The Four Quarters: What we learned about the Trail Blazers 5/20-5/27
Good afternoon, Trail Blazers fans, and happy hump day (que the Geico camel commercial)! I like to think that in some ways this weekly meeting between us is the true beginning to everyone’s weekend. Since last week, most of us watched as LeBron James and the Cavaliers dominated en route to a sweep of the Atlanta Hawks while Stephen Curry and the Warriors could punch their ticket to the Finals tonight, it seems inevitable that many people’s predictions of a Cleveland-Golden State finals matchup will become a reality fairly soon. As the NBA season starts to come into its final stages, let’s take a look back at the off the court action of the Trail Blazers over the past week.
1. Meyers Leonard continues to shine
In The Oregonian’s “You be the GM” series, local media broke down Leonard’s performance this season and what he could mean to the Trail Blazers moving forward. I’ll be the first to admit that when Leonard was drafted out of Illinois with the 11th overall pick in 2012, I had a lot of doubts about whether or not it would work out in the Trail Blazers’ favor. Here was this 19-year-old baby-faced kid that was not only making simple mistakes, but rather ones that would cause audible groans from the Mode Center faithful during his first couple seasons. To his credit Leonard has done nothing but continue to work on improving his game and in the process has begun to silence nearly all of his critics including myself.
In his third year, the fan-favorite has started to have his career path look more and more like that of LaMarcus Aldridge and less like a circus act gone awry. Leonard’s play only improved throughout the year, as he went from averaging 5.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in 15 minutes per game during the regular season, to 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 21 minutes per game while playing some impressive defense on Marc Gasol in the playoffs. If Leonard can continue to show steady improvement on the defensive side of the ball while maintaining his offensive versatility with performances such as this, there is no reason to believe he can’t eventually take over a starting role in the Trail Blazers’ lineup.
2. Damian Lillard PDX shoe becoming a pricy one
As reported in last week’s article, Lillard recently released a new version of his signature Adidas shoe, paying homage to the Portland Airport carpet. Sneaker enthusiasts from all over congregated at Washington Square’s Footlocker this past weekend and the shoe’s sold out in less than an hour. While the shoe was originally priced at $125, the popularity and demand has caused some to sell their’s at a substantial profit. Some reports have the shoes exchanging hands for nearly $1,000. No, that’s not a typo, people are willing to drop almost a cool grand on sneakers. It not only speaks well to the marketability of Lillard, but also to the popularity of the all-star guard locally as fans waited outside the doors of Washington Square as early as midnight the night before the release.
3. Robin Lopez to host Disney special
Mike Tokito of The Oregonian reports that possibly the weirdest guy in the NBA, Robin Lopez, will be co-hosting a disney special entitled “NBA Slam Dunk!” with his twin brother Brook. The three-part special which is set to air starting Monday, June 1 at 7:00 p.m. will feature appearances from Disney stars as well as “live action bloopers from this NBA season, fan and mascot antics, circus shots, and player outtakes.” I don’t think there is a more perfect fit than Lopez for this job as it will allow him to act like what he truly is: an oversized kid.
4. Nicolas Batum on the chopping block?
Bryant Knox of Oregon Sports News penned an interesting article that laid out the options of what to do with the contract of Portland’s starting small forward. While Batum has shown flashes that he could be a consistent all-around player, they have been few and far between during the Frenchman’s time in the Rose City. Knox makes a valid point in saying that at 26, there isn’t going to be a huge transformation in Batum’s game. Simply put, Batum has reached his peak and Portland can’t afford to pay $12 million for a player that is bound to disappear at any given moment.
I like the idea of sending Batum and the 23rd overall pick as a package deal to a team willing to give up their first round pick in this year’s draft, as it will allow the Trail Blazers to bring in a young player that can add a spark off the bench as well as some defensive help.
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