Report Card for Portland’s 102-91 Victory over LAC
A report card for the Trail Blazers 102-91 win over the Clippers to snap a 7 game losing streak.
Starters
Damian Lillard: 27 points/7 assists/4 rebounds
From the outset, it looks like Dame had his usual grade A performance. A deeper look into the stat line will reveal how inefficient he was last night. It took Lillard 25 shots to get to his 27 points, which is actually pretty average. When you’re shooting that many shots, you should score near the mid 30’s. To put his night in perspective, fellow guard Kyle Lowry scored 25 points on 16 shots, Emmanuel Mudiay scored 26 points on 16 shots, and Brandon Knight scored a whopping 38 points in just 20 shots. B+
CJ McCollum: 18 points/1 assist/2 rebounds
Last night was a typical CJ-type game. Above average scoring and below average in just about everything else. In a game where the entire team is contributing (especially in the rebounding department) it’s ok for CJ to produce at a low rate in stats other than scoring. That won’t always be the case though, and McCollum is going to have to start producing a more well rounded stat line if the Trail Blazers want to win. An encouraging sign: Ever since his 8 turnover debacle against Memphis a week ago, he hasn’t gone over 2 in the past 4 games. B-
Al-Farouq Aminu: 12 points/3 assists/12 rebounds
After tying his season low in field goal percentage last game against the Rockets (.313%), Aminu was able to shoot a new season low with a percentage of .308. Despite that fact, he was able to contribute in other parts of the game (snagging 10 rebounds). It was his second straight game with double digit rebounds, which is an encouraging sign for a guy who averaged just 4.4 in his past 5 games. B-
Noah Vonleh: 4 points/0 assists/3 rebounds
Not much to see here, as Vonleh only played 18 minutes (despite starting). He didn’t make the most of the 18 minutes either, only attempting 2 shots and pulling down a measly 3 rebounds. I’m not sure what to make of Vonleh at this point in the season. Is any part of “Summer League Vonleh” still within him? I’m also not sure what to make of Stotts’ reluctancy to start Ed Davis, the clearly better option at power forward for Portland. D
Mason Plumlee: 18 points/1 assist/10 rebounds
Unlike Damian Lillard, Plumlee was able to have a productive, and efficient outing. The big man shot 6-9 from the field and led the team in plus/minus, with +16. It was even more impressive considering he had his best game as a Trail Blazer in less than 30 minutes. Yesterday, “Plumdog Millionaire” produced his first double-double since the 4th of November. A
Sixth Man of the Game
Ed Davis: 17 points/0 assists/15 rebounds
Welcome Ed Davis to the party! What a game from the former Laker, who like Plumlee, had his best game in a Blazers uniform to date. It was by far his highest scoring total, and did it shooting .875 from the field. It was also his first double-double since the first game of the season. This man needs to start for the Portland Trail Blazers. The guys at CSNNW put up a stat near the end of the game that stated that Davis was the first Blazers player since Travis Outlaw (in 2006) to record 15 points and 15 rebounds. That didn’t sound right to me, considering LaMarcus Aldridge used to play for Portland. Remember him? Ya, he did it 4 times last year, and 15 times two years ago. Nice stat. Ha! A+
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