Portland Trail Blazers: The Week Ahead

The Portland Trail Blazers barely limped into the All Star break, playing with several injured players out, untested rookies, no Brandon Roy, and registering the most games of all teams at that point of the season.

It's a respectable record they now possess, but a tough February and early March will prove a good test of how good the team is.

This week caps off the last third of the NBA season, and Blazer fans will see Roy return healthy and much of the rotation become more predictable.

To start off the festivities, the deceptively bad Los Angeles Clippers come to town to take on the Blazers Tuesday night at the Rose Garden.

The Los Angeles Clippers' bad record and front office turmoil cause many to overlook the team, potentially writing them off as an automatic "W."

But the Blazers have struggled in recent years to dominate this Clippers squad, in part because of Baron Davis. More specifically, this season Chris Kaman has been playing out of this world, leading the Clippers with 20 PPG.

Although the Clippers are 24th in the league in offensive efficiency, they do hold opponents to below 50 percent from the field. This could be key for the Blazers, who have recently struggled of late on the offensive end.

It is a problem, however, that will most likely resolve itself when Brandon returns to the court.

The key for the Blazers to win this game will be to maintain their sluggish pace and stick to the half court offensive which is, of course, their bread and butter.

As for the defensive end, the Blazers will need to hold the Clippers to under 90 offensive possessions.

This should turn out to be an easy win, but with a couple of days off to rest and relax, many players may come out flat.

Let us hope the Blazers provide energy and focus to start the last leg of the long season.

To maintain playoff position, every home game must be a win going down the stretch for the Blazers. They cannot let sub-.500 opponents come to the Rose Garden and win.

On Friday, the real fun begins, as the Boston Celtics (Ruff Ruff!) are in town.

Hopefully Jerryd Bayless plays some minutes, as I am convinced he's the only person in the entire league who is creative enough, and crazy enough, to counter Garnett's endearing, in-game theatrics.

A great, boisterous crowd is expected and, hopefully, the Blazers can match the Celtics' defensive intensity and treat Portland fans to a huge home win.

The Blazers will have to be on point, in every aspect, in order to win this game.

A factor definitely working in the Blazers' favor this week is the multiple days off between games.

After the Clippers game, the Blazers will have two full days off, no doubt resting for one and practicing during the other. This will be a time the team can rest physically and prepare themselves mentally for Friday's matchup.

Now, back to the Olympics. Don't bother me; male figure skating qualifiers are on.

Sophia Brugato | Twitter: @sophiabiabia | S.Brugato(at)Gmail(dot)com