April 17, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard (0) dribbles past Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) in the first half at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

Here at Rip City Project, we will be releasing report cards for the Trail Blazers’ top rotational players over the next week or two. We’re going to lead off the series with two players Blazers fans have become very familiar with this season: point guards Damian Lillard and Eric Maynor.

Damian Lillard | #0 | Guard

The Blazers went through a tough season, and one that was at times difficult to watch as the team missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. The saving grace was the team’s 6th overall pick from Weber State, a point guard named Damian Lillard who worked hard to become the Rookie of the Year by unanimous vote.

Lillard was everything Blazers fans could have hoped for, and probably more. Offensively, he was the sweet-shooting star on the perimeter the Blazers haven’t had since Brandon Roy. Only one rookie came within one three-pointer made of Lillard’s 2.3 per-game mark (the Wizards’ Bradley Beal), and only the Cavaliers’ Dion Waiters came within five points of Lillard’s 19.0.  Assists? Lillard nearly doubled the rookie that finished in second place, averaging 6.5 to Alexey Shved’s 3.7.

Compared to Raymond Felton the season before, Lillard was a significant step up as he was able to score consistently and get the offense going. The Blazers don’t have many perimeter players that can create offense with the ball in their hands, but with Lillard fulfilling that role, their many shooters had space to work with. Lillard also proved to be a reliable closer in games for the Blazers, winning them a few in the final minute himself (Exhibit A, B).

Lillard did struggle somewhat with turnovers (3.0 per game) and efficiency (42.9% from the field). For a rookie with his workload, it’s not particularly surprising. Those are fixable problems that should wither as Lillard gains more experience.

All things considered, Damian Lillard put in a great rookie season for the Trail Blazers. It exceeded all expectations, and set a precedent for even greater seasons to come. It might not have been perfect, but certainly there wasn’t much more that could have been asked of him.

Grade: A

Apr 5, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers point guard Eric Maynor (6) drives to the basket against the Houston Rockets at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

Eric Maynor | #6 | Guard

Portland’s bench woes last season cannot be overstated, as they received inconsistent play from just about every bench player and finished in the bottom three of just about every bench statistic. At the trade deadline, the Blazers picked up Eric Maynor from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the draft rights to Greek player Giorgos Printezis. In the 27 games that Maynor played for Portland, he was the closest thing they had all season to a reliable sixth man off the bench. He might have been the only consistent bright spot for the team when the starters checked out, and he proved to be a great addition at the deadline.

Maynor doesn’t identify much as a scorer, and it shows on his stat sheet. What he was able to do for Portland was run the offense when asked to, and make the right play within the system. Maynor’s 4.0 assists per game was an exceptional number given his playing time, and he helped to pace a second unit that had struggled heavily without him on offense. He was even able to knock down a three from time to time at a decent rate, which is about as much as could be asked for the career 35.4% shooter from beyond the arc.

Don’t mistake Maynor for a J.R. Smith-level player, however. Portland was desperate enough for bench help that they would gladly play Maynor, a competent and steady point guard, but his defense was a major weakness for the team. He regularly struggled to keep up with opposing point guards, and even by Portland’s low standards on that end of the floor this season, he was one of the Blazers’ worst defenders.

Maynor’s offensive impact was beneficial, but his defense was the very opposite. His impact as a pass-only point guard was limited, and he’s primarily a stopgap role player. Maynor’s contract expires after this season, and he will be a restricted free agent. It’s likely that he will be brought back, especially if Portland can get him on a cheap contract. However, it remains to be seen if he will be relied upon for 20+ minutes per game again. Certainly, he won’t be the Blazers’ best sub.

For now, consider this season to be a relatively good one from Maynor, and be grateful the Blazers were able to get him cheap. He had his flaws, but at the same time, he was a much-needed upgrade for Portland’s bench.

Grade: B-

@KevinYeungNBA | @ripcityproject

Mar 6, 2013; Memphis, TN, USA; Portland Trail Blazers point guard Eric Maynor (6) shoots the ball during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. Memphis Grizzlies defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 91-85. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden–USA TODAY Sports

That was an outstanding loss for Portland.

— Sean Highkin (@shighkinNBA) March 7, 2013

We’ve made it, you guys. We’ve reached the point in the Blazer season when it’s time to start talking about productive losses and how they are more important than morale boosting wins or blowouts of inferior opponents.

I won’t go searching for the articles written in seasons past that highlight how important it is for a bad Blazer team to lose without letting down the fan base, suffice it to say, winning right now is not important, but getting blown out all the time by good teams can be harmful to the brand.

Staying competitive is important for the image of the Blazers, but winning and thus losing the team’s draft pick for next season can seriously handicap Portland’s future (especially if the Blazers get super lucky and pull a very high draft pick). By that logic, playing well and then ultimately losing to the Memphis Grizzlies is about as good as it gets right now for the Blazers.

Tanking is something that gets brought up at this point in every NBA season. Teams have to decide whether or not to continue to try for wins or to shut down their best players in an all out war for the number one pick in the draft. Portland doesn’t really meet the criteria of most lottery teams. Yes they are 10th in the West, nearly 11th, and likely to have their first round selection. That being said, there is still time for the Blazers to continue their downward trajectory in the conference.

Though I don’t really think that teams intentionally try to lose games, there are things that can be done to ensure, or at least promote, negative outcomes.  The main thing Portland can do to try to lose games is play their rookies. Wednesday night, the Blazers’ rotation was no different than it has been at any point in 2012-13, an indication that this team is still trying to win games. Turns out, the type of defense played by the Memphis Grizzlies is enough to combat any and all heroic efforts put out by Portland.

Memphis held the Blazers to 35 second half points, and in the process erased a 12-point deficit. Getting down early and coming back to win against a sub .500 team at home is what playoff teams do. Coming out strong then fading down the stretch is something a non playoff team does. Essentially, Wednesday night went down exactly as it was supposed to.

This is what late-season NBA is all about. The Grizzlies are firmly in the playoffs, but with only a game and a half advantage over the Nuggets, Memphis needs to keep winning to avoid having to travel to Denver to start the first round of the playoffs.

That Portland didn’t get blown out in a very tough arena by a very solid team is a testament to how well this Blazer team can actually play. That Portland played well, got good contributions from a lot of players, and still lost is why Wednesday was such a good loss for the Blazers.

When Portland gets back to the Rose Garden next week to face a tough three-game slate, there will be fans in the seats. This team continues to give reasons to tune in and pay attention. They also continue to stay right on track to keep their pick. A good draft pick, a free agent signing or two, and in 2013-14, the Blazers will be the playoff team that toys with a sub .500 team in the first week of March.

If Portland had been able to hold on to their double digit first half lead on Wednesday, or if they had been able to adjust offensively to the adjustments Memphis made on defense, there’s a possibility (however slim because there are still 22 games left and one game isn’t really make or break at this point) the Blazers lose their draft pick. Or at least continue to believe that the playoffs are in play.

As long as the playoffs are the goal, Portland is in danger of damaging their future. We can be thankful that teams like Memphis can keep the Blazers on track for next year.

Portland travels to San Antonio to face the Spurs, the team with the best record in the NBA.

Couple of quick things:

• Eric Maynor had another strong evening. He collected 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 25 plus minutes. Remember, 25 minutes was what I said Maynor was going to average for this season as a Blazer. The more minutes he plays, the better. And in his extended minutes, he seems to be getting into the flow of Portland’s offense. Maynor was a great pick-up. Now all we have to worry about is his playing too well and getting a toxic offer from another team that could hurt the Blazers’ ability to sign free agents.
• Along with Eric Maynor, Victor Claver and Meyers Leonard have continued to play pretty well. That threesome is starting to look like Portland’s bench of the future. It still needs work, mostly because guys like Will Barton and Joel Freeland need to figure out a way to get involved, but if after Portland finishes its last 22 games they have a better handle on who is going to take some of the minutes load off the starters, I would say the season is a success overall.

Box Score

Standings

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

Mar 6, 2013; Memphis, TN, USA; Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard (0) shoots the ball against Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Tony Allen (9) during the game at FedEx Forum. Memphis Grizzlies defeat the Portland Trail Blazers 91-85. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden–USA TODAY Sports

There is almost no way that Monday’s game between the Blazers and the Charlotte Bobcats WON’T be a let down.

The Bobcats are bad, very very bad.  Blowing out Charlotte would be the preferable outcome for Portland, so if the Blazers don’t win on Monday, that is certainly a major let down. However, unless somebody like Meyers Leonard scores 40 points or Portland as a team puts up 200 points, even a blow out win could be a let down.

Beyond that too, Monday’s game does not have the narrative weight attached to it that made Saturday’s game (a contest against another not great team that was a bit of a letdown even though the Blazers came out on top and it wasn’t that close) an important thing to be on hand for and be a part of. Nobody cares about the Bobcats. Nobody cares about the Blazers (not in regards to how the NBA season is actually going to shake out). And sadly there isn’t anybody on Charlotte’s roster that will elicit a standing ovation from the Rose Garden crowd.

Monday’s is an inconsequential game of the highest order. That it has to be played at all, is a letdown.

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

Bobcats Starting 5: PG Kemba Walker, SG Gerald Henderson, SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, PF Bismack Biyombo, C Byron Mullens

Matching up with the Charlotte Bobcats is not the tallest order in the NBA. The Cats aren’t a deep team and they’ve got very little in the way of fire power coming from their starting five. On Monday, it will be important for the Blazers to do everything within their collective powers to maximize the biggest of the many many advantages they’ll have.

And that very biggest advantage is of course at the power forward position. LaMarcus Aldridge has been on a pretty ridiculous hot streak lately. He’s shot over 40% in three straight games, and he’s coming off a night in which he scored 17 points while playing just under 30 minutes, only his fourth evening with fewer than 30 minutes of PT. LA should certainly be very well rested for Monday night. Not that he’ll really need to be rested to get the better of Bismack Biyombo. Nothing against Charlotte’s popular young rim protector, it’s just that what Biyombo does very well won’t have much of an impact on what LaMarcus does very well.

If LA is the biggest advantage Portland has over Charlotte, the back court positions might be the best match-ups for the Bobcats. And just as the Blazers need to maximize LaMarcus, they need to minimize the damage that could be done by the combination of Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson.

Walker and Henderson are far from All-Star caliber guards, but they’re  both athletic, can attack the rim, and can make life difficult for Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews. It’s possible that hot shooting from Portland’s back court tandem will neutralize what the Bobcats can do with their guards. However, my feeling is that if Damian and Wesley attack the rim, instead of settling only for jumpers, they might be able to get Walker and Henderson into foul trouble, thus forcing Charlotte to try and get something from an inferior bench.

Probably the most interesting match-up of the evening will be at small forward. Nicolas Batum was hot to start the season, slowed down a little bit with a wrist injury, and has worked his way back into being basically Portland’s second-best all around player (LA is number one, Damian Lillard is number three, but it’s all pretty close at the top). Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, the number two overall pick in last year’s draft, is a very talented up and coming rookie. Certainly MKG is just another potentially great rookie to come out of a franchise that chews up and destroys potentially great rookies, but so far he’s been one of the real highlights of the worst team in the NBA. Batum versus MKG is probably worth the price of admission.

What to Watch For

• Portland’s bench. Eric Maynor had his best night as a Blazer in Portland’s win over the Timberwovles on Saturday night. Meyers Leonard was also great in his longest on-court stint since November. Joel Freeland and Will Barton, though, didn’t do quite so well. Odds are, there will be plenty of minutes available for the Blazers’ second unit Monday night. Getting Maynor used to his role in Portland is just about the most important thing for the Blazers to focus on going forward. I expect him to get big minutes, and I expect him to put up some decent numbers. The same can be said about Meyers Leonard. In his post-game remarks Saturday, Meyers Leonard said he was disappointed in himself for missing two straight free throws. He was also upset about not coming up with the two rebounds he needed to get his first professional double-double. Monday he can stretch his run of games with at least 10 points to three, he can get that double-double, and he can continue to show that his professional development isn’t just a dream.
• Will the Blazers overlook the Bobcats. Although everything I’ve said about the Bobcats being bad and the likelihood of a Portland blow out, it is altogether possible that the Blazers will overlook the Bobcats. After all, they’ve got a three-game roadie coming up and nine of their next 14 games away from the Rose Garden. There are pressing issues to take care of, and getting up for a Charlotte team that has won only four times in their last 20 games just isn’t one of them. Portland very nearly got blown out in Charlotte when these two teams faced off for the first time. It will be hard for the Bobcats to get a 20-point lead to then blow in Portland, but anything is possible. The first quarter of Monday’s game is going to be very important for the Blazers. If they can come out of the gate in a hurry, this game could be over in a hurry. Otherwise (going five minutes without a score for instance) Charlotte has a chance.
• What will the atmosphere in the Rose Garden be like. Almost all of March is on the road, which is a shame because there are a lot of good home games in April that Blazer fans might skip out on because the season will certainly be over with regards to the Playoffs. As I said at the beginning of this preview, there’s nobody on the Bobcats’ roster to bring Portlanders out on a Monday night. Add to that that the MLS season is officially on us and a lot of Timbers’ supporters who also support the Blazers might be too hung over from Sunday’s Timbers’ game to make it out to Monday’s Blazer game. An empty arena favors Charlotte. They’re much more used to playing in that atmosphere. There is a creeping sense that Portland is playing out the string on 2012-13. Over the course of the next month and a half, there are going to be a few games where opposition fans will outnumber the local fans. Monday could be a good barometer for how this city is feeling about this team. If the seats of the Rose Garden are empty, it’s probably a sign that Blazer fans are getting ready for next season by saving their money.

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