Portland Trail Blazers: What we learned from blowout over Maccabi Haifa

The Portland Trail Blazers hosted Israel based basketball club Maccabi Haifa on Thursday night, here’s what we learned from their blowout victory.

Television coverage was sparse for last night’s game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Maccabi Haifa, so don’t feel bad if you missed out on all the action. The Blazers showed out strong and ran their Israel-based opponents out of the gym, at a final score of 104-68.

Through the first three quarters, the two teams were actually putting on a relatively entertaining game. But before it was all over, Portland put the clamps down, only allowing four total points in the final quarter of play and finishing the game on a 32-8 run.

Now that the dust has settled, let’s take a look at a few key things we learned from this rebound win.

Starting small forward spot finalized?

While Neil Olshey has yet to come and outright say who will be the starting small forward to kick off the year, his actions have all pointed in the same direction. Thus far, it’s Rodney Hood‘s job to lose. He earned the starting nod against Denver in the preseason opener and held down that spot for last night’s game.

The other primary contender for the role — Kent Bazemore — did not start against the Nuggets and was only bumped up against Maccabi Haifa because CJ McCollum sat out to rest up. While many people advocated for Bazemore to start due to his defensive abilities, it appears Hood is being rewarded for his loyalty and returning to Portland on a steal of a contract. For that reason, you’ll hear no complaints from me on this decision.

2008 NBA Draft changed Blazers history forever

Last night, Brandon Rush suited up for Maccabi Haifa. He came off the bench and shot 4-for-13 from the field. Seems like a pretty inconsequential performance right? But as some of you may remember, Rush was selected No. 13 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers back in 2008.

However would be traded just two weeks later, before ever suiting up in the black and red. He was packaged to Indiana for Jerryd Bayless. After playing his first two seasons in Portland, Bayless would be dealt away for a future first-round pick from Charlotte. That pick was then exchanged for All-Star Gerald Wallace. After 67 games with the Blazers, Wallace was sent away to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for their 2012 first-round raft pick.

The rest, as they say, is history. Through that crazy string of events, Portland ended up with the No. 6 overall pick in 2012. The player they selected? None other than Damian Lillard himself. So I’d like to issue a big thank you to Brandon Rush. Despite never living up to your full potential in the NBA, through one way or another you’ve helped provide Blazers fans with priceless memories.

Simons is the real deal

If anyone still doubted his ability to make a big impact on games, Anfernee Simons has all but silenced the critics now. He has shown the ability to take over across all levels, in the NBA, G League, Summer League, and now even against international teams.

Simons lit it up Thursday night scoring 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting. He took eight attempts from beyond the arc and nailed half of them. Even better, he showcased his ability to be a ball handler off the bench, dishing out three assists and committing no turnovers. Between Simons and Mario Hezonja, the bench should have a healthy level of playmaking this year. Anfernee has genuine sixth man of the year potential if he can consistently maintain this level of play.

Skal deserves a rotation spot (finally)

Truth be told, Skal Labissiere was probably always going to see a healthy amount of minutes in the early half of this season. With Jusuf Nurkic injured, Zach Collins bumped up into the starting lineup and Pau Gasol still a big question mark, there were going to be plenty of chances for Skal to eat with the second unit.

But on Thursday night, he did even more to improve his stock. In just 23 minutes, Skal gobbled up 15 rebounds, 8 of which came on the offensive glass. Generating extra possessions and making his teammates’ job easier is exactly what he needs to do to earn his place in the rotation.

This performance helps build off his momentum, after he grabbed 12 rebounds in 17 minutes against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. If he keeps this up, Skal might set himself up to be compensated handsomely as he enters a contract year.