The Dream of the 40’s is Alive in Portland! Forty wins, that is!

As the NBA regular season draws to a close, the Portland Trail Blazers (32-36) are vying not only for a winning campaign, but an outside shot at postseason glory, just 3.5 games behind the L.A. Lakers. Former Hawks Coach Terry Stotts and his Blazers hope to get their second win of a five-game road trip tonight at The Highlight Factory, their final East Coast road venue this season. Their expedition concludes Sunday right in OKC right before a four-game trek begins for the Lakers on the road, where the latter has been wishy-washy with or without Kobe Bryant.

Helping the Lake Show start their offseason early will be a big motivator for Oakland native and Rookie of the Year shoe-in Damian Lillard. Since the All-Star Break, his shot (47.6 FG%, up from 41.8 FG% pre-All-Star) has improved tremendously, as has the point guard’s passing efficiency (7.0 APG and 2.8 TO/G post-All-Star; 6.5 APG and 3.0 TO/G before the break).

Lillard didn’t smell so sweet at the Rose Garden back on November 12. Against the Hawks, he shot just 5-for-18 and had just two assists accompanied by four turnovers. Lillard will want to illustrate his development against that of Jeff Teague, who also shot poorly in that game but managed 8 assists and 3 steals while hitting a key layup to stem a late Portland charge.

That contest was Josh Smith’s personal version of The Flu Game. Battling a stomach bug along with Lou Williams earlier in the day, Smoove strapped on the stars-and-stripes Veterans Day headband and went to battle, coming away with 19 points and 11 boards as he set the tone for his teammates early before succumbing to foul trouble. This will be a good game for him to set the tone again, and turn around an underwhelming month. Smith is shooting just 42.9 FT% and scoring 15.8 PPG, both season-lows, in the month of March, while turning the ball over 4.0 times per game. Adding to the March Sadness, since the All-Star Break, his iconic blocked shots have been virtually halved (1.1 BPG post-break; 2.1 before it).

It won’t exactly be Godzilla versus Megalon, but we’ll likely get to see a battle of double-double monsters, between 6-foot-10 Atlanta Hawks Al Horford (40 double-doubles this season; nine in his last ten games) and 6-foot-9 Atlanta native J.J. Hickson (37 double-doubles this year; none in his last three). Horford joins one fellow Florida alum (Joakim Noah) and a former Florida resident (Dwight Howard) as the only NBA double-doublers who are also averaging at least one block and one steal. A former McDonald’s All-American from Cobb County’s Wheeler High, and an unrestricted free agent this summer, he piled up 19 points and 18 rebounds against the Hawks in November.

Hickson faced off with Noah and the Chicago Bulls last night and hauled in a career-high 21 rebounds (18 defensive). His Trail Blazers built a huge lead and hung on in the fourth quarter for a 99-89 win that bolstered his current team’s playoff chances and his hometown team’s playoff positioning.

The reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, LaMarcus Aldridge (21.2 PPG, 9^th in NBA) loves to remind the Bulls what they could have had, at every opportunity. He was drafted by Chicago as the second-overall pick in 2006, and then was shipped moments later to the Blazers… basically for Tyrus Thomas (ouch). He had 28 points and eight rebounds last night as he and Hickson neutralized Chicago’s frontcourt offense. He may be a bit de-motivated, though, after conquering Chicago last night. He was flustered by Smith into 4-for-13 shooting with five turnovers and five fouls to boot, although he picked up Lillard’s slack with a season-high eight assists.

As he did against Chicago, Nicolas Batum will use his length to limit the effectiveness of perimeter shooters. He’s not shooting well (career-low 42.6 FG%, despite a career-high 14.7 PPG) on the other end of the floor, but opponents bringing help to deal with Lillard or Aldridge allow Batum (5^th in 3-point FG attempts and makes) and Matthews (6^th in 3-point FGM, 8^th in 3-point FGA) free reign from the perimeter. Matthews shot poorly on the floor on November 12 but managed ten free throws, hitting all of them to keep Portland at bay.

Portland’s lineup has been getting thin in the same way Rob Kardashian has been getting tubby. Coach Stotts went just seven deep last night in the Second City. When it comes to the Blazer bench, rookie center Meyers Leonard spells Hickson when they need extra size upfront, and trade acquisition Eric Maynor adds a defensive option to Portland’s backcourt. And that’s all, folks.

Injuries to Victor Claver (ankle), Sasha Pavlovic (quad), and Elliot Williams (Achilles) have reduced the bench choices to Luke Babbitt, Will Barton, Joel Freeland, and Nolan Smith. Coach Stotts has apparently seen enough from them all to go with, “None of the Above,” the quartet given just 90 seconds of (literally) pointless action last night.

Meanwhile, longtime veteran and fishing aficionado Jared Jeffries has plenty of time on his hands to ponder ichthyology, as he’s played in just three games (a total of just 27 minutes) since the All-Star Break.

With just one win on the second night of their last six back-to-backs, the Blazer starters need someone among the detritus to emerge, not just tonight but down the home stretch so they don’t wear out the starters. If Atlanta can play at a high pace, on Peachtree Road Race Night at Philips Arena, and especially get Batum or Hickson in foul trouble, it will force the issue for Portland to dig deep.

A win tonight will make a sixth-straight playoff appearance for the Hawks a foregone conclusion. They’re up 12 games on the Raptors and 76ers with 14 games to go.

Go Hawks!

~lw3