Portland Events, Music, Art, Entertainment, Sustainability | PDXPIPELINE.com

The Blazers are back home tonight against the Phoenix Suns. The Suns are a terrible team that basically has Steve Nash (please trade him to a contender) and nothing else right now. OK, they have Brooke Lopez, but an altercation with a referee has him suspended for this game. After tonight, the Blazers continue to play poor teams for the next two weeks, so this is a good time for a winning streak!

Tonight’s game starts at 7PM on Comcast Sports Network. If you do not have cable or want a good Portland establishment to enjoy with friends, here are several suggestions from our sponsors.

Watch Trailblazers Games in Portland:

Tanker Bar (Se Hawthorne & 48th) | (503) 445-4635 | More info: tankerbar.com
Tanker Bar will be playing all games on their 6 large LCD TVs. $1 Pabst during all Blazers & Football games, and $1 off Nachos during all games. 15 beers on tap, Buckhunter, free popcorn.

Blitz (Ladd, Pearl, Tigard, NW 21) | More info: blitzbarpdx.webs.com
Blitz’s FOUR locations will be happening as always with tons of televisions, drinks specials, and games (ping pong, shuffleboard, buckhunters, horseshoes in Tigard, and more).

East Burn (East Burnside & 18th) | (503) 236-2876 | More info: www.theeastburn.com
East Burn will have the game on a large projection screen on their heated patio and also downstairs. Recess discount menu from 3-6PM. They  have daily drink specials (pdf of specials here). 

NE 15th Avenue & Hawthorne Hophouses | More info: oregonhophouse.com
15th Avenue: 1517 NE Brazee | Hawthorne: 4111 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
The Blazers are back and we are ready to make up for lost time. While they dunk, we’ll drink. Come watch the Blazers take on the Cavaliers at 6pm at the Hophouse! Dress in Blazer gear and get your first beer for $2.00.

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Preview – Portland Trail Blazers vs Phoenix Suns: 

By Cain Stoneking

Phoenix Suns (6-11) @ Portland Trailblazers (11-8)
Friday, January 27th, 7:00pm CSNW
Schedule: Portland Trail Blazers 2011-12 Schedule + Win Tickets

Game Notes: The Blazers will play many losing teams in the next couple weeks. Historically, however, the Blazers perform better against teams with winning records as opposed to struggling teams. They’ll need to turn that trend around starting tonight with the Suns.

The Suns tried for one last push during the Steve Nash era but it is unlikely to happen. They had some good games and even momentary winning streak, but that has come to a screeching halt. For this game, they will be without Robin Lopez who was suspended. That shouldn’t matter as he does not play defense just like everyone else on this roster. The Suns did smash the Blazers earlier this season and there is a little bit of rivalry between the two teams because the Suns bounced the Blazers from the playoffs two years ago.

The Suns:

Starting Lineup: Steve Nash, Ronnie Price, Marcin Gortat, Grant Hill, Markieff Morris
Bench: Jared Dudley, Shannon Brown, Sebastian Telfair, Channing Frye, Michael Redd

X’s and O’s:

The Blazers lose when they don’t put a hand in the opponent’s face and play physical defense. Like the Warriors on Wednesday, the Suns shot almost 60 percent the first time these two clubs met and the Blazers simply cannot allow that. The Blazers force a lot of turnovers and play opportunistic defense well, but they don’t stay in front of their man and force bad shots often enough. Teams are either turning the ball over or getting a really good look at the basket.

Advantage Blazers:

At home, the Blazers are 8-1 while on the road the Suns are 3-6. Some home brewing should get the Blazers on track to an easy victory. Both teams should be feeling pretty fresh. Marcus Camby is putting up some ridiculous rebounding numbers. Per minute, Camby might have the highest rebound rate of any player in the NBA.

Last Words:

While the Blazers did not look like anything special during one of the tougher parts of their schedule (in fact they have gone 4-6 in their last ten games), they can more than make up for it in the next couple of weeks and put together a long winning streak. It starts tonight against the Suns and the Blazers better be ready.

Games this week:
@Utah – 30th
Charlotte – 1st
@Sacramento – 2nd

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Blazers coverage by Cain Stoneking, a life-long Oregonian who breathes Blazers basketball. During the offseason he enjoys backpacking and playing music in his local band Foxtrot. Follow him on twitter at Letsgoblazers, or write to him at lightcain@gmail.com.

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Our new Portland Events App for PDX Pipeline is now available for iPhones, Android phones and iPads!

Now, you can have all of the great Portland events from our website in the palm of your hand when you’re out on the town.

Download the App for iPhone here

Download the App for Android here

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