Luke Babbitt had himself a game in the closing minutes and overtime of Portland’s victory over the Bobcats. Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

Even while the rest of the world makes oh-so-clever remarks, Luke’s teammates still have confidence enough in him to feed him the ball

— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) December 4, 2012

I’ve screamed a lot of obscenities at Luke Babbitt over the years he’s spent with the Blazers. Not in person, of course, and not out loud at home games. But still, there have been plenty of times in Luke’s career when for one reason or another I find myself cursing up a storm as a direct result of something he’s done.

Here’s thing the thing, though, about Babbitt. I curse him when he misses because I know he is totally capable of hitting threes at will, and I curse him when he refuses to shoot because if he’s on the court he needs to be letting it fly. Monday night in Charlotte, I was screaming at Luke Babbitt for an entirely different reason. There he was, when Portland needed him most, not just knocking down open three pointers (one to make it a two possession game and one to tie at the end of the fourth quarter, and a third to give Portland a four-point lead and basically seal the game in overtime), but rebounding, playing defense, and helping to facilitate the flow of the offense (Luke picked up a nice assist on a Nicolas Batum three at the start of overtime that helped set the tone for the extra period).

I know it sounds demeaning and mean, especially considering that I was just building this guy up, but for the closing run and the overtime, Luke Babbitt actually looked like a professional basketball player.

Does that mean he should get sole credit for Portland’s fantastic comeback and gutsy win? No. It was a team effort. But getting a guy like Luke Babbitt to show up in the clutch is the kind of thing this team is going to need to do to get wins. The Blazers have to play who they have. They have to utilize the bench whether we as fans like it or not. Guys like Luke are going to have to step up. Monday night showed that just because Luke has never been clutch in the past doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

But like I said, this comeback win belongs to more than just Luke Babbitt. The Blazers got big scores to close out Monday’s game from Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Nicolas Batum. Even Sasha Pavlovic contributed a three. I know Sasha looked awful. He blew a defensive assignment so badly the second he checked in that for a moment Portland looked like a city league team who deserved the criticism such as this tweet that it was getting from some of he NBA’s best and brightest scribes. And I know that right after he nailed a corner three he air-balled a three from the top of the key (his second air-ball of the quarter). But when a team is coming back from almost 20 down in less than 10 minutes, every single bucket, even those scored by Sasha Pavlovic, are important.

Like the double-overtime dance in Cleveland, it’s going to be hard to really be objective about Monday night. The most important thing is that Portland won. For right now, at least in my opinion since I’m anti tanking, winning is the paramount. How it’s done is secondary as long as it’s done. Of course there are improvements to be made, even in a situation such as Monday’s that ended in a net positive outcome.

First and foremost, the Blazers can’t start as slowly at the beginning of quarters like they did Monday night. Against a team like Charlotte, Portland can come back from not scoring for four minutes to start the fourth quarter, but even facing a team like the Bobcats the Blazers needed some breaks and an extra period to make up for bumbling through the opening possessions at the beginning of each of Monday night’s quarters. Against the better teams in the league, getting behind by double digits in a game’s first 12 minutes will be a death blow. Just look at what happened in Boston.

More than just fixing slow starts, Portland really really needs to start playing defense. It seems like every night the Blazers’ opponents are getting any shot they want from anywhere on the floor. Monday night Ben Gordon not only nearly won the game by himself, before Portland picked themselves up and made their run to victory, Ben Gordon was blowing out the Blazers. Gordon’s shooting might not be the best example of how the Blazers were struggling on defense, he’s one of those NBA shooters who can get hot in seconds flat and make a dozen three-pointers in a row.

Still though, Portland’s defense is sorely lacking. I don’t blame lack of effort, not really. Monday when the Blazers needed to stop Gordon, Kemba Walker, and Ramon Sessions at the end of regulation they got some very good on the ball defense. I think Portland’s issue right now has more to do with personnel. Currently this team does not have a rim protector, meaning that a team like Charlotte, with quick ball handlers who attack the hoop, can get a lot of good looks from up close. It also means that Portland’s guards have to collapse on the ball to have a chance to make stops. It’s that collapsing by the guards that lead to kick-outs for open threes and weak-side cuts to the hoop for dunks. J.J. Hickson has shown some proficiency rebounding and is a big body inside, but LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t much of a shot blocker, even if he did block three shots Monday night.

However, getting  Hickson and LA to change up their play isn’t the answer to this problem. My answer is Meyers Leonard. He’s this team’s shot blocker. He’s the kind of guy who can change the way Portland plays defense. The catch-22 with Meyers Leonard, of course, is he needs time to improve. That time probably translates into losses for the Blazers. Monday wasn’t the best of Meyers. In 17 minutes, Meyers scored four points, blocked a shot, and grabbed three rebounds. Not great numbers for a guy who’s 7’1”. The stat to look at though is that Meyers made it 17 minutes and only picked up two fouls. The more shifts Meyers goes without getting in foul trouble, the more minutes he can play. The more minutes he can play, the better he gets. The better he gets, the more significant a role he can play. Give Meyers a significant role, and Portland will have some of that rim protection they so desperately need.

So porous defense and slow starts put Portland in the position to need a furious comeback and a strong overtime period to beat the Bobcats. But in between stretches of letting Monday’s game get away from them, the Blazers actually did some pretty good stuff.

The places to look for positives in Monday’s box score are the usual spots. Damian Lillard finished with 24 points and nine assists, spearheaded Portland’s fourth quarter comeback, and guided the Blazers through overtime. Dame’s shot wasn’t falling Monday, but he made up for it by getting to the line 14 times.

LaMarcus Aldridge was also in fine form. LA converted on 12 of his 17 field goal attempts for 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. The best part of Monday for LaMarcus was that he was finishing at the rim. Only two of LA’s field goal attempts came from 19 feet out or further. LaMarcus split those two deep attempts.

The overwhelming majority of LA’s attempts, both makes and misses, came in the paint. Getting closer to the hoop is where LaMarcus does the bulk of his damage. He’s been shooting a lot more for the outside this season, games like Monday’s will probably go a long way to convince him playing in front of the rim is the way to go.

Beyond their “Big Two,” the Blazers got important contributions from Wesley Matthews (19 points, three big threes, four incredibly clutch free throws), and Nicolas Batum (17 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and a block). For the second game in a row, Portland got balanced scoring off the bench. Babbitt’s nine points helped a lot, but every Blazer who played scored. That happened in Cleveland too. Twice in two games, it’s starting to look like a trend.

Here’s another thing to ponder. For probably the first time this season Portland won with a starter playing less than 20 minutes and not scoring at least 10 points. The odd man out was J.J. Hickson. J.J. got the short end of the stick because of match-ups, but it shows improvement that a top-five guy can have an off night and it doesn’t sink the whole ship. If that doesn’t spell progress to you, then I don’t know what would.

The Blazers have a chance to make it three in a row and try to make up for some of the bad feelings that come from losing to the Wizards and the Pistons when they close out this road trip in Indiana on Wednesday.

I’ll leave you with this:

• Portland is 4-0 in overtime games. Four OT games (five total overtime periods) in 17 games is a bit excessive and could very well catch up with this team come the end of the season, but I’ll take all four of those wins.

I’ll also leave you with this:

you know if Portland is going to come back in five minutes Luke is the guy that’s going to make it happen…

— Rip City Project (@ripcityproject) December 4, 2012

Box Score

Standings

Roberto Gato

LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers Monday night with 25 points, helping Portland to their second straight overtime win. Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has helped to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to more wins through 15 games in 2012-13 than they got through 66 games in 11-12. Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

The Oregonian‘s Mike Tokito dropped a little bit of historical knowledge on Blazer land this morning when he reminded everybody that Portland’s historic 13-game winning streak started after a game-winner from an up-and-coming Blazer forward snapped a four-game losing streak.

My favorite part of Tokito’s article was his reminder that it was this winning streak in 2007 that led the city of Portland back to the Rose Garden to see just what was happening with this group of upstart Blazers. Portland finished 07-08 at .500. But 08-09 was the best Blazer season in nearly a decade. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to turn everything around.

Prior to the start of this season, I looked at Portland’s roster and thought there was a chance that although this team wasn’t going to be good they probably had an extended win-streak in them. Winning in the NBA can be contagious, especially for young teams. When a group of NBA newbies get a little confidence, they have the potential to throw together stretches of wins. The 2012-13 Blazers have that type of roster.

Joel Freeland and Will Barton are the kinds of players who need only one or two strong shifts to turn from disappointing to contributing. Nolan Smith is in the NBA for a reason, getting some quality minutes might help to remind him of that. Same goes for Luke Babbitt. As they say, a rising tide lifts all boats. If the bench starts to play well, the motivation is there for the starters to play well.

If Portland’s bench comes to play at the same time their starting five gets their groove back, this Blazer team could win a handful of games before they realize the best they can probably do is 10th in the West.

So do I think that one win in double overtime against a not-great Cavaliers team on a desperation three that was probably a 50% shot at its very best will erase four poor showings (or three poor showings and a decent loss in Brooklyn) and all the obvious short-comings of the Blazers’ bench? No. Is it absurd and deluded to think Portland is on the brink of a double-digit run of wins? Yes. But is anything possible? Also yes.

The Blazers have a chance to make amends for a terrible close to November. They have a chance to build on the clear momentum swing that comes from winning a tough game on the road. Monday evening in Charlotte is an opportunity that shouldn’t be wasted.

Blazers Start 5: PG Damian Lillard, SG Wesley Matthews, SF Nicolas Batum, PF LaMarcus Aldridge, C J.J. Hickson

Bobcats Starting 5: PG Kemba Walker, SG Jeffery Taylor, SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, PF Byron Mullens, C Brandon Haywood

The match-ups in Monday’s game favor Portland across the board. Charlotte’s best young players are second-year guard Kemba Walker and rookie forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Damian Lillard might have his hands full on defense with Kemba, but overall I’ll take Dame in the head-to-head. MKG has been pretty great so far, but Nicolas Batum is going to be a tough cover meaning that Kidd-Gilchrist could be taking out of his offensive game due to his defensive assignment. After Kemba and MKG, though, it gets a little dark for the Bobcats. Byron Mullens will have his hands full with LaMarcus. Brandon Haywood is basically a non-entity.

The hope for Charlotte here is to take advantage of their relative advantages coming off the bench. Ben Gordon and Bismack Biyombo each reach double-digits in scoring in Charlotte’s loss to the 76ers on Friday. Toss Ramon Sessions in there, and the Bobcat’s bench has a significant advantage over Portland’s.

That is, if Portland’s bench plays like they did in the first 16 games of the season and not in the 17th.

What to Watch For

• Can Portland take advantage of their situation: The Bobcats are not a good team. They’re playing way better in 2012-13 than they were in 11-12, but they’re still at or around the bottom tier of the league. Don’t get me wrong, Portland’s there too, but just as winning a big game can lead to more wins for a young/bad/inexperienced team, losing begets losing for young/bad/inexperienced teams. Charlotte is on a three-game slide. These Bobcats know how hard it is to stop the bleeding. Portland is looking to get right and start climbing out of the basement. If the Blazers can take advantage of the difference between being at the beginning of a winning streak and being in the middle of a losing streak, they have a very good chance of extending their winning ways beyond just a single game.
• LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Byron Mullens. LA has been up and down through the first month of the season. Recently he’s shown that his inside game is solid when he goes to it while at the same time showing that he’d rather not go to it that often. Mullens won’t be able to stop LaMarcus in the paint. He needs to go inside all night. On the other end, Mullens will probably try and spread the floor. I don’t know much about the Bobcats, to be honest, but Twitter tells me that Byron Mullens likes to shoot threes. Basketball-Reference tells me that this season he has a game with six made threes (a home loss against Phoenix) and a game with five made threes (in a win at Washington). Furthermore, Mullens has attempted at least two threes in each of Charlotte’s games, and is currently at 5.2 threes attempted per game this season, 4.6 attempted per game at home. LA isn’t a rim protector, but dragging him out to defend Mullens will open up the middle for Kemba Walker. Mullens won’t beat LA one-on-one, but his play could be a major difference maker Monday night.
• Will Portland make shots: Nicolas Batum and Damian Lillard had big bounce-back games in Cleveland. Wesley Matthews, though, is still struggling. Part of Wesley’s struggles can be chalked up to injury. I’m fine with that, but if he’s going to play I would like to see him contribute. If the Blazers can get hot from the field, they can put Charlotte away early. I’ve said that a lot on this trip, and it’s yet to happen. Which obviously means it’s going to happen this time.
• The bench. Apparently it was the mop-up minutes in Boston that gave the bench the confidence needed to have their biggest showing of the year. So does that mean playing a good game in meaningful minutes and contributing to a win will turn Freeland, Barton, Babbitt, and Smith into All-Stars? Probably not. But hopefully they’ll have another good night in Charlotte.

@mikeacker | @ripcityproject | mike.acker1@gmail.com

Charlotte comes into tonight playing some of their best basketball of the year. Some may want to say ‘Hey, they are only 6-17 on the road this year, we’re good’. False. The Bobcats have won 5 road games this month, including a win at Cleveland and three in a row (at Phoenix, at GS, at Sac). They come into tonight at 12-4 this month. The keys to this team are Stephen Jackson and All-Star Gerald Wallace who is having an absolute monster of a season. Forget the fact that he’s averaging 19 and 11 on the season. He’s coming off back to back 30 point/10 rebound games. Jackson has given this team a major boost offensively and clearly has made an impact as they are 21-16 with him in a CHA uniform. Jackson is having a nice January, averaging 23.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists. Most importantly, he’s shooting a staggering 46.6% from the field this month. Staggering because he’s averaging 16.8 field goal attempts a game. Between those two they average about 40 of Charlotte’s 90 points a game. Obviously, Portland has to take these two head on if they want a chance to win. This is where our lack of perimeter players could hurt. Bayless and Rudy might have issues defending. I think Webster and Batum could bother Jackson, but just get overpowered by Wallace’s physical play. Very interesting to see how Portland defends. They could always go to a zone because the Bobcats are only shooting 34% from three and their two best shooters (% wise) are Raymond Felton and DJ Augustin. And I’m more than happy to see them jack up jumpers.

Keys to the Game

Win the race to 100…actually just don’t let Charlotte score 100: The good news is that Portland won a game where they gave up 100 points or more!! Fist pump! The bad news? That brought their record to 3-13 when they give up 100 points or more. As mentioned before, Charlotte has scored in triple digits the last three games and are 15-2 this season when they score 100 or more.  So yeah…don’t let them score 100.

Contain Wallace/Jackson: This is obvious but must be  re-stated.

Don’t give up anything easy/Let Charlotte shoot jumpers: I’d like to avoid excessive turnovers/fouls that allow Charlotte easier opportunities than they deserve. Other than Stephen Jackson, Charlotte doesn’t have any guys on their roster who really intimidate me with their ability to just light it up from outside. If Raymond Felton, DJ Augustin and Boris Diaw go off hitting jumpers I’ll just have to shake some Bobcats hand, say your team was better today and watch as he shakes his head in bewilderment.

Get a third scoring option: This is mainly to Rudy/Martell/Batum. You don’t want to need Andre Miller to go bananas every night. Those three players I named are going to have to be better. We all have discussed at various times over this year about how these guys need to do more. Well we can’t have these three combine to go 1-for-8 and expect good things to happen. LaMarcus Aldridge has shown that he can put up numbers but he needs help. Miller has shown he can shoulder a load but between these three and Bayless, someone needs to show up in a big way tonight.

I’d choose interesting as a keyword to associate with my feelings towards this game. Portland needs to get its act together at home, a loss here would lead to a three-game losing streak at the Rose Garden. That’s no bueno. Looking ahead in the schedule, the next 5 games are no fun, so a win here is nearly a must.