Portland Trail Blazers: Areas to Improve for Game 2

On Sunday night, the Portland Trail Blazers got manhandled by the Memphis Grizzlies. There are no excuses and there is no hiding that fact – it’s simply the truth. Yes, the rash of injuries has certainly hurt the Trail Blazers, but they are still a better team than they showed.

The injuries and matchup (the Trail Blazers got swept by the Grizzlies during the regular season) already made the team’s margin for error razor thin, but having dropped Game 1, the Trail Blazers must now take four out of six. This is certainly doable, but they have their work cut out for them. Here are some areas that they must improve in order to make that sort of comeback a reality:

Offensive Fluidity

As anyone who watched the game on Sunday could tell you, the Trail Blazers shot horrendously from the field. The numbers get worse the more you look at them – as a team they shot 33.7%. Starters, sans LaMarcus Aldridge, shot just north of 25%. If Aldridge’s 13-34 performance is enough to drag the rest of the starters up, that’s saying something.

First, credit must be given where it is due. The Grizzlies are an elite defensive team. They are disciplined, work as a unit, and are capable of strangling even the best offenses. With that being said, the Trail Blazers should have been able to turn in a better performance. They are better than they played on Sunday, particularly on offense, and their stagnation on the offensive end really held them back.

Far too frequently, it appeared as if the Trail Blazers’ movement just halted, especially off the ball. This makes it even easier to play defense, not that the Grizzlies need help. Throughout the season, there were plenty of instances when the offense slowed down to a crawl as Aldridge had the ball on the block and started going to work. While not my favorite play, clearing out and letting Aldridge do his thing is not the worst option.

However; when it is non-Aldridge players with the ball, the other four Trail Blazers cannot stand around. The key to beating an elite defense is movement, both in terms of players off the ball and via passing. The ball was too often in one spot for too long, and without player movement, there were precious few passing openings.

Effort/Hustle

By and large, NBA players try hard. They want to win. You don’t become a professional athlete without a megalomaniac competitive edge. I usually find suggestions that a team “try harder” to be pointless, but this is one of the few cases where I think it is applicable. Quite simply, the Grizzlies out-hustled the Trail Blazers. Zach Randolph beating two Trail Blazers to a loose offensive rebound is a prime example.