Tonight the Trail Blazers, in the middle of the second longest winning streak in franchise history, face off against the Houston Rockets, the best team in the NBA. It’ll the biggest regular season game the Blazers have played since Wes Matthews’ achilles tendon self-destructed three years ago.
It seems like every writer in the basket-blog-o-sphere has asked if the Blazers are “for real” during the streak and this game will act as a solid short-term barometer. The Rockets have the best record in the league and are winners of 26 of their last 28 games, have suffered no major injuries unlike many other Western Conference playoff teams, and haven’t quite started resting their key players for the playoffs yet.