The Portland Trail Blazers took on Isreal’s Maccabi Haifa at the Moda Center, and thoroughly dominated in nearly every way to sew up an easy 121-74 victory. Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard both played after taking a few games off with minor ailments.
Game Flow
There is not much a narrative here. The Trail Blazers were the better team like chocolate is the better ice cream: it was that obvious. In lieu of a play-by-play, here are some things I noticed during the game’s
44
48 minutes (apologies to Adam Silver):
Player Notes
- Lillard looked great physically, but he didn’t seem to be playing with a high level of intensity. Can’t say I blame him.
- LaMarcus Aldridge, on the other hand, was playing like he wanted to get ready for the season. He had some strong rebounds and made some patented Aldridge fades on his way to 10-8-5 in 24 minutes.
- Nicolas Batum had 9-5-3 and looked very comfortable.
- Wesley Matthews was 3 of 5 from three tonight, and has made 9 of his last 12 three-point attempts over the last few games. Save some for the regular season, Wes!
- Robin Lopez is the man: 13 and 7 with a block. Playing against Maccabi Haifa made him look like a giant among boys. Size advantage was a theme tonight, as Portland’s frontcourt looked unstoppable.
- You know who else is the man? Chris Kaman. If preseason is any indication, the Blazers got a really great deal on this guy. He’s big, he has decent hands, and he can flat-out shoot. He led the bench with 12 and 8 with 2 blocks.
- Keeping on the center train (or maybe shifting to the power forward train), Leonard also looked great physically in his first game back from injury. He had some very nice passes, and ended with 3 assists to go with 6 points and 5 boards. It is probably safe to say that playing with Kaman is going to be good for him.
- Thomas Robinson didn’t see action until late in the game, but once he was in, you knew he was there. Robinson was active and physical, and had a DISGUSTING block right at the rim on a dunk attempt that led to a fast break. You will probably see highlights of that one.
- Steve Blake and C.J. McCollum both looked composed and effective, even if their stats didn’t shine.
Game Notes
- Trail Blazers radio color commentator Antonio Harvey mentioned that he didn’t like seeing Aldridge shooting from three. For as much work as LMA’s put in on his post moves and rebounding the last few years, it’s tough to find any other part of his game he could work on. His range was nearly in three-point territory anyway… in my opinion, it makes sense and it will serve the Blazers well if Aldridge is a threat from deep. He attempted one corner three tonight, but the miss was not counted due to a simultaneous three-second violation on Lopez.
- There was some analysis from Willy Raedy on BlazersEdge.com a few days ago about how the Trail Blazers could improve their transition defense. One suggestion was that they not be so over-enthusiastic on the offensive glass, because if you have everyone jockeying for position near the basket, it makes it tough to stop the opponent from streaking the other way if they get the ball. A few times tonight, I saw Lopez trying to snare offensive rebounds all by his lonesome. While it certainly helped to stop fast breaks, there were also a few times that Lopez tapped the ball to empty space where a teammate could have been, only to have Maccabi Haifa saunter over and snag it. I’m sure there is a happy medium between too much and too little offensive rebounding, and it’s good to see Portland making their adjustments before the season starts.
- The Trail Blazers starters played extended minutes early as they gear up for the season, but were pulled once the game was out of hand (which didn’t take long). As a result, players like Leonard, Will Barton, and Thomas Robinson didn’t see action until late in the game. Coach Stotts seems to be leaning towards giving McCollum most of the minutes that could go to Barton. Even though they are very different players, it’s tough to see them both getting more than 15 minutes a game at the same time.
- Speaking of Barton, he had a NASTY dunk about 4 minutes into the fourth, attacking the baseline and rising up for the reverse jam. He may not have McCollum’s poise, but he has a certain… Barton-ness… that will serve both him and the team well.
- The Trail Blazers radio announcers mentioned before the game that Maccabi Haifa’s coaches not only have their team on a tight leash during games and practice, but even during the pre-game warmups. The last time I saw a coach running the pre-game warmups was in 8th-grade AAU. I wonder if the players are okay with that level of “helicopter coaching,” or if it’s just the norm for them and not something they think about.
The Trail Blazers go on to face the Nuggets in Denver on Tuesday, and will not be back home until their regular season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 29th. Portland has three preseason games remaining on their schedule.