The Portland Trail Blazers face the San Antonio Spurs in the fourth and final game of the Emirates NBA Cup group stage, which will have huge implications for Portland. Win tonight and the Blazers have clinched their NBA Cup group (West Group C), a contest that would have appeared improbable or impossible at the beginning of the year.
The Blazers are fresh off a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday and face Victor Wambayama’s Spurs team.
The Spurs lost their last game on Sunday against the Phoenix Suns, but had won three in a row over the Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks before that game.
Portland Trail Blazers (8-10) vs. San Antonio Spurs (11-5) – Wed. November 26th – 7pm Pacific
How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass or NBA TV everywhere.
Trail Blazers Injuries: Scooter Henderson, Damian Lillard, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley, Jrue Holiday (out); Shaddon Sharp (questionable)
Spurs injuries: Victor Vembanyama, Stephen Castle, Jordan McLaughlin (out)
NBA Cup implications. The Blazers are currently in first place in West Group C with a 2-1 record. Due to tie breakers and no team remaining undefeated, the Blazers will book their place in the Emirates NBA Cup Knockout Round with a win. The Spurs are currently tied at 1-1 and have a game to play against the Denver Nuggets. If they are able to win both, they will represent West Group C instead.
Offensive rebounds vs. making the first shot. Portland ranked in the bottom five in both field goal percentage, 44.6%, and three-point percentage, 32.7%. On the other hand, the Spurs make 49.4% of their field goals, which is good for fourth in the NBA, and are a fairly average shooting team from deep, shooting 36.1% from deep, which ranks them 15th in the NBA. However, where the Blazers have been able to make up that difference is in their offensive rebounding. Portland scored 15.6 points per game, ranking second in the NBA in scoring. With Victor Wembanyama sidelined for this contest, Portland’s big man rotation of Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III should give them a huge advantage on the offensive glass.
Air Alamo’s Cal Durrett talks about De’Aaron Fox’s play and how the guard has found his rhythm while helping San Antonio deal with his injuries.
However, the big silver lining of Wembanyama missing a few weeks is that it gives Fox a chance to be the focal point of the offense. He clearly wants to balance being a scorer while also being a distributor who doesn’t disrupt the flow of the offense.
so far so good. She has done a great job of knowing when to create for others and when to get the bucket. This is saving the Spurs as they work to get Wembanyama, Stephen Castle and Dylan Harper healthy.
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