Vitals: Trailblazers at Thunder

Everything you need to know when Oklahoma City hosts division foe Portland.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:36 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Mar 28, 2010 10:14 AM CDT

Gerald Goodridge
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Portland Trailblazers (44-29) at Oklahoma City Thunder (44-27)
Wednesday, March 28, 2010, 6:00 p.m. CST.
Ford Center, Oklahoma City
Game 72 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

	Oklahoma City	Portland
PG	Russell Westbrook 16.3 PPG, 7.9 APG	Andre Miller 13.8 PPG, 5.5 APG
SG	Thabo Sefolosha 5.9 PPG, 4.8 RPG	Brandon Roy 22.2 PPG, 4.7 APG
SF	Kevin Durant 29.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG	Nicolas Batum 9.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG
PF	Jeff Green 14.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG	LaMarcus Aldridge 17.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG
C	Nenad Krstic 8.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG	Marcus Camby 7.2 PPG, 11.7 RPG

Injuries
Oklahoma City: None Reported.
Portland: C Greg Oden (knee, out); C Joel Przybilla (knee, out).

Where to find it?
On TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma
On Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know?
Barring a massive meltdown over the next 11 games, Oklahoma City is in the playoffs, but seeding is still up in the air. The Thunder sits three games behind Dallas and Denver for second place, 2 1/2 games behind Utah for fourth, 1 1/2 games behind Phoenix for fifth. Oklahoma City needs to finish the next few weeks with wins to try and grab home-court in the first round; the Thunder is 26-11 at home, but 17-17 on the road this season.

Portland is another team that is in the playoffs unless they implode over the next nine games. The Traiblazers have won eight of their last 10 games and two straight. Portland will play four games against opponents with winning records in its nine closing games, including two against the Thunder. The Trailblazers are 1-1 against Oklahoma City this season and whoever wins the next two matchups will position themselves well for the playoffs.

Who to watch?
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are going to drive the offense, but the most important players tonight may be Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison. Coming off the bench the two forwards are averaging 17.4 and 21 minutes respectively, and will be key against the big and athletic Portland interior.

Brandon Roy is one of the most dynamic players in the NBA and the key to the Portland offense. The fourth-year guard out of Washington averages 22.2 points per game and 4.7 assists per game to lead the Trailblazers. The two Portland posts, Marcus Camby and LaMarcus Aldridge, could also have big games against the Thunder interior.