Portland Trail Blazers (5-6) vs. Phoenix Suns (6-3)

The Portland Trail Blazers move on to face the Phoenix Suns on a road back-to-back following a tight loss to the Los Angeles Clippers 117-109. Unlike previous matchups against the Clippers, this one was much closer on both sides. Damian Lillard had 27 points, while Norman Powell scored 23 points, and Jusuf Nurkic contributed 15 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists.

The Phoenix Suns take on the Blazers after a win against the Sacramento Kings 109-104. The Suns struggled at times against the Kings, especially with the second unit, and ultimately, the game came down to an overturned call. Cameron Payne led the Suns with 24 points, while Devin Booker contributed 18 points. Last time these two teams met, the Blazers blew out the Suns 134-105, but the Suns have won five in a row.

Wednesday, November 10 - 6:00 p.m. PT
How to watch on TV: ROOT Sports, NBA League Pass
Blazers injuries:
Suns injuries: Deandre Ayton (out), Dario Saric (out), Landry Shamet (doubtful)
SBN Affiliate: Bright Side of the Sun

What To Watch For

Road struggles. The Blazers have yet to win a game on the road. There was hope at moments that they might be able to snag their first against the Clippers, but that obviously didn’t happen. If the Blazers can’t win reliably on the road, that does not bode well for their postseason hopes at the end of the season.

Consistency. This season has felt like it has had a lot of high highs and low lows for the Trail Blazers. Against the Clippers, Damian Lillard, Norman Powell, and Jusuf Nurkic seemed to be clicking, but it takes those three, Robert Covington, and CJ McCollum all working together to get the win.

The Fuzz. There’s a lot going on off the court for both teams in this matchup. Hopefully both teams can make it clear that it isn’t impacting their on-court performances.

What Others Are Saying

Dave King over at Bright Side of the Sun says the Suns need to bring the battle to the 3-point line.

The Suns can make life a lot easier for themselves if they can balance out the three-point battle against the three-happy Blazers.

And they can feel good if it gets down to clutch time. The Suns are 4-1 in the clutch this season (34-13 scoring margin) after being one of the best last year with a 25-12 record, while the Blazers are 1-4, getting outscored 29-22 in such minutes.