The Portland Trail Blazers are hoping to finish their five-game road trip on a positive note and head home for Thanksgiving feeling better, both physically and mentally, when they face the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
The Blazers are struggling after a tough 123-98 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Five regular players—Scoot Henderson, Kris Murray, Matisse Thybulle, Donovan Clingan, and Deandre Ayton—were all sidelined due to injuries.
Things got worse during the game when two starters, Jerami Grant and Robert Williams III, also got injured. Grant hurt his left knee and Williams suffered a concussion.
With Portland already dealing with injuries, it’s possible that as many as seven players could be out for the final game of their trip, which is the fifth game in eight days.
The loss of Grant might be the hardest blow for the team. He had big performances earlier this season, scoring 34 and 37 points, when the Trail Blazers surprisingly swept the season series against the Pacers, despite having only 21 wins last year.
After Monday’s tough loss, Portland’s coach, Chauncey Billups, reflected on the game and how things went wrong. He said, “We hung in. Couldn’t make shots. We just, at the end of the day, didn’t have enough bodies.”
Portland did have two of their top young players, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe, playing together for only the seventh time this season against the Grizzlies. However, they couldn’t repeat their strong performance from a previous game in Houston, where they combined for 49 points. On Monday, they struggled, shooting just 6-for-26 and scoring only 20 points.
The Trail Blazers will need to play at their best against the Pacers, who have been scoring a lot recently. They’ve scored 111 or more points in their last seven games, including 115 and 114 in their last two wins over the Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans.
In the game against the Wizards, the Pacers saw strong team scoring. However, Tyrese Haliburton led the way with 34 points and 13 assists after struggling in recent games. He had a much better performance, shooting 12-for-23 from the field, which was a welcome change after shooting just 32.9% in his previous five games. Haliburton said, “It’s part of basketball. I’ve just gotta keep trusting myself, working hard. I’ll figure it out. Just put my head down, keep working. I’ll figure it out.”
Another player who has been playing well is Pascal Siakam. He contributed 36 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists in the Pacers’ two-game winning streak, making 13 of his 27 shots (48.1%) in those games.
The Trail Blazers haven’t faced the Pacers since January, when Siakam made his debut for Indiana in Portland. In that game, Siakam scored 21 points. Portland won that game, which was their 12th win of the season, but after that, they went on to lose 32 of their next 41 games.
Thanks to Siakam’s performance, the Pacers were able to recover from their loss to Portland, finishing the season with a 23-17 record and making it to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Pacers haven’t swept the Trail Blazers in a season series since 2008.
