Well, Trail Blazer fans, this is the first emotional and mental test for the Blazers this season. The Trail Blazers came into the game on Monday night wanting to bounce back in a big way after the heart-crushing buzzer beater by Chris Bosh the game before. The Blazers will have to wait another night as they fall to the New Orleans Pelicans 110-108. This game was all too familiar and the little problems that seemed to only be tiny scratches or issues with this team are now beginning to jump to the forefront and fast. The biggest and only issue is the defense. I have been saying this the last few posts. Eventually these close games and allowing this many points in the paint game after game will bite you and you are starting to notice it.
Let’s just jump right into the stats as this will pretty much tell the story of the game. The Pelicans shot 53.9% and went 48-for-89 from the field as a whole. Out of the 110 points that they ultimately scored, 68 of them were in the paint. The Pelicans also out-rebounded the Blazers 47-38. The Pelicans are a matchup nightmare for the Blazers. With Ryan Anderson being a deadly stretch four, it forces LaMarcus Aldridge out of the paint area to guard him. Well, unfortunately, this opens up Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, and Tyreke Evans to slash through and either force Robin Lopez into fouling them or get an easy bucket. Anthony Davis exploded tonight as he finished with 27 points on 13-for-19 shooting, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Tyreke Evans is starting to flourish in his new role as sixth man for this Pelicans team as he finished with 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting, 4 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Tyreke was a monster in the second quarter going 4-for-4 with 8 points. Jrue Holiday in what ended up being a fantastic point guard battle ended with 31 points on 14-for-28 shooting and 13 assists. In the fourth quarter, he had an answer for every push that the Blazers made. He would be able to get to his spots and swish a jumper.
Tonight’s game was a horrible flashback to last season where the Blazers would come out semi-flat in the first quarter and only played defense in the last five minutes of a game. The Pelicans outscored the Blazers 26-21 in the first quarter and if you look at how the scoring looked at the end, this game was a lot closer than it felt. Like the Blazers always do, they made it close. Outscoring the Pelicans 26-21 in the fourth quarter, the Blazers had the opportunity to take the game into OT after a ridiculous 26-foot three pointer from Lillard, which was a familiar sight for all Blazer fans. Unfortunately, Tyreke Evans got the last laugh and had enough time to run down the court and swish a jumper for the game. This game didn’t hurt as much as the Miami game, but you wanted the Blazers to win. They had yet to lose two games in a row and that streak finally broke tonight. Again, you do not expect all of these records and streaks to hold forever, but you hate to see them go away in this manner.
The defense was always the obvious weakness for this team. At the beginning of the season, the Blazers actually used their defense as a weapon and were able to win games that way (Chicago game and Phoenix game at the Moda Center). However, it is pretty obvious that teams have switched up their attacks and the Blazers have not adapted optimally. This may seem like an obvious statement and it is, but what has almost been kicked under the rug as the Blazers have soared is now finally going to have to be dealt with. You saw tonight how this team CAN play defense. The fourth quarter was excellent defensively particularly from the guards, but it does not last. If the Blazers can come out with that kind of intensity in the second quarter and keep it going, then this team can take the next step. The Blazers are ranked in the top 10 in points scored, rebounds, and assists per game. However, they are ranked 26th in points allowed. That pretty much says it all.
This game was not without its positives for the Blazers as LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard both had fantastic nights, especially considering their matchups. Lillard almost became the hero again as he drilled an absolutely ridiculous three-pointer with :10 remaining in the fourth to hopefully force the overtime. We know how the game ended, but this kid keeps showing up in the big moments time after time after time.
Damian Lillard had a fantastic shooting night and ended with 29 points on 10-for-18 shooting, 5-for-8 from three, and 5 assists. His defense was a little suspect at times, but the matchup with Jrue Holiday is not a good one for Damian as Jrue is taller and longer making him very difficult to guard.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who went up against the shot-blocker Anthony Davis, played really well. He finished the night with 28 points on 13-for-25 shooting and 8 rebounds. Anthony Davis has an insane wingspan and is about the only person that I can think of right now who can block LA’s shot. LA was forced to arc his shot so much to get over Davis that it was pretty amazing that he was still able to hit a fair amount of shots. One thing I do wish is that he would go to the basket a little bit more and force the foul call. The one time he did that tonight it was one of the few 3-point plays in the paint. Other than that, LA continues to play really well. He had rough matchups tonight in Ryan Anderson defensively and Anthony David offensively, but was still able to come up big in a couple of situations tonight.
The bonus with still having an excellent record is having breathing room. The Blazers were going to have a tough stretch this season. It is just having the mindset to not let a losing streak stretch out to 5 or 6 games. The defense has gotten to a point where the Blazers need to shift their focus back to that area like in the pre-season. Their offense is clicking and that will take of itself. Allowing almost 54% shooting from the opposition is not the way to win ballgames. It doesn’t get any easier tomorrow as the Trail Blazers will make their first visit to OKC as they battle the Thunder Tuesday night at 5:00 PM PST. The Thunder recently lost their all-star point guard Russell Westbrook again to knee surgery, but Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb have helped fill that void and the Thunder have yet to lose a game without Westbrook. And, just to add to that, the Thunder have only lost one game at home. This will not be an easy game, but it would be a great way to get back on the winning track. Stay tuned!