Portland Trail Blazers v Detroit Pistons- NBA
March 24th 2019; Moda Center, Portland

Tonight we will be looking at a cross-Conference match between Portland Trail Blazers and Detroit Pistons who will face off against each other only 5 days after their most recent encounter on Match 18th at Moda Center.

Portland Trail Blazers enter this match as a 4th team in the West with an overall record of 44-27. As it stands now, Portland Trail Blazers are in a great form, winning 5 out of their last 6 matches. They failed to win against San Antonio Spurs on Match 17th (108:103), however, won against Phoenix Suns (127:120), Los Angeles Clippers (104:125), New Orleans Pelicans (110:122), Indiana Pacers (106:98) and most recently Dallas Mavericks (126:118). With a great season behind them and an incredible 5-1 run in the last 6, Portland are more or less playoff bound, however, they should not let their foot off the gas, as they need to face off against Detroit Pistons, who have drastically improved in the 2nd half of the season.

Detroit Pistons sit at the 6th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 37-34, which means they are not yet safe from falling out of the top 8. What I like about Pistons is their huge improvement since the All-Star Break. Since then Pistons hold an 11-4 record, which, bear in mind, is the best form out of all teams looking at the last 15 fixtures. They are doing something right and the results speak for themselves. Looking back at their last 5 fixtures, Pistons lost to Miami heat (108:74) and Cleveland Cavaliers (126:119) but managed to defeat LA Lakers (111:97), Toronto Raptors (110:107) and most recently Phoenix Suns (98:118). The two matches in their last 10 that stand out are the 2 consecutive defeats against Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat when Pistons failed to score more than 75 points. However that is in the past, and since then, Pistons won 3 out of 4 fixtures.

The home side will come into this fixture without McCollum who remains sidelined due to a knee injury. As for the visitors, they have not reported any new injuries or missing players for that matter.

Without CJ McCollum, Portland will step into the next match weakened. While his absence did not prove to be a problem against Dallas, we can safely say Pistons are a far better team who will be able to utilize the weak spot in Portland much better compared to Mavericks. In addition to playing without McCollum, I have my doubts about how will Portland deal with Pistons big men Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond. In conclusion, I believe Blazers will lack creativity in the offensive end without their star guard, which is why I believe Pistons will be more than capable of shutting them down. Except Damian Lillard Blazers seem to have no players capable of creating their own shots, while 3pt shots are out of the question against Detroit. While the home court advantage will work in Blazers favour, that is where their advantages for the upcoming match end, as Detroit come off as the better team in all other aspects.

Prediction: Detroit Pistons +5.00 points