Apr 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) steals the ball from Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverly (12) in the second half during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

In the 2^nd quarter of game two, between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, Patrick Beverly attempted to steal the ball from Russell Westbrook and subsequently sideswiped Westbrook’s right knee. The collision left Russell Westbrook limping off the floor and it has now been revealed that he has a torn meniscus and will probably miss the remainder of the season. This comes as a monstrous blow to the Thunder, who were considered favorites to clinch the Western Conference.

Russell Westbrook has never missed a game in his entire career; NBA, college, or high school. That is about to change. He will undergo knee surgery and likely miss the remainder of the playoffs. The Thunder will head to Houston for game 3 tomorrow night and try to steal a road win without him. Considering they barely held on at home (with the exception of Kendrick Perkins) after the injury, they’re in for a rough go. Suddenly the difference between #1 and #8 isn’t so staggering.

In the absence of Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City will look to the 3 time NBA scoring leader, Kevin Durant, to do what he does best and step up. It’s interesting though, because this season he hasn’t needed to, for the most part. I don’t mean that KD is slacking (he’s absolutely not), but Westbrook had taken over much of the scoring duty that used to be his. Russ even took more shots than Kevin this season, coming to almost exactly one more attempt each game. This is something I have always been critical of Westbrook for; why chuck clunkers when the most efficient shooter in the game is waiting in the wings? Credit where credit is due though, Westbrook has made marked improvements this year and his once spotty decision making is converting from liability to asset. The Thunder will miss him.

The #1 one difference for OKC between this year and last year is the bearded one, James Harden. Although listed as a shooting guard, Harden essentially ran point for their bench last season, winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award in a landslide. However, in the most nauseatingly over-documented trade of 2012, Harden was shipped to Houston. Here’s where OKC is going to hurt; not only do they not have Harden when they need him most, they are in direct competition with him! Houston has an opening and they’ll do everything they can to take it.

So where does this put OKC at point guard? They traded Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers at the trade deadline because Reggie Jackson was thriving and they no longer needed Maynor’s talents. It was a great move for them at the time, to slough off the excess for a trade exception, but it may come back to bite them. Reggie will draw the start, but it’s hard to have a successful playoff team with a sophomore point guard. Even the veteran leadership of backup point guard, Derek Fisher, may not be enough to guide him through it. I don’t doubt that the Thunder can still beat the Rockets (although you never know), but their second round matchup with the Clippers or the Grizzlies may not be so forgiving.

Without Russell Westbrook for the first time in 5 years, the Thunder’s fate is up in the air. Westbrook is reportedly irate with Beverly, who is now taking the brunt of the blame. If that fire sees him through surgery there is a small chance that he could return later in the playoffs (if the Thunder make it that far). As it stands, he is out until further notice.

@davidmackaypdx | @ripcityproject | davidmackaypdx@gmail.com

Apr 5, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Will Barton (5) at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

If NBA games were 24 minutes long, the Blazers could be a competitive team. The first half still belonged to the Houston Rockets, but by a much slimmer margin than the game in its entirety. LaMarcus Aldridge started hot with 24 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, after missing a week with a sprained ankle.

Surprisingly, Terry Stotts played him for 40 minutes in this blowout loss. What did he hope to gain from playing LaMarcus well into garbage time? Sure he was the only Blazer to really look good tonight, but that was a whopper of a questionable decision. I don’t care how good LaMarcus is for fan morale, you don’t ride your franchise player into the final minutes of a lost cause when he’s just returned from injury.

That being said, it was great to have LaMarcus back. Even when the Rockets slowed him down in the 2nd half, he made good decisions (something that cannot be said for the rest of the Blazers). He rolled up his sleeves and got to the free throw line in order to stop the clock, fouling out Houston power forward, Greg Smith, in the process. It will be nice to see Portland finish out the season with their leader present.

In a greater sense, their season ended tonight anyway. With this loss, the Portland Trail Blazers have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. Despite the hopes and dreams of many Blazer fans like myself just two weeks ago, this was probably in the cards earlier than most would like to admit. The Trail Blazers have, undeniably, the most difficult schedule to end the regular season. If you felt increasing sprinkles of defeat grace your cheek these last several games, bundle up and prepare for rain, because the worst is yet to come. The Blazers will face the Mavericks, Lakers, Thunder, Nuggets, Clippers, and Warriors in their remaining contests.

They will likely have to do most of this without their glue, and 3rd leading scorer, Nicolas Batum, who has suffered a superior labral tear in his right shoulder. Fortunately, he is anticipated to play again before season’s end, so Rip City can rejoice in the health of their beloved Frenchman. The real question is, can Portland get their act together and win a game, even with Batum?

If they play the way they did tonight, I’d doubt it. Portland’s 6th annual ‘Green Awareness Game’ had more than just environmental implications; well before the final minutes, it became obvious just how young this Portland team really is. The sloppy play was so exasperating, I thought I might lose a lung if I heaved one more sigh. Bad passes, blown buckets, shoddy defense; Portland hit the trifecta.

The most memorable moment tonight was not even part of the game. In the final minutes of the 4th quarter, Jeremy Lin (benched early once the outcome of the game became obvious, as LaMarcus should have been) wandered away from the Rockets’ bench and sat down in a baseline seat that had been vacated by a Portland fan. He was grinning from ear to ear. Something about an opposing player occupying spectator seating upset me, but it was also the perfect metaphor for the game; the Blazers checked out early and the Rockets moved in with ease. It hurt. The only time seats should be empty in the Garden is when fans are on their feet!

Things to take away from this game:

• LaMarcus is our biggest asset from here on out, but he can’t do it alone. All Blazers not named Damian Lillard have been hesitant to penetrate. With the way we’ve been shooting threes lately, everyone should be eager to get to the rim. If they can’t score from the field, they’ve got to earn it on the line.
• You know Portland is desperate when there is a Sasha Pavlovic sighting. Terry Stotts needs to commit to a rotation that he thinks will not only make the most of its minutes, but will gain valuable experience from playing out the season.
• Defense is not a sometimes activity. If the Blazers want to make any sort of stand they have to play every possession.

Portland has slipped into a position where they are unlikely to shift in lottery priority, regardless of winning or losing. They might as well pull together and show their fans that the Rose City will not idly wither.

Box Score

Standings

@davidmackaypdx | @ripcityproject | davidmackaypdx@gmail.com

Nicolas Batum celebrates two of his game-high and career-high tying 35 points in Friday night’s victory over the Houston Rockets. Credit: Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE

“He’s not scared. That’s only the ninth game of his career. He played like this was his fifth or sixth year.” Batum on Lillard

— Ben Golliver (@blazersedge) November 17, 2012

“That’s just me. I don’t think it’s something I need to try to do, I’m just naturally this person,” Damian Lillard said to me after the game when I asked him if he thinks about staying calm, collected, and preternaturally cool as the Rose Garden goes ballistic all around him and he has the ball in his hands trying to put the finishing touches on a crazy comeback. “I think because I’m comfortable with myself and I’m confident in myself I don’t have a reason not to be relaxed and comfortable.”

There’s a trait that all basketball players want and that all basketball players try to cultivate. Call that trait confidence, if you’re an old guy, maybe swag if you’re younger. If you work for ESPN and you want to compare every major super star to Michael Jordan and explain why they aren’t as good as he is/was you’d probably call it killer instinct. By whatever name it goes, it’s that trait that allows a basketball player to look at his opponent, who by the simple fact they too are in the NBA is one of the best basketball players in the world, and say it doesn’t matter what you do or who you are, I am going to beat you.

Damian Lillard has been a professional for nine games. Think about that for a minute. Now think about this: with 1:37 to play in Friday’s overtime victory over the Houston Rockets Damian grabbed a steal, got fouled, and sank two free throws to give the Blazers a 107-105 lead. In all three of Portland’s previous home losses the home team had let their opponent build a lead and then they clawed and scratched to get back into the game only to let it slip away at the close. In all three of those losses, the Blazers had been close in the fourth, but they hadn’t made it over the hump. Friday was different. They made it all the way back, but even after those free throws there was more game to be played.

So Damian hits the free throws, James Harden comes down and silences the crowd with a three: 108-107 Houston. Portland’s next two offensive possessions went isolation for Lillard that ended in a driving lay-up, followed by a pull-up jumper from Lillard to push the Blazers’ lead to 111-108. Marcus Morris would hit the game-tying three, and Damian would miss his three attempt to end it in regulation, but the extra period started with, following a miss by Wesley Matthews at the shot-clock buzzer, a game-tying three from Lillard and then a second game-tying jumper.

Look at those possessions. Starting at the 1:37 mark, when Lillard hit the two free throws, and going through to the 2:33 mark of overtime, Portland had eight possessions that ended in field goal attempts. Of those eight, seven of the shot attempts belonged to Damian Lillard, Wesley was the odd man out. Of those seven shot attempts, Damian missed twice. One of those misses came at the end of regulation when, with the game tied, the very worst outcome would have been overtime.

Certainly, some of Lillard’s late-game play was dictated to him by his coach Terry Stotts. However, and equal percentage of credit for streak of play that accounted for 11 of Portland’s last 14 points has to be given to the fact that Damian Lillard believes that the best way for his team to win games is fr him to have the ball in his hands, and for him to shoot that ball. And this is a kid who nine games ago had played a grand total of zero NBA regular season minutes. Call Damian’s attitude whatever you like, Damian believes in himself, and he believes in his ability to score against anybody at any time. I, for one, don’t disagree with him.

When 2012-13 is in the books, probably even in a season or two when these Blazers are legitimate playoff contenders, we’ll look back fondly on those first few days of Damian Lillard’s career, when every night he was blowing our minds in a new way, when every day a whole new group of national basketball writers were discovering him for themselves. I doubt, though that Friday November 16th will jump out as the date that the rebuilding and the growth of this franchise actually took hold. I’m saying that because we don’t know if this victory will be the kind that sets the stage for many more like it and leads to vast improvement on all fronts. We can’t predict the future, as much as we try to. All things being equal, though, Friday might turn out to be a pretty important day in the narrative of this team.

Lost in the Damian Lillard Overtime Show was a quiet 29 and six from LaMarcus Aldridge. LA may have missed a hugely crucial free throw with 1:21 to play in overtime (is it just me or does he seem to miss a lot of free throws late in games?), but he didn’t let that stop him from making an equally crucial block a play later and then a jumper to seal the win a play after that.

Not so much lost, but certainly a little bit overshadowed, was one of the very best games of Nicolas Batum’s professional career. Nic’s stat line was an absolute beauty: 13-of-19 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three for 35 points, six rebounds, five blocks, four assists, and one steal. Nic also had seven turnovers, but his incredible block on Omer Asik with 34 seconds left in regulation and his OTHER incredible block on James Harden with 30 seconds to go in overtime more than made up for every single time he turned the ball over. Batum’s blocking ability, a known commodity among Portland fans, could very realistically be his biggest x-factor. In a game that is decided by two points, five blocked shots is a very tangible difference maker.

The performance Friday that will very likely get the least ink but deserves at least a short mention was that of one Meyers Leonard. I want to believe in Meyers. Scratch that, I DO believe in Meyers. But I also know that he is a work in progress, and though that work is being done, the progress is very slow. Friday, there were stretches when Meyers looked like he didn’t belong on the floor at all. At least twice, he rolled to the hoop after setting a pick and either wasn’t looking when the ball was thrown to him or ducked right at the last minute because he wasn’t actually expecting to catch a pass. And then there was his defense. More than once he hedged out on the ball handler when his man set a screen and then turned to find his man again and just couldn’t do it. In fact, Batum wouldn’t have had the lead-saving block (a lead that would be then un-saved so unceremoniously by Marcus Morris who is my pick to win the Three-Point Shootout on NBA All-Star Weekend) if Leonard hadn’t completely blown his rotation on Asik and let him drift to the rim completely undefended. But after all that, there was Meyers, on the floor in the overtime, waving his arms to get the crowd hyped (like the needed much help), filling the paint, grabbing rebounds, and just generally being effective. And before that, Meyers was doing his best to keep the behemoth that is Asik off the glass on defense, being active on both ends of the floor, KNOCKING DOWN A JUMP SHOT, getting a highlight dunk on a rookie-to-rookie run out lob that made me forget about the few lobs that went begging because Meyers sometimes has no idea what to do. Basically, in 27 minutes of play, Meyers Leonard showed that he may not be ready to start for Portland, but he’s ready to start contributing minutes that actually mean something. Needless to say, his eight points tied a career high. I’m willing to bet he doesn’t want to talk career-highs in scoring until he breaks double digits.

I previewed this game by saying that unlike Sacramento, Houston is the kind of rebuilding team Portland should strive to be like, compete with, and ultimately beat. They’ve so far accomplished the beating part. From start to finish, it wasn’t the prettiest of Blazer victories. Just like from start to finish this won’t be the prettiest of Blazer season. What this team can hope to do is improve on a nightly basis. They can also try to win. Friday night, they came out flat, but rebounded, and unlike the last three times that has happened at the Rose Garden so far this season, Friday’s comeback was completed with a win. There’s little more that one can ask for at this point.

The Blazers are back in action Sunday at the Rose Garden against the Derrick Rose-less but still 5-3 Chicago Bulls. Last season the Blazers beat the Bulls in Chicago in Kaleb Canales’s first game as a head coach. Just something to chew on.

A couple of quick things:

• Tonight was the first night of Linsanity at the Rose Garden. Any cheers that were coming for Lin were drowned out by the home fans down the stretch, that and Lin didn’t play a minute of the overtime period. Acting head coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters after the game that he liked the defensive match-up he was getting on Damian Lillard with Toney Douglas on the floor. Fine. He’s a head coach, and I’m not. Plenty of people were questioning the move to ride Douglas on Twitter. In all fairness, it’s a move that should be questioned. I’m Lin skeptic to be honest. I’m not trying to be a buzz-kill, but I think he’s Linsanity stretch in New York last season will prove to be the outlier, not the norm, for his career. There are a few things though that I really like about Jeremy Lin, and right now I have no reason to think he won’t have a very long and fruitful NBA career. First among those attributes of Lin’s game that I like is his ability to play within his limitations. He’s a very very smart dude and an incredibly savvy basketball player. Knowing what you can’t do doesn’t sound like the “NBA mentality,” but the way Lin works hard to maximize his strengths (court vision, getting out on the break, rebounding) and minimize his weaknesses (on the ball defense, shooting) is an indication that he’s cemented himself as a real talent, not just a media stunt, and that he’s here, meaning in the NBA starting for a pretty good team in a loaded conference, to stay. Lin’s line: 11 points on 3-of-8 from the floor and 0-of-1 from deep, six rebounds, 11 assists, two steals, one block, three turnovers in 36 minutes. And remember, he didn’t see a second of action during the extra period.
• Speaking of Kelvin Sampson, he coached briefly at Indiana University, leaving that program in shambles following a period of shady operations. The IU connection to Portland runs a little deep. Jared Jeffries played on their last team to make it to the NCAA Finals. Following the game Friday I spoke briefly with Jeffries about IU. The Hooisers enter the NCAA season ranked number one and bring to the table a group of skilled players including Cody Zeller, an outstanding big man who is probably on Portland’s draft radar should the Blazers fall into the very early part of the lottery. I had the chance to cover IU last season when they played in the Rose Garden in the first two rounds (second and third round for NCAA purists) of the big dance last March. I like Zeller, but I think the guy Portland should be going for is Christian Watford. Watford is best known for hitting this shot against the Kentucky Wildcats last season. He’s a power forward in the NCAA, but would be a perfect small four/big three in the NBA. He can shoot from range. He’s big. And he’s athletic. And the best part, Portland won’t have to tank to get him. Watford is a classic NBA draft bugaboo, a strong player who played four years of college basketball. Cody Zeller will be IU’s main guy. Watford will fall to the late first round, maybe even to the second. With a late first round pick or an early second round pick, he could easily land in Portland. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk about IU basketball.
• Back to Jared Jeffries. Coach Stotts mentioned Jeffries’ defensive play in Friday’s game and in Tuesday’s win at Sacramento. Jeffries has been a great spark off the bench even without scoring. He was +8 in about 10 minutes of play Friday. That’s pretty good considering LaMarcus was a -9. Damian Lillard and Nicolas Batum were both +10.
• Terrance Jones in his first action as a professional in Portland (he graduated from Jefferson High School in North Portland) collected a DNP-CD. There’s always next time.

Box Score

Standings

Space City Scoop

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

Damian Lillard is 2-0 against Jeremy Lin, 2-0 in overtime games, and 2-0 in overtime games against Jeremy Lin. Credit: Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE