On paper, the Los Angeles Lakers have the players to not only defeat the Portland Trail Blazers, but demolish them. Yet, despite having two seven-footers, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, one of the best players on the planet, Kobe Bryant, a stifling defender and bruising offensive player, Ron Artest, and a versatile forward, Lamar Odom, they have struggled to defeat the Blazers at the Rose Garden. In fact, they have lost nine straight games at Portland’s friendly confines.

In early January, the Blazers defeated the Lakers 107-98 for their ninth straight home win against their rival. At this point in the season they were already lacking the second of their two centers, Joel Przybilla. Los Angeles was missing Gasol for the game, a vital piece of their puzzle, but a team that still had a size advantage could not succeed against Portland, whose center was 6-9 Juwan Howard.

How did they beat Los Angeles by nine? They let Bryant shoot, shoot, and shoot some more, taking the rest of their talent out of the equation. He took 37 of their 95 shots and made only 14 of them. This amount of shots, most of which errant, limited the production from Artest, Odom, Bynum, and point guard Derek Fisher, as none of the four scored more than 15 points. Brandon Roy, the Blazers star, scored the same amount of points as Bryant while taking 26 less shots. He was extremely efficient, as was point guard Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless, a duo that combined for 38 points on 10-19 shooting from the field and 23-26 from the free-throw line.

Portland out-shot Los Angeles 39-10 from the free-throw line. To keep the streak going they have to be aggressive once again. Roy and Bayless are listed as questionable for the game. Though the Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs without both, these two players are their aggression. Both can drive whenever they want and both have solid outside jumpers. Roy, if he plays, will be testing his tight right hamstring. Bayless, if he plays, will be trying to shake off the effects of a sprained ankle. Due to these injuries, these two may be tentative to do what they do best. They are integral pieces of the team’s success, so it is difficult to tell them to be aggressive given the possibility of re-injury.

But if these two players play they will find a way to be productive. Bayless has one gear at this stage of his career: drive to the rim. So I’m sure if can give it a go he won’t change a thing. Roy, if his hamstring is still a bit tight, can score in other ways besides driving.

The Lakers will have Gasol back, but to counter him the Blazers will have a on-fire LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge, who scored just eight points in that January victory, has stepped up in Roy’s absence. Roy has missed 11 of the last 12 games. In those eleven contests he has averaged 21 points and 9 rebounds, a run highlighted by his most recent performance, a 28-point 13-rebound game against the Spurs. If Aldridge continues his extraordinary play a win will be much easier to harness.

How can a win get easier to obtain? Usually, when a team has a talent like Bryant, the game-plan is to make anyone else beat you. But the Lakers have five other capable players, all of which can rack up the points when given the chance. Bryant asking more than a third of their field goals is not only the definition of a ballhog, but its what the Blazers want him to do during tonight’s game. He’s a great player and can be deadly when he’s on, but if the Bryant takes 30-plus field goals Portland will prove victorious once more.

Another thing in Portland’s favor: the Lakers have forgotten how to play defense. They not only allow 97 points per game this season but, against a Denver Nuggets team without their star Carmelo Anthony, they allowed 126 points in their previous contest. In giving up such a total they failed to guard the three-point line, as the Nuggets made 15-22 attempts from deep. Denver shot 57 percent overall by running and picking apart Los Angeles in the open court. The Blazers must do the same. They held a lead over the Spurs at halftime because they ran a efficient uptempo offense, a offense head coach Nate McMillan has been hesitant to implement.

One more thing in Portland’s favor: Nicolas Batum. The defensive stalwart and much-improved offensive player was in street-clothes during the last meeting. He has felt some pain in his surgically-repaired shoulder this past week, primarily because opponents were shoulder-hunting, but if he is at full-strength, Bryant’s night could be a miserable one. If he jacks up shots despite Batum’s defense the Blazers will benefit greatly.

One last thing in Portland’s favor: the Lakers cannot win in Portland. And if the Blazers get solid performances out of Roy, Aldridge, Bayless, Batum, Miller, Batum, and Martell Webster, make a hobbled Bryant shoot, keep the Lakers size in check, and watch their bench continue to struggle, the streak can reach ten at the Rose Garden.

Update: Roy will not play, according to The Oregonian’s Jason Quick. Bayless will start in his place. Roy is officially out until the All-Star Break.
Bryant will not play due to a sprained ankle.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 2:44 pm and is filed under Los Angeles Lakers, Most Recommended, NBA, News Headlines, Portland Trail Blazers, Right Column, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.