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Dog On Press Row – Trailin’ not Blazin’
There isn’t much to say from the game view that you at home didn’t see for yourselves on TV. Similar to the previous two games, the Blazers are struggling to score and put together 4 quarters of consistent effort.
Let’s focus on the good first, courtesy of the Blazers post game notes:
With a block in the first quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge surpassed Clyde Drexler for sixth all-time in Trail Blazers history for most blocked shots (595).
Dishing out his fifth assist of the night with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, Damian Lillard notched assist number 1,000 for his career. Lillard is one of nine players since 1985 to score 3,000 or more points and record 1,000 or more assists in 167 games.
With the final score resting at 95-90, the past three games between the Trail Blazers and Warriors have been decided by a combined eight points.
LaMarcus Aldridge finished the night with 26 points and 13 rebounds, notching his fourth double-double in the past five games he’s played against Golden State.
Leading by one point at 80-79 with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge scored the final 10 points for the Trail Blazers. Aldridge was 5-of-7 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Portland outrebounded Golden State 56-41. The Trail Blazers hauled in 17 offensive rebounds compared to seven for the Warriors.
Robin Lopez hauled in five offensive rebounds in the first half and is tied for first in the NBA with 15 offensive rebounds. Lopez finished the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Now the ugly:
We lost.
We lost a very winnable game.
The Blazers are not executing, not getting easy, high quality looks at the basket.
We’re not running the pick and roll effectively at all. In a night when LaMarcus had a very favorable matchup at the power forward position he did more of a pick and slide to the 3pt line instead of a pick and roll to the basket. We get it, LaMarcus has worked on his 3pt shooting but is trying to figure out how to incorporate it into his offensive game. With Lillard, Matthews and Batum all being good 3 pt shooters I’m not sure this is something we need from our starting power forward.
It’s clear that Lillard has worked on his defense and is putting in a concerted effort. He did a pretty good job on Curry last night but the game was lost because of a lack of offense, not defense. Lillard’s focus on the defensive end is taking him out of his offensive rhythm. That said, it seems like Lillard could easily break out of his shooting slump.
While Robinson brings hustle and amazing athleticism he plays out of control and makes head scratching mistakes. He did bring energy at a time when the Blazers needed it but at the expense of silly turnovers and being lost on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court at times.
Final thoughts:
I see that only 3 games into the season the sky is falling mentality has settled into Blazerdom. I’m just not feeling the same angst. I see a team that hasn’t executed for 4 quarters yet, but that is more of chipping the rust off than it is watching a team that is not is not constructed well and that has holes in the roster. I see no chemistry issues, no personal issues and a team that could easily be 3-0. I’m just not feeling the despair and hand-wringing that some of you are. It will be interesting to see how this team responds against Clebron Cavaliers Tuesday night.
There isn’t much to say from the game view that you at home didn’t see for yourselves on TV. Similar to the previous two games, the Blazers are struggling to score and put together 4 quarters of consistent effort.
Let’s focus on the good first, courtesy of the Blazers post game notes:
With a block in the first quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge surpassed Clyde Drexler for sixth all-time in Trail Blazers history for most blocked shots (595).
Dishing out his fifth assist of the night with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, Damian Lillard notched assist number 1,000 for his career. Lillard is one of nine players since 1985 to score 3,000 or more points and record 1,000 or more assists in 167 games.
With the final score resting at 95-90, the past three games between the Trail Blazers and Warriors have been decided by a combined eight points.
LaMarcus Aldridge finished the night with 26 points and 13 rebounds, notching his fourth double-double in the past five games he’s played against Golden State.
Leading by one point at 80-79 with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge scored the final 10 points for the Trail Blazers. Aldridge was 5-of-7 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Portland outrebounded Golden State 56-41. The Trail Blazers hauled in 17 offensive rebounds compared to seven for the Warriors.
Robin Lopez hauled in five offensive rebounds in the first half and is tied for first in the NBA with 15 offensive rebounds. Lopez finished the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
Now the ugly:
We lost.
We lost a very winnable game.
The Blazers are not executing, not getting easy, high quality looks at the basket.
We’re not running the pick and roll effectively at all. In a night when LaMarcus had a very favorable matchup at the power forward position he did more of a pick and slide to the 3pt line instead of a pick and roll to the basket. We get it, LaMarcus has worked on his 3pt shooting but is trying to figure out how to incorporate it into his offensive game. With Lillard, Matthews and Batum all being good 3 pt shooters I’m not sure this is something we need from our starting power forward.
It’s clear that Lillard has worked on his defense and is putting in a concerted effort. He did a pretty good job on Curry last night but the game was lost because of a lack of offense, not defense. Lillard’s focus on the defensive end is taking him out of his offensive rhythm. That said, it seems like Lillard could easily break out of his shooting slump.
While Robinson brings hustle and amazing athleticism he plays out of control and makes head scratching mistakes. He did bring energy at a time when the Blazers needed it but at the expense of silly turnovers and being lost on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court at times.
Final thoughts:
I see that only 3 games into the season the sky is falling mentality has settled into Blazerdom. I’m just not feeling the same angst. I see a team that hasn’t executed for 4 quarters yet, but that is more of chipping the rust off than it is watching a team that is not is not constructed well and that has holes in the roster. I see no chemistry issues, no personal issues and a team that could easily be 3-0. I’m just not feeling the despair and hand-wringing that some of you are. It will be interesting to see how this team responds against Clebron Cavaliers Tuesday night.
