3 questions the Portland Trail Blazers must answer to save its season in Game 5

No. 1: Is the NBA worried about the wrong “Blow the Whistle?” … (and can Portland overcome it?)

Earlier this week, Chris Haynes announced that game DJ’s are being told to be cognizant of the music they play during home games, in hopes that they aren’t giving road players motivation. The reason for that: in Game 1, Damian Lillard was seen dancing to rapper Too Short’s 2006 hit song Blow The Whistle during a defensive possession during the Lakers “home game.”

That answers one “question.” But what about the actual on-court whistles that the officials are supposed to blow?

There’s one play I can’t seem to shake from memory. It happened at some point in Game Three, as the Portland Trail Blazers were trying to avoid a second-half collapse.

Carmelo Anthony — one of many Blazers with controversial no-calls working against him — was defending LeBron James on a pick-and-roll. James took the screen from Davis, and tried to use Anthony’s forward momentum from fighting the screen against him, and pulled up for a 3-point shot.

Anthony, folded up like a high school love note, was doubled over after the impact of the screen. Somehow, though, enough of his air hit James on his shot attempt to prompt a foul. Then there’s the now-infamous-on-Blazers-Twitter play in which James tripped and stepped over Danny Green in a way that would have made Allen Iverson proud, and was awarded foul shots.

For those unaware, Green and James play for the same team.

https://twitter.com/ErrickM3/status/1298088069682397186?s=20

Don’t mistake this for an excuse; the Lakers are the more organized, more experienced club. They led by as much as 38 — it seemed almost too fitting, WWE-esque that on “Kobe Night,” they established an early 24-8 lead — and without generous referee assistance, perhaps that’s only a 28-point lead. But as Lillard said two days ago, the Lakers are especially dangerous when they can live at the free throw line.

Normally there’s some sort of correlation between the less-aggressive team that avoids the paint, and a disparity in free throw differential. But somehow, Los Angeles has shot more 3-pointers and free throws in this series. It’s not necessarily the actual foul that sits as an issue, but rather the fouls that are being called.

The Lakers have committed 94 fouls, to the Blazers’ 97. The difference has been in whether these are shooting fouls and reaching or loose ball fouls. The Lakers’ 39-15 advantage in Game 3 comes to mind. And then, there’s the timing of those fouls. Portland’s aggressiveness gets sapped away in large part because of the tone of the game from the jump. In the first quarters in this series, the Lakers have the edge 40-26.

Referees haven’t decided this series. Effort would have prevailed to put the Lakers up 3-1 in any way, shape, or form. But they’ve certainly impacted it. If the Blazers are going to prolong this series, finding ways to not only draw fouls but also preventing them are going to be key. Without going full pro wrestler and drawing blood or flopping, it’s unclear how they can do so, though.