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Secrets of the Portland Trail Blazers’ five-game winning streak: Afternoon Blazer

By Matt George Moore

PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 1: Shabazz Napier
PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 1: Shabazz Napier /
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The Trail Blazers won their fifth-straight game Thursday. Here are some reasons why they’re playing so well (that don’t necessarily involve Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum).

The Portland Trail Blazers (36-26; fourth in the Western Conference) are rolling. Winners of five straight — and seven of their last eight — the boys in the red, black, silver and white are playing their best basketball of the season.

After a poor shooting start against Minnesota (38-27; third in the Western Conference), the Blazers upped the defensive pressure and made enough shots to pull away for the 108-99 victory. The win moved them into fourth place in the stacked and loaded Western Conference.

For Rip City, this is, of course, great news. Nothing better than having your team putting it all together at the right time.

As we know, the Trail Blazers have a (recent) history of playing like dynamos after the All-Star break. And, as we also know, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are gonna carry the load for the Trail Blazers.

But what else is happening? Why are the pieces suddenly falling into place for the Portland Trail Blazers? Just what the hey is happening here?

Some Keys to the Trail Blazers’ Success

Winning at Home

Remember when the Trail Blazers had a tough time winning at home?

Well, that’s over and done with. Thursday’s victory against the T-Wolves was Portland’s 12th win in its last 13 home games, a stretch that includes a nine-game home-winning streak.

Beast Mode

We’ve written a lot about Jusuf Nurkic; he’s been the Blazers’ poster child for inconsistency. And he’s had a troubling tendency to disappear — sometimes quite literally — from games when Portland needs him most.

Wave bye-bye to that nonsense.

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Since Jan. 1, Nurk has had eight of his 10-best rebounding games, including a monster 20-rebound performance against the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 30.

And Nurkic is doing a much better job of protecting the ball. In 15 of his last 16 games, he’s committed no more than two turnovers. I think this is because Nurkic is learning to play to his strengths, which necessarily means that he’s limiting his mistakes.

Finally, Nurkic appears to have made some additional tweaks to his game.

https://twitter.com/MattGeorgMoore/status/968737735480696832

Nurkic still has trouble finishing at the rim — and in a perfect world, he’d make at least 70 percent of his free throws. But I think it’s fair to say that he’s playing his best basketball of the season right now when the Trail Blazers need him the most.

Balance

The Trail Blazers have gotten production from up and down the lineup. (Unless otherwise noted, these statistics are from the Blazers’ last five games — all wins, of course.)

Al-Farouq Aminu: Averaging 10 points and nine rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent from three.

Ed Davis: Shooting 68.4 percent from the field and playing stellar defense.

Evan Turner: Excellent defense and six assists against the Timberwolves.

Zach Collins: Shooting 50 percent from the field, including 42.9 percent from three, and steadily improving on defense. He’s also learning that he can shoot over the top of most defenders.

Shabazz Napier: Broke out of a slump to average 18 points and 2.5 steals while shooting 55.5 percent from the field in his last two games.

Maurice Harkless: Had a season-high six steals against Utah. (Harkless strained his patellar tendon Thursday against the Timberwolves. His status moving forward is uncertain, although he says he’s OK.)

The Big Picture

Taken separately, the stat lines listed above may not seem particularly impressive. But they help illustrate a broader point: The Trail Blazers are getting at least some contributions from everybody for the first time this season. This frees up space for Dame and CJ to do their thing. And it means that team production remains steady on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court.

When every player contributes and limits their mistakes, the Trail Blazers are a formidable squad — one that can definitely go far in the playoffs. After all, the Blazers’ opponents during their recent good play ain’t no patsies; they’ve beaten tough Western Conference foes in Golden State, Utah and Minnesota.

Next: Blazers need to stay consistent for chance at playoffs

The road ahead doesn’t get any easier, starting Saturday night at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But if Portland continues to play as well as it has lately, we may look back come season’s end and say that this was the time the Blazers staked their claim as one of the top teams in the NBA.

Not only for this season, but for the foreseeable future.