The Trail Blazers have high hopes to advance past the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. One of the teams they'll have to go through is San Antonio, their next opponent Friday night at the Rose Garden.
The Spurs, always a championship threat, have added to their nucleus with veterans Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess. "They've certainly improved themselves," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "They're one more good team, like Denver, that you measure yourself against when they come in here. They're one of the teams to beat in the West."
Going into last season, Portland had lost 19 of its last 20 meetings with the Spurs. Last season, the Blazers turned that around, winning three of four in the series. Now, San Antonio has reinforcements to make the going tougher for the opposition.
"Jefferson adds experience and some freshness to that group," McMillan. "They felt like they'd kind of stayed still for a couple of years. He adds a little life to their team -- a guy who is hungry, and teammates can feed off of that.
"We did that last year with Rudy (Fernandez), and we hope to get it this year with Greg (Oden) and Martell (Webster). The Lakers were getting complacent and got Ron Artest. That drives that team. That's what Jefferson does for the Spurs."
HAWKS 97, TRAIL BLAZERS 91: Portland got outworked in the trenches and in the open court, and Jamal Crawford lit up the Rose Garden with a game-high 27 points. Portland entered the game as the No. 4 rebounding team in the NBA, but Atlanta won the battle of the boards 46-36 and points in the paint 50-34. And the Hawks dominated the fast-break point battle, 18-4.
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