Still waiting for the first win in this year’s NBA campaign, the New Jersey Nets had very little to smile about in the first three weeks of play. About to face another tough challenge, Devin Harris and the Nets will head to Oregon where they will meet the Portland Trailblazers at Rose Garden on Thursday at 3 a.m. GMT.

Holding on to a solid 10-5 record, the Portland Trailblazers underlined that their performance in 2008-09 was no fluke. So far, Brandon Roy and company played exceptionally well at the defensive end of the floor and held their opponents to just 88 points per game. That said, one might argue that allowing less than 90 points and having a team as deep as the Blazers should transform into more wins. Offensively, franchise centerpiece Brandon Roy seems to be on his way to his second straight appearance at the All-Star game as he put up 19.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per contest. Another bright spot has been center Greg Oden who successfully bounced back from a significant knee injury and provided the Blazers with a valuable option in the low-post area. In just 24 minutes per game Greg Oden averaged 10.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. Despite his improvements, he still runs into foul trouble most nights and could put up bigger numbers if he managed to stay on the floor longer.

In contrast, the New Jersey Nets got off to their worst season start in franchise history. Losing 13 consecutive games, the Nets had a very tough time finding the basket as they scored no more than a miserable 84 points per contest. Thus, their respectable performance at the other end of the floor helped them very little. Arguably the primary reason for New Jersey’s losing streak seems to be the absence of Devin Harris and Courtney Lee who were expected to carry the mediocre Nets’ squad through this year’s NBA campaign. In conclusion, anything else than a win for Brandon Roy and the Trailblazers would be a huge upset. Ultimately, Portland has much more talent on board and efficiently carries out their gameplan. Moreover, the Blazers have one of the deepest benches in the league and will most likely tear New Jersey’s second unit apart.

You can watch all games of the New Jersey Nets and Portland Trailblazers right here on www.watchlivenba.com, the home of NBA live streaming.