Takeaways from Portland Trail Blazers’ Game Three Loss

After winning Game One in their best of seven series with the Lakers, the Portland Trail Blazers have dropped to 2-1. Here are a few takeaways from their 108-116 Game Three loss.

Anthony Davis Exploits Portland’s Mismatch

With the recent news that Zach Collins will miss the remaining of the 2019-2020 season for left ankle surgery, the Portland Trail Blazers task of dealing with Anthony Davis on both ends of the floor became all the more daunting. Without Collins’ length or agility, the Blazers are left with no one equipped to handle his ability to operate in every part of the court.

For the first time in the series, Portland chose to go big on him, slotting Jusuf Nurkić in at the power forward, taking Hassan Whiteside off the bench and into the starting center role. Although the two seven-footers have successfully stuffed the paint multiple times in the series, their lack of lateral quickness allowed Davis to pop out for a wide-open mid-range jumper several times in the night. While this statistically is better than him driving full speed to the rim, Davis has the talent to consistently hit this shot all series long.

Further, Davis’ ball-handling often pulls a Blazer big man out of the paint, reducing one of Portland’s strongest defensive suits. Wenyen Gabriel, Portland’s smaller and quicker power forward, received just four minutes tonight, his lowest of the series. It will be interesting to see how the Blazers adjust for Game Four.

Gary Trent Jr. Goes Quiet

For the first week and a half of bubble action, Gary Trent Jr. was being discussed not only in local media, but across the country, as he shot 50.7 from behind the arc over Portland’s eight seeding games. Since then, however, he has gone 5/14 from the three, recording just six points and a single three in Game Three. While these are not terrible numbers off the bench, Portland will need his offensive efficiency to increase if they are to stay in this series.

To give him credit, he has done his best with the difficult task of guarding LeBron James, and continues to play with the fearless energy he always brings to the court. It’s unfair to put the fate of the Blazers on a 21-year-old sophomore, and he certainly is not the true deciding factor. Still, with Los Angeles’ size in the frontcourt and double team traps on Portland’s star guards, Trent Jr. will need to hit open shots when they come.

Nurkić Struggles to Dominate the Paint

After 16 months off the court, Nurkić has seamlessly returned to play, serving as one of Portland’s most consistent players, arguably second only to Damian Lillard. Tonight was one of his first outings back where he genuinely seemed to struggle, tallying just 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. It’s hard to blame the big man, who has often looked the most tired of Portland’s bunch at the end of a game.

The Lakers haven’t made things any easier, as Nurk is spending just about every minute on the court dealing with JaVale McGee, Dwight Howard, Anthony Davis, or LeBron James. The points in the series Nurkić has seemed the most successful is when he truly asserts himself in the paint as the physical force he is. Inversely, he has struggled when he attempts floaters or off-balanced hook shots, unable to use his strength to full advantage.

Beyond being one of his few offensive weaknesses (something we have covered on Rip City Project), finesse shots rarely lead to fouls and keep the defense from dealing with one of the heaviest players in the league. Battling in the paint for 35+ minutes is no easy feat, and with Nurkić’s versatility, he by no means should be pigeonholed into a single offensive style. However, when he does get near the basket, it seems classic bully ball serves him best.