Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 2: BLAZERS @ LAKERS - AUGUST 20, 2020 - THURSDAY, 6:00 , ESPN & NBCSNW

[Darkwebs]

2019-20 REGULAR SEASON RECORD
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
35 - 39
(14-24 Road)
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
52 - 19
(25-10 Home)

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_____________________________
---------PROBABLE STARTERS---------

PG

DAMIAN LILLARD VS KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE

SG

C.J. McCOLLUM VS DANNY GREEN

SF

CARMELO ANTHONY VS LeBRON JAMES

PF

WENYEN GABRIEL VS ANTHONY DAVIS

C

JUSUF NURKIC VS JaVALE McGEE

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------- JERSEYS -------

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WHEN: 6:00 PM (PDT), THURSDAY, 8/20/2020

WHERE: AdventHealth Arena, Orlando, FL

TV BROADCAST:

AND

RADIO BROADCAST:

​

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--------------BENCH--------------
- PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS -

ADAMS , SIMONS

TRENT Jr. , HEZONJA

HOARD , WHITESIDE


----- LOS ANGELES LAKERS-----

RONDO , COOK , WAITERS

HORTON-TUCKER , CARUSO , SMITH

DUDLEY , KUZMA , MORRIS

ANTETOKOUNMPO , CACOK , HOWARD


INJURIES
TRAIL BLAZERS
Zach Collins (left ankle inflammation): QUESTIONABLE
Nassir Little (dehydration): OUT
Trevor Ariza (personal reasons): OUT
Caleb Swanigan (personal reasons): OUT
Rodney Hood (torn Achilles): OUT
LAKERS
Rajon Rondo (right thumb): QUESTIONABLE
Alex Caruso (right neck muscle spasms): QUESTIONABLE
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (ribs): QUESTIONABLE
Avery Bradley (personal reasons): OUT





HEAD COACHES

- VS –

TERRY STOTTS --- FRANK VOGEL



OFFICIAL LAKERS' GAME NOTES
OFFICIAL BLAZERS' GAME NOTES ​

SEASON SERIES NOTES

• The Lakers won the season series in 2019-20, 2-1.

• In three games against the Lakers this season, Damian Lillard averaged 36.0 points (50.8% FG, 39.4% 3-PT, 87.9% FT), 6.0 rebounds and 9.0 assists. Lillard scored 48 points (17-30 FG, 7-12 3-PT, 7-8 FT) to go with nine rebounds, 10 assists and two steals in Portland's 127-119 victory in Los Angeles on Jan. 31.

• CJ McCollum averaged 17.3 points (41.2% FG, 29.2% 3-PT, 75.0% FT), 3.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds in three games against Los Angeles this season.

• In two games against the Lakers this season, Carmelo Anthony averaged 14.0 points (33.3% FG, 40.0% 3-PT, 88.9% FT), 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

• LeBron James averaged 24.7 points (45.0% FG, 38.1% 3-PT, 63.2% FT), 7.3 rebounds and 11.3 assists in three games against the Trail Blazers this season.

• In three games against Portland this season, Anthony Davis averaged 32.0 points (55.9% FG, 40.0% 3-PT, 82.8% FT), 11.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.67 blocks. He had 37 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and five blocks against the Trail Blazers on Jan. 31.


PLAYOFF SERIES NOTES
• Portland and Los Angeles have played in the first round on six other occasions. The Trail Blazers beat the Lakers in the first round of the 1992 Playoffs on their way to an NBA Finals meeting with the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers won the other five first round meetings between the teams.

• The Trail Blazers and the Lakers are meeting in the postseason for the 12th time. Portland has advanced twice past the Lak- ers, while Los Angeles has won the other 10 series. The Trail Blazers other first win over the Lakers came in the 1977 Western Conference Finals, propelling Portland to a NBA Finals victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

• The Trail Blazers and Lakers last played each other in the postseason in the first round of the 2002 Playoffs. Portland's leading scorer that series was Rasheed Wallace while the Lakers were led by Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. Current Lakers forward LeBron James was 14 months away from being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers while Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard was 11 years old.

• Portland and Los Angeles played met in the playoffs five times between 1997 and 2002.

• Portland is 5-16 all-time against Los Angles in the first round.

CONNECTIONS
• Los Angeles forward LeBron James and Portland forward Carmelo Anthony were the first and third picks of the 2003 NBA Draft.
Along with Kyle Korver of the Milwaukee Bucks, they are the only active players remaining from their draft class.
• Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (sixth) and Lakers forward Anthony Davis (first) were both lottery picks in the 2012 NBA Draft.
• Trail Blazers forward Trevor Ariza won the NBA Championship with the Lakers in 2009.

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
REGULAR SEASON ALL TIME: Lakers lead, 122-108
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 70-45
AT THE LAKERS: Lakers lead, 77-38
PLAYOFFS ALL TIME: Lakers lead, 32-16
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 11-10
AT THE LAKERS: Lakers lead, 22-5

PREVIOUS MEETING IN THE SERIES
GAME #1: WIN 100-93

​

 

[Darkwebs]

 

[Darkwebs]

 

[Minstrel]

I think Lillard will likely drop 50 against Houston at least once.

 

[Labinot41]

Danny Green blocked the Lake Show on Twitter, oh yeah Lakers locker room go crazy please

 

[Labinot41]

Let's not change anything for now, if Zach is healthy, bring him of the bench, he plays prabably better against the 2nd unit. Gabriel needs to play with the starters

 

[FlyinSouth]

The Game will be Thursday the 20th! This team needs the rest! Not having to travel or have the refs be influenced by the crowd, has to be worth a few points for the lower seeded teams.

 

[Darkwebs]

The Game will be Thursday the 20th! This team needs the rest! Not having to travel or have the refs be influenced by the crowd, has to be worth a few points for the lower seeded teams.

Thanks! Fixed the error.

 

[GhostOfPGA]

Laker fans are literally the lowest IQ group in sports, I’ve had a 30 minute argument today with some dude who said 35 year old Kobe would’ve beat the Blazers if you replaced LeBron with him

 

[blazerkor]

I think for the most part we just keep doing what we're doing on D, put pressure on AD, close out on all of the supposed shooters and while limiting him the best we can, let LeBron do his thing... he can't beat us alone. The things that will change are that Dame will assert himself more going forward in this series (I guarantee that), we won't give up as many offensive boards and I think the Dame and Nurk show will be more than just a first quarter act. Both teams will shoot better percentages at least overall field goal percentage the difference is their number of shots will go down and ours will not. I don't think they'll make more threes, there is no reason for me to think that they will shoot better. Their offense is an inside out offense and when we efficiently shutdown the inside it kills what they do outside. We really are a terrible match up for them.

 

[Strenuus]

That was such an easy yes for the poll question. Why?

Because it is imperative to never doubt dame. Sure, he may get double teamed... get the ball out of his hands at times. But at the end of the day, one should never ever doubt dame.

 

[Strenuus]

 

[TBpup]

Did anyone every report WHY Zach has ankle inflammation? Never heard that he rolled it, got stepped on, kicked, etc.

 

[bobf]

Let's not change anything for now, if Zach is healthy, bring him of the bench, he plays prabably better against the 2nd unit. Gabriel needs to play with the starters

More Gabriel, no Mario. Play your best or better players as much as you can.

 

[James lamphear]

Did anyone every report WHY Zach has ankle inflammation? Never heard that he rolled it, got stepped on, kicked, etc.

What announcers said last night he had high ankle sprain if that the case and hope not we might not see him at all.

 

[kjironman1]

If Damian Lillard has to score 50 or more the Blazers are not playing well. I hope he doesn't have to.

 

[wizenheimer]

Laker fans are literally the lowest IQ group in sports, I’ve had a 30 minute argument today with some dude who said 35 year old Kobe would’ve beat the Blazers if you replaced LeBron with him

you do know that saying somebody is totally stupid, then saying you've just spent 30 minutes arguing with him.....is a little wacky?

 

[wizenheimer]

if the Blazers actually win game 2, Charles Barkley's antics will be insane

 

[e_blazer]

you do know that saying somebody is totally stupid, then saying you've just spent 30 minutes arguing with him.....is a little wacky?

And you just summed up the OT board in a single sentence.

 

[illmatic99]

if the Blazers actually win game 2, Charles Barkley's antics will be insane

as will mine.

being relatively tempered in my trash talk with laker fan friends at the moment. im gonna be insufferable if we win again.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

CBS sports guy has some ideas for Lakers, also talks about how Blazers got away with playing two centers:
1. It's time to fix the rotation
The Lakers were outscored by nine points in JaVale McGee's 13 minutes on the floor. They lost the game by seven points. That isn't a coincidence. The Lakers were outscored during McGee's minutes in all seven of his appearances in the bubble. In Orlando, they have now been outscored by 66 points in his 121 minutes on the floor. They've outscored opponents by 26 points in the minutes they've played without him.

This isn't rocket science. The Lakers are starting every game down several points because they're starting the wrong lineup. They're exacerbating the problem by sending that same lineup out there at the start of the third quarter. The version of the starting lineup that included Avery Bradley outscored opponents by 12.6 points per 100 possessions during the regular season. The version with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was outscored by 1.2 points per 100 possessions. The McGee-Caldwell-Pope-James-Davis-Danny Green fivesome doesn't work.

At a minimum, McGee needs to be excised from the rotation entirely. Whether that means playing Markieff Morris at center more or hoping Dwight Howard can avoid foul trouble is another matter, but there just isn't any evidence to suggest that JaVale can contribute to winning in the postseason. There's a reason he was a benchwarmer for the Warriors. The Caldwell-Pope situation is more complicated. They need to play him, and his numbers, on balance, have been better as a starter. But tinkering with the combinations is critical. Alex Caruso deserves a look as the fifth starter. Kyle Kuzma's place in the first five should be obvious.

This isn't March anymore. These games count. Frank Vogel can't afford to fritter them away by playing the wrong players. The Lakers are better than the Blazers. That much should be obvious. They just have to use the right lineups to prove it.

2. LeBron was great... but in the wrong ways
It's hard to argue with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists. Those numbers don't even tell the entire story. LeBron was great on defense as well. Nearly every decision he made, in a vacuum, was the right one.

But the Lakers scored 93 points against a defense that has allowed an average of 123 points over its past six outings. Yes, shooting was the primary reason for that, and the Lakers will probably hit more than five of their 32 long balls in Game 2. But role players have bad shooting nights. It happens. When it does, superstars are supposed to pick up the scoring burden themselves.

For all of the great things LeBron did in Game 1, he didn't do what we've seen him do in the playoffs time and time again: score. Despite drawing incredible matchups in Carmelo Anthony and Gary Trent Jr., James was determined to play total team basketball. What the Lakers need is something closer to the LeBron of 2018.

In Game 1 of that postseason run against the Indiana Pacers, James scored 24 points en route to a triple-double... but the Cavaliers lost. He came out and scored 46 in Game 2, a win, and wound up averaging 34.6 points per game through the rest of the Eastern Conference playoffs. If no other Laker is going to create shots, LeBron is going to have to do something like that for the Lakers to win the title. It's cliche, but he has to be more like Michael Jordan and less like Magic Johnson. His roster demands it.

3. The Blazers got away with playing two centers
It might have happened by accident. Wenyen Gabriel started at power forward for the Blazers but got into early foul trouble. So the Blazers did something that few 2020 teams would ever consider: they played their two centers together. It was a look they experimented with a bit prior to the playoffs, but without much success. That was for good reason. Neither Hassan Whiteside nor Jusuf Nurkic are particularly strong shooters, nor can they defend the perimeter all that well.

But they survived those minutes in Game 1 by crashing the boards and protecting the rim. The Lakers missed the open shots the Blazers created with their two-big lineups, and while it may not be sustainable, Portland might not have much of a choice but to go back to those groups until Zach Collins is healthy enough to return. This is a thin team. Their lineup options are limited. The entire enterprise falls apart if the Lakers start making shots, but until they do? The Blazers might have found a way to shift some minutes away from the worst players on their bench and towards better ones.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...to-upset-win-over-los-angeles-in-game-1/live/

 

[Bruno_Sabino]

This is HUGE game for us. We win we cut them legs; Gotta makin adjusments for game 2, and be sharp. Lets go Blazers!

 

[PtldPlatypus]

More Gabriel, no Mario. Play your best or better players as much as you can.

How are we going to get more Gabriel? They gonna give him 10 fouls?

 

[e_blazer]

How are we going to get more Gabriel? They gonna give him 10 fouls?

Getting Zach back would really help. If nothing more, he’s another tall, strong body and 6 more fouls.

 

[B-Roy]

How are we going to get more Gabriel? They gonna give him 10 fouls?

I'd rather Wenyen foul out in the first quarter, and have to play Hoard than to have Mario play a single minute on the court.

I said it last night, but Mario making a few good plays is just fool's gold for Terry to keep him in. When he came in last night he had a few nice assists, had a steal and got a contested rebound and helped extend our lead to 16 points. Terry should have cashed out and pulled him right there because he then helped give it all back in a span of about 4 minutes. Game low -12 in 12 minutes.

 

[GhostOfPGA]

you do know that saying somebody is totally stupid, then saying you've just spent 30 minutes arguing with him.....is a little wacky?

Bruh, bars be wild lol

 

[GhostOfPGA]

Getting Zach back would really help. If nothing more, he’s another tall, strong body and 6 more fouls.

With these refs those 6 fouls are so big

 

[Pinwheel1]

How are we going to get more Gabriel? They gonna give him 10 fouls?

Yeah, he is going to commit some legitimate fouls and he is also going to get called for some ticky-tack fouls based on who he is and who he guarding. A good example was the first one he picked up.....would Lebron, or AD, or even Dame have been called for that?

 

[42N8Bounce]

I'm absolutely pumped. After what this team has gone thru this season and end up where they're at now, this is exciting!

Nurk misses 66 regular season games due to his broken leg.
Collins misses 63 regular season games due to his shoulder injury.
Hood misses 43 regular season games due to his torn Achilles. (shooting a league leading 49.3% 3 point shooting)
Blazers were 9 games under 500, 4 games behind 8th seed, with only 9 games to play.

Dame ends the regular season as the #3 scorer in the league at 30.0 points/game, and #6 assists at 8.0 assists/game.
Dame has a historic 3 60 point games in one season.
Dame scores 50 or more points 6 times in the season.
Whiteside ends the regular season as the #1 shot blocker in the league at 2.9 blocks/game, and #3 rebounder at 13.5 rebounds/game.

This team has faced a ton of adversity and continued to fight. And now they just beat the #1 seeded Lakers in the first playoff game to lead the series 1-0.

All I want is 15 more wins this season!!

 

[Darkwebs]

Did anyone every report WHY Zach has ankle inflammation? Never heard that he rolled it, got stepped on, kicked, etc.

I don't think it's been reported how it exactly happened.
According to this link, "But at the 5:22 mark of the first quarter when Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins snagged a defensive rebound, he appeared to be limping and favoring his left ankle after the play.
Collins was then subbed out at the 4:32 mark of the first quarter and was seen limping to the bench."