As the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies are set to tip their first round playoff matchup tonight, the teams might not look exactly as they hoped. Injuries are part of the game but both of these teams have been affected by them. The Trail Blazers will be hurt the most by their absent players but they can’t make any excuses.
The fifth-seeded Grizzlies will have home court advantage because they finished with a better record than the fourth-seeded Trail Blazers. If you would have looked at the rosters at the beginning of the season, these two teams would matchup reasonably well against each other.