Blazers vs. Suns Preview

The Portland Trail Blazers will be taking their road talents to the Valley as they take on the Phoenix Suns at 6p.m. tonight. The Blazers are unbeaten on the road to start the year, tallying four wins and zero losses. The last meeting between these two squads began with, sustained, and ended in humiliation for the Suns. A 43-12 first quarter led the Blazers to one of their most dominating season-opening wins in franchise history. With shame still staining their far-too-purple jerseys, will the Suns use this game as an opportunity for revenge?

Portland Trail Blazers (5-1) at Phoenix Suns (1-4) – Thursday, November 4th, 6:00pm Pacific

How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else

How to listen: Rip City Radio 620AM

Trail Blazers Injuries: Ja Morant, Shaedon Sharpe, Jayson Kent, John Tonje (Out).

Suns Injuries: Jordan Goodwin (Questionable). Mark Williams (Out).

The Phoenix Suns (1-4) did not respond well to their opening-night defeat against the Portland Trail Blazers, and have since gone 1-3, falling to the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite their record, the Suns are chalked full of talented on-ball creators. Superstar Devin Booker, Jalen Green, Dillion Brooks, and even Miles Bridges all possess the self-creation ability to make scheming against the Suns difficult.

Even without a true point guard to set up the offense, the Suns sit at 11th in the league in offensive rating. Unfortunately for fans of the Suns who enjoy their team winning basketball games, the Suns also sit dead last in the league in defensive rating. Now, advanced stats in the early season suffer from a small-sample bias. Within two weeks, the Suns could stumble upon a new defensive scheme or miracle peptide that makes Booker and Green stellar perimeter ball-stoppers. Until then, though, viewers can expect an offensively-loaded night from the Blazers.

Each Blazers victory has revealed something new about the character of the team. Against the Los Angeles Lakers Lakers, they demonstrated remarkable shot-making abilities down the stretch. Opposite the Denver Nuggets, the Blazers flaunted their staggering depth and veteran-laden bench rotation. Against the Suns, they assisted in showing the world that Phoenix isn’t that great at basketball.

This contest against Phoenix represents a brand new challenge: Basketball is a game partially governed by storylines and emotions. One would expect the Suns to approach this game with the fervor becoming of a team that got their butt handed to them by nearly 50 points in their season opener. As mentioned previously, the Suns may not be the most organized team, but they are full of talent. Booker has been known to will his team to victories in the past. So, if the Blazers do not approach this game with a similar sense of urgency, their perfect road record could be in jeopardy.

Unfortunately for the Suns, though, storylines and emotions are generally dominated by statistics and trends — a category in which Portland wins handily. The league’s worst defense will have a hard time stopping the Blazers’ myriad of offensive weapons. Though I do not expect a 43-12 first quarter, as was seen in the Blazers’ first matchup against Phoenix, I do expect the Blazers to be favored in the contest.