What’s up with the Portland Trail Blazers?
The Blazers are on a bit of a roll, splitting their last four games 2-2 after starting the season with a four-game win streak.
With a 6-2 record, they’re right up there at the top of the standings with the (surprise, surprise) Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns, which have an identical 6-2 record. Those two Suns losses? Both were handed down by the Blazers.
Damian Lillard remains out with an injury but that doesn’t mean the Blazers are now a pushover team. Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic have been big inside while Anfernee Simons and rookie Shaedon Sharpe are capable of holding down the backcourt in Dame’s absence.
What’s up with the Phoenix Suns?
The Suns are another team that’s thriving despite losing a key piece to injury. Deandre Ayton missed a couple of games due to an ankle injury but has returned looking like he’s in midseason form.
In his first game back versus the Blazers, Ayton scored 24 points, only for his big game to be canceled out by Jerami Grant’s bigger game.
Cameron Johnson has been recently on fire for the Suns but his status is also in jeopardy after hurting his knee.
Storyline to watch out for
The Blazers are 2-0 against the Suns this season and seem to be the only team so far to crack the code in beating Phoenix.
Without Lillard, the Blazers’ bench has stepped up to fill in the scoring void left by their All-Star. The Suns only have a few hours to recover from a Jerami Grant heartbreaker and it will be interesting to see how they’ll respond.
Prediction
While the Blazers are undefeated against the Suns, it would not be an easy task to beat Phoenix three times in a row.
Expect the Suns to bounce back big and finally get a win at home versus the Blazers. Devin Booker might just go bonkers in this one.
Where to watch
The Phoenix Suns will be out for revenge against the Portland Trail Blazers tomorrow live at 10:00 AM on NBA Philippines, available via Smart GigaPlay and Cignal TV.
