Unorthodox Blazers Keep Finding Ways to Win

SB Nation

The Portland Trail Blazers clashed with the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in a game that could have featured a superteam formed of injury-list players. Derik Queen, Trey Murphy III, Saddiq Bey,

Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones, Jerami Grant, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, and Damian Lillard were all out. Despite that, the two teams managed to put on an entertaining show until the Blazers ran away with the game, pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 122-109 win. Portland avoided the disease of playing down to the opponent’s level (or just playing dumb) at the end of the game and finally salted away a predictable victory. That in itself was nice to see.

Here are some observations from the evening.

Deni’s Stardom

Anyone who doesn’t think Deni Avdija has morphed into a star this year needs to watch this game in review. He wasn’t just good against the (admittedly porous) Pelicans defense, he was surgical. This was one of his best outings in terms of decision making: when to go for the drive, when to step back and shoot it, when to pass. Nearly everything he did was flawless. Avdija finished with 34 points, 11 assists, and 7 rebounds. Every bit of it mattered; nothing was gratuitous. Only 2 turnovers too? What a fine outing.

Zion’s Promise

It almost makes me sad watching Zion Williamson play. This guy is, by nature, an S-Tier, PSA-10, fully mint superstar. Everything he does looks effortless yet is somehow devastating. Defenders bounce off of his body like he was the MC in a Marvel movie. His dunks leave an imprint in the floor: two spots for his feet and one for the ball hitting the hardwood after getting jammed through the net. Zion’s mid-range shots look great. When he gets a little contact and rises, he looks unstoppable.

And yet we have the other reality of Zion Williamson. I listened to the New Orleans broadcast crew of Joel Meyers and Antonio Daniels because they’re among the best in the business. I don’t think even they understand the Zion Effect that flows through their work.

If Zion were new to the league or had dominated since he was drafted, they’d have catch phrases, be gushing and yelling, and talking about him with the same tone and embellishment that the Lakers crew talks about LeBron and Luka or the Bucks bunch talk about Giannis. Meyers and Daniels sound happy and appreciative whenever Zion does something great. They’re not dissing him. But there’s a distressing normalcy, almost a holding back, in the way they feature his play. It feels cultural, like people with a legacy of pain talking to other people who have lived it and understand it. There are no, “ZION, RAMBO-JAMBO!!!” calls. It’s “Z, with the jam…” almost as if they’re afraid to trust or believe it when they see his transcendent play.

If Zion is on the trade block and the Blazers could get him, there would be a tidal wave of anticipation and excitement in Portland. This guy would change the franchise. Unfortunately, his injury and fitness issues would probably hobble the franchise the same way they have in New Orleans, which is why he’d be available in the first place.

Honestly, it’s really hard watching a career that never has been and may never be. That being said, Zion did have 35 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks tonight. Seeing him is kind of a big deal. We’ve just all forgotten it.

Secret Weapon

Donovan Clingan was Portland’s secret weapon in this one. He did great guarding the interior, threatening shots and rebounding. He didn’t hesitate on his three-pointer when open (which is all you can ask…making them is probably too much) and he even had a nifty, complex post move in the second period. Clingan’s contributions are becoming more regular. It’s good news for Portland. Clingan had 11 points, 9 offensive rebounds, 15 overall boards in a healthy 30 minutes of play.

Love on a Roll

We can’t go a single recap without mentioning Caleb Love lately. The young two-way player put up another impressive point total, scoring 22 on 6-11 shooting beyond the arc.

Love–and to a lesser extent, Toumani Camara–flourished as the Pelicans overplayed Avdija, trying to force shots to come from anywhere but him. The other wings stepped up, making the Blazers look dangerous, at least for a night.

Ups and Downs Defensively

At first, it’s going to seem like both teams played decent defense in this one. The final score was relatively low. Portland and New Orleans each shot 45% for the game, with late-game permissiveness upping those percentages. But the numbers are deceiving.

On two-point shots, the Blazers fired 25-45 and the Pelicans 36-68. Those are high numbers. Percentages on each side were dragged down by bad-to-horrible three-point shooting. Portland went 16-47, at least dragging their rate back to bad from awful. New Orleans had no such luck. They went 8-30 beyond the arc. That was some ugly marksmanship out there.

Free Throws Win

The Blazers dominated at the foul line tonight, shooting 24-30 from the line versus 13-18 for the Pels.

That helped make up for the Blazers giving up 19 offensive rebounds to New Orleans, breaking even in a category Portland usually wins handily. To make matters worse, the Blazers ceded a 23-6 advantage to the Pelicans in fast break points. Portland might have dodged a bullet in this one.