The Portland Trail Blazers saw their season come to an end last night in a loss to the Lakers. Here are postseason grades for each of the starters during this Playoff run.
The series didn’t quite live up to the “most anticipated first-round series in years” billing that it was once hyped to have. But, the Portland Trail Blazers went out swinging in a tough 131-122 loss that effectively ended their season last night, at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Even as the Blazers found a way to peak at the right time, some things never quite changed. In the five-game series, the Lakers only led at halftime in two of those games — Games 2 and 4 — and that provokes an interesting thought of just how differently things could have went if the Blazers had either figured out their third quarter demons, or if health and energy permitted them a chance to coast throughout the regular season a bit. Or if they had more than nine available players.
Last night’s loss paved the way for multiple lessons. For one, it became evident that this team is still a few pieces away from truly scrapping with the top-notch Western Conference powers. And whether or not those pieces are already on the roster (think Trevor Ariza or Zach Collins) becomes the question of the times.
Speaking optimistically, perhaps it also gave us an easier chance to predict who will be on this roster next season. Fans continue to call for changes in the front office, and on the coaching staff, so that figures to be something to watch going forward.
For today, though, we’ll take a glance at the Lakers-Blazers series as a whole, and grading the players on their performances. It’s certainly subjective, but here’s a look at one observer’s outlook on the first round.