The Portland Trail Blazers’ last game against Denver was an offensive clinic. To fans, it felt like points were coming from every corner of the court and in every facet. Well, last night’s game was anything but that and it was a polar opposite affair.
The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night 97-87. Portland scored just 13 more points than they had scored in the entire first half of the Denver. This was a grinding defensive game. The Blazers improve to 7-3 on the season, while Brooklyn falls to 4-5.
Brooklyn is an okay team. On paper, this team would have been great about three or four years ago, but now Brooklyn is staring at a roster with a bunch of aging veterans plus some younger talent. The biggest issue is that Brooklyn shot themselves in the foot in terms of their future. They gave up plenty of draft picks and assets to grab Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from Boston and that did not pan out. Furthermore, Pierce is not even with the team anymore. So, they are stuck. Not only is there a massive ticking clock on this roster, but there seems to be no future player or asset in sight. Brook Lopez, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson make up the offensive trio that Brooklyn plays through. Brook Lopez is really the only young player in that starting lineup besides Bojan Bogdanovic (who?). Coming off the bench, Mason Plumlee is probably the “up-and-comer”. He played on Team USA over the summer and played well. He is a solid player and one who has a bright future, but what else does Brooklyn have? Jarrett Jack is not bad, but you cannot depend on scoring and production out of just Plumlee and Jack. Mirza Teletovic is a decent enough player who is that stretch four that teams covet. Regardless, Brooklyn is in an interesting spot where once the rebuilding starts, it is going to take a long time before the Nets are good again, unless trades are made. Brooklyn does have a better coach in Lionel Hollins who will teach discipline and defense as well as command a lot of respect in the locker room. That’s influence that former head coach Jason Kidd did not have. The Nets are better-coached this year, but the roster does leave something to be desired.
Points were a commodity in this game. Tough, hard-nosed defense was required every possession. To back up, Portland was without Nicolas Batum (right knee contusion) and, most recently, their all-star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (upper respiratory illness) who caught a cold that has been going through the team. So, the glue of the starting lineup and the steady scoring pulse of LA were both out. Portland started a lineup of Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez, Allen Crabbe and Meyers Leonard. Now, before you all start getting the pitchforks out and criticizing Leonard for everything (that mustache, though), let me just say that Leonard and Crabbe did a phenomenal job for the positions they were put in, especially Meyers.
The first quarter of this game was ugly. No way to sugarcoat it. It was just bad. Portland shot 33% from the field and from three-point land led by Lillard who had seven points in the quarter on 3-for-6 shooting, 1-for-2 from three. Leonard went 2-for-3 and had four points. The only reason Portland outscored Brooklyn 24-15 is that Portland’s defense was steady from the get go. Brooklyn only shot 26% from the field and did not make a single three. Brook Lopez was their only consistent scorer as he had six points on 3-for-5 shooting. This quarter was impressive from a defensive standpoint. The Blazers’ offense was not clicking and not surprising since there were two new players in the starting lineup. However, Portland relied on defensive intensity as well as doing the little things to get the hard-to-come-by buckets. For example, Portland got to the line 12 times (five more than Brooklyn). While they only made half of their free throws (unusual), it was still a way to grab points when nothing else seemed to work. The Blazers were already passing the ball as they recorded five assists in the quarter. It was another testament to how this defense has been improving and it was effective.
The second quarter saw the offenses for both teams kick up a notch. It was expected, the Nets may have plenty of faults, but they have tons of veterans on that squad. A fan should not expect the Nets to be cold shooting-wise all night. Still, Portland was able to keep the Nets at bay. They shot 43% from the field and 44% from three-point range. The three-pointer was the saving grace for Portland. Whenever Brooklyn made a run, the Blazers seemed to find an open shooter who would swish a bucket when it was needed. Matthews led the way with seven points on 2-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 from three, 2-for-2 from the line. Will Barton had a sneaky four points off the bench. Leonard had three points on 1-for-3 shooting, 1-for-2 from three and had four rebounds. Brooklyn shot 44% themselves, but could not hit a three-pointer if somebody paid them. Williams led the way with 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting. Brook Lopez followed that up with seven points of his own on 3-for-5 shooting.
While the Nets started finding their offense, Portland, like above, kept answering. The three-pointer was there for Portland and they seemed to hit one when it mattered. The defense gave Portland opportunities on the offensive end and because of the age factor of Brooklyn, the Blazers could run a little bit.
The third quarter saw both offenses continue to turn the dial. Portland outscored the Nets 30-27 in the quarter yet Brooklyn went 12-for-19 in the quarter. If you are a Brooklyn fan, that is rough. Portland shot 60% from the field and 67% from three. Again, the saving grace was the area beyond the arc. Portland went 4-for-6 in the quarter from downtown. That was the difference. Lillard had eight points and did not miss a shot in the quarter going 3-for-3 from the field, 2-for-2 from three. Robin Lopez, going against his brother, found his offensive game as he had eight points on 4-for-4 shooting. Chris Kaman, who struggled from the field, had six points on 2-for-4 shooting. Contributions were being made on all fronts and in little ways. Portland has a lot of players who can made a mid-range jumper and that is so important, especially when key players are out.
Brooklyn abused the matchup between Matthews and Johnson. Johnson finished with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the quarter. Garnett and Lopez combined for 14 points on 7-for-8 shooting. The Nets focused more on the paint area and abusing matchups down low. It worked, but Portland was just responding time after time.
Just as the game began, the game ended ugly. Brooklyn shot 27% from the field and 12% from three. Brooklyn, on the night, was 1-for-19 from beyond the arc. Dreadful shooting and it really was the factor. Like I said, they have guys who make three-pointers. Williams, Teletovic and Jack, but with all the misses the offensive flow that Brooklyn wanted to set up never got going.
Portland shot 31% from the field and 20% from three. The FT line was the key for Portland. They went 8-for-8 in the fourth quarter. Lillard had eight points and the game really was not over until the buzzer sounded. Brooklyn got as close as six points, but could never get over that hump. Defensive intensity as well as fighting for loose balls forced the Nets into running out of time.
This game was the opposite of the Nuggets game a few nights ago. Blazer fans should be excited after this win. Brooklyn was playing at full strength while Portland was a couple key weapons short. The Blazers were still able to pull it out and beat them solidly. While it may not have been the prettiest game, it certainly got the job done and showed the depth of this team.
The biggest and most telling stats of the night were three point shooting and the free throw line. Portland shot 42% from three going 11-for-26. They attempted 10 more foul shots than the Nets did, going 20-for-27. It was an odd night for Portland as they missed six free throws (including three from C.J. McCollum), but then only missed one shot the rest of the game.
The Blazers did turn the ball over 15 times resulting 16 points for the Brooklyn. That was the most concerning stat and something that needs to be addressed moving forward.
For the all fans and analysts complaining about bench depth, Portland’s bench outscored Brooklyn’s bench 34-15. Kaman with his 12 points on 3-for-11 shooting and five rebounds, Steve Blake with his seven points on 2-for-3 shooting, 1-for-2 from three with seven assists, Barton with eight points on 4-for-7 shooting and Joel Freeland with four points on 1-for-2 shooting with five rebounds. There was balanced scoring and contributions from everyone.
Portland’s highest scorer was Lillard with 28 points on 8-for-14 shooting, 4-for-6 from three with 10 assists and five rebounds. Lillard is not only scoring, but doing everything else as well. Like I said, watch his assist and rebound numbers going forward. Already, fans are seeing those numbers steadily go up. Lillard has been on an absolute tear from beyond the arc. In his past three games (including Brooklyn), he has gone 14-for-20 after starting off slow. Furthermore, some of these threes are from way behind the line. He has combined for 84 points in those three outings.
Robin Lopez was efficient finishing with 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting with seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
Leonard, however, was who impressed me the most. Fans, get off the hating Leonard bandwagon. Last night’s game showed that progress is being made and that Portland has finally found a position that he is comfortable in. He finished with seven points on 3-for-7 shooting, 1-for-3 from three, but had 12 rebounds. Furthermore, he had no turnovers and only fouled three times. Meyers is getting comfortable with shooting the basketball and not being as hesitant. There was still a few offensive possessions where Meyers was supposed to shoot, but decided against it. However, the way Leonard is carrying himself on the court now is night and day compared to even last season. Garnett was an excellent matchup for Leonard as he could outrun him and draw Garnett out with his three-point shooting. I do not know what this says for the rotation going forward, but Leonard is showing that all that work is not just talk, but it is actually turning into something. Fans just need to not compare him to the next Roy Hibbert (do we want that anyway?) or Dwight Howard. He may be a big body, but he might be a Ryan Anderson in the future.
Speaking of Anderson, Portland takes on the New Orleans Pelicans for the first time this season as they head to the Moda Center. Tip-off is on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. PST. This will be a rough game. The Pelicans can be a matchup nightmare for Portland. Anthony Davis has been absurd in his first few games of the season as he is averaging 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game. Plus with a new addition in Omer Asik, the Pelicans are dangerous. It would help if LA were able to play, but if not, Portland will have to figure it out. Otherwise, it’ll be a long game. Stay tuned!