Well, it was nice to finally have a game that was relaxing. After two weeks of nail-biting, last possession games, the Blazers more than took care of business at home against the Charlotte Bobcats. The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Bobcats 134-104 in a sizzling showcase of offense.
There was never any doubt about this game. Once the Blazers led 17-9 with 7:24 remaining in the first quarter, the game was pretty much wrapped up. You could just tell this was going to be a long night for the Bobcats. In the first couple of offensive possessions for the Blazers, they had the Bobcats running in circles. Spreading the defense as far as it could go and creating mismatches with ease. After a couple of sluggish offensive games, the Blazers came out as hot as you can be. Let me rattle some stats off for you. 6-for-6, 5-for-6, 2-for-3, 3-for-5, 2-for-2, 1-for-3, 2-for-5, you would think those stats were FTs or even FGs. Not tonight. These are the individual three point stats for the team tonight. That’s right; the Blazers finished shooting 63.6% from three and went 21-for-33. The Blazers shot BETTER from beyond the arc than they did from anywhere else. Geez.
Similar to the 76ers game a couple weeks back, it seemed like no matter where the player was that Blazer was swishing a three. Some of the shots were just ridiculous and you just had to shake your head and say that it was one of those nights. Coming into this game, Blazer fans were just hoping that Portland would not play down to their competition like they have done in the past. After a great and gritty comeback win in Oklahoma City, you wanted to continue that mindset. This Charlotte team is not abysmal as they have been and are capable of pulling together a win. People forget, in the weak Eastern Conference, with a 14-20 record, the Bobcats are the 8th seed. That was immediately erased in the first quarter. The Blazers outscored Charlotte 39-21 in the first and just continued to outscore them the rest of the way. The Bobcats could never get past the 20-point mark in their deficit. Fortunately for the Blazers, they really just had to trade baskets or, like they did all night, drill a couple of threes to get the game back in order. Yeah, it was that kind of night where you felt you could just order a three and it would happen.
While tonight showcased an offensive clinic, the defense was better, but still not spectacular. The Bobcats went 29-for-36 at the line and if this game had been any closer, that would have been a factor. I am not going to hound on this because the Blazers completely just dominated the Bobcats. However, I will say that the defense did look a little bit better in stretches. It really seems to be an energy issue. There were times in this game where everyone decided to get a stop and the Blazers would, but there were also times where the Blazers allowed the guards to trickle in. All that to say, this team is looking like they are working on it and that is all you can ask for.
The Blazers tied a franchise record of 21 threes in a game. The Blazers made a total of 7 just in the first quarter. I’m sorry Bobcats, I really am.
There were really no statistical standouts because everybody had a great night. Probably the oddest thing was that LaMarcus Aldridge was the coldest one in the starting lineup. He finished the night with 10 points on 5-for-13 shooting and 15 rebounds. LA was a beast on the defensive end and grabbing rebounds, but offensively he just didn’t have it going as he usually does. Although, that might just be that why bring it into LA when you can just nail a three and move along. I am not concerned one bit about tonight and he will have a nice day off before the next game.
Damian Lillard was feeling it. I would not have been surprised if he could have hit shots from half-court consistently tonight. He finished the night with 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting, 6-for-6 from three, and 7 assists. He did not miss at all from beyond the arc and he hit from different spots. He hit from the corner, top of the key, and the wings. Just an unbelievable shooting night from Damian and all of this was in just 29 minutes of play. Good lord.
Well, I could go down the list, but that would pointless. The Blazers shot ridiculously well; I mean Will Barton made both of his. You know that is a hot night for your team. The beauty of this game was that it was needed. After using the starters quite a bit in these last couple of weeks, none of the starters clocked over 30 minutes this game and it allowed the bench to get some much-needed run. There is not much else to say. This game was nowhere near being close and it was just a fun game to watch.
Next up, the Blazers take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night at the Moda Center at 7:00 PM PST. The 76ers are going to be a little different from the Blazers’ last meeting in that the, in my opinion, rookie of the year point guard Michael Carter-Williams will be playing. He changes the entire makeup of this team and I would not be surprised if they want some payback for the pounding that the Blazers gave them a couple of weeks ago. This should be a fun game to watch as this will be the first meeting of Damian and MCW. Stay tuned!