The Trail Blazers cannot afford too many more losses if they want to achieve their stated goal of making the playoffs. But there’s a real strong possibility that tonight’s game is not going to end well for Portland.

The Thunder have won three in a row and are packing by far the best record in the West. The last time these teams met OKC posted a comfortable 111-95 win at home and there’s little reason to believe the Blazers can change matters much in the Rose Garden.

Raymond Felton will miss the game as he heads home to be at his mother’s side while she undergoes a heart procedure. He’s expected to miss just one game.

That means that Nolan Smith will likely step into the starting lineup at the point with Jonny Flynn getting the backup minutes. It’s a good news-bad news thing for those guys. Yeah, you’re going to get to play some quality minutes — but yeah, it’s against Russell Westbrook.

via Dwight Jaynes of Comcast Sports Northwest