Let’s break down the Portland Trail Blazers loss on Tuesday to the Boston Celtics with an instant over-reaction.
Jayson Tatum for threeeee…wow, a truly great shot.
A great shot by an outstanding player.
Rest easy Rip City, this is the exact feeling that many teams have when Dame does this to them.
Don’t worry, this is not a somber article. The Blazers played well; the Celtics played just a tad better.
Damian Lillard made a couple of big shots as usual, but you know the best part of this game for me?
So did other players.
CJ hit a HUGE three.
Norman Powell hit a three from Seattle to keep the game interesting until triple zeros.
Melo was doing Melo things, easily outscoring Boston’s bench by himself.
Nurk looked great.
Zach Collins is one of the best cheerleaders I’ve seen on a bench (Also, I have to say he was rocking a very stylish hoodie.)
I LOVE THE VIBES.
Is this a tad irrational because of the tequila I drank while watching the game? Possibly.
Is this more positive than it should be because I watched Lethal Weapon afterward? A correlation could possibly be drawn.
Luckily for you, neither of those are what I am talking about here (although tell me Dame is not Riggs and Carmelo is not Murtaugh.)
What I saw in this game is a team that will not fold when they are down.
A team with multiple players who have the guts to take and make (or miss) the big shot when things get tight.
The Celtics made a lot of big shots, good for them.
That doesn’t subtract from the fact that Dame hit two implausible 3’s.
More impressive than that, he had faith in his teammates to pass up a clear opportunity to draw a foul and instead kick it out and hit CJ for a CLUTCH corner triple.
Open shots did not fall for most of the 4th quarter, but we got good shots.
Norman Powell is going to make those open 3’s.
Dame (as written by at least 100 columnists) will always show up when the game is close.
CJ iced a game 7, I really doubt that he is afraid of any situation.
Melo was the best player and crunch time scorer for several good teams (if you need video evidence go down a quick YouTube rabbit hole.)
I know, I know, this sounds like a lot of rambling, right.
It very well might be.
I am an irrational fan.
But you know what is great about this team?
An irrational fan like me (and probably you since you are reading this article) can dream big.
I dare a fan of the Jazz, a fan of the Suns, a fan of the Clippers, a fan of the Lakers, a fan of the Nuggets (I am beyond sad and sending prayers up for Jamal Murray’s recovery) to look me in the eye and tell me that they want to face this team in the playoffs.
Do I think this team can realistically make the finals? Probably not.
Do I believe we are going to win every game we play against any opponent? Yes, I truly do.
I challenge you all to ask yourself this important question.
What did Ted Lasso teach us? The hope is not what kills you, the hope is what keeps you striving to reach the stars.
That is exactly what this team is giving us, a reason to reach for the stars.
Dream big Blazer’s fans.
LET YOURSELF BUY INTO THE HOPE!
Do this because that is what this team is allowing you to do.
(Side note, if you haven’t seen Ted Lasso steal someone’s apple TV login and give it a watch, if it takes you more than two days to finish I will question your character.)