It has begun. Another NBA season has arrived and the crazy rollercoaster that is basketball is back. The landscape has changed, especially in the Eastern Conference and familiar faces are in different uniforms. It is time to get back on the wagon folks.
The Portland Trail Blazers started off the season yesterday to a raucous crowd and a buzz in the air. Not only are there high expectations for this team this season, but the first game was against a division rival in the Oklahoma City Thunder. It seemed like the perfect combination.
After a rocky start (more on that later), the Blazers took a deep breath and went to work. They tightened the screws defensively and threw several offensive weapons and assets at the Thunder to secure a 106-89 victory in what was a promising beginning to the season. The Blazers have won their last 14 home games on opening night.
When the schedule was released, looking at the first game, a fan would see that Portland has a brutal early schedule (still does). Having to play against the newly revamped and title-contending Cleveland Cavaliers in just the fourth game of the season is rough on anybody. But, starting off the season against the Oklahoma City Thunder has its own problems and feels like an uphill climb. Even though the Blazers started at home this season, the Thunder have always been able to play well against the Blazers (and anybody). But, the line-up that was on the floor last night was not what people expected. First off, Kevin Durant recently had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot. He is going to be out for at least six weeks. That would have been enough to change the entire complexion and feeling of this Thunder squad, but newcomer and three-point shooter Anthony Morrow, solid and rising backup point guard Reggie Jackson, and role player Jeremy Lamb are all injured as well. So, the Thunder’s starting lineup consisted of Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams (who is on his way to being a good player), Andre Roberson and Perry Jones. Not what the fans had in mind or the Blazers for that matter.
Portland had a golden opportunity to not only secure a win, but also to build a good record against the Thunder this season. However, this matchup had “trap game” written all over it. Rustiness from both teams because it’s the first game and potentially Portland not taking the Thunder as seriously was a possibility.
Well, it certainly looked that way in the first quarter. The Thunder outscored Portland 34-29 and shot 58% from the field. Portland was able to keep up, but only because they shot a blistering 61% from the field. LaMarcus Aldridge wasted no time being dominant as he went 6-for-8 from the field, including one three-pointer. Wesley Matthews also provided his own scoring by going 3-for-4 from the field including one three-pointer. Fans expecting to see defensive improvement, at least from the start, were disappointed. Russell Westbrook went 4-for-8 in the quarter and Lance Thomas of all people went 5-for-5. It was not the best start, but certainly not the worst.
Portland slowly got back into form in the second quarter as both OKC and the Blazers scored 20. Offenses for both teams suddenly went ice cold. The Thunder shot 36% from the field and Portland shot a frigid 24%, going 7-for-29 from the field and 0-for-9 from beyond the arc. The Blazers’ identity still relies a lot on that three-point shot and it was evident. Portland could not get the ball to go in and a lot of the three-point attempts were open shots, but were either incredibly short or rimmed out. The only player to have a decent quarter was newcomer Chris Kaman who went 3-for-6 from the field. He has been as advertised. Kaman had a solid and productive preseason and had a good first outing here. He finished with 12 points on 6-for-10, six rebounds, two assists and one block in 22 minutes of play. Kaman this season can almost be penciled in as a 10 points and five rebounds kind of player. Already he has changed the minds of Blazer fans and has been an incredible boon for Portland and especially the bench. Plus, he gives head coach Terry Stotts options in terms of his frontline and he can use size as a weapon. There was one sequence where Kaman threw a high-low bullet pass to LA in the paint that resulted in Aldridge getting fouled. Portland has not seen that since the days of Marcus Camby. Furthermore, Kaman provides another offensive threat in the paint. He allows LA or Lopez to have more room to work and he takes the pressure off of LA in being the only scoring-minded frontline player on this team (sorry T-Rob, Joel and Robin).
Even though Portland’s offense disappeared and they were still playing rough basketball, they were only down by five.
The Blazers offense started turning on as well as their defense in the third quarter as they outscored the Thunder 26-23. The Thunder shot 38% from the field and went just 9-for-24. Portland, on the other hand, got it going and shot 50% in the quarter and 43% from three. They found their range. Batum went 4-for-7 including 2-for-3 from the beyond the arc giving the Blazers some life. Any fan could tell that Portland was in a better mindset. The ball movement was crisper and more fluid and the shots that Portland was taking were much better and seemed to be filled with confidence. Furthermore, the defensive improvements and intensity started to show. Nicolas Batum did a phenomenal job on Russell Westbrook in attempting to slow him down. Wesley Matthews also did a good job being active and staying in front of his man.
However, the person that surprised me the most was Steve Blake. In his first game back as a Blazer, he only finished with one point, but had five assists and five rebounds with zero turnovers. Mo Williams he is not. Blake was a pest on the defensive end. He was active, grabby and seemed to be aggravating the Thunder players. I would not say that Blake is a shut-down defender, but he is definitely a player who takes the defensive side of the game more seriously. He also had a couple of nifty passes to Kaman and open three-point shooters that further showed that he is not Mo Williams (catching a pattern?). Glad to have him back.
Portland continued to put the pressure on the Thunder and ran them out of the building. They outscored the Thunder 31-12 in the fourth quarter and put the game away. Portland shot 55% from the field and went 6-for-7 from three point range. Both Damian Lillard and Matthews combined to 5-for-5 from beyond the arc. Westbrook went just 1-for-6 in the quarter.
What did this game show? Well, not everything, but it showed that Portland is definitely a versatile team. Damian Lillard battled foul trouble and did not have his best night as he finished with 10 points going 3-for-10 from the field, 2-for-7 from three, five assists and two rebounds. That did not hurt Portland too much. This game also showed something that Portland seemed to not be able to do last season. Putting teams away. The game was close until the fourth quarter and then the Blazers put it to rest behind back-to-back three-pointers by Matthews. Last season, that would not have happened. It would have been a struggle and fight just to get out of the building. Portland got the defensive stops they needed and hit the timely three-pointers and buckets that turned the tide completely. Again, only the first game, but it is a comforting sign to see that Portland has the ability to do that.
Matthews picked up the slack finishing with 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting, 5-for-9 from three. Matthews had to guard Westbrook at times and he provided a hot shooting hand.
LaMarcus Aldridge, again, wasted no time getting back into dominant form. He finished with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting and had three rebounds. LA’s rebounding numbers may take a hit this year with the addition of Kaman and Batum being more of a rebounder. However, that is not a bad thing. It will just be interesting to see how his rebounding numbers evolve over the course of the season.
A person can only tell so much from one game. However, Portland looks to be an exciting basketball team this season with a lot more options. While the new additions may not have been splashy, I think last night’s game showed that Kaman and Blake will have a huge impact going forward. The bench was able to sustain and even build a lead at times allowing the starters to rest. The most any of the starters played was Matthews at 35 minutes.
Well, Portland moves on to play the Sacramento Kings on Friday at the Sleep Train Arena (really?) at 7:00 P.M. The Kings lost their point guard Isaiah Thomas to the Suns, but picked up Darren Collison and Ramon Sessions to cover the spot. While a person could argue that those moves were questionable, remember it is the Kings. Either way, the Kings can be sneaky. With DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay, the Kings can go off if not careful. Portland says they learned their lesson in taking a team too lightly. Well, they will face the same task and challenge in Sacramento. Stay tuned!