Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 3: LAKERS @ BLAZERS - AUGUST 22, 2020 - SATURDAY, 5:30, ABC

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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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______________________________
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PROBABLE STARTERS---------


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KENTAVIOUS CALDWELL-POPE VS DAMIAN LILLARD

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SG
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DANNY GREEN VS C.J. McCOLLUM

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SF
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LeBRON JAMES VS CARMELO ANTHONY

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PF
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ANTHONY DAVIS VS HASSAN WHITESIDE

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C
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JaVALE McGEE VS JUSUF NURKIC

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------- JERSEYS -------
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WHEN: 5:30 PM (PDT), SATURDAY, 8/22/2020

WHERE: AdventHealth Arena, Orlando, FL
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TV BROADCAST:

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RADIO BROADCAST:
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--------------BENCH--------------


---- LOS ANGELES LAKERS ----
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RONDO , COOK , WAITERS
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HORTON-TUCKER , CARUSO , SMITH
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DUDLEY , KUZMA , MORRIS
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ANTETOKOUNMPO , CACOK , HOWARD


-- PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS --
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ADAMS , SIMONS
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TRENT Jr. , HEZONJA
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HOARD , GABRIEL



INJURIES

LAKERS
Rajon Rondo (right thumb): QUESTIONABLE
Avery Bradley (personal reasons): OUT
TRAIL BLAZERS
Damian Lillard (dislocated left index finger): PROBABLE
Zach Collins ( left ankle Malleolar stress reaction): OUT
Nassir Little (dehydration): OUT
Trevor Ariza (personal reasons): OUT
Caleb Swanigan (personal reasons): OUT
Rodney Hood (torn Achilles): OUT



HEAD COACHES
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- VS –
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FRANK VOGEL --- TERRY STOTTS



:reading:OFFICIAL LAKERS' GAME NOTES
:reading: 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 Lakers, 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, 33-17
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 11-10
AT THE LAKERS: Lakers lead, 23-6


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


GAME #2: LOSS 88-111




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Last edited:
This is a big game. Just like many in here and all over sports media predicted that the Lakers would come for blood in game two after we got there attention in game one they did. I think our team will show an amount of urgency and energy that has been lacking in the last two games because our attention has now been refocused by an ass kicking. I think our team had gotten used to every game being a win or go home game and the last two games and especially tonight they've felt relief at a time when they needed to feel like they were fighting for their lives more than ever. I expect a completely different Nurk for game three and going forward than we've seen over the last 7 quarters. I think our shooting will be much much sharper. I am hoping that we will finally get them off of our defensive glass for fucks sake. I don't think Dame's finger is going to inhibit him, I actually think tonight is going to ignite Dame and he'll likely either go for fifty in this upcoming game, dish out like fifteen dimes or do both. The last thing I am thinking about is something Dame alluded to in his post game interview. If we can actually execute our offense, their offense will bog down again. They looked good tonight because they got out in transition and made a lot of opportune second chance threes. If there isn't chaos in game three then I think we actually have the upper hand. We are still a nightmare match up for them and if we show focus and get half of a fair shake from the refs we will beat them.
 
There doesn't seem to be a plan when any team has trapped Dame in the last 8 years. Oh, they will have a relief guy pop out, but then it's just wait to get the ball back to Dame rather than attacking a 4-on-3 with someone like AD 35' from the basket.

....and they HAVE to shoot better. When you are shooting under 40% for the series AND getting outrebounded, that doesn't seem like a recipe for success.
 
There doesn't seem to be a plan when any team has trapped Dame in the last 8 years. Oh, they will have a relief guy pop out, but then it's just wait to get the ball back to Dame rather than attacking a 4-on-3 with someone like AD 35' from the basket.

....and they HAVE to shoot better. When you are shooting under 40% for the series AND getting outrebounded, that doesn't seem like a recipe for success.
The solution was Dame shooting 40% from 35-40'. And getting Melo and GT into the lineup. And setting screens out further. That is why we were 8-2 prior to last night. Unfortunately, none of those solutions were effective last night, mostly because we were playing through the mud much of the night and let their aggression get us out of our rhythm.

What bugs me most is Terry's insistence on using the two big lineup even when they had ONLY AD on the floor. That lineup should've been scrapped after 4 mins in the first quarter, but he kept using it.
 
@SlyPokerDog @Strenuus
In all honesty, shouldn't THE HCP be allowed to take over the Game Threads creations like he used to. My winning % is FAR better than the DarkDuck guy. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I think the majority of the members here would obviously agree.
 
And as far as this game...... IF Dame plays, ya'll better plan on the Lakers swiped down to try and steal that ball from dame every time he brings it up the court. They are going to target that finger EVERY trip.
 
Let’s see how this all plays out shall we.
You have a number one seed dead set on not losing this series. They have locker room video of Barkley sweeping the floor. They have clippings from just about every sports writer saying they are in trouble. They have THREE number one picks on their team.

The Blazers have an injured Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Melo. They also have two centers that can’t seem to grab a defensive rebound to save their life or make a layup. They are Starting a Rookie against the most Dominant Power Forward in the game.

I love the Blazers and I will never count Damian Lillard out. But this doesn’t look good at all.
 
And as far as this game...... IF Dame plays, ya'll better plan on the Lakers swiped down to try and steal that ball from dame every time he brings it up the court. They are going to target that finger EVERY trip.

Yep
 
If we lose this, I think they take the series.-----Damn It
 
The solution was Dame shooting 40% from 35-40'. And getting Melo and GT into the lineup. And setting screens out further. That is why we were 8-2 prior to last night. .

none of those 10 games saw the full-on 'stop Dame' defenses the Lakers went to last night. Now, the lakers weren't quite as aggressive as the previous 5 playoff opponents, but they also had Dame trying to start the offense 40' from the hoop. They were trapping him occasionally, but they were hedging him steadily. He was facing one tight defender and another defender hedging into driving and passing lanes

the list of things Portland can do to mitigate the effectiveness of Dame-denial defense is 5 years long, and as far as I can tell, the Blazers have tried it all...and none of it has worked

at some point, Blazer management has to realize they aren't going to be able to scheme their way out of this major flaw. They can't solve it by changing role players. They need another high level talent who is good enough to consistently score and tilt the offense toward efficiency. Somebody who can punish the dame-centric defenses they are sure to face, again and again. They don't have that
 
Dame needs to take a page out of Steph's book and start playing off ball.

two problems with that...

one is that this is Dame's 8th season and he's never really played off the ball as part of the offense. His assisted FG rate this season is 18%. His assisted FG rate from three is 29%. Blazers have had 8 years of Stotts offense that almost never runs plays for Dame off the ball. Compare that to Curry who last season, had an assisted FG rate of 59% and an assisted three rate of 67%. But then Curry has had elite talent around him that keeps defenses honest. More than that is he's had excellent teammate passing options on the floor at all times throughout his career

in the playoffs, a team needs ball-handling options that will consistently create defensive reaction and adjustments. The only Blazer capable of that is Dame...and that's the 2nd problem.: Turning Dame into more of a catch-and-shoot option isn't going to solve the riddle because it's conceding to the defense exactly what they want: the ball out of Dame's hands

it's pretty simple really: if Dame's 2nd banana was Paul George or Kawhi or Jimmy Butler, we wouldn't be seeing this type of defense
 
Although I doubt they will do it, they should totally pipe this in during the game, especially at the start. Since, it's suppose to be a home game.



Lakers very lucky not to have to play in the loudest arena in the NBA
 
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