The Portland Trail Blazers went into Denver with an objective: give the starters starters’ minutes, give the heavy rotation guys heavy rotation minutes, and try to give a preseason game the feel and tone of a regular season game. They did that.
With no starter playing fewer than 28 minutes, the Trail Blazers pushed the Nuggets around and met little resistance, save for a fourth-quarter scare that was relieved when Portland pushed a 10-point lead to 15 in 90 seconds on their way to a 93-75 win in Boulder.
They weren’t even playing in Denver, so the crowd was a little deflated. It didn’t feel like a super high energy game, but part of that was having to listen to an audio feed for lack of any way to see video… again, because they were playing in Boulder.
It’s tough to have a ton to say about a game you couldn’t see. You’re trusting the radio broadcaster to shape your interpretation of the game. That’s a huge responsibility. Still, I’ll take what I heard at face value and give my impression of what was relayed.
Game Flow
Starters playing huge minutes? Check. Starters play reasonably well? Check. Playing an inferior team? Check.
This game had the trappings of a blowout, and it didn’t disappoint. After going ahead 29-25 after one, the Trail Blazers led 50-37 at halftime, and it was a 74-54 lead with 1:44 to go in the third. But the Trail Blazers coughed up 5 turnovers in 5 minutes between the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th, and Denver found themselves down just 10, 68-78, off a pair of J.J. Hickson free throws with 8 minutes to go.
In what was the deciding series, the Trail Blazers took that 10-point lead to 15 off a LaMarcus Aldridge jumper and a Wesley Matthews three, and were able to push the lead rather than let Denver creep back in. The game wasn’t in question thereafter, as the crowd left early to catch the public snowcat back to their warm lakeside cabins. Colorado really is a beautiful place.
Players
- Damian Lillard was determined, drawing fouls and making his offense come to him even if it didn’t want to. For some players that would be bad, but for Lillard it’s a good muscle to excercise. He had 18-8-6 with 2 steals in 35 minutes.
- Aldridge was his usual steady self with 20-11-4 with 2 blocks. He missed the only three he took.
- Wesley Matthews, on the other hand, was 4-7 from deep, continuing his torrid long-range sniping. He had 17-5-4 with a steal.
- Robin Lopez led all players with 12 boards and chipped in 6 points, 2 assists, a block, and a steal.
- Nicolas Batum wasn’t heard from much, but offered 7-8-2 all the same.
Thoughts
- Who I assumed to be the
DenverBoulder announcer seemed to just… stop talking sometimes. And you couldn’t hear the crowd really, either, but it wasn’t a delay or anything as much as it sounded like a noise-canceling microphone that made silences extra creepy. This is when a good secondary broadcaster is key… or, you know, just allow some ambient noise into your broadcast.
- The Denver run between the end of the third and the start of the 4th was because of the hustle of Alonzo Gee, if the
DenverBoulder broadcaster is to be believed. He finished with 7 and 4 with 4 steals for Denver.
- Thomas Robinson didn’t see action until garbage time in the 4th. With Head Coach Terry Stotts and the Trail Blazers solidifying rotations, it might mean that Kaman at center and Joel Freeland at center/power forward will be how they play things, pinching Robinson and Meyers Leonard out. Both Will Barton and C.J.McCollum face the same predicament with backup guard Steve Blake (who didn’t play today due to illness), especially since McCollum played so poorly tonight, going 0-4 for 0 points with 4 fouls and 3 turnovers in 13 minutes.
The Blazers take on the Los Angeles Lakers tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. PDT in Ontario.