West

The Portland Trailblazers will visit Oklahoma City today to take on the Thunder. There are many story lines to choose from here, but none more enticing than a guy with rookie of the year potential, Damian Lillard, and how he will fare against the defending Western Conference champs.

After taking down the Lakers in his first game in the NBA, the road doesn't get much easier

Lillard showed some glimpes of how good he can really be in front of an energized Portland crowd on Wednesday as he slashed through the lane and attacked the basket as though Dwight Howard was not lurking in the paint.

It's clear this young fella has no fear.

Lillard has the opportunity to help put the Blazers back on the map as far as NBA title contenders along with some seasoned guys like LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicholas Batum, Wes Matthews, and J.J. Hickson. The talent is there, but it's yet to be seen how much a threat this team can really be in a deep Western Conference. 

That being said, if there's any two teams you tend to measure yourself against in the West it's got to be the Lakers and Thunder.

The Los Angeles Lakers have officially ended the preseason winless. What exactly does this mean, if anyhthing at all?

Well, the typical response you'll get from a Lakers fan right about now sounds like, "It's a process man, we'll get it together. It's preseason, they weren't even trying because they knew it didn't matter," or something along those lines.

Well, here's the thing. The same problems that consistenly persisted during the preseason will still factor in when the real deal tips off next week.  As a matter of fact, the problems will be magnified. Just hear me out.

What's L.A.'s biggest issue? That would have to be depth.  Let's begin with the fact that once the starters need a breather they've got nobody coming off the bench who can create his own shot.

I get it, Jodie Meeks is a good shooter, Antwan Jamison averaged 13 points a game last year, and Jordan Hill's motor is always running. But, that's nowhere near the caliber bench it takes in order to compete for a championship, especially in a league continuing to improve across the field.

Kobe Bryant is being held out of the Lakers' final two preseason games due to a sore right foot and will be evaluated over the weekend, according to a team spokesman. Bryant's injury is classified as a strain, and he is out indefinitely. However, Bryant reported some improvement in his foot to team officials prior to Wednesday's shootaround.

The injury happened when Bryant tripped over Thomas Robinson's foot in the third quarter of Sunday's 99-92 loss to the Sacramento Kings. 

Lakers center Dwight Howard will also miss Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers so he can rest his sore back. Jordan Hill, who hasn't played the first 6 games of the preseason with a herniated disk, is expected to play.

Bryant told reporters Tuesday that he was experiencing a lot of pain from the injury and doubted he would play in Wednesday's game, even if it was a regular-season contest.

Jodie Meeks will start at shooting guard in Bryant's place. Meeks is averaging 4.8 points per game in the preseason, shooting just 26.7 percent from the field overall, but 46.7 percent from 3-point range.

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today point guard Chris Paul underwent successful surgery on his right thumb to repair a torn ligament and will be sidelined for two months. Paul injured his thumb last month in Las Vegas during Team USA training camp. 

He played with the injury during the Olympics helping the USA capture Gold for the second straight time averaging 8.3 PPG, 5.1 APG and a tournament-high 2.5 steals in 25.8 minutes.

Paul was traded to the Clippers from the New Orleans Hornets last December prior to the start of the shortened NBA season. He helped the Clippers win their first playoff series since 2006 defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in 7 games winning the decisive game on the road. The Clippers would get swept in the Western Conference Semifinals by the San Antonio Spurs. The five-time All-Star averaged 17.6 PPG, 7.9 APG and 2.73 steals in 38.5 minutes during 11 games in the postseason. 

The Los Angeles Clippers announced today point guard Chris Paul underwent successful surgery on his right thumb to repair a torn ligament and will be sidelined for two months. Paul injured his thumb last month in Las Vegas during Team USA training camp. 

He played with the injury during the Olympics helping the USA capture Gold for the second straight time averaging 8.3 PPG, 5.1 APG and a tournment-high 2.5 steals in 25.8 minutes.

Paul was traded to the Clippers from the New Orleans Hornets last December prior to the start of the shortened NBA season. He helped the Clippers win their first playoff series since 2006 defeating the Memphis Grizzlies in 7 games winning the decisive game on the road. The Clippers would get swept in the Western Conference Semifinals by the San Antonio Spurs. The five-time All-Star averaged 17.6 PPG, 7.9 APG and 2.73 steals in 38.5 minutes during 11 games in the postseason.