Portland Trail Blazers: Poised to become NBA’s best clutch team in 2020-21

In their fight to get into the postseason, the Portland Trail Blazers displayed otherworldly success in late-game scenarios. Will that carryover into 2020-21?

As the years have passed and Damian Lillard’s aura of a crunch-time assassin continues to swell, there’s one thought-provoking question I can’t shake from thought. If given the power, would we, as Portland Trail Blazers observers, trade off Lillard’s clutch gene if it meant the Blazers could finish off games more convincingly, and not have their biggest games always go down the wire?

Instead of the stress and elation that came from Lillard’s Game Six buzzer beater against Houston, would you have rather clinched the series in Game Five in a less celebrated fashion?

In a perfect world, the 2020-21 Portland Trail Blazers would enter the season — fully healthy and thus motivated after a second first-round exit in three seasons — and convincingly pound teams without needing the fourth quarter theatrics.

Given their nature, that doesn’t appear feasible. But for all of the suspense the Blazers subjected themselves to in the Orlando bubble, they displayed something that likely isn’t getting enough attention: they have the look of a team that can be the NBA’s deadliest late-game team next season.

The eight-game Orlando bubble, paired with how interchangeable lineups ensure that the sample size is limited. But the Blazers had more trust in their Nurkic-Anthony-Trent-McCollum-Lillard lineup than any team in the NBA in fourth quarters — that and their situation in the standings forced their hand likely more than they hoped.

But that five-man lineup produced a 139.2 offensive rating, and were a +18.3. The most frequently-used lineup, and arguably the most effective.

That grouping produced what I would refer to as the “Kobe Effect.” It didn’t quite matter where or not Carmelo Anthony was 4-of-13, or if Gary Trent Jr. was struggling through a 2-of-8 night. If they found a way into a look with the game in consequence, they more often than not delivered. More “often” than “not” isn’t an understatement, either.

Portland Trail Blazers: Five minutes or less in games within five points:

— Damian Lillard — 36 points (1st in the NBA), 11-of-24 from the field, 5-of-14 from 3-point range (+23)
— Jusuf Nurkic — 22 points, 8-of-14 from the field, 0-of-0 from 3-point range (+7)
— CJ McCollum — 20 points, 7-of-9 from the field, 4-of-4 from 3-point range (+21)
— Carmelo Anthony — 19 points, 6-of-10 from the field, 5-of-9 from 3-point range (+22)
— Gary Trent Jr. — 12 points, 4-of-7 from the field, 4-of-7 from 3-point range (+25)

They weren’t quite able to flex those clutch muscles in the postseason. But when they did, it was work as usual. That group combined to go 5-of-9 from the field, 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and all had positive plus-minus contributions.

Needless to say, it’s not everyday that a team works this symphonically in clutch-play at the same time. To have five trustworthy players on the floor that possess the gumption needed to connect must-make shots is a plus. The NBA’s best clutch team in 2019-20 was the Oklahoma City Thunder, who produced a +2.3 plus-minus over those said parameters. In that brief stretch in Orlando, the Blazers were a +2.9.

Obviously, it’s wise to proceed with caution, especially when comparing an 8-game stretch to the Thunder and their 72-game sample. But just like Oklahoma City, when we talk Portland, we’re talking players with proven, white-check-mark verified penchants for success in the closing seconds.

As said before, it would obviously be much easier for the health of Blazers fans globally if the team found a way to close out games without having to refer to its late-game crutch(es) as a means of closing games. But if there was ever a fallback plan to have, being a team with the potential to be the deadliest when it matters most is certainly a plan worth having. And in 2020-21, the Blazers have the makings of a team to do it.