The Portland Trail Blazers will take on the Los Angeles Clippers for the second straight game with the Blazers playing six of seven games on the road. Portland comes into the game coming off a double-digit loss to the Sacramento Kings on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Clippers come into this game as winners of their last two games despite being without the services of Kawhi Leonard for the first part of this season. Los Angeles picked up a win over the Golden State Warriors in their last game.

Portland Trail Blazers (1-3) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (2-1) – Wed. October 30 – 7:30 PM Pacific

Watching via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network

How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else

Injuries at Trail Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe, Matisse Thybulle, Robert Williams III (away)

Clipper injuries: Kawhi Leonard, PJ Tucker, Mo Bamba (out)

The Clippers suffered a major offseason loss when forward Paul George opted to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. The Clippers brought in a number of wings to try to fill that void, including former Blazers forwards Nicolas Batum and Derrick Jones Jr. However, they suffered another major blow when Kawhi Leonard was ruled out indefinitely.

The Clippers have been able to weather that storm so far thanks to some great performances from their top players. James Harden is averaging 25.0 points and 11.7 assists in three games this season, and his pick-and-roll partner Ivica Zubac came out of the gate full of fire. He averaged 22.7 points and 14.0 rebounds in three games, both of which are well above his averages from last season. Of course, the small sample size leaves a lot of room for variation in the stats, but the fact remains that the Clippers appear to have found a formula for consistent offense early this season despite being without Leonard’s services.

Key matchups with young defensive players in Portland will be the most important thing to watch in this game. Donovan Clingan will get the Zubac assignment every time the two share the floor, and Toumani Camara will likely see fairly frequent possessions against Harden. It will be interesting to see if the pair can hold their own, especially when one or both are thrown into the pick-and-roll.

What to pay attention to

Neither team has found a shot from distance yet this season, with Portland finding themselves in 27th place shooting 30.5% from deep and the Clippers not far ahead in 25th while shooting 31.9%. If neither team can get into a rhythm from behind the arc, Portland could be at a disadvantage as there is no good move to get easy points. Harden excels as a pick-and-roll ballhandler and Zubac serves as the perfect roll man for Harden. The duo gets easy points at the rim almost at will, and that combination could be deadly for the Blazers.

About the opponent

Athlon Sports’ Arjun Julka talks about the “Big 3” in Los Angeles – Harden, Zubac and Norman Powell – who contributed to their strong start:

Powell has been promoted to the starting lineup and the 6-foot-1 guard has made himself an ideal defensive partner for Harden. He takes on the heavier defensive duties and spreads the floor on offense.

With perfect pick-and-roll play, Harden and Zubac lead the league in assists and rebounds respectively so far. While The Beard looks to rediscover his roots in Houston, the six-foot LAC center continues to exhibit versatility on both ends of the court.

Chrystopher Henderson of Los Angeles Fan Base Network said the Clippers have found a defensive identity that has helped them overcome injuries early this season:

They held Phoenix to 103 points in regulation, and then held both Denver and Golden State to 104 points in their building. They are third in the league in defensive rating (103.2) and after their 112–104 win over the Warriors, their head coach Steve Kerr said: “The Clippers defense forced Warriors into a lot of bad passes and Warriors didn’t go there well with it.”

That was exactly the case for LA in this early season. They consistently pressured the ball on the perimeter, creating deflections and keeping teams out of the picture by dominating all three matches, outscoring their opponents 172-114.