Game 3 Preview: Blazers vs. Suns

Two games into this series, and we've seen quite a bit from each team. The question is, which ones will show up tonight? Back in Rip City the Blazers plan on getting another win, but that Suns team that showed up on Tuesday was awfully good.

Andre Miller is the only guy right now who is looking for his own shot and being aggressive. Unfortunately in game 2, the Suns adjusted to Portland's strategy and put Grant Hill on Miller for much of the game. It really stymied everything the Blazers tried to do offensively, creating sheer havoc. In order for Andre to succeed, his teammates must also be aggressive.

Something we saw with Steve Nash in two games so far is the two different types of good games he can have. He scored 25 and had 9 assists the first game and the Suns lost. In game two he almost doubles his assists with 16 and only scores 13 points and Phoenix wins big. The key to stopping the Suns is letting Nash be a shooter and not a distributor. If his teammates get hot, problems arise. Nash is the better point guard and Bayless is too inconsistent to help out. Suns get it.

Game one was not too good for Portland in the shooting guard department, but game two was monumentally worse. Not only did Rudy completely lay an egg with his lack of initiative on offense, but Jason Richardson went off and made Rudy look like a D-league defender. We must improve at this position if we want to win these two games in Portland.

Of course Richardson did have one of his best shooting games of the season and was absolutely on fire. But he can bring that momentum into the next game knowing that Rudy can't guard him. Rudy must take back that Euro confidence of his and start getting open looks again. No excuses, no complaining, just keep working and it will happen. We need you Rudy!

Grant Hill played out of his mind on Tuesday, that was something I didn't expect to see. With Batum in early foul trouble, things got away from the Blazers pretty quickly. Tonight, despite the strained shoulder, Batum will play and give Portland a boost on defense even if he's hurting.

I expect a game more similar to game one for Hill. A few rebounds but not much offense. We don't stand much of a chance against this Phoenix team without the defensive prowess of Nic Batum. Hopefully he can also hit a few threes to spread things out offensively for Andre Miller. I guess we'll see, but I like us here.

So far in this series, Amare Stoudemire has had similar below average games. He has a lot of trouble with Marcus Camby. For whatever reason, he just doesn't feel that same dominant mentality when facing Marcus. In Portland, with a renewed sense of urgency, I think the Blazer defenders will once again hold Amare down to a certain degree, if just under 20 points and just under 10 rebounds is holding a guy down.

The biggest key for Portland tonight will be LaMarcus Aldridge. The playoffs are a different world, and the way the highest paid player on the floor plays is scrutinized over and over. His performance on Tuesday was pathetic, a truly frustrating thing to watch. I also heard that he was laughing it up on the sideline during the blowout, something that really boils my blood. Then to top it off,he complains to the media that he was getting double teamed?

I'm hearing a lot of excuses and deferring of blame. LA needs to shut up and ball tonight. That's it, do your job. If guys double team you, find an open teammate! Don't force a horrible fade away or free throw line hook shot. Forgive me for being optimistic, but I think he steps up tonight.

No question Marcus Camby isn't a real offensive threat but Tuesday a lot of things went wrong for Blazer players. Camby missed a few short ones and wasn't the same presence on defense. Tonight we get back to basics. Camby needs to really dominate Stoudemire and keep him off his game. Plus Frye was awful on Tuesday. I'm sure he will want to get back on track, but I think Camby will start earning that extension tonight. Blazers win!

This game means so much to both teams. Portland wins and they've got their confidence back and hold home court advantage, if Phoenix wins, we're right back to where we started. It's time to get it done Blazers!

Overall Winner: