(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Images)
One.
That’s how many victories the Portland Trail Blazers need to move on to the second round to face the Golden State Warriors in the semifinals.
It seems ridiculous to be talking about such subjects, but the Blazers have found themselves in this position miraculously after their win over the Los Angeles Clippers 108-98 on Wednesday night. Portland now takes the series lead 3-2.
Yes, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are out for the rest of playoffs. However, that does not immediately give the Blazers a free ride to the semifinals. For one, the Clippers have enough players that could go off offensively to steal a win, especially at home. Jamal Crawford, J.J. Redick and even Jeff Green can all provide a hot shooting night, the question is, what does the defensive end look like and can they keep up with Portland over 48 minutes?
In Game five in Los Angeles, the Blazers certainly encountered a spirited Clippers squad that was determined to show that they did not need Paul or Griffin to win the series. But, with so many bench players getting starter minutes and rotations being out of sorts, would it be sustainable?
Austin Rivers and Green can provide highlight dunks, but will they be able to provide more? Rivers, to his credit, played terrific defense on Damian Lillard, good enough that the Blazers were not able to capitalize on not dealing with Paul defensively until late in the game.
Portland played right into Los Angeles’ hands in the first half. The Blazers shot poorly, shooting 36 percent from the field and 29 percent from three. However, that was not the worst of it, the Blazers went to the line twice as often as the Clippers, but converted just 13-of-22 from the line in the first half. Couple that with the Clippers scoring 30 points in the paint to Portland’s 14 and the Clippers were in a good spot.
The only boon for Portland was that Crawford, who had the ultimate green light, scored just eight points on 4-of-14 shooting and Redick had just ten points on 4-of-11 shooting, 2-of-4 from three.
The momentum swung in the second half as the Blazers simply started adjusting their game plan. With the Clippers forced to play their bench players a fair amount, the mistakes and weaknesses displayed themselves. Portland came out swinging and returned to a strategy they used in the first quarter, which was getting out in transition and making the veterans run.
The Blazers scored nine fast break points to the Clippers’ two. As a result, Portland shot 48 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Clippers 14-10. C.J. McCollum caught fire, going 4-of-5 from the field and 1-of-1 from three with ten points.
Mason Plumlee, arguably the MVP for the Blazers in this series, had six points along with six rebounds and two assists in the quarter. What is becoming obvious is that good things happen when Plumlee or Mo Harkless is on the floor, particularly against the Clippers.
They have a hard time dealing mobile and athletic players who are not playing in the usual positions. Teams are not used to a center that can dribble and pass like a guard. Furthermore, teams are not used to dealing with athletic small forwards who can rebound and slither underneath the basket.
Still with all these aspects going Portland’s way, the Clippers closed on a 9-0 run to tie the game up at 71-71. Portland’s hard work vanished without a trace. With the Clippers having the home court energy and the momentum; the Blazers were dealing with treacherous circumstances.
In this series, something has been missing. Not a defensive strategy or a pick-and-roll offensive move, but rather Lillard’s fourth quarter heroics. With Lillard being defended superbly in all four previous outings, it was hard enough for him to gets shot in the middle of the game.
In the fourth, Lillard took over. He finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 4-of-6 from three, along with McCollum who had nine points on 2-of-4 shooting. Portland’s backcourt finally figured out the holes in an undermanned perimeter defense. Lillard was swishing three-pointers and even banked one in. Furthermore, he drove to the basket and was quick enough sneak a layup underneath DeAndre Jordan’s hand.
Portland shot 57 percent from the field, while the Clippers deflated. With an undermanned squad, the confidence is incredibly fragile and once circumstances start going against them, the result and effect is quick.
The Blazers pushed to as big as a 17-point lead and kept the Clippers at bay as the offensive suddenly clicked. Portland simply outlasted the Clippers and rode a hot-shooting backcourt that Los Angeles could do nothing about. What helped Portland tremendously in the second half was their lack of turnovers. In the first half they had seven, while in the second half, they recorded just two.
McCollum finished with 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting, 2-of-6 from three with four rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while Lillard finished with 22 points on 7-of-20 sshooting, 5-of-10 from three with five assists and three steals.
Perhaps the two MVPs, however were Harkless and Plumlee, who kept the Blazers moving in the first half. Harkless finished with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, 2-of-6 from three with ten rebounds. Plumlee recorded another double-digit rebounding game, finishing with ten points on 4-of-6 shooting with 15 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Both of those players are examples of figuring out their best spots. Plumlee is being used as the distributor in the middle, while Harkless is being put against defenders that are mismatches or known for not being good defenders.
Now, Portland has an opportunity to close the series out at home in the Moda Center on Friday at 7:30 p.m. PST.
Stay tuned!