Portland Trail Blazers: Takeaways from easy win over Washington

The Portland Trail Blazers handled the Washington Wizards with ease on Wednesday, as Lillard returned in comfortable fashion.

With the Memphis Grizzlies winning earlier in the evening, the Portland Trail Blazers needed a response. With Damian Lillard back in the lineup, they delivered.

The Blazers looked in control the entire evening, and eventually routed the Washington Wizards 125-104. The Blazers put up 72 points in the first half, and dished out an impressive 24 assists, an impressive stat given their struggles moving the ball this year.

Carmelo Anthony led the Blazers with 25 points, and Damian Lillard returned to the floor in impressive fashion, easing his way to 22 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in 31 minutes of action.

Here are some takeaways from Portland’s second win a row, which leaves them at 28-35 on the year.

Team assists!

The Blazers rank pretty poorly in various team stats this year, and team assists is probably the worst. Portland rank bottom in the league, averaging just 20 a game.

But the last couple of games have looked different. On Monday, the Blazers dished out 27 assists and blew out the Magic, and tonight, they had 24 with an impressive 16 of them at the half.

Portland are known to be an iso-dominant team, but ranking bottom in the league simply doesn’t cut it, and the ball movement in the last two wins has been extremely pleasing to see. CJ McCollum handling the ball a little more has helped things, as has Mario Hezonja, who has impressed recently.

Even Trevor Ariza was dishing!

The ball movement tonight bumped up some individual stats too, as the Blazers had 4 players score 20 or more (Lillard, McCollum, Whiteside, Anthony). This was just the 4th time Portland have had 4 20+ scorers in a game all season, something that will need to continue if the Blazers are planning to be playing playoff basketball.

Melo lights it up

Carmelo Anthony had it GOING tonight, especially in the first quarter. The vet finished with 25 points on 61 percent shooting, and recorded his season high for a quarter (14 points), and his season high for a half (20 points).

Melo was 6/8 in the first 12 minutes, and displayed his full array of footwork, post-moves and jumpers.

Anthony playing like this got me thinking ahead to next season, and most Blazer fans probably have the same questions. Is Melo coming back, and what’s his role going to be?

For me, it’s pretty simple. Look to bring Melo back, as he not only brings solid offense, but his off-court brand and national presence genuinely adds a different dynamic to the Blazers, a dynamic that is rarely seen in PDX. I mean, it’s Melo. He’s inspired millions, he’s a future Hall of Famer, and a guy like that in Portland is seriously cool.

In terms of his role next year, it has to be reduced. Zach Collins is Portland’s starting PF for the future, and Melo’s arrival coupled with Collins’ injury shouldn’t change this. Melo coming off the bench next year could be a perfect fit; playing against other bench players, creating offense for the Blazers without ball handlers like Dame and CJ on the floor. If the Blazers are going to be a winning team next year, this definitely needs to be Melo’s role.

Dame’s injury may have benefitted CJ, but don’t forget about Gary Trent Jr

Your franchise player missing 6 games in the middle of a playoff chase is hardly ideal, but Lillard’s injury may have drawn some positives for the Blazers, in particular, CJ McCollum.

I think it was always expected that CJ would bump his stats up a little in Dame’s absence, and despite Portland’s record during this stretch, McCollum’s averages of 33, 8 and 5 were certainly impressive. However, with Lillard returning tonight, CJ’s strong play continued, and a short stinting of primarily running the offense may have been exactly what he needed.

McCollum hasn’t been terrible this year, but to say he has slightly underwhelmed wouldn’t be unfair. I was one of many that expected him to make an All-Star push, but CJ has struggled at times. But over the last few games, the guard has looked like his 2019 playoff self, smooth scoring and confident decision-making.

Tonight, CJ had 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and looks ready for a playoff push alongside his backcourt running mate. He was aggressive, and looked to create more than he usually does with Dame on the court, something that definitely benefits the Blazers.

However, one factor the Blazers need to consider with Lillard returning, is to continue the involvement of Gary Trent Jr on the offensive end. Going into the 4th quarter (with Portland already up 20), GTJ had shot the ball just 5 times; his play over the last couple of weeks should definitely see him retain a similar amount of usage, even with Dame back.

The Blazers return to the floor on Friday, as they match up with the Suns in Phoenix.