Grizzlies at Trail Blazers
The Memphis Grizzlies finally resume play following the All-Star break and hope to have standout center Marc Gasol suited up when they visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Gasol missed back-to-back practices due to an illness and the club termed him as questionable while hoping to upgrade that in the hours leading to tip-off. Memphis has won the first two meetings between the Western Conference powers, including a 112-99 win in Portland on Nov. 28.
The Trail Blazers gave a horrid performance in their first outing after the break as they registered a season low for points while falling 92-76 to the Utah Jazz. Coach Terry Stotts said the club’s shooting issues were partly due to Utah’s defensive efforts. “You have to give Utah credit with their defense, they were very energetic,” Stotts told reporters. “They were scrambling, they were closing out hard on our shooters. Part of it was us, we didn’t make some shots.”
TV: 9 p.m. ET, SportSouth (Memphis) CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (39-14): Point guard Mike Conley tweaked an ankle in the final game prior to the All-Star break and isn’t expected to miss any time. He struggled in his last two games by averaging five points on 3-of-15 shooting and he had just four total assists. Conley narrowly missed a triple-double when he had 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in the November win over the Trail Blazers but missed the second meeting due to an ankle injury.
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (36-18): Portland shook up its bench at the trading deadline and seemed to come out ahead with guard Arron Afflalo and small forward Alonzo Gee joining the club from the Denver Nuggets for guard Will Barton and forwards Victor Claver and Thomas Robinson. Afflalo is a proven scorer – he and Gee are expected to play Sunday – and will be able to pump some life into the reserves, who were outscored 41-14 in the loss to the Jazz. “I think there’s just kind of a freshness to it,” Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts told reporters. “It’s usually after the All-Star break, so I think in general, adding two players that we added who we know are going to help us in the long run I think that’s exciting for everybody.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Memphis has won seven of the last eight meetings.
2. Portland star PF LaMarcus Aldridge is 11-of-36 from the field over the last two regular-season games.
3. Grizzlies PF Zach Randolph has four double-doubles over his last five games against the Trail Blazers.