Bucks-Trail Blazers Preview

After splitting a four-game road trip against some struggling teams from the Eastern Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers hope their return to the Rose Garden will get them back on track.

The Trail Blazers begin a three-game homestand on Monday against the Milwaukee Bucks, who have been struggling with their own inconsistencies of late.

Portland (24-16) fell to 10-12 on the road with a 102-97 overtime loss to Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday. The Blazers split the results on the trip despite not facing any team with a winning record and playing against four Eastern Conference teams -- a conference they were 11-2 against when the trip started.

Versus the Bobcats, the Blazers hurt themselves by going just 16-of-31 from the free-throw line, with Brandon Roy going 3-of-10.

"I haven't felt great since I came back from my hamstring (injury)," said Roy, who was 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from the field and finished with 17 points. "Tonight it really showed. ... My mid-range game doesn't feel as good as before I got hurt."

Roy missed four games with the hamstring problem between Dec. 30 and Jan. 7. Before the injury, he was averaging 23.0 points on 47.3 percent shooting. In the five games since returning, he's averaging 20.6 points on 45.6 percent shooting.

Coach Nate McMillan told the Blazers' official Web site that it wasn't just Roy with the bad legs on Saturday, however.

"We have to rest up," he said. "For whatever reason we looked like we had heavy legs. ... We have to recover and get rest so we can play better out there."

It helps that Portland plays five of its next six games at home, with four of those home games against Eastern Conference teams. The Blazers are 14-4 at home overall -- 5-1 against the East at the Rose Garden.

Milwaukee (20-23), meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in its last 14 games -- the longest streak without consecutive wins or consecutive losses in club history and the longest in the NBA since the New York Knicks' 14-game stretch in 1997-98.

After a seven-point win over Sacramento on Friday, the Bucks fell 101-92 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday. Richard Jefferson scored 26 for Milwaukee, which shot 38.8 percent and was outrebounded 48-30.

"Tonight was a bad loss for us," said Michael Redd, who scored 21 points a night after scoring a season-high 44. "In my eyes, this loss cancels out our last win. There were a lot of breakdowns defensively. We are better than this, and we have to break through this ceiling."

Bucks' opponents are averaging 104.9 points and shooting 49.3 percent in the last seven games after Milwaukee allowed just 88.4 points per game on 42.8 percent shooting in the previous 11 games.

Part of Milwaukee's problems on defense -- at least the last two games -- can be blamed on the absence of leading rebounder Andrew Bogut, who averages 10.4 boards. He has been sidelined with back spasms.

Portland has won the last three meetings with Milwaukee, although one went to overtime and the other two were decided by a combined six points.