The Portland Trail Blazers are dealing with a quite a few injuries, and now we know the statuses for three of their players for Friday night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans. According to Casey Holdahl on Twitter, Rodney Hood is set to play, while Seth Curry is probably. Moe Harkless however, is out.
Rodney Hood (right hip) is available and Seth Curry (upper respiratory) is probable for tonight's game vs. New Orleans. However, Moe Harkless (left knee) is out.
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) March 15, 2019
Friday's game against the Pelicans is one the Blazers can't lose. They're currently in fourth place in the Western Conference. However, they're mere percentage points ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder for fifth place and just half a game back from the Houston Rockets for third.
Obviously, holding onto a top-four spot for the playoffs is important, as it guarantees home court advantage for the first round.
Portland is going up against a Pelicans team that looks lost at the moment.
Things have been weird in the locker room since Anthony Davis announced he wanted a trade, but the team has pulled out some shocking wins. However, they've lost four straight heading into Friday.
Portland needs to pounce, and having Hood and Curry available will help them tremendously. Hood has looked solid with the Blazers and Curry is a lights-out deep threat. Both are great options off the bench to spell Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
While those two have been bench players this season, Harkless has started 40 of the 47 games he's appeared in. He's an underrated all-around player, but Al-Farouq Aminu and Jake Layman will soften the blow of not having him available.
The good news is that the Blazers will have most of their firepower back. If they want to hold on to home court advantage, these are the types of games they need to win.
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