Jan 26th Portland at LA Clippers-game preview

Jan 26 AT LA Clippers
Gametime 7:30 pm Pacific Time
CSN

Last time we played the Clippers was December 12. They beat us 120-112, in a game we should have won. NBATV has a recap of that game here. And there is a short highlight reel of Sergio to Rudy plays from game that you can watch here.

This time its anyones guess who will be in the Clipper lineup as the team has been hit hard by injuries. The Clips, The Thunder, and the Wizards seem to be in three way race to see which team will end up with the worst record. What I don't like about seeing the Blazers play these teams is that I've noticed the Blazers have a tendancy to either play up to, or down to their competition. Despite the fact that we owe them one and Jeff Sagarins ratings project us as winning this game we are still going to have to show up and take care of business at the Staples Center.

For the Clippers, Ricky Davis has returned to action since suffering from tendonitis in his knee. Center Chris Kaman is still unable to play due to a foot injury, and Zach Randolph has been out with an injured knee and at this writing it appears unlikely he will be back for this game. Marcus Camby has been out with an ankle injury and former Texas Center De Andre Jordan has been logging some playing time in his place.

Our own rookie center,Greg Oden took another step forward last night with his second solid performance in less than a week. The 7-foot center had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Portland Trail Blazers in a 100-87 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night. "I've got to keep it consistent, keep it going," he said. "The next game, try to do it again." Monday, Oden had a career-high 25 points and 15 rebounds over Milwaukee. He had 10 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, but bounced back against the Wizards.

Brandon Roy had a career high ten steals Saturday night against the Wizards and he is starting to show signs of recovery after being slowed by a hamstring injury.

The Trailblazers are still without the services of Steve Blake who will probably be unable to play for another week or so and Martell Webster, whose return we may not see until March. Other than that though, the rest of the gang should be available to to take on a Clipper team that may not win twenty games this year.

Projected starters
Portland Trailblazers

Sergio Rodriguez -PG
Brandon Roy-SG
Nic Batum-SF
LaMarcus Aldridge-PF
Greg Oden-Center

Projected starters
Los Angeles Clippers

Baron Davis-PG
Eric Gordon-SG
Al Thornton PF
DeAndre Jordan-Center
Ricky Davis-SF

As always there will be pregame, gametime, and postgame discussion of the game in the gameday forum

If you happen to miss the game you can click here and catch the video recap and hdtv highlights of the game