When the Blazers take the court on Sunday there will be no lack of motivation or storylines. Portland comes into the game riding a twelve game winning streak. The 76er's, who the Blazers will be facing, are on a three game win streak of their own. Philly last played on Thursday and defeated the Sacramento Kings 92-80. Philly was lead by 19 points and 11 rebounds from Samuel Dalembert. If you remember the last matchup between Philly in Portland, Dalembert didn't play much because of foul trouble and that forced Philly to a very small lineup which sparked that huge 25 point come from behind victory. It will be interesting to see how Mo Cheeks game plans for the Blazers given the last game, will he stay with his current rotation that has won three strait or will he try to go small and expose the Blazers like the last game.
Speaking of rotation one person we know that Cheeks won't have on his bench will be Kyle Korver. Korver was traded on Saturday to Utah for Gordon Girieck and a protected first round pick.
I would look for Portland to use the zone defense more against Philly since they will be without Korver. Miller, the point guard, is not a good outside shooter and Iguodala likes to be agressive and tries to get into the paint. On the offensive end I would expect that Lamarcus will be a big part of the game plan to try and force Philly to go with a bigger lineup. If Philly tries to press early look for Brandon to take over and control the tempo.
Keys to the game
Transition defense
Rebounding
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