Trail Blazers Rest Starters, Fall to Lakers 94-86

Playing the second night of a road back-to-back, the Portland Trail Blazers rested every starter except Damian Lillard, and the Los Angeles Lakers rolled 94-86.

Watching an NBA team play without its starters is alternately interesting and sort of boring… interesting in that you get to see a bunch of guys who are usually relegated to the end of the bench stretch their legs a little. It’s these opportunities that produce games like Meyers Leonard had tonight (3-4 from deep for 13 points, 2 blocks, 2 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steal with only one turnover). Lillard played in the first half, but despite some athletic feats of interest had a poor game with 5 turnovers and 8 points.

And boring in that, yes, of course you want to see LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Wesley Matthews, and Robin Lopez.

Game Flow

For a second, it looked like the Trail Blazers were going to win, and maybe even win big, but that notion was put to bed pretty quickly. They fought for a lead, only to have the Lakers go on 20-4 run to go up 28-18 shortly after start of 2nd quarter. There was a nice sequence by Leonard where he nailed a three before blocking a shot, and Thomas Robinson had an incredible reverse dunk in transition, but the Lakers took a 50-37 lead into halftime.

The third quarter had a lot of the same: poor Trail Blazers play punctuated by flashes of greatness. Leonard continued to look comfortable, and was making a concerted effort to find someone, anyone, and box them out. But the Meyers Moment of the Century came when he snagged a rebound and, from under the opponent’s basket, hurled it the entire length of the court for the assist to Allen Crabbe. It was incredible.

The third ended with a 66-58 Lakers lead and a three-point attempt by Robinson. Not the ideal shot.

The fourth was all Julius Randle all the time. C.J. McCollum did have a pair of very strong moves to the basket that both resulted in and-ones, but the Lakers were in control and didn’t let up.

Players

It’s been said already, but it’s worth repeating that Chris Kaman seems to have a multiplying effect for the team. Let’s call it the Kaman multiplier. He’s good not only for what he brings, but in how he makes his teammates better, especially Leonard. With Leonard at power forward, he’s better able to play to his strengths (using his athleticism, shooting) and his his weaknesses (low post anything).

One more Meyers Leonard thought. On a play that epitomized Leonard’s strengths and weaknesses, he caught the ball very low in the post, and instead of turning and going at the basket, he faded away and missed… but on the next play, he set up in the right corner for three, and nailed it without thinking. It’ll be huge if the Blazers have the luxury of allowing him to play the game he’s comfortable playing, he will be productive. With Kaman around, it makes it much more likely.

C.J. McCollum is getting steadier. I’m thinking he’s going to be good. Maybe not right now, but he’s definitely developing. 17 points on 7-13 shooting for him.

Will Barton is a whirlwind, as always. An amazing play followed by two horrible plays? That’s Thrill. 10 and 6, but 4 turnovers.

Allen Crabbe looked like an NBA player. For him, that’s good. He played a team-high 35 minutes, netting 11-6-3 and shooting over 50%.

Victor Claver was not a factor. 2 boards, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers, 0 points.

Thoughts

Leonard’s play was a huge surprise, while Kaman’s continues to impress. Lillard just needs to play with the folks he’s used to playing with. Barton is Barton. C.J. looks good. Crabbe was a pleasant surprise, too. T-Rob had his moments.

The Trail Blazers get a day off before facing the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday at 7:30 p.m. PDT.