The Portland Trail Blazers are in their most difficult postseason challenge yet. After getting taking a pounding in game one, the Blazers had to make adjustments and for a little while it looked like they did. Unfortunately, Portland could not keep up as the Spurs rode a 41 point second quarter to beat the Blazers in game two 114-97. San Antonio leads the series 2-0 as it heads back to Portland for game three.
The Blazers are getting a close look at what a championship-caliber team looks like in the postseason. Playing the Miami Heat or Spurs in the regular season does not prepare for these teams when the games matter. For further examples, just watch the Miami Heat coast through the playoffs. Miami swept the Bobcats in what was probably the worst series of the first round and they are currently holding a very comfortable 2-0 lead over Brooklyn.
The Spurs had a tougher first round as Dallas took them to the brink, but ever since game seven, the Spurs have been absolutely lights out on the offensive end and are suffocating teams on the defensive end. Dallas woke the Spurs up after game six and the Spurs have been riding this momentum into this series.
This is the first time this season that the Blazers look out of sorts all across the board. They had that bad stretch in the regular season where they lost to Orlando, but really we all knew what the problems were. LaMarcus Aldridge was injured and the team was going through a funk. In these past two games, the Spurs have put on a clinic and the Blazers look absolutely blind-sided. In Portland’s defense, they have a good reason. They are playing against a team that has three future hall-of-famers and the best coach in the NBA right now who have been in the playoffs so much that it probably feels like a regular season game.
Portland has some glaring disadvantages. Obviously, their postseason experience is not high. Portland has a quite a few players that have been in the postseason, however, the consistency and how deep those players went is not high. LA and Nicolas Batum have never been in the second round. Wesley Matthews has been in the second round when he was in Utah, but he was still in the early stages of his career. Mo Williams and Dorell Wright have the most experience in the postseason, but that does not even compare to what the Spurs have combined. Robin Lopez was on those mid-00’s Phoenix teams, but he wasn’t getting that much time.
Furthermore, this is the first time where you might just have to tip your cap to the Spurs. Watching these past two games, the Spurs are just flat out a better team talent wise. The Rockets had the better individual players, but they didn’t play as a unit. The Spurs are the prime example of playing as a unit and playing the most unselfish basketball in the league.
On the positive end, this is a great learning experience for Portland. Portland is still on the rise and will be peaking in the next couple of years. The players on this squad, especially the younger players, need to watch and take note.
After saying all that, you may think that I am already counting Portland out. I am not as they are still coming home for two games, which could definitely turn the series around. However, this is the first time Portland has felt like it has hit a giant wall and they will need to do some work.
In this game, Portland did win the second half yet again, but the Spurs used a dominant second quarter to get enough space to eventually pull it out. Portland did make the game interesting as with 5:37 remaining in the fourth Batum hit a three to bring Portland within eight. The fact that Portland got to that point is pretty impressive and reinforces the point that if Portland can figure the Spurs out, then this series could get interesting.
Specifically, in game two, the Spurs’ offensive stats were off the charts. They shot 53% from the field and 60% from three-point land. That is right, 60%. The Spurs went 12-for-20 from downtown and were a machine. Kawhi Leonard finished with 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting, 4-for-4 from three. Marco Belinelli, who disappeared in the Dallas series, finished with 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting, 2-for-3 from three. Manu Ginobili finished with 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting, 2-for-4 from three. As you can see, the Spurs seemingly could not miss.
The bench for the Spurs continues to dominate over Portland’s bench. The Spurs had 50 bench points to Portland’s 19. That is a massive hole in and of itself.
Furthermore, the Spurs continue to play great defense to make LA work for every bucket. He finished with 16 points on 6-for-23 shooting and 10 rebounds. Fans probably never thought they would say that they prefer facing Dwight Howard over Tiago Splitter. Not only are the Spurs running suffocating double-teams at LA, but Tiago Splitter has been playing some great defense. Everything that a team can do to make LA work for his shot, the Spurs have been doing since the tip in game one.
Damian Lillard finished with 19 points on 8-for-20 shooting, 1-for-6 from three. Lillard has been struggling offensively in this series; however, he hit a few threes and was a threat in this game.
What is laughable is the fact that Portland actually shot a decent percentage. Portland shot 43% from the field and 39% from three. They out-rebounded the Spurs by three and almost matching them in points in the paint. However, the Spurs had 27 assists to the Blazers’ 15.
Nicolas Batum was the most potent offensive player as he finished with 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting, 3-for-5 from three, nine rebounds and two assists. The five turnovers was the only blemish in his final stat line.
What else is there to say? The Spurs are executing flawlessly and make the Blazers look lost. However, I am seeing similarities between both these teams; it is just a matter of the collective talent and the experience in running the game plan. I think Portland could really be a team like this in the coming years, which is why I continue to harp on the fact that Portland needs to watch this team closely.
Portland returns to the Moda Center on Saturday night as they look to win their first game of the series. However, Mo Williams will probably be unavailable due to sustaining a nagging groin injury in game six of the Houston series. Portland’s bench was already laughable alongside San Antonio’s, but without Mo Williams it will be extremely tough. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. PST. Portland needs to turn the ship around fast otherwise they will be looking at a quick second round. Stay tuned!