The Portland Trail Blazers lost to the Atlanta Hawks at home due to suffocating and downright swarming defense by the Hawks as well as sloppy turnovers resulting in 23 extra points scored by Atlanta. That already sounds bad, but Portland lost something more during the game that could have ramifications in the next couple of weeks.
The Blazers fall to 26-8 on the season, 15-3 at home, while the Hawks improve to 25-8 and 11-5 on the road. The Blazers’ four-game winning streak was snapped.
Atlanta and Toronto are both teams in the Eastern Conference that mean business. In fact, Atlanta, in my opinion, scares me more than Toronto. The Hawks, under head coach Mike Budenholzer, have slowly developed and quietly turned into “The Spurs East” with ridiculous ball movement as well as a chemistry and team play that is impressive. Their starting line-up, on paper, will not impress fans or analysts. There are no big name players, no flashy and dominating personalities or statistical giants, they are just a well-grouped and well-coached group of players who realize the importance of sharing the basketball as well as a getting a great shot not a good one. Sound familiar? Funny how both this team and the Spurs feel and look similar, maybe it has something to do with the fact that their head coach was a former Spurs assistant coach.
Looking at Atlanta’s roster on paper, the most important players that stick out are Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver. First off, Atlanta got Millsap for a bargain. They signed him to a two-year, $19 million deal in 2013. Considering that the Blazers offered Millsap a max offer sheet a few off-seasons ago when Millsap was younger, this seems like an absurd deal for the Hawks. He is averaging 17.0 points and 8.1 rebounds a game. He is 29 and honestly will be getting paid come next off-season. The Hawks are going to have to spend some cash in order to keep him.
Teague is an odd player. He is an inconsistent player. He’ll go off in one game and look like the best point guard in the Eastern Conference, then the next game, he will not show up or just lack aggressiveness. For example, in his last four games, he has scored over 20 points while dishing out six or most assists a game. However, here is another stat line, four points on 1-for-5 shooting, six assists and two steals. No, that is not a Ronnie Price stat line, it is all Teague. While he has been tearing it up in his last four games, he had a similar stretch earlier on in the season where in four straight games he scored 23 or more points and then fell off again. Teague likes to slash and drive and I wonder if there are some days that he just does not feel like getting into the paint. In the games he scores poorly, he only attempts five to nine shots. In the games he goes off, he attempts 15 or 16 shots. It is an odd situation because Teague is an excellent player when he is on. Will this little streak continue for Teague, or will he fall back down into another slump or disappear for a game?
However, despite both of those players I mentioned above, I think Korver is the most important player in that starting line-up. Known primarily as a three-point shooter in his days in Utah and Chicago, he has now become a more well-rounded player while still being lights-out from beyond the arc. It is a deadly combination when a three-point specialist develops other skills (looking at you Luke Babbitt!). He statistical averages do not blow the roof off, but it is what he does for the rest of his team and especially the opposition that makes the biggest impact. First off, he is shooting 51% from three-point land this season, averaging 2.9 three-pointers made per game. In this game, Wesley Matthews stays on Korver all night long and Korver is still able to get a few shots up. Furthermore, I was impressed by Korver’s motor. In every Hawks’ offensive possession, Korver is constantly running through defenders and around the perimeter trying to get open. It was almost like Matthews and Korver were a cat and a mouse constantly maneuvering and moving. This might be secretly one of the best matchups to watch, at least for Blazer fans. Back in 2013, fans and analysts thought the Hawks were nuts in extending Korver for four-years at $24 million. What was the big deal? He was a three-point shooter, not a superstar. I guess Atlanta saw something the rest of the league did not as he has turned into a heck of player. When he is on the court, not only does the defense constantly have to be on him, but rebounds and is a sneaky passer. Plus, a quick release on the outside and lethal aim makes him a handful. Because of his versatility now, this allows Millsap and Teague to do their work inside because the defense has to respect Korver. Without Korver in the game, the offense for the Hawks was not as fluid and seemed to be sloppier, even though they outplayed Portland for most of the night.
After reading this far, you might think that this is an Atlanta Hawks blog. Far from it, but I thought it was important to detail out what makes this team tick and who their most important player is because I thought this was the first game this season that Portland got outplayed for most of the game. Portland got off to a hot start as they grabbed an 8-0 lead. Portland’s defense clogged the paint, forced Millsap to turn the ball over, Matthews was on Korver and got in his face immediately. Ultimately, the energy and the hustle was there and it looked like another typical Portland game where the Blazers start off hot and keep a team there. Well, Atlanta took a timeout and promptly flipped the switch.
They outscored Portland by nine in the first quarter mainly because of steals and turnovers that absolutely crushed Portland’s momentum. Portland turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter alone leading to 10 points for the Hawks. The only thing keeping Portland in the game through the first half was their three-point shooting. Portland shot 60% from three going 9-for-15, but were down by three. Portland would go on to record 13 turnovers that resulted in 17 Atlanta points in the first half. 17! If there was ever a statistic to describe what happened in this game that would already be enough. Portland did get some of their energy and hustle back in the second quarter as they went on a 10-2 run in the closing seconds to only have a three-point deficit.
The Hawks would jump right back and grab a 20-point lead in the third quarter. Portland turnovers were better, but after turning it over 13 times already, three in a quarter still seems like too much. Portland end the quarter on a great note thanks to a Damian Lillard almost half-court shot three-pointer at the buzzer. Portland would get it to down to five with 1:57 remaining in the fourth, but Atlanta hit their shots. The team basketball and the way that Hawks got their looks definitely made the Blazers seem vulnerable and like a team figured Portland out. The defense, while good in spurts for Portland, got dissected. There were a couple of possessions where it seemed like Portland allowed Teague or Millsap to get an easy bucket, but for the most part it was just the offensive talent and coaching that made the Blazers look silly on a few possessions.
In the last three quarters, Atlanta would come out of the gate first and drop a quick six or seven points before Portland could even score a bucket leaving the momentum or rally that Portland mustered in the previous quarter to be for nothing. I was impressed; they seemed more Spurs-like than the actual Spurs right now.
LaMarcus Aldridge had a big game as he finished with 30 points on 14-for-25 shooting, with 12 rebounds, four assists, one steal and two blocks. LA was on fire and had a quiet 30-point effort. Unfortunately, it did not seem to matter as the Hawks answered almost every bucket.
Lillard had an off shooting night, but he finished with 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting, 2-for-6 from, but had eight rebounds, seven assists and one block. Lillard has been constantly filling up the stat sheet this season and, even on bad shooting nights, he still has a major impact either on the defensive end or on the boards.
Again, Portland’s downfall was those turnovers. They finished with 18 turnovers. Atlanta would score 23 points off of them. That is the game right there. Portland went 13-for-33 from beyond the arc, did not matter. Portland shot 45% from the field, did not matter. They out-assisted the Hawks 24-17, did not matter. Having a team get 23 extra points off of mistakes will doom any chance of winning. Furthermore, the Hawks scored 64 points in the paint. Portland has been allowing teams to score in the paint and while the defense has been fantastic for most the part, there are still areas in which it feels like teams are focusing on the paint area. Most of this can be attributed to Robin Lopez’s absence, but teams are finally starting to pick up on it. Millsap would even say that scoring in the paint was the strategy in last night’s game.
If it felt like it could not get any worse for Portland’s big man situation, Joel Freeland, who has been playing superbly in place of Lopez, suffered a right shoulder injury that will leave him sidelined for two weeks, right around the time Lopez’s return will be approaching. Portland has done a phenomenal job patching the hole that Lopez left, mainly because of Freeland stepping up. However, with him out, Meyers Leonard or Thomas Robinson will have to step up and if that does not frighten some Blazer fans, I do not know what will. Robinson had a great game against the Milwaukee Bucks here in Portland and Leonard has had stretches, but if teams are finally starting to hammer the paint, then Portland needs to find a reliable solution, otherwise these next couple of weeks are going to seem never-ending.
Overall, Portland lost to a fantastic team who outplayed them offensively and defensively. Portland turned the ball over and could close the deal on the rally. Tip your cap to the Hawks who showed that they are the real deal. I also discovered that I would not mind a Blazers-Hawks Finals. It would be fun to watch.
Next up, the Los Angeles Lakers as they come to the Moda Center on Monday night, tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. PST. The Lakers are bad. No getting around it. They do not have an actual defensive presence and besides Kobe Bryant and the always entertaining Nick Young (AKA Swaggy P,) this team is not having fun this year and is getting beat from everywhere. Good news is that Bryant and Wesley Johnson will both sit out of this game. Portland, after losing, should be ready to step on this team’s neck and send them packing early. That is the theory anyway. Stay tuned!