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Game time and location: Friday, Mar. 13, 10 p.m. EST – Moda Center, Portland, Ore.
Projected starting lineups:
Detroit Pistons: Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tayshaun Prince, Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond
Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard, Arron Afflalo, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez
The Pistons visit the Trail Blazers on Friday night in a non-conference matchup between two teams going in different directions. Detroit is six games out of the playoffs and fighting for their lives, while Portland is sitting in third place in the Western Conference and inching closer to the second-place Memphis Grizzlies. The Trail Blazers beat the Pistons 98-86 in the first game and will look to sweep the season series.
Detroit has lost eight straight games, and the acquisition of Jackson hasn’t worked out too well. The Pistons seem to be making a future movement, and they have a lot of nice young players for that. Jackson, Caldwell-Pope, Monroe and Drummond form a solid core to start, especially if they can add Brandon Jennings back into the mix. As for the Pistons this season, it appears their playoff hopes are just about kaput.
The Trail Blazers have won six of their last seven, coming off a big win at home against the Houston Rockets Wednesday night. It was their first game with shooting-guard Wesley Matthews, who like Jennings, ruptured his Achilles tendon. Portland is trying to deal with life after Matthews, so newly acquired Afflalo along with players like Batum and Chris Kaman will need to step up. The Trail Blazers are on track for the playoffs and possibly home-court advantage, so they will definitely want to get a win against over a Pistons team they feel they should beat.
The key for both teams in this matchup is the rebound battle. Both the Pistons and Trail Blazers excel in rebounding the ball, with Detroit ranking fourth and Portland sitting second in the league. This game features three players who average more than 10 rebounds per game — Aldridge, Monroe and Drummond — so whoever wins the glass will likely win the game.
I believe Portland will beat Detroit in a game that will be closer than people think. Detroit always seems to hang close with teams, so I think it will stay that way Friday night. The Trail Blazers just have too many offensive options and the Pistons will struggle to contain that on the road.
Prediction: Portland 101, Detroit 93
Brian Brennan is a Portland Trail Blazers writer for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @b2brennan.
