For the third time in a span of 29 days. But over the course of those 29 days, a lot of has changed for both teams. While we know the moves the Trail Blazers made around the Trade Deadline and shortly after, the Wolves have been battling injuries left and right. Rookie sensation, Ricky Rubio is out for the season with a torn ACL and it's really had a negative affect on this Minnesota squad. Since going down with an injury on March 9th against the Lakers, the T-Wolves are just 4-9 and like the Blazers, have failed to win consecutive games over that span. Prior to Rubio going down, the Wolves were the Cinderella story of the league, knocking on the door of the postseason for the first time since 2004. They were 18-17 and were just peaking at the right time, winning eight of 11 before the injury against the Lakers. Along with Ricky being on the shelf, the Wolves have battled injuries to multiple key players. Here is the injury situation via the Timberwolves scouting report:

 The Timberwolves know a thing or two about injuries, as center Nikola Pekovic (bone spurs in his right ankle), forward Michael Beasley (sprained great toe in his left foot) and guard JJ Barea (right thigh contusion) all have missed time over the past two weeks. Pekovic is currently listed as out indefinitely, and Barea said Friday he was unsure if he would make the West Coast trip. Beasley is day to day with his foot injury.

Despite the injuries, the one constant for Minnesota still remains Kevin Love who has does his best to take his game to the next level without his teammates. Over the last 10 games, Love has been in another stratosphere, averaging 29.7 points, including 43.5% shooting from beyond the arc, 14.6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. And the first key to beating Minnesota starts with stopping Kevin Love -- something the Trail Blazers have failed to do twice already this season. In the past, Love struggled against his home-town team, posting career averages of 12 and 10 before this season. But the tables have turned and Kevin has turned it up, going off for an average of 35.5 points, on 54.5% field goal shooting, including 8 3's in just 13 attempts, 13 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in two wins this season against the Trail Blazers. Unfortunately for Portland, LaMarcus Aldridge missed Friday's game against the Clippers with a sprained left elbow, this occurring after he experienced hip soreness against the Hornets on Thursday. As of about 1 PM this afternoon, there has been no official word about LA's playing status. If LA can't go that means that J.J. Hickson must not only provide the scoring punch but also be the one to set the tone defensively against Love.

It was only one start without LA, but Hickson proved to be more than capable as the go-to option in Aldridge's absence as he scored a near career-high 29 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and put on his own personal highlight reel for the Staples Center crowd. Not DeAndre Jordan nor Blake Griffin could stop Hickson's offensive arsenal which saw J.J. score in any and every which way. Love, while the best offensive power forward in the game, still isn't known for his defense and Nikola Pekovic isn't quick enough to keep up with Hickson should he play him tight,  which would allow J.J. to drive past him. But it is all predicated on his jumper. If J.J. can't find his jumper, Timberwolve defenders will just sag off him and dare him to shoot. And if he hits a jumper or two to keep the defense honest, it could be Friday night all over again for Hickson.

Both teams are missing key pieces they each had earlier in the season. Whether those players were lost to injuries or through trade, they aren't there. And without the additional depth, it puts an onus on the bench unit to keep up the pace set by the starters. Whichever bench is able to score at a consistent clip tonight will get the win for their squad. For Portland, Luke Babbitt has been simply en fuego, making 16 of 31 three-point attempts in the month of March. Jamal Crawford has had a year to forget and somewhat broke out of his slump Friday but still hasn't been a consistent option off the bench, so the scoring load off the bench really falls on Luke's shoulder if Hickson is forced into the starting lineup once again.

The final and most important key is first-quarter scoring. Minnesota has scored 40 and 37 points in each of the last two opening periods against Portland which set the tone for the rest of the game. Portland must set the tone defensively in the opening 12 minutes and hold the Wolves under 30 points. Since Coach Canales took over, we've seen that when the defense gets a little lapse at times, it affects the offense and the game, at times, gets away from the Blazers.