Thursday Jan 19 Game 45: Philadelphia 76ers (28-16) @ Portland Trail Blazers (21-23)
Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2023 1:37 am
Dame has been hot! It's been years since I've started a game thread and this will probably be my only one of the season.
One of the very first games I ever watched us play was against the Blazers. It was 1990 I believe, and Portland was rolling at the time. They were one of the hottest teams in the league. We went into their building and beat them by a point 110-109 on a Derek Smith shot. Yeah..Derek Smith...I don't remember him beyond that. I know his son Nolan Smith played at Duke and also had a brief stint in the NBA. Either way, Portland has always given us trouble over the years. I don't know why, but I've always enjoyed it when we play them. I think it's their cool uniforms/logo that I like. Also...Portland is just a hard team to dislike.
I think this one has Damian Lillard written all over it. Don't be surprised if he hits for at least 40 points tonight. He's been loco lately and has shown no signs of slowing down. There was talk last year that he had fallen off of a cliff from an athletic standpoint. That is clearly not the case as he's having one of his best seasons ever as a pro.
Lillard isn't the only one capable of torching us tonight. Anfernee Simons has some game too and that guy can fill it up quickly. We also can't forget Jerami Grant. A haunting from him is also most likely as that always seems to be the case with former Sixers (We get Simmons next week). Another very likeable player that they have is Josh Hart. Don't be surprised to see him impact this game heavily as well. Josh Hart is the dream fit small forward that we can only dream about seeing in a Sixers uniform. Sadly, that opportunity knocked and passed quickly as do all the good ones with this franchise. Either way, that's what we have to contain. We've been on a hot streak ourselves lately. We won impressively over the Clippers the other night and while Lillard and Simons are flame throwers from deep, Portland still has no answer for Joel Embiid. Also...Tyrese Maxey...I look for him to have another big game tonight. Nobody on Portland can stop the young apprentice.
One of the very first games I ever watched us play was against the Blazers. It was 1990 I believe, and Portland was rolling at the time. They were one of the hottest teams in the league. We went into their building and beat them by a point 110-109 on a Derek Smith shot. Yeah..Derek Smith...I don't remember him beyond that. I know his son Nolan Smith played at Duke and also had a brief stint in the NBA. Either way, Portland has always given us trouble over the years. I don't know why, but I've always enjoyed it when we play them. I think it's their cool uniforms/logo that I like. Also...Portland is just a hard team to dislike.
I think this one has Damian Lillard written all over it. Don't be surprised if he hits for at least 40 points tonight. He's been loco lately and has shown no signs of slowing down. There was talk last year that he had fallen off of a cliff from an athletic standpoint. That is clearly not the case as he's having one of his best seasons ever as a pro.
Lillard isn't the only one capable of torching us tonight. Anfernee Simons has some game too and that guy can fill it up quickly. We also can't forget Jerami Grant. A haunting from him is also most likely as that always seems to be the case with former Sixers (We get Simmons next week). Another very likeable player that they have is Josh Hart. Don't be surprised to see him impact this game heavily as well. Josh Hart is the dream fit small forward that we can only dream about seeing in a Sixers uniform. Sadly, that opportunity knocked and passed quickly as do all the good ones with this franchise. Either way, that's what we have to contain. We've been on a hot streak ourselves lately. We won impressively over the Clippers the other night and while Lillard and Simons are flame throwers from deep, Portland still has no answer for Joel Embiid. Also...Tyrese Maxey...I look for him to have another big game tonight. Nobody on Portland can stop the young apprentice.