Portland will be successful tonight if they can exploit Utah’s glaring weaknesses and much of this focuses on power forward Zach Randolph. In the first meeting between the two teams, Randolph scored 34 points and grabbed 13 boards, both of which were game highs, and outplayed his All-Star competition in Carlos Boozer.

Tonight, the Jazz will be without Boozer, which means that Randolph should be able to score at will against Millsap, Mehmet Okur and AK#47, Andrei Kirilenko. The key, however, is that ZeBo plays aggressive and the Trail Blazers stick to their game plan.
Containing Deron Williams is a huge must on the defensive end. Jarrett Jack did a magnificent job shutting down Agent Zero, Gilbert Arenas, in Washington, but then had trouble with Dwayne Wade and Carlos Arroyo in follow-up games. Williams is second in the league in assists per game, but if Jack can apply some pressure, Portland should be able to force turnovers and defend their home court.

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