Game 75 Mini-Preview

Game 75 vs L*kers

There are only a couple of things to report about this game that you might or might not know already:

1.  Pau Gasol has been out for 9 games or so but is expected to return tonight.
2.  The L*kers are locked in a tight, percentage-point battle with Phoenix for the division lead and are less than 2 games behind New Orleans and San Antonio for the best record in the conference.
3.  The L*kers are scoring over 110 with regularity nowadays.
4.  The game is in L.A.
5.  Still no Brandon Roy.
6.  We're dead.

However after Saturday's debacle I expect a hard-fought game and you can never, EVER count out the Blazers completely when facing the purple and gold.  That's part of the reason a simple preview is justified.  The wins we get are seldom predictable in logical terms, which makes them even sweeter.

If we're going to pull it out it's going to take heart, hustle, ruthless shooting, and quadruple-teaming Kobe Bryant if Gasol doesn't play (or doesn't play much).  Lamarcus has to step up to the plate too, and not just for one or two swings.

As EngineerScotty has kindly pointed out in his diary to the night, with Denver's win last night the magic (or in this case tragic) number for us is 1.  If we lose this game we are officially out of the playoffs.  I don't know how much, if any, motivation that will provide, but not going down at the hands of the L*kers would be a good thing.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)