Tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET the San Antonio Spurs, the No. 1 seed in the West, will try their hand at cooling off the white-hot offense of the Portland Trail Blazers in Round 2 of the Western Conference Playoffs. Live stream the game free by clicking this link; Spurs fans can listen to the radio broadcast on 1200 WOAI, while Blazers fans may do the same on Fox Sports Radio 620.
The Blazers ripped the Rockets' defense to shreds largely behind power forward LaMarcus Aldridge and point guard Damian Lillard. Lillard hit the series-clinching 3-pointer heard 'round the NBA, but Aldridge was a consistent destroyer throughout the whole round.
"I think LaMarcus is a younger Dirk who can shoot and drive, play in the post (and do) a lot of things, so it's not going to be easy," Spurs center Tiago Splitter said. "We know that. I think all the team is aware of that; everybody is going to help a little bit."
Despite often facing one of the NBA's premier defensive forces in Dwight Howard, Aldridge lit Houston up for 29.8 points a night, with 11.2 rebounds and a 47.9 percent mark from the field. This time around, though, they'll be faced with a Spurs team that prides itself on team defense despite not having any stoppers such as Howard.
"Guys are going to be confident, but still have to think about the way that we got here, working hard and grinding it out," Aldridge said. "I think guys are definitely going to be more confident but this is new territory for most of us."
The point guard battle between Lillard and Tony Parker should be scintillating as well. Lillard put up 25.5 points a night in Round 1 to go with 6.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists, while Parker put up 19.4 points and 4.7 assists vs. Dallas.
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