The Blazers have a knack for the fourth quarter. Usually, Wesley Matthews hits those momentum-swinging threes, LaMarcus Aldridge keeps the pulse on the block and Damian Lillard turns on Lillard time and the Blazers coast to the end. Last night was not the case. The Los Angeles Clippers weathered Portland’s punches late in this game and went on to win.
Portland lost to the Clippers 100-94. The Blazers fall to 30-9 on the season and suffer just their fourth home loss of the season. The Clippers improve to 26-13 on the season and 9-7 on the road. The victory snaps a five-game losing streak on the road for the Clips.
A fan could find fault in many aspects of the Blazers’ play. The bench did not produce enough, Matthews and Lillard needed to be “better”, Nicolas Batum needed to show up. While these could all be valid observations, it was not just one thing that doomed the Blazers in the end.
This game was even for the most part. Throughout it, I think fans could get the sense just by the score and how well each team was matching up with each other. The Clippers outscored Portland by six in the first and fourth quarters and Portland outscored the Clips by a combined six points in the second and third quarters. A weird statistic that keeps popping up is that Portland has a losing record when tied after three quarters. Well, that statistic keeps gaining validity as Portland and the Clippers were tied at 72 by the end of the third quarter. Is it the momentum? When Portland is behind going into the fourth, the Blazers may find it easier to make their own momentum and go on one of their patented runs. When Portland is ahead after three, is the act of keeping a team at bay a lot easier? When it is tied, does it seem like a whole new game and that momentum has not been seized? Regardless, the statistic keeps getting weirder and weirder and it held true last night.
The first half saw Aldridge carry his team with 22 of his 37 points scored on 10-for-16 shooting in the half. Unfortunately, no one else showed up. Portland’s dynamic and explosive backcourt combined for eight points on 3-for-8 shooting, 2-for-5 from three in the first half. Batum was non-existent (get to him later) and outside of Meyers Leonard (did I just say that?), the bench was nowhere to be seen.
Well the second half would end up being the same story. LA would lead in scoring with 15 points on 4-for-12 shooting and Lillard would attempt to turn on Lillard time with 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting, 3-for-6 from three. Again, Batum did not show up and Matthews only had three points on 1-for-8 shooting. Furthermore, besides Leonard, the bench did not seem to be producing.
A couple of statistics jump out at me right away in this loss. In the third quarter, Portland got the Clippers in the penalty quickly and went on to go 12-for-13 from the line in the quarter, while the Clippers attempted just two shots from the line. Portland would outscore the Clips by one even though the Blazers shot just 20% from the field and 11% from three. The FT line is a magical place.
The script got reversed completely, though, in the fourth. Portland would attempt just two FTs, but the Clippers, after a foul on Chris Paul, would go 13-for-13 from the line, ten of them coming from Paul. Portland did shoot 45% from the field and 38% from three, but without the FT line, it was overshadowed. The Clippers only went 7-for-19 from the field in the fourth and only converted one three. In my opinion, Portland got a little too physical with Paul and the Clippers on defense. As always, intensity and energy is necessary and wanted on the defensive end. The players just have to know how to channel it. In about a three minute span, Portland committed three fouls and quickly got into foul trouble and the Clippers had 4:52 in the fourth quarter of penalty. The team foul committed by Lillard at that time was questionable, but honestly, with that much time left, I would have considered playing Paul a little less physically and force him to make a play, even though he is stellar. Lillard had his hands all over Paul and was even reaching around. I love the physicality and I love the urgency, but with a little under five minutes left and being up by three, it would have been a safer bet to play a little less physical for a couple of minutes to prevent the Clippers having almost half a quarter of free free-throws.
That was nit-pick issue though that Portland had. The bigger and more concerning issue was that Batum has got to show up in these games. Paul, Blake Griffin, Matt Barnes and DeAndre Jordan all hounded the backcourt of Matthews and Lillard. Multiple times Lillard would get chased out almost to half court and forced to the pass the ball to someone else. Matthews was being guarded well, but also was not having the greatest shooting night and put up an airball three-pointer. With so much attention and commitment on the backcourt, somebody has to be open. First, Aldridge was open and dominated, but another option needed to appear. Batum would attempt just five shots in 35 minutes of play and miss them all en route to finishing with four points with five rebounds, six assists and one steal. In 35 minutes of play, if Batum is not scoring, I want to see at least nine assists and seven rebounds. Tonight’s game was a prime example of a situation where Batum could have thrived. Instead of taking three-pointers that did not have a prayer, start by going to the rim and building confidence that way. If Jordan or Griffin is almost going to half-court to double Lillard, the paint is open, or at the very least a high-percentage shot.
The point being is that Batum looked dazed and lost. Even what he hangs his hat on, which is defense, was a little bit sluggish. When I sit here and say that Meyers Leonard looked more confident on the floor than Batum did, we have a problem. Batum has got to figure out what is bothering him. His shot has been lacking to say the least. On the season he has shot 40% from the field and just 26% from three, the worst in his entire career. His three-pointers look ugly and he settles for those Batum fadeaways that I hate so much. If Batum had scored just ten points, it would have been a lot better for Portland. Plus, the Clippers could not just sag off of Batum and leave him be. That would have made Los Angeles’ defense a little easier to penetrate and get open looks on the perimeter, especially with Aldridge having a night.
Portland also mishandled the Jamal Crawford situation. As we all know, Crawford is like a faucet. Either water is coming through in waves or there is absolutely nothing. Tonight, the faucet was on. Crawford finished with 25 points on 10-for-22 shooting, 4-for-11 from three.
When Crawford checks in the first time in the first quarter, Batum is in the game and Crawford does not score. After Batum gets subbed out a minute later and McCollum, Matthews or Blake is forced to guard Crawford, the floodgates open. There were signs just before the end of the first. After Batum and Lillard get subbed out, Crawford attempts five shots in two minutes and forty-five seconds. He made two of them, but the fact is Crawford saw and knew that Portland did not have an answer without Batum in the game. Portland had time to react. In the second quarter, Crawford had 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting. Batum does not enter into the game until 8:14 and when he does Crawford makes four straight shots.
To pile on, The Clippers had 14 fast-break points to Portland’s two. Lob City was in full effect without size in the middle for Portland.
Again, Portland had a myriad of issues, but the crux of the issue was Batum. If he scores six more points and, in general attempts more shots closer in, this game is entirely different. He had zero fouls in the game, which either is a good sign or a sign that he was not being aggressive enough on defense. His hesitancy to shoot and his general dazed nature hurt the Blazers more than it helped.
In good news, Leonard continues to play well. In 31 minutes of total play, Leonard looked the best that I have seen since he was drafted. He was passing the ball around the perimeter, looked to know exactly what plays to run. He even ran the hand-off to Batum as Nicolas curls around from the baseline. When Meyers got the ball and was open, he shot it without hesitation and even put the ball on the floor to get a better look and made the shot. He finished with 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, with ten rebounds and three assists. He registered a +14, the highest of any Blazer. Meyers played crunch time minutes in the fourth and is slowly becoming what Portland fans expected. His presence on the court now is a boon rather than curse. His size and athleticism that was touted for so long is finally showing. If the one thing that can be taken from the Robin Lopez and Joel Freeland injuries is that Leonard finally blossoms, that is wonderful.
Aldridge had a fantastic night finishing with 37 points on 14-for-28 shooting, with 12 rebounds, one steal and one block. LA was feeling it and was really the only Blazer who had it going from tip until the end of the game.
Lillard and Matthews struggled heavily thanks to fantastic Clipper defense. They combined for 23 points on 8-for-29 shooting, 6-for-17 from three.
Chris Kaman had a quietly good outing as the starting center once again. He finished with 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting with 11 rebounds and one assist. Again, only issue is the turnovers. He had three and teams know to slap him and grab at the ball when he has it. He is prone to those turnovers as he does not seem to get the best grip on the ball.
Moving forward, the Blazers lost a tough one, but now go on a quick brutal two-game road trip. Two games against the San Antonio Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies in back-to-back games. First up, the Spurs. Portland is leading the season series 2-0 against the Spurs, but will be likely facing most if not all of their players this time around. Kawhi Leonard, having been out with a hand injury for quite some time, is probable for the game. The Spurs have yet to get the engine running leaving many fans and analysts wondering if the Spurs need to get healthy or the signs of age are finally appearing. Tip-off is on Friday at 5:30 p.m. PST. Stay tuned!