In the final days of the regular season, many teams have been resting their stars to give them a few days off before the playoffs officially kick off. One team that checked out last month will be on the road on Saturday when the Portland Trail Blazers pay a visit to take on the Los Angeles Clippers.
Portland slowly but surely shut down most of its roster, beginning with Jerami Grant and leading all the way up to the superstar Damian Lillard. It is a shame that the franchise has been unable to make the playoffs the last two seasons, but there could now be some drastic changes on the horizon in Portland.
The Clippers will do everything they can to maintain their seeding and potentially keep themselves in the running for the 4-5 matchup against Phoenix. Ahead of tip-off for this game, the Clippers are favored on their court at a whopping -17 over the visiting Trail Blazers.
Who is left on the floor in Portland?
No one would blame anybody if they did not recognize who was trotting out on the court for the Portland Trail Blazers these days. Much of their roster are players called up from the G-League or other rookies they have drafted or signed after the draft.
The standout, and really the main thing to be excited about in Portland, is rookie Shaedon Sharpe. He possesses a natural scoring ability that will allow him to serve many years in the NBA, and he’s shown a couple of career highs in recent weeks with this freedom.
Going into their matchup against the Clippers, they certainly have a chance where they could win, but it just does not seem like that is anything they are interested in right now as a franchise.
Gathering up all of their players to be healthy for the postseason
When Paul George went down a few weeks ago, the Clippers looked to be in dire straits, but really they have managed themselves well. As the originator of load management, Kawhi Leonard has certainly done what he needed to this season to be ready for the postseason.
Likely not returning for the playoff opener, Paul George will ramp up his rehab soon and maybe still try to make it back on the court by the end of the first round.
Hosting the Blazers is good news because they can put this game out of reach fast and let their reserves hold the lead.
Blazers @ Clippers Betting Prediction
Nobody would have guessed that the Portland Trail Blazers would be in this situation at the beginning of the season, but here we are for the second year in a row. Their roster is lacking talent at the moment, and going into Los Angeles against a savvy veteran team will be difficult, to say the least.
The Clippers need to keep themselves alive in this race, so take them to come out and put this game away early on their home floor at -17.
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