favored because they were the deeper and more experienced team, and it showed during the first two games as they took a 2-0 lead in the series. When the series shifted to Portland, the Blazers responded by taking the next two games, and evening up the series.
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In game four, the Clippers suffered two significant injuries that will have a significant impact on the series. All-Star point guard Chris Paul broke a bone in his hand and needed surgery. Paul will miss the rest of the series and it is unclear when or if he will return during the playoffs.
With their two superstars injured, the Clippers backs are against the wall.
If the injury to Paul wasn’t bad enough, fellow All-Star Blake Griffin, who missed most of the season dealing with injuries suffered a quad injury that also required surgery. Griffin has been ruled out for the remainder of the playoffs.
With Griffin and Paul ruled out of the series, the momentum has shifted to the Portland Trailblazers because it will be difficult for Los Angeles to win without two of their best players in the lineup. With Paul out of the lineup, Austin Rivers will take his place as the team’s starter. Rivers averaged 8.9 points and 1.5 assists in 21 minutes per game, which is a significant drop-off from the production the team received from Paul.
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute will take over at the power forward position for Griffin. Mbah a Moute averaged 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 17 minutes per game, which is also a significant drop-off from the production the team received from Griffin.
Since injuries are part of sports, don’t expect the Blazers to feel sorry for the Clippers. Damien Lillard has not been playing as well as he did during the regular season, but part of that is due to the defense Chris Paul played against him. Now that Paul is out of the lineup, expect Lillard’s numbers to go up because Rivers doesn’t play defense as well as Chris Paul.
Despite the injuries that the Clippers have, the Blazers have to be careful not to overlook them because they don’t have their star players. Players like Rivers are capable of getting hot at any time and can hurt them if they aren’t careful. DeAndre Jordan is also going to be a big factor against the Blazers because they don’t have any player that can cover him one on one.
Clippers vs Trail Blazers Game 6 Odds
Bet365.com has the Trail Blazers as 10 point favourites to win this game. The over/under is set at 198. Here’s our full Bet365 review.
My Pick
The Clippers will put up a decent fight, but it won’t be enough because they don’t have their two best scorers available. Smart money is on the Blazers to win the game and advance to the next round.
Play: Blazers -10 @ Bet365.com
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