The Portland Trail Blazers are hitting their first real rough patch since the beginning of the season where they started 3-3. The Blazers have been able to, thus far, bounce-back from losses. In the last couple of losses, before this streak occurred, the Blazers went on two five-game and two four-game winning streaks following losses. Now, the Blazers have lost three in a row for the first time this season, but more troubling signs are showing that could have long-term implications for how far the team can go this season.
The Memphis Grizzlies took the brunt of a Portland comeback and held on to win 102-98 on Saturday. The Blazers fall to 30-11 on the season, 12-7 on the road, while Memphis improves to 29-11, 16-4 at home. Memphis is just a game behind the Blazers in the Western Conference standings.
These are the kind of games that Portland needs to gut out and win. Memphis has currently been at the heels of Portland in the standings for some time and winning season series’ against Western Conference opponents is huge. Memphis now leads the season series 2-0 and Portland will have to settle for a tie, at best. What is troubling is just how vulnerable Portland looks right now. Early on in the season, Portland looked almost invincible. They were winning games with defense and were known for their clutch identity. Now, it seems like the defense has struggled, for obvious reasons and the clutch well is running dry at the moment.
Before these stretch of games, it was quite possible that Portland could go 0-3. It was a tough stretch and one that would show a lot about this team going forward. Personally, I think the Clippers loss at home set the tone for the minor road trip. The Blazers let that one slip away and thus lost momentum and potentially confidence going into it.
Memphis has had Portland’s number and has handed them their worst home loss of the season. The Grizzlies have also made a substantial move by acquiring Jeff Green who gives Memphis three-point shooting, ball-handling and another offensive weapon that is sorely needed in that defensive grind-house. They made the kind of move Portland has to consider now.
First off, Memphis dominated the first half outscoring the Blazers by a combined total of 18. This game did not start off well. Memphis got hot in a hurry shooting 75% from the field and 50% from three in the first quarter, only missing four total shots. Portland, on the other hand, looked like a team on the end of a back-to-back. They shot 39% from the field and 43% from three. The Grizzlies would attempt three more FTs to boot, but probably the biggest problem was again the rebounding. Even with Robin Lopez, Memphis has rebounders in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. So, it was going to be difficult. Without Lopez, prayer would be needed. In the first quarter, Portland would get out-rebounded by six. But, Portland attempted more shots; they just did not hit them.
The hot-shooting continued into the second as Memphis shot 50% from the field and 57% from three. Green had eight points on 3-for-5 shooting, 2-for-3 from three. Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews combined for 18 points on 7-for-19 shooting in the first half. Lillard struggled all night. He made contact on a lot of drives and was getting beat up such that his rhythm never got going. He made a couple of shots in the second half, but it was obvious that the fact that he was continuing to get dropped to the ground was disrupting his game.
The defense for Portland is starting to unravel, at least without Lopez or Joel Freeland. Because of the lack of paint defense, the guards and Nicolas Batum both have to worry about closing off the paint as well, which leaves perimeter shooters open. Courtney Lee and Green had a field day. They combined to go 7-for-11 from three-point land and the Grizzlies shot 53% from deep all game. The perimeter defense was getting out of sync and because of having to cover certain spots, the perimeter was getting open looks. A lot of times shooters would leak out into the corners or a Portland defender would go under a screen and dare someone to shoot. It is starting to become apparent that Lopez or Freeland needs to return soon. Teams are scouting Portland now and it is becoming more problematic than ever.
Portland, however, would rally back thanks to second chance points and turnovers by the Grizzlies. Memphis had eight in the second half resulting in six Portland points and the Blazers scored 12 points off of second changes. They would go on to outscore the Grizzlies by 14 in the second half. In the fourth quarter, the Blazers made it a one possession game on a Lillard three-pointer with 1:06 remaining. After another Lillard make and a couple of Randolph free-throws, Portland was down by three with 0:27 remaining. Portland could technically get a stop and then attempt to get into overtime on the other end. Beno Udrih, the back-up point guard that got the start for Memphis in the absence of Mike Conley, was riding a hot shooting night. Lillard played good defense on Udrih forcing him outside and make him work for position as the clock was running down. However, Lillard decided to gamble on defense and go for the steal, which did not pay off and resulted in an Udrih mid-range make that closed any comeback attempt. It was a questionable decision as to whether Lillard should have gone for that steal. There was a two seconds shot clock differential and Lillard was already playing solid defense on Udrih during that possession. There was no need to go for the steal at that point considering that Memphis had been up and down shooting wise in the second half. Furthermore, Udrih was 6-for-6 from the field prior to that possession, so giving him a chance at an open shot was not the best idea.
Portland is in a vulnerable spot. Losing three games in the row in the West against Western Conference playoffs teams could see a team go from the second seed to the fifth seed in a hurry. With so many teams making adjustments and making trades this far from the trading deadline, questions need to be asked as to whether Portland needs to make a move to keep up. I personally thought Portland should have gone for Jeff Green. Portland should not have a need for the first-rounder they own and with the development of Meyers Leonard and C.J. McCollum that are producing results, Will Barton and Thomas Robinson are expendable. The Blazers do not have that player yet that can blend with the starters and come off the bench like a Jamal Crawford or a Louis Williams. Portland just feels like they lack any kind of secondary punch. They have two dominant all-stars, but I still think they are missing something, especially with all these losses against Western Conference playoff teams. The Blazers are 3-7 at the time of this post against Western Conference playoff teams. I mentioned this earlier on, but the Blazers are struggling against the better teams. They are crushing the lower-level teams, as they should, but going up against teams like Houston, Memphis, Golden State and the Clippers, the Blazers look a tier lower. I know a lot of those games were close, but it is still worrisome and something needs to be done to toughen up the bench and keep Portland a more balanced scoring bunch. Chris Kaman and Steve Blake have been fantastic, but Kaman has been struggling scoring and besides him, Leonard and McCollum are being leaned on to score. Wilson Chandler should be pursued.
In terms of this game, Portland dug themselves into a hole early and had to use a lot of energy just to get it competitive. Portland almost pulled it off and if Udrih was having a normal game, they might have just pulled it off. Once again, Portland got out-rebounded 50-40 and the Grizzlies shot over 50% from the field. A lot of factors and patterns are appearing. The rebounding is becoming a problem and the defense is starting to give up perimeter shots.
Once again, Batum continues to disappear. He finished with just three points on 1-for-6 shooting, 1-for-3 from three with two rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. Blake had a better stat line. Batum continues to not be himself and he seemed to resort to not taking open looks. His lack of shooting has caused not only Portland’s scoring to be less balanced, but it has also made some plays and offensive possessions get screwed up. There are plays that are meant to land into Batum’s hands and for him to shoot the ball. There were a couple of times where him passing caused the play to break and force Portland to somehow figure it out. The shot clock would be too far gone and players would have to force looks because of Batum’s lack of shooting. What is going on with him? I wish I knew. Batum looks hurt, tired and confused. The Blazers need Batum if they want to make any push in the postseason. Yes, Lopez is out, but Batum should be taking more of a role instead of blending into the background.
Portland’s scoring was through three players. Lillard finished with 23 points on 9-for-26 shooting, 3-for-10 from three with six assists, six rebounds and two steals. Like I said, Lillard struggled, but was able to produce, just not efficiently. Matthews was on fire after struggling in his last two games. He finished with 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting, 7-for-14 from three with four rebounds and one assist. Matthews got back into form and was let out of his box. After being suffocated by the likes of Matt Barnes and Kawhi Leonard, Matthews seemed to be loving the fact that he was more open.
LaMarcus Aldridge had another fantastic game finishing with 32 points on 11-for-22 shooting, 1-for-1 from three with nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and three blocks. The Blazers finally ran a play to get Aldridge open in the corner for a three-pointer. It worked and it worked well. Do it more!
Portland has a day off before taking on the Sacramento Kings at the Moda Center on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. PST. The Kings are a puzzling team, but obviously better than they were last season. DeMarcus Cousins might be the most dominant inside presence in the game, but nobody cares to watch. The Blazers need to right the ship and get back on track. Lopez is still a couple of weeks away and Portland must stop the bleeding. Stay tuned!