The Blazers will play the Lakers for the first time in the 2009/2010 season. It's at the Rose Garden, where L.A. hasn't won in eight tries, spanning back to 2005.
Lakers fans like to say that this game means more to Portland than it does to Los Angeles. But I beg to differ. In a long, arduous season for NBA teams, you have to get up for certain games.
I'm pretty sure an eight-game losing streak in the Rose Garden, a rivalry that always gets heated, and prolonged supremacy in the West is plenty of motivation for the Lakers.
Without a big chunk of the team, the Blazers really have their work cut out. This Lakers team is no joke; even without Gasol they are easily the best team in the West and probably in the entire NBA.
Portland will have to be running on all cylinders and never have any lulls. I want to believe we can win this game, but it might be a mountain that is just too high.
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Blazers Analysis Lakers PG
There were reports yesterday that Andre Miller and coach Nate got into an argument during practice. Two grown men going at it and getting things off their chest. I like it. I think Miller will get plenty of PT and play with serious aggression tonight. He is better than Derek Fisher by a long shot.
Fisher is basically to Kobe what Steve Blake is to Brandon Roy. He just plays the complementary role and every so often he hits a big shot. He really is perfect for this team. But the Blazers get the nod.
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This is a tough one. Brandon Roy has been amazing. He's done everything you ask for in a superstar. The only people we can legitimately put above him are LeBron, Wade, and Kobe.
So we've got Kobe tonight who has quietly had a br...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
