THE Portland Trail Blazers will play the second straight game Saturday night against the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Facing the Nuggets after being steamrolled twice by the LA Clippers is an unenviable situation for any team, let alone one that has no idea what its roster will look like.
Deandre Ayton and Jerami Grant missed Friday night’s loss to the Clippers and Anfernee Simons left the game in the third quarter with a knee injury.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said after the game that he didn’t believe Simons’ injury was serious, but he really didn’t know at the time. Serious or not, don’t expect Simons to play Saturday night.
Scoot Henderson and Kris Murray carried the night for the Blazers, but they trailed by 26 in the fourth quarter before rallying mostly from substitutes to lose 125-117.
In other words, it wasn’t really a game.
Denver’s two best players, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, are questionable. However, expect them to play. The Nuggets can’t afford to risk losing to inferior teams while they’re in a tight race for the top seed in the Western Conference.
Denver (49-21) enters Saturday in second place, a half-game behind Oklahoma City (49-20) and a full game ahead of Minnesota (48-22).
Prediction: Denver could sit Jokic and Murray and still win. The Blazers launched four rookies alongside Simons on Friday night. If Ayton or Grant don’t return, the starting lineup could consist of four rookies and Dalano Banton.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS VS. DENVER NUGGETS
What: Trail Blazers (19-51) vs. Nuggets (49-21), 7 p.m., Saturday.
Or: Fashion Center
Radio: Rip City Radio (KPOJ 620 AM).
TV channel: Root Sports (in Portland: Comcast 734; DirecTV: 687) and Root Sports PLUS (in Portland: Comcast 1253; DirecTV: 688).
Watch the match live online: You can watch this match live for FREE with Fubo (free try). You can also download this game DirecTV Stream “CHOICE” plan (promotional offers), if you no longer have fuboTV trials, or if you simply prefer this platform and its pricing plans. If you already have a cable or satellite provider that offers Root Sports and want to watch online, you can watch this match live on Root Sports Live.
ODDS (Oregon Lottery/DraftKings)
Money line: POR +575 | DEN-850
Spread: ORP +12.5 | More less : 212
INJURIES
Blazers: Unavailable. However, Anfernée Simons (left knee, tendonitis) left Friday night’s game with a knee injury. Deandre Ayton (elbow, tendonitis), Matisse Thybulle (right ankle, pain), Justin Minaya (two-way G League), Jerami Scholarship (right hamstring, strain), Malcolm Brogdon (right elbow, tendonitis), Shaedon Sharpe (lower abdomen, surgery) and Robert Williams III (season-ending right knee surgery) were all absent.
Nuggets: Nikola Jovic (lower back pain and hip inflammation) and Jamal Murray (left ankle sprain) are questionable. Vlatko Cancar (left knee surgery), Zeké Nnaji (right adductor) and Jalen Pickett (personal reasons) are excluded.
FOLLOWING
The Blazers begin a seven-game road trip Monday at 5 p.m. against the Houston Rockets
–Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)
MORE BLAZER COVERAGE
