San Antonio Spurs vs Portland Trail Blazers

(17-7)                             (18-6)

Start Time: 10:00 PM EST

TV Channel: Local/League Pass

Preview: In just their first matchup since the Blazers were defeated by the Spurs in the 2^nd Round of last year’s playoffs, Portland will look to prove that they have the upper-hand now a quarter of the way into the new season. With Pop choosing to rest all of the “Big Three” (Duncan, Ginobili, Parker), the Trail Blazers will look to pound the ball down low to All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, who will try to take advantage of Duncan not being present. A win tonight would inch Portland closer to the top-seeded Golden State Warriors who are currently 3.5 games above the Blazers and 4.5 games ahead of San Antonio. The Spurs do have Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, though, and will hope to have him control the tempo of the game and pull out a stunning win.

Prediction: The absence of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker will be too much for the Spurs to overcome and will lose this game in a disappointing fashion. Aldridge will have a huge night of scoring as the Portland Trail Blazers will earn a huge win in front of their own crowd in a rematch from last years playoffs.

Points Per Game Leaders:

POR – LaMarcus Aldridge (22.2 PPG) SAS – Tony Parker (16.0 PPG)

Rebounds Per Game Leaders:

POR – LaMarcus Aldridge (10.0 RPG) SAS – Tim Duncan (10.8 RPG)

Assists Per Game Leaders:

POR – Damian Lillard (6.1 APG) SAS – Tony Parker (5.3 APG)