Despite an unceremonious end to their season, the Blazers did have a few games in which they looked like legit contenders. Today we look back at one of those games — a 48-point opening night win against the Suns in Phoenix.
The Portland Trail Blazers began their 2017-2018 season with lofty expectations. That’s because the previous regular season ended on such an optimistic note. (Notice I said regular season; the Blazers were swept by the eventual champions, the Golden State Warriors, in the first round of the 2017 playoffs.)
After acquiring Jusuf Nurkic from the Denver Nuggets, Portland went 14-6, so lots of optimistic Blazers fans — yours truly, included — extrapolated that out to mean they might win close to 50 games the following season. (Lo and behold, they did come close, winning 49 games.)
So the Blazers and (a much thinner) Nurkic took the floor on Oct. 18, 2017, looking to build on that momentum.
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And they got off to a grand start.
Blazers vs. Suns
Portland beat Phoenix 124-76 on opening night, and the victory was nothing short of historic. Not only was it the worst loss in the history of the Phoenix Suns — it was the worst opening night loss in the history of the National Basketball Association.
The Blazers got a major boost from an unexpected source: Pat Connaughton, who scored a career-high 24 points on 9/14 shooting, including 4/7 from three. (By the way, this was the only time Connaughton has scored more than 20 points in a game in his NBA career.)
Damian Lillard was the game’s high scorer with 27 points; he also added five rebounds and five assists.
Nurkic was solid if not spectacular, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds — the first of his 27 double-doubles this season. (That’s twice as much — plus 1! — as last season. In fact, Nurk had 21 double-doubles in his career before this season began.)
Rookies
Even rookie Caleb Swanigan got in on the act, with eight points, four rebounds and three assists. (It was the kind of encouraging performance that inspired me to suggest that Swanigan’s development would be the Blazers’ most interesting storyline this season. I think that honor actually goes to Zach Collins now.)
As for the Suns, they were woeful (and would remain so; they won just 21 games this season, the fewest wins in the NBA). In their opening night debacle, they shot just 31.5 percent from the field. And the Blazers would sweep them four games to none in the season series.
The Blazers, on the other hand, looked good — even great. It was a most encouraging start to the season.
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Where Was CJ?
And to think they did it all without CJ McCollum, who had been suspended for one game for leaving the bench during an altercation in a preseason game. (He wasn’t involved in the altercation.)
McCollum took the suspension in good humor.
“I should have known better with my history of violence on the court that I would be suspended,” he said.
It’s certainly easy to be in a good mood when your team begins the season with such a commanding victory.