The importance of Arron Afflalo in late-game situations
By Bryce Olin
Arron Afflalo and his skill-set fit perfectly into the Portland Trail Blazers’ late-game offense and allows them to go small
As the fourth quarter began in Friday’s marquee matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Portland Trail Blazers faced an 11-point deficit and a steep climb to get back into the game.
Oklahoma City and Russell Westbrook had just finished destroying Portland with pick-and-roll after pick-and-roll. Someone named “Mitch McGary” was tearing the Blazers apart.
Because Steven Adams and Enes Kanter were out with injuries, the Thunder were forced to go small, which, in turn, forced Portland to go small in the fourth quarter, setting the stage for what the newest member of the Blazers was going to do next.
Basically, in each possession, Portland was running at least one pick-and-roll. With Arron Afflalo, Nicolas Batum, and Wesley Matthews stretching the floor and giving the Blazers optimal spacing, the Blazers were able to torch the Thunder for 37 fourth quarter points.
Afflalo scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, and most of those points were a direct result of the Lillard-Aldridge pick-and-roll/pop.
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In the pick-and-roll, there are few players in the league with Damian Lillard‘s ability to pull-up for a jumper or attack/finish at the rim. LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez, and Chris Kaman are all solid pick-and-roll bigs, as well. Aldridge can roll to the bucket or he can pop out for a wide-open jumper. Lopez is a much better roller, and he has enough touch on his shot to finish in traffic or hit a baby hook over the help defender. Kaman is much less versatile than Aldridge and Lopez, but his bread and butter is the midrange jumper, which he can get most of time.
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From there, Portland can also kick to shooters and get the ball moving on the perimeter, which allows for driving lanes and wide-open 3-pointers. Against Oklahoma City, the high pick-and-roll with Lillard and Aldridge were the key to sparking the 11-point fourth quarter comeback. There was no way OKC was going to stop Portland from winning that game. The Thunder were, simply, going to have to outscore the Blazers.
The Thunder’s small lineup forced the Blazers to play their most skilled line up of Lillard, Matthews, Afflalo, Batum, and Aldridge, and, ultimately, resulted in the Blazers taking advantage of the OKC’s poor pick-and-roll defense.
Through the remainder of the season, I think the Blazers have that option to go small and attack most teams in the league. If the Blazers need a basket in a close game, the Lillard-Matthews-Afflalo-Batum-Aldridge lineup is going to be the easiest, most efficient way to get that basket.
The Blazers often to try to exploit matchups where they think they have the upper hand; especially when one of Portland’s players has a size advantage. Sometimes, it works and the Blazers score easily. Other times, it can stagnate Portland’s offense, like it did early on in the OKC game.
Down the stretch, keep a close eye on Portland’s lineup choices in times where they need to score quickly. It will likely foreshadow what Portland will do in the playoffs. Based on what I saw on Friday, I’m starting to like Portland’s chances with Afflalo more and more everyday.