开拓者队面对防御性的步行者，尽量避免连续七次损失

I've got to tell you, it's真的tempting to begin this preview with, "If you can't beat Cleveland and Washington at home, who can you beat?" and leave it at that. But you know, the Blazers are masters of the unexpected. From time immemorial they've looked awful for two weeks then brilliant for three, only to nosedive again. They're in free fall now, so why not come out of it with a rousing victory against the Pacers?

The game tonight starts at 7:00 p.m. Pacific and will be televised on CSNNW. And Portland viewers will get the chance to look at the guy their front office made a run at this summer, center Roy Hibbert. Early returns on Hibbert's brand-new, Blazer-inspired, $13.7 million contract have inspired a serious case of buyer's remorse. He's averaging under 10 points per game, shooting an unfathomable 41.5% from the field. This guy shot 50% last season, now all of a sudden the rim's the size of a doughnut hole for him. His free throw attempts and percentage are down and naturally PER and his advanced shooting percentages have tanked. He's doing two things well: blocking shots and grabbing offensive rebounds. Those aren't enough to make up for his deficiencies. Last year he was all-world, this year it's, "What in the world?!?"

更糟糕的是，步行者仍然缺乏为Impresario Danny Granger得分的服务。这位29岁的小前锋整个赛季都因膝盖受伤而失败。看到他回来时会发生什么，这会很有趣，因为步行者一直在挤满22岁的保罗·乔治（Paul George）的出色表现，后者也扮演格兰杰（Granger）的位置。这位退伍军人的1400万美元到期合同可能会在夏季悬挂，如果他恢复足够的本赛季恢复成立，则可以在夏季悬挂。但是今晚都没有发生。

乔治当然会今天晚上玩。他在进攻端一直处于盛宴状态，投篮命中率为50％，得分30％，得分为15。步行者几乎赢得了他得分大的每场比赛，因此应该投资开拓者队将他今晚保留。

David West is another concern at power forward. He's not at his New Orleans levels of production but he's had classic battles with LaMarcus Aldridge over the years. Hibbert's presence on one side and George on the other means the Blazers will have trouble switching around defenders. They don't have any big guys to spare. They'll have to choose between Aldridge on West and J.J. Hickson matched up against the much-bigger Hibbert or Hickson on West and Aldridge against the much bulkier Hibbert.

乔治·希尔（George Hill）是一名可服务的控球后卫，他的职业生涯中最好的数字。他属于高级巡回演唱会类别，但他是一个体面的后卫，并且不会在任一端为步行者输掉比赛。

Beyond those four main players, Indiana goes with a lot of toughness and energy. Lance Stephenson is a jack of all trades at shooting guard, including the defensive trade. Tyler Hansbrough and Ian Mahinmi provide size, D.J. Augustin and Gerald Green provide experience and horrible shooting. But they don't get rattled and collectively this team defends well enough that their average-level offense provides plenty of wins. They're 26-16 at this point, having won 7 of their last 9. Most of those victories came at home but a team that's taken down the Grizzlies, Knicks, and Heat in the last couple weeks won't be intimidated by the Blazers, Rose Garden or no.

步行者的分数不多,他们不得分fficiently. Their shooting percentages are lousy, their pace plodding. They're grinders in every sense of the word. They rely on dominating the glass to control the game. Defensively they allow neither points in the paint nor fast breaks. They get back, swat everything that comes in the lane, force you to shoot over the top, then rebound your miss. They're 1st in the league at field goal percentage allowed, 4th in three point percentage allowed, allow the 4th fewest opponent free throws per game, and are second only to the Bucks in blocked shot percentage.

From Portland's perspective you can look at this impressive defense in two ways. Nobody scores on the Pacers, let alone a team as streaky as the Blazers. Indiana would seem to have every road to point production blocked. On the other hand, the Blazers score no fast break or paint points anyway. They never shoot close enough to get shots blocked unless they're pounding the offensive glass. The shots Indiana will allow--jumpers--are the exact shots the Blazers rely upon. If the Blazers can get hot from the perimeter Indiana's defense won't look nearly as good.

西装外套今晚的关键问题将是反弹和身体上的。它们在前线上的大小。如果步行者统治玻璃，波特兰几乎肯定会损失。但是，由于步行者带来了永无止境的篮板大型，因此很难看到开拓者会在哪里突破。希伯特对希克森或阿尔德里奇看上去很危险。西装外套的人没有人会有所作为。如果波特兰没有从较小的职位上获得严重的篮板帮助，他们可能会遇到麻烦。

开拓者还需要射击部门的几个英雄。幸运的是，他们那里有很多候选人：Nicolas Batum，Wesley Mattews，Damian Lillard，Will Barton，甚至像Luke Babbitt这样的人都可以在这场比赛中产生很大的影响。请记住，在大多数夜晚，92分都会击败步行者。丢下12-13个指针，您可能会到达那里。击球也消除了令人讨厌的篮板问题。依靠某人获得超级热门并不是制定游戏计划的规定方法，但是在这一点上，这可能是开拓者的最佳镜头。

In the meantime, go ahead and discuss this matchup. I'm particularly interested to hear your reflections on Hibbert's season so far. Do you still wish the Blazers had him at that price or do you think Portland dodged a 7'2", 280 lb, slow-moving bullet this summer? Weigh in below.

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- 戴夫（blazersub@gmail.com）