Trail Blazers host Grizzlies: Game 3 in Portland
By Ryan Allison
After two disappointing games on the road, the Portland Trail Blazers have returned home to host the Memphis Grizzlies tonight at 7:30 p.m. PST. The Trail Blazers have a long journey in front of them if they wish to win this first round series. Failing to earn homecourt advantage now seems to be haunting the Trail Blazers’ chances to win their second consecutive first round playoff series. Will the Moda Center and the fans give the Trail Blazers the boost they need to win their first game against the Grizzlies this season?
The Grizzlies swept the regular season series against the Trail Blazers and have started this series with two straight wins. A trip to Portland won’t scare the Grizzlies one bit. They won both times they visited the Rose City during the regular season and have now won five of their last six meetings with the Trail Blazers in Portland. In fact, the Grizzlies have now only lost once in their last 12 games against the Trail Blazers. In what should be a solid matchup for the Trail Blazers, they don’t seem to have the right formula to defeat the Grizzlies.
Over the last 12 games these two teams have played, the Grizzlies have won seven times by double-digits. The first two games of this playoff series have been more of the same as Memphis won by 14 and 15 points. They do a terrific job defending Portland and not allowing anyone to get hot. The Trail Blazers live and die by the jump shot and the Grizzlies are great at contesting every single jump shot taken. Turnovers have also played a big role in the outcome of the last two games; the Trail Blazers committing 13 turnovers in each while the Grizzlies committed a total of 13 turnovers, period. So what can the Trail Blazers do to ensure they win Game 3?
When you look at what has worked for the Trail Blazers, you have to focus on the frontcourt. Coming into this series the common consensus was that Randolph and Gasol would be the main threat to the Trail Blazers. Through two games, the opposite has been true. Randolph and Gasol are struggling to score (by struggling I mean below their season averages) and the backcourt has been carrying the Grizzlies. Conley and Lee scored 18 point apiece in Game 2 and the Grizzlies shot 50.0 percent from 3-point range. For the Trail Blazers to win, they must continue to make things hard for Randolph and Gasol and try to find some sort of answer for the Grizzlies’ guards.
One could certainly look at the injury list for the Trail Blazers and make excuses as to why they aren’t winning. Yet their All-Stars have not played to their potential and that’s a big missing piece of the puzzle. Lillard has averaged 16.0 points per game, which is five below his season average. The main problem, though, has been his facilitating. He averaged only 2.0 assists in the first two games when his season average was 6.2 per game. The Trail Blazers offense has been stagnant and it starts with the floor general sharing the ball.
Aldridge had difficulty playing efficiently this series. When you look at his averages (28.0 points and 14.0 rebounds) things seem to be great. Looking deeper into his statistics, you see things aren’t so great as he is only shooting 37.0 percent for the series. Aldridge was 46.6 percent from the floor this season and he needs to get back to taking quality shots instead of quantity shots. One could argue that it’s not all his fault as he has been forced to create the offense when things have been slow going.
Will the Trail Blazers finally break through and win against the Grizzlies? Maybe the seventh time is a charm. It definitely won’t hurt to be home playing in front of the Rip City faithful but that alone will not propel them to victory. They need to cut down the turnovers and find a weak spot in the Grizzlies defense. The probable return of Chris Kaman and Afflalo would be a welcomed sight but they will be limited in their minutes. Lillard and Aldridge will once again have the burden of carrying the team and hopefully they are ready for the challenge this time.