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Blazers center Freeland suspended for Toronto game

By Erik Gundersen, Columbian Trail Blazers Writer
Published: March 14, 2015, 12:00am

PORTLAND — Even though he was standing up for his teammate, Portland Trail Blazers center Joel Freeland was suspended one game without pay by the NBA for head-butting Detroit’s Shawne Williams.

Williams was also suspended one game without pay for his role in the altercation.

Of course, that means Freeland will not be available Sunday when the Blazers take on the Toronto Raptors.

Freeland came to the defense of his teammate Meyers Leonard after Williams got into Leonard’s face with 1:05 left in Friday’s win over the Pistons.

Additionally, Terry Stotts said prior to Friday’s win that he was hopeful that swing man Alonzo Gee would be available to play after having his wisdom teeth removed.

The Blazers defeated the Raptors 102-97 in an overtime thriller in late December at the Moda Center.

Sunday kicks off a brutal five-games-in-seven-days road trip. However, the Blazers are confident as they are only one game out of the second seed in the Western Conference.

“It’s a big one,” Batum said of the trip. “We are going to play good teams. Playoff teams. If we are going to go 5-0 it will be good.”

Of all the teams the Blazers face on the upcoming trip, only Orlando is clearly out of the playoffs and Miami is right in the thick of things in the East.

But in terms of playoff seeding, the most important game of the trip will likely be Saturday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies, currently second in the West, hold a one game lead over the Blazers.

However, the Grizzlies already hold the possible tiebreaker having won the first three match-ups this season.

Only 4½ games separate the second-seeded Grizzlies from the seventh-seeded San Antonio Spurs.

The Blazers have an eight-game lead in the Northwest Division over Oklahoma City. Division winners are assured no worse than a No. 4 seed.

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Columbian Trail Blazers Writer