The Portland Trail Blazers left their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in doubt for exactly one half on Tuesday evening. Two of the winningest teams in the NBA’s Western Conference came ready to play each other, fighting tooth-and-nail to a 59-all tie at halftime. At that point, though, Damian Lillard and the Blazers had enough. They came out in the third period running quick and shooting deep, turning a tie into a 17-point edge by the time the quarter buzzer had sounded. Portland rode that advantage
and even extended it slightly, vanquishing the Thunder 123-103 for their seventh win of the young season. It was also one of the best.
Here are a few observations from the game.
Quick Offense
The Blazers got housed on Saturday night as the San Antonio Spurs forced them into a slow offensive pace complete with indecisive dribbles and fruitless perimeter passes. There would be no repeat on Tuesday. It was obvious from the jump that Portland wanted to run the ball down the court and strike as fast as possible, a cobra rather than a boa constrictor.
Deni Avdija was the main tempo-setter. It’s amazing to see how quickly he gets the ball down the floor. He scored 24 despite the Thunder doing a reasonably good job of getting back and stopping him from getting to the hoop. But Deni’s points weren’t the main point. While Thunder defenders were watching Deni in the middle, guards and forwards leaked through from the diagonals and sidelines. Quick pushes led to fast cuts and conscience-free three-pointers that OKC just couldn’t keep up with.
It’s a brilliant strategy when it works. Defenses just don’t have the same integrity when they aren’t set up. The Blazers prosper when they start the opponent in a scramble and progress from there, using ball movement to do what individual talent can’t always: keep the defense guessing. Fast offense makes up for a multitude of sins.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a Cheat Code
If you want to know how good Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is, consider this. He goes up against the best defenders in the league nightly. The two-time and reigning MVP has a bullseye on his uniform number every game. Portland has some decent guard/wing defenders too: Toumani Camara, Jrue Holiday, even Scoot Henderson. They’re well-stocked against Gilgeous-Alexander.
You know how some guys need only a sliver of daylight to get their shot off? That’s not Shai. He has acres of space on almost every attempt because he puts all of those premier defenders on skates. I have never seen so many active, skilled athletes a foot behind or a foot ahead of where they should be defensively. They try to anticipate where SGA is going and he just pulls up. They make a mistake and let him get ahead of them and he’s already gone. It’s like watching someone try to play a video game in which the character animations and their personal reaction times are way too slow. Any of us having to face that kind of opponent would just throw down the controller and quit.
In short, Shai isn’t just for real. He redefines reality. In the process, he makes the opponent look like kindergartners.
You know how we said Deni Avidija was bending the defense with his penetration to the lane, then Portland shooters further bent it by hitting from the arc? Gilgeous-Alexander was bending the Blazers defense the same way without ever leaving the midrange. He didn’t spend a lot of time at the rim. He barely shot threes. Yet he had his own shot working and facilitated the lane opening up for all of his teammates at the same time.
Oklahoma City shot 44% from the field in this game, but that was down from a solid 50% at halftime, all thanks to Portland defenders keeping one eye on SGA.
Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 points in 29 minutes himself. Though he hit only 8-22 from the field, it looked like every shot was going in. It’s weird to see an opponent score a point per minute and still think the Blazers dodged a bullet. But hey, welcome to Shai.
The Damepire Strikes Back
Though Gilgeous-Alexander was the star of the night, Damian Lillard was not about to be outdone in his own building. The Blazers went back and forth with the Thunder for the entire first half, taking and receiving haymakers in succession. In the third period, though, Dame had enough of that. He went on a tear, hitting a pair of layups, a top-of-the-key pull-up, and a trio of three-pointers in a display reminiscent of Dame Time in days of yore. Lillard’s filthy, nasty, wicked-wet performance provided the backbone to a 38-21 period that broke the game open. For one night, at least, Lillard would not be denied. Given the current semi-injured state of the team and the quality of opponent, it was a welcome sight.
Dame finished with 25 points in 24 minutes, shooting 8-15 from the field (as many field goals as Gilgeous-Alexander with 7 fewer attempts) and 4 three-pointers made. Take THAT.
Threes
Three-pointers continue to tell the story for the Blazers. Tonight it wasn’t so much about percentage. Portland shot 38% from distance, Oklahoma City 36%. But the Blazers attempted 50 threes to OKC’s 22. The resulting 33-point gap kept the Blazers in the game when their defense was otherwise looking mid.
Turnovers Fixed?
The rancid turnover problem that has plagued the Blazers over the last couple games was nowhere to be found tonight. Portland committed just 9 turnovers. That allowed them to maximize their offense on a night when they shot a relatively equal percentage as the opponent. Those extra shots made all the difference. Not turning over the ball gave Portland the opportunity.
Free Throws Fixed?
So, too, the absolutely-annoying missed free throw plague that has infested Portland’s airspace lately. The Blazers shot 24-26 from the foul line, 92%. Games will get easier for the Blazers if they don’t give up free chances at points.
Sidy and Scoot
Sidy Cissoko replaced Scoot Henderson in the starting lineup tonight. He provided great first-half energy when his team needed it. He also closed out garbage time strong, finishing with 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal in 33 minutes. He was ready to shoot when the defense caved in on Avdija and he was open from distance. He shot 3-10 beyond the arc and 5-14 overall, but he took the right shots, at least.
Scoot gave 11 points in 22 minutes off the bench. His off-and-on offensive play continued, but I’d say a couple of things. First, his point-of-attack defense was pretty good. Second, I still love the release on his three-pointer, especially compared to his early years. He shot 3-5 from distance tonight. (Caveat: 3-12 overall.) Henderson is serviceable off-ball, at least. If his offense-driving play is still spotty, well, at least he had 4 assists and only a single turnover tonight.
We’ll see where the starting lineup heads from here.
Youngblood Rises (and Falls)
If you want a guy who’s giving energy on defense and exuding confidence on offense, look no further than Chris Youngblood. The reserve-to-the-reserves guard contributed 8 points with 2-4 three-pointers made in 14 minutes.
Youngblood left the game in the second half with a foot injury. Hopefully he won’t be out long, because he was just beginning to blossom.
Reserve Centers
Donovan Clingan got into foul trouble tonight in the first half. The second half turned into a bit of a blowout. That gave back-up centers Branden Carlson and Micah Potter a chance to play. Carlson gave good energy with 2 blocks and a put-back dunk in 8 minutes of play. Potter gave his team 3 rebounds in 4 minutes.
Side Note: On the first night of a back-to-back, reserve center Robert Williams III played only 15 minutes. Let’s see if he rests in the follow-up game tomorrow night. If so, that’s light duty for him.
Up Next
Boxscore
Portland and Oklahoma City go at it again tomorrow night with a 7:00 PM, Pacific start.
