The Portland Trail Blazers are all set for the second year of the Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum Era, kicking off their 2016-17 campaign against the up-and-coming Utah Jazz on Tuesday 10:00 p.m US EST at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Game Preview:
NBA's opening night will feature the battle of two promising teams: the Blazers and Jazz.
The Blazers surprised everybody last season after they went all the way to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs despite losing franchise player LaMarcus Aldridge in the summer of 2015.
McCollum's emergence as a bonifide star helped the Blazers cope up with the departure of Aldridge, giving the team one of the league's most potent one-two punch in their backcourt alongside perennial MVP contender Damian Lillard.
This season, Portland is more than prepared for the tough grind, as they heavily bolstered their frontline with the acquisition of shotblocker Festus Ezeli. They have also signed Evan Turner and re-signed Alan Crabbe to give them depth at the three spot.
The Jazz, on the other hand, brought in some stability on their backcourt after trading for veteran point guard George Hill. He will be paired with Dante Exum, who is coming back from an ACL injury. They have also added Boris Diaw and Joe Johnson to keep them a well balanced roster.
The Blazers won seven of their last 10 head-to-head matches with the Jazz, including three of their four regular-season games last season.
Players to Watch
Jazz Starting Lineup: George Hill, Dante Exum, Joe Johnson, Boris Diaw and Rudy Gobert
Utah is going to be really big this season with Diaw coming in. Derrick Favors is expected to assume that role once he returns from injury, while second-year big Trey Lyles is projected to have breakout year. Fantasy-wise, Joe Johnson seems to be a value pick since he's going to get significant minutes as a starter. Expect the veteran to put up 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal per game.
Injury Update: Gordon Hayward (left ring finger) will not play opener and set to return mid-to-late November.
Blazers Starting Lineup: Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Maurice Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu and Mason Plumlee
The Blazers have depth in their backcourt and frontline. Lillard and McCollum are going to produce the stats every fantasy players desire of with their explosive offense. However, for a value pick, Noah Vonleh seems to be an intriguing bet because of his ability to crash boards and protect the rim in limited minutes.
Prediction:
The Jazz' chance of winning against the Blazers will depend on their ability to keep the tempo slow, allowing their bigs to assert their advantage down low. Portland, meanwhile, will try to push the ball. Predicted Score: Blazers 112, Jazz 98.
Live Stream of Jazz vs. Blazers game is available on NBA League Pass, and NBA Live / Stay tune for highlights after the game.