The desert has been unkind to the Portland Trail Blazers. It has been a little over four years since Portland has won in Phoenix and players like Brandon Roy and Marcus Camby were still on the team when that occurred.
A fan does not have to look far to see the hardships that Portland has had in Phoenix. Last season, Portland played the Suns three times in the first month and narrowly escaped going 0-3 against them.
That being said, Portland got stomped in the first half of this ballgame and somehow gave themselves a shot in the arm in the second half and even took a five-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Blazers just did not have enough plays and missed opportunities and turnovers ultimately cost Portland throughout the game.
The Blazers fall to the Suns 118-113. The Blazers fall to 31-12 on the season, 12-8 on the road, while the Suns improve to 26-18 on the season, 13-7 at home.
When a team scores 40 points in the first quarter of a game, like the Suns did, it tends to be difficult to come back. Not only does that make it difficult for the opposition to even make the game competitive again, but it also shows that defensively and perhaps other factors (turnovers, transition) have played a part and will continue to play a part.
Portland got outscored by the Suns 66-52 in the first half. The Suns shot a blistering 55% from the field and had ten second-chance points to Portland’s four. Furthermore, the Suns scored 32 points in the paint to Portland’s 22. Again, a lot of the same issues and statistics are become the norm as Portland’s even more depleted continues to be exploited. Portland and the Suns kept up with each other until Portland went ice cold in the first quarter. After a Thomas Robinson make to put Portland up by three with 3:23 remaining in the first, Portland would not score until there was 9:10 remaining in the second quarter and a thirteen-point deficit to climb. The lid was on the basket. It is hard to say whether or not the shot selection was good or if other factors played a part. Considering how hot Portland was shooting early, I think that just equally got as cold and it cost them. They shot just 33% from the field in the second quarter.
The pattern continues. The Suns shot 67% from the field in the first quarter going 16-for-24. Portland shot 50% from the field, but this continues the trend of teams coming out and punching Portland first. The Blazers did come out aggressive, but also made careless turnovers as they had four turnovers resulting in seven Phoenix points in the first quarter. Regardless of the massive run the Suns at the end of the first and into the second quarter, Portland was playing with fire (no puns intended in this post, I swear). Phoenix likes to run and with a three-guard lineup of Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, the Suns zip up and down the court. Portland gave them softballs and lobs so-to-speak and crippled themselves from the start.
Portland would go on to stop the bleeding in the third and then make a push in the fourth. Portland shot 48% from the field and, more importantly, 55% from three. Nicolas Batum, the forgotten Blazer in this stretch, jumped out of his swoon. On the night, he finished with 27 points on 9-for-15 shooting, 6-for-8 from three with ten rebounds, five assists and one block. He went 3-for-3, all three-pointers, in the fourth with ten points. Where has this Batum been? With LaMarcus Aldridge sitting out due to that left thumb injury that needed to be re-evaluated (no timetable for return), not only was Portland’s frontline parched, but it allowed Batum to feel more comfortable on offense. I think Batum gets caught up in trying to get Damian Lillard, Aldridge and Wesley Matthews involved so much that he forgets to get himself going. Batum started off right away, scoring Portland’s first bucket and went to the rim. His confidence bloomed from there. Again, start inside and go out.
The Suns would get sloppy and un-disciplined. After dominating Portland in every aspect and doing what they wanted, the Suns started taking quick three-pointers, going one-on-one and getting careless with fouling. Arguably, they continued that trend up until the end when they started to close the game out. Still a lot of one-on-one basketball with Bledsoe and Thomas and the ball movement was nothing special. Bledsoe would go on to score ten points in the quarter on 2-for-6 shooting, 6-for-9 from the FT line. Phoenix leads the league in FT% and they went 15-for-24.
What seemed to take the wind out of Portland’s sails was a quick response by the Suns. After Batum made a ridiculous three-pointer that gave Portland a five-point lead, Phoenix came down and spotted a wide-open Dragic in the corner. Immediately, Phoenix took that away and it seemed like whatever Portland was gaining vanished. After that happened, Portland would score only three more points and the Suns would score five quick points to give themselves a one-point lead. Portland had opportunities and played the defense to prove it, but Lillard time missed the train as Lillard struggled shooting-wise and Portland started rushing. Dorell Wright attempted a 20-footer that missed and Lillard missed a jumper. The most crushing instance was Batum, the hero of the game, had a chance to tie it up with 0:15 remaining, but split a pair from the FT line. Portland was forced to play the foul game. A fan can couple that with an out of bounds turnover on the next play and the wheels came off.
Yet another loss that stings and, in a loaded Western Conference, forces fans to start looking at teams underneath the Blazers. Up until now, there has been no need. Portland was winning at the same clip as everyone else and there was no difference. Now, certain Western Conference teams are falling off or stumbling slightly and other teams are making their push. Portland went through a similar struggle at this time last year. Starting from the 20th, Portland was 4-6 in the ten-game span following. January is not the best month for Portland. Every season, Portland has a roaring November and December and tends to dip in the January and February months. This also further shows how desperate Portland is for any frontline help, but particularly Robin Lopez. If Lopez returns, this team can stop the bleeding. Lopez can help defensively enough that teams cannot score 50 points in the paint like the Suns did or out-rebound the Blazers 50-44. The issues are there and they will continue to be there until help arrives. The silver lining is that Portland was playing this way with a full squad last season. Now, they are playing with no frontline and an all-star. It is impressive that Portland can keep up and it able to give themselves a chance, but the fact is that a frontline is sorely needed.
Portland’s scoring was all from the starting lineup. Matthews and Lillard both scored 22 points, but were inefficient once again. They combined to go 14-for-39 and just 4-for-15 from three. This has also been the issue. Opposing teams can just latch themselves to the backcourt and force Matthews and Lillard to work extra hard to get open. Lillard, especially, had an off-night (6-for-22, 2-for-10 from three).
Bench production was not there and going against the team with the highest scoring bench in the league, that is not a recipe for success. Portland only mustered 13 points from the bench, while Phoenix, riding a streaky Thomas, had 54 points from the bench.
Portland has no time, once again, to worry about this game. Next up, the Boston Celtics at the Moda Center tomorrow night. The Celtics are 2-6 in their last ten games, but were in Portland watching this game. It is hard to call games a “must win” at this stage, but this is almost a “must win” kind of game for Portland as they need to stop the bleeding as much as they can and just keep holding the fort until help arrives. Tip-off is 7:00 p.m. PST. Stay tuned!