By: Daniel Carp, Grizzlies.com Contributor
Portland Trail Blazers
Record: 44-23
Standings: Fourth in Western Conference, first in Northwest Division
Starting Five: PG Damian Lillard, SG Arron Afflalo, SF Nicolas Batum, PF Lamarcus Aldridge, C Robin Lopez
Head Coach: Terry Stotts (third season with team)
Last time out
The Trail Blazers were shocked by an energetic Magic team, falling to Orlando 111-104 on the road. After trailing by as many 13 and pulling back to within three at 86-83 midway through the fourth quarter, Portland surrendered a 20-8 run that sealed the victory for the Magic. Orlando point guard Elfrid Payton became the seventh rookie in NBA history to record triple-doubles in back-to-back games, tallying 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Portland has now lost three consecutive games.
Portland was led by power forward Lamarcus Aldridge's 31 points and 10 rebounds. Shooting guard Victor Oladipo and center Nikola Vucevic each tallied 22 points and eight boards for Orlando.
Last time versus Memphis
The Grizzlies and Trail Blazers have not squared off since Feb. 22, when Memphis erased a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to upend Portland 98-92 at the Moda Center. Leading by just two points in the closing minute of the game, center Marc Gasol knocked down a jumper from the free-throw line with 30 seconds left to give the Grizzlies a 94-90 advantage. Defensive pressure was one of the keys to victory for the Grizzlies, who turned 15 Portland turnovers into 19 points.
Gasol scored a game-high 21 points for Memphis in the team's first game following the All-Star Break. Nicolas Batum added 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Trail Blazers.
Key matchup
Saturday's contest will feature an intriguing matchup at the shooting guard position, where Arron Afflalo will square off against Courtney Lee. Since losing shooting guard Wes Matthews to a torn ACL, Afflalo has become a more important piece of Portland's offense and has averaged 12.7 points per game in his last seven starts. Lee, meanwhile, has struggled offensively recently. He has cracked double figures just once in his last 10 games. If either of these players can add some scoring punch, the team that gets more from their off-guard could have an advantage.
Misc. Notes
Injury notes
Center Chris Kaman left Portland's 98-92 loss Saturday with a shoulder injury. His playing status for Saturday's contest has not been determined.
Playoff push
Leading the Northwest Division by six games, Portland has a firm hold on homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The Trail Blazers sit at fourth in the West, 1.5 games behind Houston for third place. The Grizzlies are still in line for the conference's second seed, but lead the surging Rockets by just 1.5 games.
One obscure stat
The Trail Blazers lead the league in fouls committed and get whistled an average of 18.4 times per game.
Battle Ballz Media Madness
Watch tonight's Battle Ballz match as Jarvis Greer (WMC-TV) takes on John Martin (92.9 ESPN Radio).
