The Nets will face the 6-3 Portland Trail Blazers in the finale of their three-game road trip, and
according to Brooklyn Nets beat reporter Lenn Robbins, they’ll be undermanned, missing leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge and jack-of-all-trades forward Nicolas Batum.
#Nets have a great chance to end this trip w a win..@aldridge_12 and @NicolasBatum1 will not play tonight for @trailblazers
— Lenn Robbins (@LennRobbins) November 15, 2014
Aldridge has picked up right where he left off after three straight All-Star appearances, averaging 21.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 35.7 minutes per game. Batum is the Trail Blazers’ jack-of-all-trades swingman, averaging 9.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. Aldridge is suffering from a respiratory illness, while Batum is resting a bruised right knee.
It’s not immediately clear what the Trail Blazers will do in their absence — Aldridge and Batum are forwards, and the first men off the bench in Portland are center Chris Kaman, point guard Steve Blake, and shooting guard C.J. McCollum. They could put McCollum in at shooting guard and swing starting guard Wesley Matthews up to small forward, and then go big with Kaman and starting center Robin Lopez.
Tipoff is at 10:00 P.M. EST.
