Making the case for Portland Trail Blazers optimism
Can we find a positive spin for this troubling, mediocre Portland Trail Blazers season? Here are five reasons the answer might be YES.
Thursday is the 126th anniversary of the invention of basketball. And sometimes the Portland Trail Blazers actually play it.
Take Wednesday’s tilt against the San Antonio Spurs. In the second half, the Trail Blazers’ offense clicked in a way it rarely has this season. Jusuf Nurkic dunked, made driving layups and hit long-range jumpers. Portland zipped the ball around the perimeter. Damian Lillard, Shabazz Napier and Al-Farouq Aminu hit deep threes. CJ McCollum was nailing difficult shots from the midrange.
Finally, the Moda Center was loud and rocking. All was right in Rip City.
But just for a moment, as the Blazers lost, something they do about as often as they win this season.
Also: The Spurs were without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker.
Long Nights, Long Season
In addition to being basketball’s birthday, Thursday is also the winter solstice – the longest night of the year.
And Portland has had plenty of long nights this season.
Take that same game against the Spurs.
Yeah, McCollum was hitting floaters and jumpers. But he started the game 0/11 and has already gone through a major slump this season.
Sure, Nurkic was scoring; he finished with 15 points on 7/12 shooting. But he was abused by veteran Pau Gasol, who amassed 20 points and 17 rebounds, double his season average in both categories.
Yes, Aminu hit threes – two of them, to be exact. But he finished with a measly eight points on 3/11 shooting.
Dame was Dame. Sure. But he also got hurt. We don’t know the extent of the injury yet, but Lillard, the Trail Blazers’ new Iron Man, has a superhero’s ability to shake off injuries. Fingers crossed.
Evan Turner played well – until the final seconds, when he inexplicably dribbled the ball in time-wasting circles before losing it out of bounds. Turner is by all measures having a dreadful season, including the fact that on Wednesday morning a dumpster-hauling semi crashed into his swimming pool.
For every silver lining, there’s a dark cloud for these Portland Trail Blazers. The glass is both half full and half empty. For every yin, there’s a nasty yang.
Glass Positively Half Empty
We know the Trail Blazers are struggling, and playing very inconsistent. We know they’re awful at home and pretty good on the road. They are also underachieving, mistake-prone and streaky.
On offense, they’re far too reliant on Lillard, who’s played a ton of minutes (and is getting banged up), and CJ McCollum. Consequently, defenses focus on them. So the offense leans heavily on Nurkic, who has been inconsistent at the rim, and Turner, who can’t score and is having a dismal season on the offensive end.
But enough with the negatives. What are the positives? What makes the Trail Blazers’ glass look half full?
Glass Half Full
Here are five reasons for optimism:
Nurkic is young and has a big upside
If the Trail Blazers choose to keep him after this season, which they should, Rip City can enjoy watching him blossom – especially if he starts hitting jumpers from the elbow.
Solid role players
Ed Davis and Noah Vonleh are the kind of bread-and-butter, blue-collar basketball workers that winning teams always have. Davis helps the offense with rebounds and put-backs, and has shown improvement on drives to the basket. And Vonleh has a solid jumper for a big man – and he’s actually younger than Nurkic. In addition, Pat Connaughton, who is always in motion, plays tough defense and can knock down threes. Napier has been steady and reliable. Finally, Aminu has been blistering from three-point range.
There’s hope in the rookies
Caleb Swanigan was a beast this past summer and displayed a veteran’s presence and confidence in the early part of the season. Although his playing time has been limited lately and there are concerns about his agility and footwork, I think he’ll become a valuable contributor.
Zach Collins has played a lot in recent games, with head coach Terry Stotts providing the 20-year-old with invaluable experience. Collins has already shown a willingness to bang around the boards and to block shots.
The Trail Blazers’ defense
Meyers Leonard
Yes, I said Meyers Leonard. If the players mentioned above can eat up most of the minutes, Leonard can come off the bench for short stretches and contribute with rebounds and the occasional three. Who wouldn’t want a 7-footer coming off the bench for ten to 12 minutes a game, setting hard screens for Blazers playmakers?
Next: All-Star Weekend 2018: Voting for the Portland Trail Blazers
The Good, the Bad, and the In-Between
Like many Portland fans, McCollum isn’t sure what kind of team the Trail Blazers are, telling NBC Sports Northwest’s Jason Quick, “We could be a mediocre team. We could be an above average team. Or we could be a great team.”
And Portland has been all of that this season – good, bad, great. Sometimes they’re all of those things in the same game. Sometimes they’re all of those things in the same quarter.
But McCollum also took a positive, glass-half-full approach with Quick.
“Look at (Oklahoma City),” McCollum said. “It could be worse.”
True. It definitely could be worse.
Of course, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder entered Thursday with identical 16-15 records.
The glass is half something. But what?