Goooooooood evening Trail Blazers fans!

Is today a great day to be a Trail Blazer fan or what? Not only are we riding on the momentum of an 8 game winning streak, but tonight, we get to see a showcase of two of the most talented young teams in the NBA.

And, although the players would never admit it, there's a little more riding on this one than a normal regular season game...

But first, the night's preview-

Toronto is arguably the Eastern Conference's version of the Trail Blazers. They have two stud sophomores in Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani, who handle a majority of the same responsibilities that LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy handle for the Trail Blazers, but they also have one of the most talented young post players in the NBA in Chris Bosh.

Bosh leads the team with 19.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game and he'll be Coach McMillan's priority number one on defense.

Normally, it would make sense to employ that lethal zone that has worked so effectively for the Trail Blazers over the course of the last 8 games, but tonight, the Trail Blazers might want to think twice. As a team, the Raptors shoot 42.6% from three-point range and they have last year's reigning three-point champ in Jason Kapono, who is a remarkable 53.4% on the year, to break any zones that the Trail Blazers think about using.

Individually, however, the Raptors aren't the best team at creating their own opportunities. A majority of their points come from their extensive offensive sets which play to the strengths of Spanish point guard Jose Calderon and forward Chris Bosh. If the Trail Blazers can stop Toronto's transition game, it will, without a doubt, show on the scoreboard.

For the Trail Blazers, all early indicator's point to the return of LaMarcus Aldridge, who has suffered recently from plantar fasciitis. Aldridge's return should give the Trail Blazers another offensive weapon to accompany the devastating attack of Brandon Roy and the rapidly developing offensive game of Travis Outlaw.

Aldridge's return, however, does create some interesting lineup possibilities for Coach Nate McMillan... Will Raef LaFrentz continue to see consistent action? Does Aldridge's return mean that Channing Frye will only see light action? And, now that Aldridge is back, will Portland be able to keep the Raptors off the boards?

Toronto gives up 42.4 rebounds per game, so they're should be ample opportunities for Aldridge to fill up the stat sheet.

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