Portland Trail Blazers at an inflection point as the Nets arrive Monday at Moda Center
The portland trail blazers return to Moda Center on Monday for an NBA matchup against the Brooklyn Nets, opening a four-game homestand with play-in positioning still in view and roster availability in focus.
What happens when the Portland Trail Blazers open a four-game homestand?
Monday’s game begins a stretch that also includes matchups at Moda Center against the Milwaukee Bucks, Dallas Mavericks, and Washington Wizards. The portland trail blazers enter the night at 35-37 and are coming off a five-game trip that ended 3-2, followed by a 128-112 loss at the Denver Nuggets.
The Denver result carried an additional note: it marked Portland’s 17th consecutive regular-season loss in the Mile High City. Now, the schedule turns favorable at home. Portland is 18-16 at Moda Center this season, and the team has 10 regular-season games remaining. Of those 10, eight are against teams with losing records, and seven will be played at Moda Center.
Brooklyn arrives at 17-54. The Nets have lost seven in a row and 17 of their last 19 overall. Monday is the second game of a four-game West Coast trip for Brooklyn after a 126-122 defeat at Sacramento on Sunday. In that loss, Ben Saraf had 22 points and five assists off the bench, and Ziaire Williams scored 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting.
What happens when this is the second meeting in eight days?
This will be the second meeting between Portland and Brooklyn in eight days. Portland won 114-95 in Brooklyn last Monday, and Monday’s rematch comes with both teams still listing multiple players who did not appear in their most recent games.
On Portland’s side, the team has not released an injury report, but Jerami Grant (left foot soreness), Vit Krejci (left calf bruise), Shaedon Sharpe (left calf strain/fibula injury), and Damian Lillard (left Achilles tendon) did not play at Denver. Robert Williams III (left knee management) has not played in back-to-backs this season, and he will not play Monday against the Nets.
On Brooklyn’s side, the Nets have not released an injury report, but Noah Clowney (rest), Egor Demin (left foot), Terance Mann (left Achilles soreness), Nic Claxton (rest), Michael Porter, Jr. (right ankle sprain), and Day’Ron Sharpe (left thumb) did not play at Sacramento.
What if availability and matchups shift the rotation Monday night?
With Robert Williams III out for the second half of Portland’s back-to-back set, Yang Hansen was summoned from the G League’s Rip City Remix earlier Monday and could enter the rotation behind Donovan Clingan versus Brooklyn. Sidy Cissoko is also a candidate to see increased playing time.
Clingan’s recent production has been a key on-court storyline. Over the last three games, the center is averaging 22. 3 points, 12. 7 rebounds, 2. 3 assists, and 1. 7 blocks, while shooting 54% from the field and 47% from three-point range.
For viewers, the game will be shown on KUNP (Antenna: 47. 1; Xfinity: 16, 302, 1170; DirecTV: 47; Spectrum: 184). In addition, 76 of the team’s 82 games this season can be streamed live or on-demand BlazerVision for an annual fee of $120.
After Monday’s matchup, Portland’s next listed home game is Wednesday at 7 p. m. ET against the Milwaukee Bucks at Moda Center.
