In what has become their M.O. in a Robin Lopez and Chris Kaman-less world, the Portland Trail Blazers dallied around for three quarters before hitting the “Lillard” button to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter, 106-94. The aforementioned Lillard had an insane highlight dunk (below), and was as brilliant down the stretch as we have come to assume he will be nearly every game.
Damian Lillard dunks on the Lakers
Via
Thoughts
Let’s skip the play-by-play. The most thrilling moment of the game is already up there.
This game had a familiar arc: pull out to an early lead against an underwhelming team, then squander that lead and play nose-to-nose for most of the game, before the fourth quarter arrives and absolves Portland of their sins. The Trail Blazers, even without Lopez and Freeland, have enough talent to get away with this against sub-.500 squads, but you’d be a fool to think it would work against contenders.
You’d also be a fool to think that the Trail Blazers don’t know how to play up against contenders when they need to: they’ve beat the Spurs (twice), the Thunder (twice), the Raptors the Mavs… and while injuries played a part in some of those games, it’s not like the Trail Blazers have been injury free: Lopez, Freeland, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, and C.J. McCollum have all lost court time.
There is a podcast called the Rip City Report by Trail Blazers beat writer Casey Holdahl and Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. You can get it on iTunes, and if you haven’t checked it out yet, you need to, because these are two of the most in-the-know Trail Blazers minds reporting today. They are not usually wrong about much, and when they are itis usually something specific, not something broader and more general.
When Lopez went down a few weeks ago, the Rip City Report said that the Trail Blazers were going to hit a rough patch. That it would be an adjustment. They stopped short of saying it was going to be a disaster, but you could tell that, because Lopez was and is such a crucial part of the Trail Blazers’ identity, that the foundation of the team (especially defensively) would be shaken.
The Trail Blazers have gone 11-2 since Lopez’s injury, and part of that time has been without Lopez’s backup, Freeland. Freeland and Lopez are the only two defensive-minded centers the Blazers have. And still, they are winning.
The point is this: last year’s team exceeded expectations. They got 54 wins and a second-round birth for the first time in 14 years, and it wasn’t a fluke. But none of the starters were injured, ever.
This year, the Trail Blazers have suffered some quasi-major (if not major) injuries, and STILL they have the most wins in the NBA outright at 30-8. They are having a better year this year than they have since 1991, at least if you go by their record. And nobody, not me, not you, not Holdahl or Freeman or anyone else thought last year’s hot start would be a reasonable expectation this season… and yet, here we are.
The success does seem more sustainable, more “real,” partly because the Trail Blazers have fought through injury, and partly because their renewed emphasis on defense has actually delivered results. How high the Trail Blazers can climb, and how long they can keep this up are still open questions, but one thing should be obvious: this team is for real. No asterisks, no questions marks, they are a contending team in the Western Conference. That’s incredible.
Players
Damian Lillard made the Lakers his personal fourth-quarter highlight reel for the second time in a week. After dropping 39 points last Monday, he had 34 in this one along with seven assists, and a flurry of late-game heroics that made even the Los Angeles crowd drop their jaws in disbelief. Don’t believe me?
LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t look great. He had to spend some of the game guarding the jump-shooting Jordan Hill, which pulled him from the middle and prevented him from getting more than the nine boards that he did. His 18 points and three assists were very “LMA from three years ago,” but it’s a genuine comfort that his bad games are better than most people’s good games.
Meyers Leonard should get the honorary game ball for the leaps and bounds he’s taken in his development lately. Is he a great defender? No. Will he ever be? Maybe not. But as recently as yesterday his arms were hanging over the opponent when they attacked the rim, eliciting an easy call from the refs. Tonight, there was distinct verticality, though he still rang up a game-high four fouls. He only missed one shot for his 10 points.
Wesley Matthews provided the usual (16 points off 3-7 shooting from deep) and not-as-usual (five assists), and was active and engaged in the second half as we’ve come to expect and demand from him. He’s really taken a shining to his stepback fading jumpers if he’s not able to bully the defense in the post. As long as they fall, we have no problem with that.
Chris Kaman had 9-12-3 with a few steals, filling the rebounding vacuum created by the absence of Lopez and Freeland. He played 32 minutes tonight: a lot for him, but the Trail Blazers needed every one of them.
The Trail Blazers get a bit of rest before coming back home to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday January 14th at 7:30 p.m. PST.