Damian Lillard has faced Steve Nash twice in his career, once in the preseason and once in the regular season, he has yet to lose. Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

In the world of professional sports, narrative is everything. We come to the games to see competition at it’s highest, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat and all that, but we pay attention because of the stories. Think of the Olympics. In a competition that lasts a month, the only thing that matters is the back story of how athletes we’ve never heard of, participating in sports that for the most part we care very little about, sacrificed their otherwise regular lives to devote themselves to the quest for Olympic Gold.

It’s the liberal application of these stories, bookended by some of the most intense competition ever that makes the Olympics an international television success every four years.

More than almost every other professional league, the NBA thrives off of narrative to keep it going. Eighty-two games is a long season. Fans, especially casual fans, need some through line to hold their interest from start to finish. No team in the NBA is more steeped in narrative. And no Laker narrative has been quite like the narrative of the Lakers in 2012-13.

Friday, when Portland travels to the Staples Center to try and go 2-0 against the Lakers on this season, very little of what’s at stake will have anything to do with the Blazers. The New Jersey Nets may have just fired their coach and are looking like one of the league’s most over-hyped teams, but nothing has overshadowed the Lakers mixture of futility and dysfunction. Even a story as interesting as a 15-game winning streak by the Los Angeles Clippers is framed against the failures of their Staples Center counterparts.

So, are the Los Angeles Lakers a bad basketball team? I don’t think so. Any team with four of the best players in the league (one of them the arguably the best player ever) can’t be that bad. I do think, though, that Dwight Howard might not be best suited to the personnel around him. I also think that with a bench as thin as LA’s they have very little room for error.

When the Lakers faced the Blazers at the Rose Garden to kick off Portland’s season, they’d lost nine straight (eight of those in the preseason and one to open their regular season campaign). I expected the Blazers to beat the Lakers since Portland almost always beats LA at home. I’m pretty sure nobody expected what would follow. There’s no need to go into the details of the Lakers’ foibles, anybody who has watched SportsCenter in the last two months knows them up and down.

With Steve Nash back in the lineup, the Lakers are a much better team. One of the best point guards in the game will have that impact on a squad. Kobe Bryant is still Kobe Bryant. In fact, he’s playing like the Kobe Bryant who knows in his heart of hearts that for his team to have a chance he’s going to have to play at an MVP level. Even so, the Lakers remain seriously vulnerable.

LA can still become one of the best teams in the West, counting them all the way out 30 games in is foolish, they just aren’t there quite yet.

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

Lakers Starting 5: PG Steve Nash, SG Darius Morris, SF Kobe Bryant, PF Pau Gasol, C Dwight Howard

First-five on first-five, Portland is slightly over-matched, especially with Wesley Matthews (most likely) out of their lineup. A front line of Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard should be able to overpower LaMarcus Aldridge and J.J. Hickson. Anything Nicolas Batum can do on offense will be doubled or tripled by Kobe Bryant. Steve Nash may be old, but he’ll be a tough cover for Damian Lillard.

The key for Portland Friday will be trying to replicate some of the things they did so well against the Kings on Wednesday. Those things would be getting stops, turnovers, and easy buckets. The Lakers, regardless of how poorly they may be playing, are not the Kings though. Whereas Sacramento basically abandoned their half-court offense once they got way behind, playing into the Blazers’ man-stopping perimeter defense, a Kobe Bryant-Steve Nash led Laker team will commit to playing a full 48 minutes in the half court. Because this will likely be a half court game, Portland needs to put even more of a premium on defensive rebounds and running whenever possible.

The Blazers will also need to find a way to score inside. Scoring inside is part of the easy baskets thing, and was something Portland did basically at will against the Kings. Dwight Howard is the definition of a force in the paint, but the Blazers can’t be tentative in attacking him. I’ll take getting to the free throw line as a by-product of trying to score inside. Wednesday, LaMarcus Aldridge shot 6-of-7 from the line, but Damian Lillard didn’t even take a free throw, Nicolas Batum only took four, and J.J. Hickson only had two.

Portland got a lot of dunks against the Kings, part of the reason they didn’t shoot many free throws. I’ll take dunks over free throws any day of the week, but I would love to see the Blazers  getting to the line more often. I would especially like to see Meyers Leonard make more than one trip to the stripe. He’s proven to be quite a free throw shooter, and without much height coming off the Laker bench, there will be plenty of good opportunities for Meyers Friday night.

What to Watch For

• Can Portland not get beaten by LA’s reserves. Kobe Bryant will get 30. Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, and Steve Nash are still All-World talents. A strong all around game from Portland should be able to hang with a strong came from LA’s four All-Stars. If Portland lets somebody like Jodie Meeks have a big night, they’ll probably be in trouble. That goes for Metta World Peace as well. Although, as somebody noted on Twitter the other night, a good way to beat the Lakers might be to let MWP have a big quarter early in the game. In the event that happens, he won’t stop shooting, and will likely put up a shot or two in the fourth quarter that will sink the Lakers.
• The battle of the benches. Portland’s bench is bad, but so is LA’s. Will Barton had a great night Wednesday (I’m keeping him out of the starting lineup because I’m betting head coach Terry Stotts sticks with Victor Claver), so he could have a big night against the Lakers minimal reserves. Meyers Leonard could be effective too. Jordan Hill is LA’s only back-up big who plays. Meyers should be able to do some work offensively against Hill.
• Will Portland go to Hack-a-Howard, and if they do will it work. The Blazers didn’t need to rely on Dwight Howard’s historic inability to make free throws to beat the Lakers on Halloween. I’m all for putting Howard on the line every time he touches the ball. My only problem with it is that Dwight tends to make free throws against the Blazers. He once made 13 free throws in a game against Portland. To be fair, though, the Magic lost that night, proving a Dwight Howard team can lose when he misses a lot of free throws and when he makes a lot of free throws.

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

Kobe Byrant is having a great season, but it hasn’t always meant wins for his Laker super-team that sits a game below .500. Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Mar 21, 2012; Dallas, TX, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) sinks a shot as he is fouled by Dallas Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd (2) during the third quarter at the American Airlines Center. The Lakers defeated the Mavericks 109-93. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Blazers: 22-25 (5th Northwest Division)

Lakers: 29-18 (1st Pacific Division)

Game Details: Staple Center Los Angeles, CA. 7:30 PM. TV: KGW. Radio: 750 AM (KXTG)

Projected Blazers Lineup: PG Raymond Felton (#5, 6’1”, North Carolina), SG Wesley Matthews (#2, 6’5”, Marquette), SF Nicolas Batum (#88, 6’8”, MSB Le Mans, France), PF LaMarcus Aldridge (#12, 6’11”, Texas). C Joel Przybilla (#10. 7’1”, Minnesota)

Projected Lakers Lineup: PG Steve Blake (#9, 6’3”, Maryland), SG Kobe Bryant (#24, 6’6”, Lower Marion High School), SF Metta World Peace (#15, 6’7”, St. John’s), PF Pau Gasol (#16, 7′, FC Barcelona, Spain)

I’ll keep this one brief because like you I want to soak up the last rays of Portland sunshine that we may ever see before tip-time of what might be another horrendous Trail Blazer game. It also might not be so horrendous, though. Portland has a lot of opportunities with this one tonight in Los Angeles (a place where they laugh in our faces and ask what’s this rain thing you speak of all the time).

Here are those opportunities in order of importance: 1) Portland has a chance to prove to what remains of its television fan base that they can put together two good-effort games in a row. 2) The Blazers have a chance to give Kaleb Canales his first victory at the Staples Center. That’s a big deal. 3) Portland wins this game, and they’ve got the season series. Bla bla bla Playoffs, bla bla bla seeding, bla bla bla advantage having won twice in their opponents area (the Playoffs aren’t happening I just couldn’t stop myself from mention the season series win potential). and 4) Portland can pull off the rarely seen but highly coveted double-Gasol, a maneuver in which both Gasol brothers are beaten in subsequent nights. A win Friday would give Portland the home-road double-Gasol. Not quite as special as the road-road double-Gasol, but certainly one step better than the home-home double-Gasol.

But in all seriousness, the Blazers began to really hit the skids when they got pasted at Staples just over a month ago. That game, another one on national television, made everybody question this team’s desire to win, it’s ability to win, and it’s shelf life. That Blazer team (which is still mostly this Blazer team) was embarrassed that night. It was embarrassing to watch. It was embarrassing to write about. It was probably as embarrassed as I’ve ever been in my time as a Blazer fan. This team knows that.

They also know that a hard fought game in Staples will be enough to erase the memory of that first trip. More than anything, a fan base like the one Portland has wants to be given a reason to cheer for their team. I don’t expect Portland to win Friday night, but if they at least play hard and don’t get down by 30 in the first half, that can be considered at least a minor victory. And if they do win? Well then it’s Playoff time baby (not really, I just couldn’t help myself. See @blazersedge for the implications of winning games at this point in the season and instructions on the most effective hand-drawn graphs).

Couple of things I will be watching for:

• LaMarcus Aldridge: LA didn’t have a great game against Memphis. The Lakers are like the Grizzlies, only bigger. LA struggles against aggressive bigs that play physical basketball. A big game from him is going to be key.
• Nicolas Batum: Time for Nic to become the man on offense. Nothing takes a trend and turns it into a national or global frenzy like a big offensive night at Staples, just ask Jeremy Lin.

Email me: mike.acker1@gmail.com

Twitter: @mikeacker | @ripcityproject

Post game both Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas described Andrew Bynum as a load.

I have to admit that on my way over to the Rose Garden tonight I started to feel a bit apprehensive about this one. Not because I didn’t have faith that the top team in the Western Conference wouldn’t be able to follow up on what was their most impressive and most important win of the season. And not because I don’t think that this Blazer team has the kind of tools and attitudes to make this an amazing season. I was starting to have doubts because of the circumstances of this game.

Yes, Portland always plays well, and usually wins, against the Lakers at home regardless of what’s happening at the time with either team, but Thursday it felt a little different. Never before, or at least not for a long time, have the Blazers been the favored team in this match-up. And not for a very long time has Portland been the number one team in the Western Conference when they faced the Lakers in the RG. Those factors–not to mention the fact that this is the kind of team that Kobe Bryant always wanted, one that doesn’t mind hanging out on the perimeter and watching him attack the hoop all by his lonesome–combined made me think that there was a chance we as Blazer fans had taken the first step towards expecting too much from our team. And you know what happens when you expect too much? You get that much more angry when you’re proven wrong.

So I came in guarded. Hoping for the best, but expecting that things could go wrong at any second. At first it looked like I might be right. Kobe drilled his first three shot attempts, Portland’s first field goal was an own goal, and Andrew Bynum could not be stopped by anybody. The home crowd was delirious with Blazer pride and Laker hate, but Kobe is still Kobe. If he gets hot early it can be a long night.

But there was something going on with the home side too. To start, Wesley Matthews was matching Kobe shot-for-shot. Gerald Wallace was attacking the rim. LaMarcus Aldridge was hitting his jumper and putting on a show of spins and fade-aways. The end result: Despite allowing the Lakers to shot 62% in the first 24 minutes, and giving up a combined 31 points on 15 made field goals to Bryant and Bynum, Portland trailed by only four points at halftime. That’s the definition of taking a team’s best punch and not caving.

Thursday’s second half was the story of the game, and could very well be the story of this season for the Blazers given the way their last two contests have gone. Basically the Lakers stopped scoring and Portland didn’t. Say they ran out of steam, say they stopped giving the ball to Bynum in the post, say they started missing shots they were making. Whichever reason you choose is fine. They’re all right. Here’s the facts. With 6:27 remaining in the third quarter, Pau Gasol tied the game at 66 with a pair of free throws. With 2:43 left in the same quarter, Wesley Matthews drained a three giving Portland the lead 76-66. The Lakers wouldn’t get much closer than that the rest of the way.

A similar thing happened in Oklahoma City, only a little later in the game. In that game, Portland took their first double-digit lead of the night late in the fourth quarter. Getting your biggest lead of the night, or taking a two possession game to a five possession game, in the second half shows a commitment to game plan. It shows a drive to keep scoring even when you’re getting stops on the defensive end. And most of all it shows that killer instinct that everybody is always talking about the best teams and players having and that from time to time in the recent past has seemed to stay just a touch out of Portland’s grasp.

One stat is going to stand out when you take a look at the final box score, as it should, and if you aren’t already over the moon on this team it might be just the thing to put you there. Thursday night, Portland turned the ball over four times, and no Blazer had more than a single turnover to their credit. Remember all the way back to a week ago? When the win against Denver was tempered by an unsustainable amount of turnovers, and it looked like there might be some major flaw in what was starting to look like a very solid team? Well if back-to-back games with less than 10 turnovers doesn’t mean progress–and progress in a very short amount of time with little to no practice–than I just don’t know what to say.

“Tonight we did a good job taking care of the ball,” coach Nate McMillan said during his post game remarks. “That gives you opportunities at that basket. We’re starting to get a feel for each other, and I expect the execution to continue to get better.” That’s the thing, this team can get better, and they’ve shown that they are willing to make the adjustments needed to keep getting wins.

A lot of people have jumped on the Portland bandwagon in the last 24 hours. Even though the Lakers aren’t the same team they were a couple of years ago, they are still the biggest draw in the league, so expect there to be more people interested in Portland tomorrow. My question is, when is this team going to lose again? Phoenix should be a win. Cleveland should be an easy win. That means that next week the Blazers get another shot at the other team from LA. I find it hard to believe these Blazers think there’s a team out there that can beat them two times in less than a month.

Portland is back in action tomorrow night on the road against the Suns, even if they lose the worst they can be is tied for first in the Western Conference.

Just a couple of quick things:

• Jamal Crawford and Wesley Matthews are becoming a nice combo. Wesley getting it done on offense early, and then Jamal coming in in the fourth quarter and hitting big shots. Wesley knocked down four of his first five shots, including both of his three-point attempts, in the first quarter, scoring 10 of Portland’s 27 points in an up-and-down 12 minutes. Jamal closed the game with eight points in the final quarter and 13 points in the second half. At this point minutes are pretty close to equal between these guys, with Wesley getting a few more each night. As long they both stay content with their roles, these guys should be reliable offense the whole season.
• Gerald Wallace was the star of this game, finishing with a game-high 31 points. It’s a tough task guarding Kevin Durant one night and Kobe Bryant the next. Gerald made it look relatively easy. Wallace is on the All-Star ballot, as is LaMarcus Aldridge, and if he continues to have nights like the one he had Thursday, there’s no reason Portland can’t send two guys to Orlando.
• Speaking of LA. He turned in another impressive game, finishing with 28 points and 10 rebounds. In his post game remarks, Nate McMillan mentioned that he thinks LaMarcus should try to get his average up to a double-double each night. LA is going to be an All-Star this year (he should have been an All-Star last year) but if he gets his rebounding numbers up it is going to be hard to keep him out of the discussion for best power forwards in the league. Thursday he showed an array of moves in the post, both spinning away from the hoop for jumpers and attacking the hoop for lay-ups, and at the end of the game his top of the key J looked so effortless that you knew as soon as it left his hand it was going in.
• Minutes watch: 11:01 Craig Smith. Rhino has appeared in four of Portland’s six games, getting mop up minutes against Sacramento and 2:35 against the Clippers. In the last two nights, Smith has played in the neighborhood of 11 minutes, and they’ve been productive minutes. Thursday with his time, Craig grabbed five rebounds, had an assist, and scored. That might not seem like much, but it helps. Portland has suddenly become deep at the four and five, yet another feature that makes this team different than those that came before.
• Ron Artest Metta World Peace had one of the worst games I’ve ever seen from a professional basketball player. At one point he traveled while trying to pump fake Gerald Wallace, got away with it, and missed a point blank lay-up at the rim. He really didn’t look like he knew what was happening on the court. Although, I have to say it is fun to read a final stat book that says SUB: BARNES FOR WORLD PEACE. Who knew Matt Barnes was such a humanitarian. Also, how long until making jokes about World Peace gets you banned from the Internet?

Box Score

Standings

Lake Show Life

email me: mike.acker1@gmail.com

Twitter: @mikeacker | @ripcityproject

I wanted to take pictures of this all night long.