The Portland Trail Blazers won a game they were supposed to win tonight, beating the Brooklyn Nets 114-95 in The Big Apple. As fans of the Blazers know full well, that isn’t an outcome that automatically occurs. Leading the way were Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija with 18 points each, but they were joined in double figures by five teammates. Chaney Johnson topped the Nets with 17.
Here are a few standout factors from the game.
Now That Was a Start
The Blazers have been hit and miss at the beginning of games this season,
but tonight was a certified hit: their 65-41 halftime advantage was their biggest so far this season. The defense was active and connected, holding the Nets to 31% shooting from the field and 14% from downtown. Meanwhile, the Blazers shot 48% overall and 44% from distance with four players already in double figures: Kris Murray (12), Scoot Henderson (11), Toumani Camara (10) and Donovan Clingan (10 points and 10 rebounds). This level of performance didn’t exactly continue, but great starts beat lousy ones every time.
Crisp Kris
Kris Murray made an eloquent argument for a key role going forward tonight, forging an impressive bottom line that actually didn’t capture his full contribution.
The Blazers fumbled the opening of the second half, letting the Nets immediately cut five points off of their deficit. Meanwhile Donovan Clingan went to the bench with his fourth foul. No problem: Murray comes in, drives into the key, feeds Jerami Grant in the corner for a three and a few seconds later bullies his way to a lefty layup to help his team restore order. His numbers for the game: 24 minutes, 14 points on 6 of 7 from the field and 2 of 2 from three, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Turning Over a New Leaf?
Turnovers have frequently been a negative turning point for the Blazers, but this time was a little different than the norm. The total for the game was 18, which is close to the team’s average, but the first half was an entirely different game: only 5 turnovers that yielded 0 points for the opposition. Not to say that the erratic second half doesn’t count. It does, but we’ve seen it before. The first half counts more because we haven’t been seeing that level of execution enough to believe it is actually possible.
Rotation Realities
While Portland fans continue to debate whether or not their team should be trying to reach the playoffs, the coaching staff appears to be experiencing no such confusion. They appear to be using the games between now and the play-in tournament to sort out who does what with whom, and this game was no exception. The starting lineup of Holiday, Grant, Clingan, Avdija and Camara looked sharp out of the gate. Scoot Henderson was comfortable in every early combination. Matisse Thybulle left his customary imprint on the action (2 steals and 2 assists in 15 minutes) and Kris Murray was everywhere (see above). Robert Williams III and Vit Krejci were unavailable tonight, but they have already staked out claims to playoffs action. Sidy Cissoko, Blake Wesley and Jayson Kent did play tonight, but we need to watch how they are used between now and the end of the regular season to get a picture of where they actually stand in the rotation.
Handy Henderson
Speaking of Scoot, he was solid. Not perfect, but solid is good, right? He played 20 minutes and scored 16 points on 5 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from outside with 4 assists. Defensively, he seemed on point all night. He was sharp in the first half with the ball in his hands. He did end up with 4 turnovers, but to be fair the game had been decided long before the miscues started piling up.
Sharing the Wealth
The Blazers notched 30 assists on their 41 field goals tonight, usually a sign that willing passers found a few successful shooters. Jerami Grant, Deni Avdija and Jrue Holiday all chipped in with 5 dimes as the Blazers played with precision over long stretches of this game. Good to see.
Up Next
The Blazers are back in action Wednesday in Indianapolis against the Indiana Pacers. Game time is 4:30 PDT.
