The Los Angeles Lakers look for their first road win of the season on Thursday night against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden, a building in which the Lakers have lost 16 of their last 20 games. The Lakers have played just two of their seven games so far away from home, and both have resulted in nine-point losses.
Andrew Bynum is coming off perhaps the best game of his career on Tuesday, when he put up 21 points and 22 rebounds against the Houston Rockets. Bynum is averaging 22.7 points, 17.0 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks so far this season. But rather than face the tiny front line of Houston, Bynum will need to contend with Marcus Camby and LaMarcus Aldridge Thursday night in Portland.
The Blazers are a Western Conference best 4-1 so far this season, with their only loss coming in Los Angeles to the Clippers on Sunday night. Camby, Aldridge, and Gerald Wallace are averaging a combined 24.8 rebounds between them so far this season. The Blazers went on the road to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder by 10 points on Tuesday night.
The Lakers won the season series against Portland last year, winning three of four games, but that was their first series win over Portland since the 2004-2005 campaign. The Lakers have lost 10 of their last 12 and 16 of their last 20 regular season games at the Rose Garden.
Thursday night's 7:30 p.m. PST game will be televised by both TNT and KCAL. For more Lakers news and information, be sure to read Silver Screen and Roll.