New Orleans is the last of the unbeaten teams in the NBA with a 7-0 record and it will once again be put on the line tonight against the Portland Trailblazers. New Orleans has been playing suffocating defense, giving up a league low of 90.1 a game and is second in opponent’s field goal percentage with opponents shooting 42.5% from the floor.
The Hornets are of course led by point guard Chris Paul who has yet to hit full stride this season. Through 7 games he is playing 4 less minutes a game than in years’ past, partly due to the acquisition of former Blazers guard Jerryd Bayless, who has been doing a more than adequate job backing up Paul. But it may be newly acquired Trevor Ariza that has made the difference. Rather than enter the season with two players who could start at point guard, New Orleans dealt Darren Collison in a four team trade that netted them forward Trevor Ariza. Ariza is a role player and his calling card is his defense and corner threes. His matchup tonight, Nicolas Batum is much the same type of player, and look for the possiblity of Ariza switching on to Brandon Roy, especially if the game is close at the end of the fourth quarter. Marco Belinelli will have a difficult time covering Roy and we may see Ariza on him sooner than later.
Some of the betting trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Portland’s last 10 games in New Orleans. And the total has gone UNDER in 6 of 7 of New Orleans last games. The total for tonight is 188 and Portland is averaging 99.9 ppg this year and New Orleans is averaging 98.0 for a total of 198 ppg. However, both teams are playing stingy defense and Portland is allowing 96.1 ppg while as mentioned New Orleans allows a league low 90.1 ppg. New Orleans is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Portland, as well.
Look for this game to be decided by the following matchups:
Aldridge vs David West: Both are all star forwards capable of putting up big numbers and neither are particularly known for being good defensive players. Both could have a big night.
Camby vs. Okafor: Here we get the opposite – both are shut down defenders who block shots and don’t offer a lot of offense. Look for the undersized Okafor to look for his shot and attempt to get Camby into early foul trouble.
Brandon Roy vs. Marco Belinelli / Trevor Ariza – This is really the matchup that could determine the game. Roy is the key to the Blazers’ offense and as he goes so goes the team.
This matchup should be a close one as Portland attempts to be the first team to knock off the Hornets. The Hornets have already knocked off contenders Denver, San Antonio, and Miami, and Portland should prove to be another difficult challenge. Tip off is set for 8:00 PM EST.
