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Blazers, Clippers meet in Game 1 on Sunday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 4/16/2016  at  10:00:00 PM
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PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (44-38)

at LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (53-29)

NBA Playoffs
Western Conference – Round 1
Tip-off: Sunday, 10:35 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -8.0, Total: 207.5

The Clippers will be looking to get themselves off to a quick series lead with a win at home over the Blazers in Game 1.

The Blazers shocked a lot of people by making the playoffs and they’ll now be hoping to upset a very good Clippers team. Both teams are entering this series after having finished the regular season off strong. Portland won seven of its final 10 games and Los Angeles won eight of its final 10. The Clippers hold the edge in this head-to-head series recently, as they won three of the four meetings between these teams on the year. They are 7-4 SU versus the Blazers over the past three seasons, but Portland is 6-5 ATS in those contests. The Blazers also happen to be 4-1 ATS when playing at Staples Center in that span. One trend worth noting when looking at this game is that Portland is 13-4 ATS when playing a team that has beaten it twice in a row this season. The Blazers know how to make adjustments and that will be crucial in this series. C Meyers Leonard (Shoulder) is out for the year for the Blazers and SG J.J. Redick (Heel) is listed as questionable for the Clippers, but it’s hard to see him missing this one.

The Blazers are not being given a chance by many people, but that was also the case before the season started and here they are in the postseason. If Portland is going to steal Game 1 then the team will need a huge game from PG Damian Lillard (25.1 PPG, 6.8 APG, 4.0 RPG). Lillard has really struggled against the Clippers this season, averaging just 18.0 PPG on 32.4% shooting from the field in four meetings with the team. Lillard needs to be more efficient on Sunday, but he’ll also need to play solid defense. If Chris Paul torches him then Portland is going to get blown out. While Lilllard could have trouble against Paul, SG C.J. McCollum (20.8 PPG, 4.3 APG, 1.2 SPG) should be able to play well in this series. The Clippers do not have many wing defenders that are capable of sticking with him, so he’ll need to be aggressive in this series. McCollum’s a very good shooter and he is also creative when he gets into the lane. SF Al Farouq-Aminu (10.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG) will likely be the x-factor in this series, though. Portland needs him to really step it up in order to win a few games against Los Angeles. He could see some minutes as a small-ball power forward and if that’s the case then he’ll need to be tough. Blake Griffin is not an easy cover for anybody, so somebody will need to rise to the occasion and defend him well this series.

The Clippers finished off the year playing some impressive basketball, but they will really need PF Blake Griffin (21.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 4.9 APG) to return to form soon. Griffin is averaging just 14.0 PPG and 8.7 RPG over the past three contests. He has not looked like himself since returning from hand and quad injuries, but this is a fresh start for him. The Clippers need him to be a force around the basket and it’d be big if he can also knock down some jumpers in this series. The Blazers are weakest at the power forward position and Griffin can really give Los Angeles an advantage in this series. PG Chris Paul (19.5 PPG, 10.0 APG, 4.2 RPG, 2.1 SPG) is still, however, the Clippers’ best player. Paul has owned Damian Lillard in the past and he will need to continue to do so beginning on Sunday. If Paul can contain Lillard defensively then the Blazers won’t have much of a shot to win this series. Paul should also be able to average a double-double on the offensive end. He is extremely tough to guard as a scorer and the Blazers don’t have much size inside, so Paul should average a ton of assists from finding his big guys. C DeAndre Jordan (12.7 PPG, 13.8 RPG, 2.3 BPG) should be the beneficiary of a lot of Paul’s passes. Jordan will catch plenty of lobs in this series, but he’ll mostly be counted on to rebound and defend. If he can protect the rim then the Clippers will be in good shape moving forward.


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