Call it chance, blame the weather (Phil Jackson did), call it what you want, but the scoreboard doesn’t lie: The Lakers have some bad spell when it comes to playing in Portland against their default enemies, the T-Blazers (or their home court, anyway.) The Bottomline: Starting since the Lakers got Kobe Bryant in 1996, they are 6-23 at the Rose Garden arena in Portland during regular season. The Lakers fall to the Trail Blazers year, after year, after year. So what can we assume for their upcoming battle? The Trail Blazers appear to be uncharacteristically awesome this year, sticking Kevin Durant to just 19 points on 8 for 26 shooting in a win with a lead of 10 points at Oklahoma City. And also, they haven’t yet fallen at the Rose Garden. The verdict: Lakers, keep your eyes on the prize, but don’t be surprised if somehow you get hammered, yet again, in Oregon.

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