Le Journal

After Tuesday’s strong win over Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur shot up to fifth in the Champions League table and suddenly is favored to get a bye into the Round of 16. At the same time, Spurs are just 10 points ahead of the relegation zone in the Premier League, still winning only once in the league since early December. While relegation is probably not a real threat (right?!), improvements are needed immediately. One might think a trip to Burnley would be the perfect cure, but last weekend’s loss to West Ham moves Tottenham’s record against the bottom four down to 2-1-2. Furthermore, the Clarets have taken points off United and Liverpool in their last two matches, meaning Spurs will not intimidate them at all. Still, they have not won in the league since October; Thomas Frank gets no passes for this one. Match Details Date: Saturday, January 24Time: 10:00 am ET, 3:00 pm UKLocation: Turf Moor, BurnleyTV: USA Network (US)Table: Burnley (19th, 14 pts), Spurs (t-14th, 27 pts) The Opening Day win over Burnley was one of Tottenham’s best this season. Two athletic goals by Richarlison and a third from Brennan Johnson had supporters dreaming of a brand new era under Frank — instead, the next five months felt no different than the last year. At least this one contest played out exactly how one might expect between clubs with this gap in quality, which maybe gives a little hope for the weekend. Two Things to Watch Giant (almost) killers The last two matches, Burnley has lost the xG battle by a combined 5.73-0.64, but the scorelines read 3-3. Scott Parker’s side was fortunate in each contest to come away with a draw, but the pattern is there to again make it work against superior (heh, maybe) opposition. In fact, four of the last six matches have ended with points, and while some of these will need to turn into wins to escape relegation, there is clear improvement. The Clarets know they need to maximize their opportunities. They are dead last in the league in possession and have owned less than 40 percent of the ball the last two weeks. However, the side is closer to average in shot-on-target percentage, goals per shot, and goals per shot on target, so when there is a chance, it is not like this team is completely unable to find the back of the net. What does that mean for Tottenham? Mistakes would be deadly. The debacle last weekend was just the latest example of being punished for defensive lapses, and let the last two Burnley contests show that this side needs no extra invitation. Even with no wins in the last two road trips, I do think going to Turf Moor is still probably a more profitable setting than this being at home, but we shall see. Mental fortitude Frank potentially bought himself another month in North London after dispatching Dortmund, eerily following in the footsteps of his predecessor. It is now well established the Ange Postecoglou pushed all the chips in the Europa League and punted the Premier League, and even though that was both the right decision and a successful mission, it still did not save his job. The calculus is trickier for Frank as winning the Champions League is not really an option (probably?), so he still needs to provide some attention to the league. But is finishing eighth and exiting early from the knockout rounds actually going to help him in the long run, or is it just going to delay the inevitable? Maybe the only way out is just keep — but really, start — winning. Some might argue this match is bigger than Wednesday’s trip to Frankfurt. That is not a statement I would agree with, but even with a top-eight finish in the League Phase, Frank’s dismissal would be justified given his terrible domestic performance, so this trip to Burnley does feel critical. Anyone who has followed this club for any amount of time knows how these matches tend to go. Breaking that curse is the step Frank needs to stay afloat.

C'est l'un des gros points faibles du bilan de mandat des écologistes.

Maybe one might’ve expected the Portland Trail Blazers to struggle more in the second half against the Miami Heat on Thursday night at the Moda Center. The track-meet Heat were playing at their usual breakneck pace and putting up points, with star Bam Adebayo on his way to 32 points and 10 rebounds. More significantly, after scoring 20 points, Deni Avdija had to exit at the 10:03 mark of the third quarter in a close game because his back issue flared up, meaning the Blazers would have to go the rest of the way without their star. But these Blazers are on too much of a roll right now and too used to adjusting to injuries this season to come undone easily. “The whole year has been next man up, so it’s like riding a bike to us now,” Blazers center Robert Williams III said about the team’s response to playing without Avdija. (By the way, both Blazers acting coach Tiago Splitter and Avdija didn’t sound too concerned about the back injury after the game, but more on that later). Behind a big-time performance from guard Shaedon Sharpe and Portland’s reestablished depth, the Blazers overpowered the Heat in the second half for a 127-110 win. The victory marked the Blazers’ fourth in a row and gave them an NBA-best 9-2 record during the month of January. Sharpe went just 1-8 for three points in the first half. Then he ignited in the second half to finish with a team-high 27 points (on 11-21 shooting, 5-9 from deep), seven rebounds and four steals. He broke out the full package to get his points: stepback 3s, pretty midrange fadeaways, the floater, a driving left-hand finger roll, one of his patented sky scraping jams. It was all in the bag on Thursday. Right after Avdija exited the game, the Blazers went on a big 29-10 run to capture their largest lead of the game at 101-80 with 3:03 left in the third quarter. Sharpe played a featured role during that surge. Then as the Heat threatened to come back in the fourth quarter, Sharpe ripped off 12 points during a 15-5 Blazers run to build the lead back up to 18 and slam the door shut. “[It was a] hell of a second half,” Splitter said about Sharpe’s performance. “We just tried to give him touches and he made the rest.” Blazers guard Caleb Love packed a solid second punch with 20 points (on 8-19 shooting), four dimes and four 3-pointers in 34 minutes off the bench. Still on minutes restrictions, guard Jrue Holiday registered 15 points and seven assists while forward Jerami Grant added 12 points — production that feels like a luxury after the veterans missed so much time recently because of injuries. Forward Toumani Camara scored 16 points on great efficiency. Williams provided a jolt of energy on the backline with two tip-ins, 10 rebounds and three blocks, earning his right to put his name in The Box for the evening. “It’s an honor,” Williams said about the postgame accolade, which the coaching staff gives out after wins to the team’s best defensive player. “It was looking like a foreigners’ box, man, I’m glad I got in there. I’m trying to get in there some more.” The Blazers shot 20-50 from deep as eight different players knocked down triples. That production was magnified by Miami shooting a woeful 9-45 from long distance. After giving up 63 points in the first half, the Blazers tightened up to hold the Heat to 47 points in the second. Portland picked up the slack defensively, in part, because Splitter challenged his team to play with more intensity at halftime. “In the first half, we gave them too many 50/50 balls, and they just played harder than us,” Splitter said. “Sometimes it’s not about Xs and Os. You just gotta go there and play harder. And that’s what [our players] did in the second half. They bounced back, and the whole squad was way better, more focused. We rebounded the ball. We pushed the pace. … The energy and the focus was better.” Avdija Update As mentioned above, Blazers star forward Deni Avdija exited at the 10:03 mark of the third quarter due to a back injury and left the…

God morning, dearest hoddlers. The District of Columbia is bracing for a snowstorm. Since I live in the District of Columbia, this means I am also bracing for a snowstorm. I don’t know what to make of it. But from everything I’m seeing on the interwebs, it’s going to be bad. Or, at the very least, a major inconvenience. I’m supposed to do a 20-mile run this weekend as part of my marathon training. Now I have to decide what to do: Do the 20-mile run Saturday before the snowfall really comes A boring treadmill run Roll the dice on Sunday Skip it I’m not decided what I’m going to do just yet, but my movements indicate I’m leaning towards Option A. I was at the grocery store tonight and tried to get some of the food provisions I normally associate with the night before a long run: chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli. There was no chicken at the Safway. And I forgot the sweet potato. But I got the broccoli. One out of three isn’t bad, right? Lord help me if I know. I just want to run and see the beautiful trails again that I saw last weekend. It was a bad session (not because of me, mind you), but I ventured as far north in DC as I ever have. It was beautiful. When I had to head back I was so excited about this coming week because it meant I got to stick around there a little longer. I’m not sure yet if this weekend will take that away from me or not, but I’m going to do my best to not panic. I’ll send an update next week. Stay safe. Fitzie’s track of the day: Magic Number, by Chinese American Bear And now for your links: The Standard: “Thomas Frank bemoans Tottenham injury ‘curse’ after suffering latest blow” The Athletic ($$): “Rainbow Laces out, pride-themed footballs in? Premier League to launch new LGBTQ+ campaign”

The Portland Trail Blazers put their three-game winning streak on the line tonight with a home matchup against the Miami Heat. Time to see if Portland can keep this hot streak going! Here’s what you need to know as you prepare to watch: Miami Heat – (23-21) at Portland Trail Blazers (22-22) Thurs., Jan. 22 – 7:00pm Pacific How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network How to stream: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else How to listen: Trail Blazers Audio Network Trail Blazers Injuries: Scoot Henderson, Damian Lillard, Kris Murray, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley (Out) Heat Injuries: Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier (Out); Kel’el Ware (Questionable). Another discussion thread will post at halftime. Here’s what we ask in our discussion threads: Stay on the topic of the game during official Game Day threads. We ask that the focus be a little tighter because everyone is gathering for the same reason, the game that unites us all. Don’t troll. Talk about basketball, not other commenters. Be smart and charitable—or at least honest and relatable—in the discussion. Friction happens, but treat this like your living room, not an anonymous message board. (Also avoid the classic internet trolling techniques: overt snark, comment repetition, etc.) Obviously no language that diminishes people based on race, gender, orientation, and the like is allowed. If you’re going to insult the L*kers, at least be creative. Blazer’s Edge is a non-profanity site. Yes, even though referees exist. Thanks for being a part of the discussion. Enjoy the game and join us after for analysis and more!