Games 11 and 19: LA Clippers at Portland Trail Blazers
Thursday, November 8 at 7:00 PM and Sunday, November 25 at 6:00 PM
Last season: Trail Blazers won series 3-1
I’ve decided to lump these two games together for a few different reasons. Allow me to explain.
The Clippers play the Trail Blazers twice in November. Both games take place in Portland. Therefore, it’s almost certain that the same circumstances will apply to both games. The only difference, really, is that LA will get two days of rest before the first matchup, compared to just one before the second.
Neither is a back-to-back though, and it’s hard to imagine anything significant enough happening that would make these two very different games. (I say that now, which means that between these two games, absolutely everything will happen to ensure that these two games will be played under very different circumstances, because that’s just how these things work. I’m trying to be convenient, and it’s going to end up biting me in the grand scheme. My guess is Damian Lillard will be traded between the two or the Clippers will experience something similar to last season, in which almost every single starter goes down with an injury in the month of November because that’s what happens to cursed teams. I don’t know.)
Anyway, the games. Portland is another team that didn’t do much to improve over the summer, seeing as their biggest move was drafting Anfernee Simons in June. He’s only just turned 19 and probably won’t play much this season, so basically all that’s changed is that Portland lost Ed Davis.
With a healthy Beverley and Bradley combo, the Clippers can shut down Lillard and C.J. McCollum, the focal points of this Portland team. Beverley was only healthy for one game against Lillard last season, and he was able to hold him to 7-of-19 shooting in a Clippers victory.
Assuming they’re both healthy, LA should win both of these games. But something improbable will happen, and we’ll split these two for whatever reason.