The Portland Trail Blazers officially begin the Robin Lopez-less era. While there were some encouraging signs, there were also some indications of harder times to come against better squads.
However, the Blazers were able to secure the victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in their first meeting of the season. Portland beat the Bucks 104-97. The Blazers improve to 20-6 on the season, 12-2 at home, while the Bucks fall to 13-13 and 6-9 on the road.
The first game without Robin Lopez was a weird and scary thought for most Blazer fans. Lopez had been the most dependable and steady player on the starting line-up and the contributions he had made throughout his tenure with Portland may not have gotten the most praise, but there was no one more important to this offense and defense than Lopez. Lopez set the bar for the defense, he cleaned up a lot of mistakes on the defensive end and he did the little things such as boxing out his man, knowing player’s tendencies and setting some of the best screens Portland has seen. While Lopez may not have wowed too many with his pure statistics, the things he did and the intangibles he had were critical and this Blazer team. The thought of playing without that important piece was daunting.
Leading up to this game, the question had to be asked, who was starting in place of Lopez? The answer seemed obvious at first, start Chris Kaman. However, you start thinking about that for a little bit and a person realizes that Kaman needs to stay on the bench for a couple of reasons. One, having Kaman play 30+ minutes night in and night out does not seem like the best of ideas. While he is most certainly healthy, I would not want to play with his age and health by playing him a ton of minutes. Secondly, the bench needs scoring and with Kaman continuing to come off the bench, it keeps the rotation relatively the same and keeps the same flow.
The second option was Joel Freeland. He was my pick and a bunch of other people’s choice. He is probably the only player on the bench that resembles Robin’s style of unselfishness and tough play. While he is definitely not as good as Lopez, he is close and he has played alongside LaMarcus Aldridge in the past. Furthermore, he is a good offensive rebounder and knows his role. However, rumors swirled that head coach Terry Stotts might throw a wrench at the Bucks. It left many to speculate whether Thomas Robinson or Meyers Leonard would get the nod.
Ultimately, Stotts went with Robinson. The Bucks play a smaller line-up, especially with Jabari Parker out for the season plus some other significant injuries to John Henson and Ersan Ilyasova. With the smaller line-up in play, Robinson seemed like the logical fit. Now, T-Rob had not been a part of the rotation all season long. Freeland was taking the minutes behind Kaman and, really, there was no room for Robinson. After playing nine minutes in the Spurs game and providing seven points and three rebounds, this might be Robinson’s time to shine and show if he is worth giving minutes to. In fact, you could say that to anybody on the bench with Lopez out. This is the time for players to step up.
This Milwaukee Bucks team is not the trash-tier that everyone has come to expect from the Bucks from the last couple of seasons. Finally, ownership and coaches have decided to take the long-term route instead of always making ill-advised trades to stay competitive and have a lock on the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Parker, Henson, Khris Middleton, Henson and others are now the core of this team. Youth is their motto. Giannis is an insane player and a matchup nightmare in most scenarios. He is long, quick, he can shoot, he can get to the rim, he can post up and he can defend somewhat. Giannis has it all and he is only 20. He is technically a shooting guard according ESPN.com, but he could potentially play any position depending on how strong and if he continues to grow. There was even talk that head coach Jason Kidd would experiment with Giannis running the point. A player of his caliber and potential does not come around too often and already his numbers are on the rise.
Back to the Bucks, this team, coming into this game, was over .500 with a record of 13-12. Already this season is a massive improvement over last season where they won just 15 games. Gone are the old veterans who are eating up time for the players that matter. Gone are the trades that would have involved Giannis and others for mediocre players. This team plays defense, while they are ranked 19th in points allowed with 100.6 a game, the defense is there and the improvement is there. Because they have so many players with length and size, it makes it difficult for any team to drive into the lane or pass the ball. The Bucks seem to be on the track from a mediocre team to a good team.
Even without Lopez, Portland was still obviously better than the Bucks. While it was expected to be a closer game than normal, the Blazers were still the favorite to win, especially at home. Give credit to the Bucks, though, they made it more interesting than I thought.
In the first quarter, the Bucks shot 61% from the field going 11-for-18. The defense for Portland was obviously still shaky and there was definitely some possessions where the players were not sure who was going to be where and the flow of the offense was not as smooth. Portland turned the ball over four times in the quarter. The Bucks jumped to a 10-2 lead, but got it right back and stayed close for the majority of the game. The defense was better in the second quarter. The Bucks shot just 33% from the field. Portland outscored the Bucks 25-16 in the quarter while shooting 47% from the field. Another interesting stat was that Portland out-rebounded the Bucks 14-7 in the quarter. Portland secured their first lead by the end of the quarter and took a two-point lead into halftime.
Probably the best quarter for Portland was the fourth quarter. They outscored the Bucks 36-27. Portland finally put it all together and the Bucks stopped hitting difficult shots. After a made Jerryd Bayless bucket with 8:12 remaining in the fourth to put the Bucks up by two, Milwaukee did not score again until the 3:44 mark. In that time, Portland was able to go on a run and have an eight-point lead by the time the Bucks were able to respond. The Blazers shot 62% from the field and 25% from three. They out-rebounded the Bucks 16-7, which is a theme throughout this game since they were playing small. However, the fourth quarter also saw a strategy that is beginning to unfold for opposing teams. Thomas Robinson is the worst free-throw shooter on the team. We saw Gregg Popovich use the “hack-a-Robinson” gambit in the Spurs game and Kidd utilized that to the maximum. It is hard to argue with that strategy, though, since it did work. Robinson was just 4-for-12 from the line in the quarter. He split a couple and got a mental block as they kept fouling him. Starting at the 2:58 mark, Robinson went to the line frequently, while the Bucks tried to hurry their possession and just charge the lane. It did work to some degree, but the Bucks did not score every time. So, they were very slowly just losing time. Regardless, if Thomas Robinson is going to be starting more when Lopez is out, those free-throws need to be more consistent. He is shooting 41% from the line this season. Can we at least “bump” that up to 60%?
Still, the Bucks made it interesting. They shot a high percentage all-game (48%) and played some respectable defense. The Blazers, with some energy and help from Robinson and their bench, just outlasted them. Now, there was one key factor that helped Portland in this victory.
It was the rebounding. Portland had 52 rebounds to the Bucks’ 32. Furthermore, Portland had a whopping 16 offensive rebounds to the Bucks’ 5. To further give you an indication, Aldridge and Robinson combined for 31 rebounds. Just one shy of what the Bucks had as a team! Like I said, the Bucks played small. So, the glass was all Portland’s. Aldridge and Robinson had a field day as well as Freeland who had six rebounds on the night. The offensive rebounds were lethal. One that comes to mind was when Aldridge missed an easy basket and in the middle of four green jerseys, was able to grab his own rebound and put in back in for the bucket. The Bucks just had no answer. Their biggest players were Zaza Pachulia and Larry Sanders. Pachulia is a solid back-up big, but there was really no size to speak of.
Also, Portland had 25 assists to the Bucks’ 16. During that scoreless and critical stretch for the Bucks in the fourth quarter, there was a lot of dribble up and take the quickest shot. There did not seem to be a lot of action or movement to try and secure a better shot. Brandon Knight and O.J. Mayo, particularly decided to settle for mid-ranges or ill-advised shots. Good for Portland, but the Bucks killed themselves by doing that.
Damian Lillard was Portland’s highest scorer with 29 points on 10-for-18 shooting, 4-for-7 from three with seven assists, two steals and three rebounds. He was locked in from the start. When his three-pointer is hitting, it tends to be a long night for the opposition.
Aldridge finished with 23 points on 10-for-19 shooting with 15 rebounds (six offensive), two assists and one block. It will be interesting to see how Aldridge’s rebound numbers get affected over these next few games. He had his way because the Bucks were small, but against a team with size or a legitimate center, it will be more difficult. Both of Portland’s all-stars shot efficiently and were deadly all night.
The player of the game, though, was Thomas Robinson. In his first career start he finished with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting, 16 rebounds (four offensive), one assist, one steal and one block in just 29 minutes of play. Again, the only blunder was the 5-for-15 from the line. That was gross. Robinson played phenomenally and really provided energy, as he always does, as well as playing with a good tempo. He did not rush anything, he did not try and turn into some offensive dynamo, he just played his game and took his time. Normally, new starters try to do too much off the bat, but he let everything come to him. I was impressed.
Even as well as Robinson played, Stotts will probably continue to switch up the starting lineup depending on the team. For example, I would imagine the next game against the Spurs might not have Robinson starting, but we shall see.
This game was not without some of its scary moments for both teams. Giannis twisted his ankle badly as he began to jump for a lay-up. He landed on the ground and looked to be in immense amounts of pain, but walked off on his own power. Good sign for Bucks fans as he looks to be just a sprained ankle. However, when it happened, it looked a lot worse.
Nicolas Batum had his own scary moment. On a fast break, he beat the Milwaukee defenders to the basket and dunked it, however Sanders gave Batum a little push as he was going towards the rim and Batum lost his grip forcing him to fall quite a ways and face first. He looked really shaken up, but it turned out that he got the wind knocked out of him. He looked nasty and, again, luck played a part as he was able to continue playing, but he was just sore.
This game also featured the return of C.J. McCollum. While he only played 14 minutes, he provided three points and three assists and was a +11 on the night. He and Allen Crabbe will be fighting for time. The question is, who will eventually win it?
The first game without Lopez was a success, but there are still some things that worry me. One, the Bucks shot a good percentage and got to the rim way too much for my liking. The Bucks are a better team, but against Houston coming up and James Harden, the rim needs to be protected, otherwise we might as well just head out of the building. The Blazers did only shoot 7-for-23 from beyond the arc. I mentioned that Robin sets excellent screens and he was one of the reasons why the Blazers get so many open looks from downtown. Against better teams, I am not sure how that is going to look. Again, a win is a win, but the next game against the Spurs will be a better indication of how this team can play without Lopez.
Next up, San Antonio as the Blazers start a brutal four-game road trip. Tip-off is on Friday at 5:00 p.m. PST. Reports indicate that Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Patty Mills will all be out. Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will most likely play. Stay tuned!