Charlotte Bobcats – Portland Trail Blazers preview
By Marina Todic
With six straight loses, it doesn’t get any easier for the Charlotte Bobcats (13-46) as they head to Portland to face the Trail Blazers (27-31) Monday night.
March 3, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (15) looks on during the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the Bobcats 119-83. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
On the current four game road trip that will conclude tonight, Bobcats have gone 0-3 and haven’t been very competitive, having lost the three games by an average of 29.3 points, each game being increasingly worse. Charlotte dropped the opener to the Los Angeles Clippers by 22, then 30 in Utah and went down to the Sacramento Kings by 36.
Against the Kings, after a first quarter that resulted in a tie, Kings took a 14-point lead into the half. The third quarter was an atrocity for the Bobcats, getting outscored 43-19. At one point in the fourth quarter, Bobcats were down 43 points.
The Portland Trail Blazers on the other hand have been playing good basketball after a horrible stretch where they lost seven straight. They’ve won two of their last three with home victories, only loss coming to the Denver Nuggets.
Portland took care of business Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After jumping out to a 12-point first-quarter lead, Blazers never looked back, cruising to a 109-94 victory.
Blazers had six players score in double figures; impressive considering the Blazers has the worst bench in the league, averaging just 16.8 ppg.
Eric Maynor, played 31 minutes, scoring only seven points but dished out 12 assists. Maynor was traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder during the trade deadline to help manage the minutes of Rookie of the Year candidate Damian Lillar. Rookie currently ranks fifth in the league in minutes played at 38.5.