The Portland Trail Blazers have struggled in close games recently. Is it a case of the yips or something bigger?
Through December and part of January, the Trail Blazers were basically unstoppable. There were few teams in league playing with as much confidence as the Trail Blazers had been.
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Fast-forward a full month, and Portland can’t close out a game to save their life. From watching them win so many close games last season, it’s almost like I expect the Trail Blazers to pull the game out. I expect Damian Lillard to make clutch threes and LaMarcus Aldridge to be a dependable workhorse down the stretch. I expect the team to move the ball and play strong defense.
That hasn’t been happening and the Trail Blazers have lost some of these close games as a result, but the key is to make sure it doesn’t become an extended trend. Unfortunately, I do believe that is exactly what has happened.
In their last 15 games, the Trail Blazers have lost six games by seven points or less. In three of those games, they entered the fourth quarter with a lead. Over that same 15-game stretch, they have only won three games where the game was decided by seven points or less.
Most notable among these losses, the Trail Blazers blew a big game against the Dallas Mavericks where they had an 11-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Dallas tied the game with 20 seconds remaining, and then Chandler Parsons dominated the Trail Blazers in overtime.
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I don’t know if this issue closing out games is going to be a problem down the stretch, but it is definitely cause for concern moving forward. On the bright side, Portland is in these games (with the exception of the Utah game last week). As long as Portland is in the game, I like their chances. Few teams have the options offensively and defensively that the Trail Blazers have at their disposal, so getting the most out of those options needs to start happening.
Instead of getting complacent in the fourth quarter and tightening up, the Trail Blazers need to keep the pedal on the metal to finish games. You can actually see the players tighten up when other teams start to make the final run; especially when opponents make them work to move the ball. We saw it last night against Memphis in the fourth quarter, and we saw it before the All-Star break against Dallas.
The onus falls on Head Coach Terry Stotts to make the proper tactical adjustments when opponents start a late-game run. If the Trail Blazers continue to struggle finishing, they may be finished before they begin, come the post-season. No more heedless defense and no more stagnant offense. The Trail Blazers have to re-learn to control the pace when the game is on the line.