Portland Trail Blazers Hope to Earn First Win of Season

Portland had their chances at home but was unable to pick up the win against Orlando Friday night in their previous contest. The Trail Blazers dropped to 0-2 on the season and hope that they can earn a road victory in this contest. Against Orlando, Portland trailed by five after the opening quarter and by eight at the half before closing the gap to two after three quarters. The Trail Blazers got within one at 83-82 with 10:28 remaining before giving up a 14-2 run to trail 97-84 with 5:35 to go. Portland got no closer than five after that en route to the loss. The Trail Blazers shot 39.8% from the field, including nine of 32 from three-point range, and turned the ball over 16 times in the loss. Shaedon Sharpe led Portland with 24 points in the game.

On the year, the Trail Blazers are tied for 23rd in the league in scoring offense with 104 points per game. Portland is 20th in the league in rebounding with 43.5 boards a contest and 30th in assists as they hand out 17.5 assists per game this season. The Trail Blazers are 16th in scoring defense by allowing 112.5 points per night. Malcolm Brogdon leads the team in scoring in the early going this season as he puts up 19 points plus 4.5 rebounds per game. Shaedon Sharpe (19 points, 5.5 rebounds), Anferee Simons (18 points) and Jerami Grant (14 points) each are averaging in double figures this season. Deandre Ayton, Scoot Henderson, Robert Williams III, Jabari Walker, Toumani Camara, Matisse Thybulle, Skyler Mays and Kris Murray have been a part of the Trail Blazers’ rotation this season. Portland is 23rd in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 43.6% from the field as a team this season. The Trail Blazers are 24th in the league in threes per game as they hit 9.5 triples per game and are 23rd in three-point percentage as they hit 29.7% from beyond the arc.

Simons (thumb) suffered a torn UCL in the season opener against the Clippers on October 25 and underwent surgery. He is expected to be out of action until mid-December. Ish Wainwright (calf) missed the first two games of the season and is considered questionable for this contest.

76ers Close Back-to-Back at Home, Will Harden Return?

Philadelphia was in action Saturday night on the road against Toronto in the front half of a back-to-back set that comes to a close here. The 76ers went into Saturday 0-1 on the season so they looked to even their record with a victory north of the border. Last season, Philadelphia was 9-4 in the second game of back-to-back situations with a +3.9-ppg scoring differential (114.4 ppg for, 110.5 ppg against) in those contests. The 76ers played solid basketball at the Wells Fargo Center, going 29-12 at home with a +4.7-ppg scoring margin (114.2 ppg for, 109.5 ppg against) in those contests. Against Western Conference foes, Philadelphia was 20-10 with a +3.2-ppg scoring margin (116.6 ppg for, 113.4 ppg against) in 2022-23.

Against Milwaukee in their season opener, Philadelphia battled but ended up falling just short on the road. The 76ers trailed by seven after the opening quarter and by as many as 19 with 4:04 to play in the opening half. Philadelphia sliced the margin to nine at the half and climbed with three after three quarters. The 76ers took a 104-102 lead with 4:16 to play before giving up an 11-0 run over the next 91 seconds to find themselves down 113-104 with 2:45 remaining. Philadelphia couldn’t come all the way back from that point, narrowing the margin to one on a DeAnthony Melton three-pointer just before the buzzer. The 76ers shot 51.2% from the floor, including 16 of 35 from three-point range, but allowed Milwaukee to shoot 50.6% in the contest. Tyrese Maxey poured in 31 points and eight assists to lead Philadelphia in the loss. Kelly Oubre Jr. had 27 points off the bench while Joel Embiid (24 points, seven rebounds, six assists), Tobias Harris (20 points, seven boards) and De’Anthony Melton (10 points) each were in double figures in the loss.

The big question for Philadelphia surrounds James Harden. He was away from the team for 10 days before reporting right before the season opener. Rather than travel with the team, the 76ers told him to stay back in Philadelphia so he didn’t play Thursday or Saturday. It’s unclear if he’ll take the floor here or not so watch for any updates on his status.