The Portland Trail Blazers play host to the Los Angeles Clippers at Moda Center on Tuesday.

The Clippers (40-19) are among the most dangerous teams in the NBA right now, coming into this matchup winning eight of their last nine games. They actually did most of that damage without Kawhi Leonard, and he was able to return in the team's most recent victory on Sunday. What that time did do was allow Paul George to run things, and did he run them smoothly. He averaged about 32 points, six rebounds, and six assists without Kawhi and is posting some of the best shooting numbers of his career. That's a scary sight with Kawhi playing so well, and it's great to see role players like Terence Mann, Marcus Morris, and Reggis Jackson perform so admirably as well.

The Trail Blazers (32-24) have hit a bit of a slide recently, entering this matchup losing six of their last nine games. That rough stretch directly correlates with an injury to Damian Lillard, with the superstar point guard dealing with a hamstring issue. He's the heart and soul of this club, and they clearly can't get it done without him. If there's a silver lining, it's the fact that everyone else has gotten healthy. That includes Jusuf Nurkic and C.J. McCollum, who both returned this month from long-term absences. That means Lillard is the final piece to the puzzle, and if they can get all these guys playing together, this is a puzzle no one will want to solve come postseason time.

This marks the third meeting between these teams, with Los Angeles winning the first two outings. That gives the Clippers five-straight wins in this series dating back two years.