The Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers will face off in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night. Los Angeles has a chance to end the series with a win and advance to the second round. They have all the momentum after winning three straight.
Blazers Struggle After Opening Win
Portland came out and beat the top-seeded Lakers in the first game of this series. A No. 8 seed beating a No. 1 with LeBron James on the team was a big headline.
Basketball fans wondered if the Blazers could give the Lakers a scare in this series, but after Game 1, it has been all Los Angeles. Game 4 was a convincing 135-115 win for the Lakers, dominating every second after the tipoff.
Now, the Blazers will be without their star in Damian Lillard. The only hope that Portland had was him performing at a high level.
After already suffering a dislocated finger, Lillard got the news he had a sprained knee and will miss Game 5.
“It’s a tough position against a good team,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said. “We’ll regroup. It’s one game at a time. You can break out all the cliches, but we know what you’re up against when you’re down 1-3 to a good team. So, we’ve got to battle.”
Lakers Ready to Move On
It’s almost time for the next test for the Lakers. Without Lillard at full strength, Portland has no chance to hang around in this series.
James knows they need to pull off this close-out game on Wednesday.
“The team that you’re playing is desperate, and they’re going to give you everything they’ve got because they know they can be sent home,” James said. “So I have to come in with that same desperate mindset. That’s always been my psyche going into a close-out game. Hopefully, we can do just that on Wednesday.”
They could use a win just to get Anthony Davis a little rest. He has been playing terrific and is a big reason they have pulled away in this series.
However, he missed some of the second half in Game 4 due to back tightness. The more time they get to rest before Game 1 of the second round, the better.
All of the chatter of this being a competitive series has come to an end. Portland will do anything it can on Wednesday to not be blown out.
Prediction
Because of the way the Lakers have been playing, plus Lillard being out for the game, the spread is fairly high. The Lakers are 13-point favorites.
I think the Lakers are up by more than that for most of the game. The only concern would be a late push by the Blazers once the Lakers pull all of their starters.
However, my money is still on the Lakers covering the spread. They did that last game, and that was with Lillard on the floor.
The Lakers move on after this game and look forward to the next matchup.