Well, the season had to come to an end at some point. The San Antonio Spurs handled business once again as they beat the Portland Trail Blazers 104-82 to win the series 4-1 and advance to the Western Conference Finals.

There was really nothing spectacular about this game compared to all the other ones. The Blazers gave one last gasp in game four and the Spurs went right back to business like they did in games one, two and three. Using a hot second quarter, the Spurs were able to wrest control from the Blazers, who showed some signs of life early on. However, Portland just could not muster enough offense to keep up. After the first quarter where both teams scored 19, the Spurs turned up the dial. They outscored Portland 32-25 in the second quarter, 26-19 in the third and 27-19 in the fourth. They are literally like a machine that just churns out wins.

I will not be talking a lot about the actual game, but here are some stats that are telling and should be a focal points going into next season. First off, Portland had 18 turnovers to the Spurs’ six. There were way too many sloppy passes, losing control of the ball and sometimes just not knowing where the ball went. There were even a couple of bullet passes that flew out-of-bounds. The Spurs were ready to pounce at any moment and the discipline they showed was astounding.

Portland shot 41% from the field and 26% from three. The FT woes that have plagued Portland through certain games the whole season, unfortunately, showed up in game five. Portland went 11-for-17 and shot just 65% from the line. LaMarcus Aldridge, who is usually solid from the line, went 1-for-4.

The Spurs, on the other hand, shot 47% from the field and 43% from three. There was going to be that one Danny Green game and game five was it. He finished with 22 points on 9-for-13 shooting, 4-for-6 from three and had nine rebounds. He had to step up, however, as Tony Parker left the game after just playing ten minutes with hamstring tightness. Parker never returned to the game, but he really did not need to.

Patty Mills took over in his stead and did just fine. He scored 18 points on 8-for-17 shooting, 2-for-5 from three. If you already want to start looking at possible offseason targets for Portland, Mills needs to be at the top of your list. Furthermore, he is only 25.

Individually, some Portland players shined, but since it was such a blowout win by the Spurs, no one will really notice.

LaMarcus Aldridge, for all the struggles he had in this series still produced. He finished with 21 points on 10-for-21 shooting and had 10 rebounds. Again, the efficiency disappeared the moment this series began, but he was still able to get his numbers. Tiago Splitter was a nightmare to deal with for LA and because of that, San Antonio did not need to commit to as many double-teams. LA ate up Boris Diaw on multiple occasions, but you can’t expect Diaw to be in the game all the time.

Damian Lillard wrapped up his postseason debut by finishing with 17 points on 7-for-18 shooting, 1-for-4 from three and had 10 assists. Lillard was a wizard at driving through paint traffic in game four, but in game five the Spurs were prepared. The moment he started driving and moving through a crowd, the Spurs would be clawing at the ball and it resulted in a couple of turnovers. However, Lillard had a fantastic postseason. He made the first clutch shot of his playoff career and really was effective throughout. I would argue he was better than he was in the regular season. In the postseason he averaged 23.5 points, 6.2 assists and 5.4 rebounds a game all while shooting 44% from the field and 39% from three. This kid is 23. I would like to mention again that we traded Gerald Wallace for him.

Nicolas Batum is only player that was consistently effective against San Antonio. He finished with 10 points on 3-for-9 shooting, 1-for-6 from three, 12 rebounds and five assists. In the postseason he averaged 15.7 points, 4.8 assists and 7.2 rebounds a game all while shooting 48% from the field and 37% from three.

Obviously, these three players are the pillars of this franchise going forward.

I want to close out with some thoughts going into next season.

I have this nagging feeling that Wesley Matthews is going to be traded either in the offseason or midseason next year. He is going to be in the final year of his contract next year and he has been playing at a high level. I love Wesley dearly. The heart and soul he brings to team as well as his commitment to get better every season. However, I have this feeling that Portland is going to be looking to upgrade that spot. I could be totally off-base on this one, but it is just a feeling. Wesley had a solid postseason by averaged 14.6 points, 1.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds a game. The big problem was that he only shot 31% from three.

Who knows, Matthews, like I said, will look to improve in the offseason. Maybe he comes back and is an absolute animal, which I would be all for. I would love nothing more than to see Wesley Matthews be our starting shooting guard when we make our run. We shall see what happens.

Obviously the rumor mill will already start churning from fans on who the Blazers should go grab. I think Dorell Wright is going to be traded as he was underwhelming this season. He had a few glimpses towards the end of the season and in the Houston series, but it was more on the defensive end. He was a three-point specialist when we got him and that was something that could not be depended on night in and night out.

Mo Williams will not be using his player-option and will be a free agent come this offseason. Like I said above, Patty Mills is very viable target. He is younger, more consistent and is a great guy to have on your team. Either way, the Blazers need someone on that bench to create his own shot. When Mo had good nights, he usually brought the Blazers back from the dead.

If this Spurs series showed anything, it is that Will Barton and Thomas Robinson are improving. Will surprised me this series. He got 10+ minutes in the last four games and was quite effective in spots. He and Robinson together create quite the tandem.

The jury is still out on Meyers Leonard. I am really interested to see how Portland handles that situation. Do they give him another year to improve? Or, do they package him in a deal to get another player? That is a fascinating situation.

Overall, however, Portland should focus on improving the bench once again and maybe grabbing a defensive-minded player. The Blazers need to be a deeper team if they want to compete with the likes of the Clippers, the Spurs and the Thunder. Also, they need to have more weapons in their arsenal. It felt like the Spurs just shut down the three-point line and the Blazers really struggled.

Well, this was a heck of a ride. For a team that was supposed to fight for an eighth seed or maybe seventh seed, this was success I would say. I still remember when LA said that this team could fight for the seventh seed. That seemed like a dream in the preseason. Now, it seems like something that we should not be fighting for in the years to come. The Blazers are like the Seahawks in that home-court advantage is absolutely huge for this team. I think the Blazers should focus on getting home-court at least in the first round and go from there. This team should not be like the Golden State Warriors and plateau.

There you have it folks! 93 games all blogged. It was really exciting to do the season game by game and it really helped me appreciate the smaller and finer points of the game. Give your Blazers a round of applause and look forward to next year. Remember, the season starts in just over five months! Stay tuned!