It is safe to say that the Trail Blazers did not start this road trip off the way they wanted to. The Portland Trail Blazers lost to the Charlotte Bobcats 124-94 in what was a confusing and disappointing outing for Portland. The Blazers now fall to 45-25 on the season and the Bobcats improve to 34-36 and are in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
The Blazers have succumbed to two bad starts on two separate road trips. In Dallas, they were staring at a 17-4 hole just minutes into the first quarter, while in this game the Blazers were staring at a 17-5 deficit halfway through the first quarter. The only difference was that the Blazers didn’t make that impossible 30-point comeback. Portland was out of it from the start.
What were the culprits? Well, for starters, with LaMarcus Aldridge out and Robin Lopez forced to guard Al Jefferson, Jefferson could do whatever he wanted in the paint. He ended with 28 points on 13-for-22 shooting, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, which is mind-blowing. Also, the backcourt combo of Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker torched the Blazers from everywhere. Combined they scored 49 points on 18-for-31 shooting, 6-for-7 from three. When the Blazers made any attempt to get back into the game, hot shooting followed by some mediocre defense caused the Blazers to not gain any ground. In the first half, Charlotte shot 59% from the field. Furthermore, they had 16 assists, while Portland the ball-moving, high-flying offensive team had 4.
Portland decided to come out with some urgency in the second half, but it was too much to overcome. Charlotte, despite the fact that they were shooting a blistering percentage most of the game, had to only make a bucket every few possessions. On top of that, Portland struggled to make lay-ups or swish critical game-momentum changing three-pointers. It was a reversal of roles from the last matchup against Charlotte. Portland beat Charlotte in January by 30 and shot 58% from the field. What was mind-blowing about that game is that the Blazers shot 67% from three-point land. What a switch from that game to this game.
These kinds of games early in the season are much easier to swallow. But, for a team that wants to be considered a top-tier Western Conference team, these games you have to win. Especially since Golden State is breathing down your neck in the standings. After having played a semi-decent game followed by a really solid outing against Washington, this seems like a big letdown. Portland wanted to have this road trip go a lot smoother than their 1-4 Texas road trip, but this is not how you want to start. Same as in the previous road trip, Portland got knocked in the teeth and seemed to take the whole road trip to wake up. Hopefully, this does not happen with this road trip, but to lose a game in this fashion against an under .500 team is unacceptable.
However, you could chalk this up to a bad and wacky night. Portland went 9-for-27 from three and shot just 33% from downtown, while shooting 41% from the field. The way Portland played in the second half would have been great if they hadn’t been looking at a 20-point hole. Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker were just on. I am not sure if the Portland defense could have stopped them, but without LaMarcus Aldridge, it was hard to leave Al Jefferson alone to go help somebody on defense. Either way, it is something that is head-scratching to say the least.
Finally, better starts. Portland has continually talked all season about getting off to better starts in games. Well, time to show it. It seems like the Blazers have one of these games every other week and it is frustrating to watch. However, I am not saying that they are unavoidable. You will have games in an NBA season that just get thrown in the toilet afterwards and you never speak about them again, but when it is more of a repeat occurrence, then you need to start looking at other parts. I have no doubt that Portland is making the playoffs, but these kinds of games need to be won to secure spots.
Like I have said this whole post, the Blazers lost control of this game early, but it didn’t stop Damian Lillard and Dorell Wright from having decent individual performances.
Lillard ended with 20 points on 7-for-19 shooting, 3-for-6 from three and 4 assists. Wright, on the other hand, continues his hot play as of late and finished with 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting and had 6 rebounds.
Again, time to move on. The Blazers have the toughest test on their road trip against the Miami Heat on Monday night. If you remember, Chris Bosh broke the hearts of the Moda Center crowd by drilling a desperation three that ended up being the game winner against Portland. Portland can match up against Miami, but without LaMarcus Aldridge, how difficult will it be? We shall see. Tip-off is at 4:30 p.m. PST. Stay tuned!