This is a classic flat spot for Portland. The Trail Blazers are off an emotional 103-96 home victory versus the Wizards this past Saturday when LaMarcus Aldridge dramatically played after being diagnosed with a ligament tear in his left thumb and initially ruled out for six weeks.




Aldridge played well against the Wizards scoring 23 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. But Portland hasn't been playing that well with five losses in its last seven games. The Nets are going through a dry spell, too, so the Trail Blazers could easily overlook them especially with much more challenging games on tap - road matchups against Cleveland on Wednesday and Atlanta on Friday.




The Trail Blazers have failed to cover the past four times after covering a spread. While Aldridge appears fine, the Trail Blazers still are down big man Robin Lopez and swingman Nicolas Batum. Portland has a thin bench and also needs to reduce the minutes of star point guard Damian Lillard, who has logged the second-most minutes of any player in the league. This would be an opportunity for the Trail Blazers to do that leaving the back door open for Brooklyn.




The Nets are off an embarrassing 108-73 road loss to the Jazz. They should be fired up to end a six-game home losing streak in which four of those defeats came to playoff-caliber teams. It's a plus for the Nets if Deron Williams is able to play after missing the past nine games with a rib injury. Williams has been practicing.