Portland Trail Blazers: Player grades from rebound victory over Sacramento

The Portland Trail Blazers bounced back to beat the Sacramento Kings 122 – 112 on Friday night. Here’s how the players performed.

The Portland Trail Blazers got their season rolling last night, as they overcame a shaky first half to beat the Sacramento Kings.

In the first of a four game road trip, Portland were put to work in the first half by the Kings, and struggled to defend the perimeter. De’Aaron Fox made them pay in the first 24, and they seemed slightly lackluster at times.

However, behind an inspired performance from Damian Lillard and a breakout 4th quarter from Hassan Whiteside, the Blazers proved too good for the Kings, and eventually pulled away. Dame led the team with 35 points, while CJ McCollum, Anfernee Simons and Whiteside also scored in double figures.

Here are the notable player grades from the game, and tonight’s game MVP.

After Whiteside’s emphatic 3rd quarter, I was close to handing him the MVP, but Dame’s overall performance was too good to not recognize. Aside from Giannis Antetokounmpo, there isn’t a player in the league who can work his team out of a rough patch like Lillard.

The Blazers looked average in the first half, and the perimeter defense was a real concern (Dame included), but Dame, as usual, found a way to hang around. Despite two early fouls, Lillard pushed the pace well, created shots and kept Portland engaged. The tone for the 3rd quarter was set by him.

Most of his success came from inside the paint and mid-range territory; his 3-pointer only really got hot in the 4th, when he hit a couple of layups from the logo in typical fashion. 35 points and a couple of daggers earn Dame a rating of A, and the game MVP.

This was the Hassan Whiteside all Blazer fans were hoping for! The center was outstanding tonight, and thoroughly deserves the A- rating. Whiteside went 9-10 from the field for 22 points, with 18 of these points coming in the third quarter.

Whiteside’s energy was terrific all night, and it was his 3rd quarter that sparked the Blazers run. He played phenomenal defense, constantly ran the floor, and even threw down a nice alley oop from a Kent Bazemore pass. He’s looking more and more comfortable fitting into Dame and CJ’s offense, and showed some tremendous flashes tonight.

This rating was looking a lot lower at half-time, but CJ stepped it up when it mattered, as he so often does. The guard started 0-5 and looked incredibly out of sync, and missed a few rotations on defense. He wasn’t the only one, but CJ failed to guard the perimeter, and gave up a lot of open outside shots.

But CJ came out in the second half much improved, and ended with 19 points on respectable 44 percent shooting. He drove the lane well, and pulled off a couple of crafty moves, along with a dagger from deep in the 4th. McCollum still seems to be finding his range, and hopefully the positive momentum from this second half can provide him with a little more rhythm.

Kent Bazemore is impressing me more and more every time I watch him play. His intensity is constant and relentless, and is a nuisance on the defensive end.

While he had no steals tonight, he recorded 2 blocks, and provided an enormous amount of energy at both ends of the floor. I mentioned earlier that the Blazers were lackluster at guarding the perimeter, Bazemore was exempt from this. He was switching, closing down shooters, and generally just making it difficult for the Kings offense.

This, along with some nice offensive possessions, earns Baze a B+, as he continues to make an impression on this Portland team.

Rodney Hood was solid in a game that didn’t require much more from him, as Dame shouldered most of the offense load when needed. Hood hit a couple of threes, and improved defensively in the second half.

Even if Hood isn’t getting many touches, he’s influencing the way the defense tries to stop Damian Lillard. In Hood, the Blazers finally have a genuine scoring threat on the wing, which means the defense can’t simply double Dame and ignore the forwards. Rodney will be needed in tougher encounters, and he’ll be ready when called upon.

Meh. Collins did nothing wrong tonight, and similar to Hood’s performance, didn’t need to be special, but I’m still waiting on something a little more from him.

As usual, he was good on defense, but I’d like to see him getting more touches on the offensive end. Part of this is him simply not being part of the drawn up plays, but Collins can also be more assertive than he was tonight. He had a couple of nice match-ups tonight, but didn’t really take advantage, ending up with just 5 shot attempts (2-5).

Some good screen-setting and a few nice passes, but I hold Collins to a high standard, so it’s a B- from me.

Last but not least, an exciting game from the ‘Ant’. Simons’ talent is constantly talked up by GM Neil Olshey, and he showed a glimpse of why tonight.

The young guard had 12 points in 10 minutes, and looked deadly from downtown. Barring a couple of poor decisions, Simons looked the part, his step-back three looked reminiscent of Lillard’s offense at times. Anfernee finished with 15 points, and showed Terry Stotts that he is a legitimate scoring threat from the bench.

An A- for Simons; 0 assists and 3 turnovers robbed him of a perfect game from the bench. His decision making is something that clearly needs some work, but there’s not many better mentors than Lillard out there, so I’m sure Simons will clear this up.

The Portland Trail Blazers are back on Sunday the 27th, at the Dallas Mavericks.