The Portland Trail Blazers have not looked like Western Conference threats in recent weeks. Thanks to a shooting slump from Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers are just 3-7 in their last 10 games. The star point guard cannot seem to find his shot which is holding the team back, but getting a healthy Robin Lopez back on the court should push the defense to better things. The team will need it as they prepare to face the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Getting back Lopez will really help Portland's defense. The center has been out since injuring his left hand. Pairing that with the injury to LaMarcus Aldridge has not help get Portland jumpstarted heading into the All-Star break. Lopez is needed after missing 23 games. Portland was thriving at the start of the year with a plus-2.5 rebound margin, but with Lopez out they were putting up a minus-2.3 margin. Things got even worse during a 2-8 stretch where the team was minus-5.5. However, Lopez returned in a big way putting up 11 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of play to help the get win over Utah recently.
Once Lillard can bounce back, the Trail Blazers should be excelling. Lillard put up 25 points in the home win over the Jazz, but he missed six of his 3-point shots while being 16 of 80 from beyond that arc over his last 10 games. That has hurt Portland who is averaging just 97.7 points per game over their last 11 after putting up 106.8 points per game in the previous games.
The Phoenix Suns must be aware of Lopez as they rank near the bottom with a minus-2.3 rebounding margin. After the Memphis Grizzlies, they were outrebounded 46-38. The last time they faced Portland, they were able to outrebound the team 50-44, but that was without Aldridge or Lopez on the court. Phoenix is currently looking to avoid one of their worst road losing treaks while holding on to eighth place in the Western Conference.
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