The Portland Trail Blazers approached their preseason game versus the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night with energy and gusto. Golden State had the bigger names by far. Portland brought speed and intensity,
along with busy hands and feet. Those attributes gave the Blazers plenty of opportunities to exploit their older, more measured foes. By gum, the Blazers took them.
Portland did end up losing 129-123 in their first exhibition outing.The final score was a little deceiving. The Blazers held a 21-point lead in the fourth. They played their deep bench–not the main team reserves, but candidates for the Rip City Remix–the entire period. Golden State did the same. The Warriors ended up scoring 51 in the final frame, mounting a huge comeback to finish off their guests.
The result means little ultimately. It’s safe to say that if the Blazers are going to win this year, games will need to look like this one did for the first three quarters. In that sense, it was a good start to the season…great to see.
Here are specific observations from the game. When you’re done reading it–and if you’ve liked what the site has brought over the years–take a second to check out this post in The Feed for some interesting news.
Looking Sharpe
The rumors coming out of training camp turned out to be 100% true, at least in this opening game. Shaedon Sharpe came ready to PLAY, torching the nets with a display of skills we’ve seen hinted at over the years, but never put together like this.
Two wrinkles showed up immediately. First, Sharpe was hunting threes. Not bailing out into them…choosing them as a focal point of his attack. Second, his drive-and-dish game was as strong as his finishing.
The Blazers desperately need three things in their offense:
- Someone to draw the defense so the opponent can’t keep a man at home against secondary scorers.
- Three-point shooting to spread the floor.
- Somebody to pass to those open shooters when the defense moves.
Sharpe did all three tonight. Yes, it’s preseason, but this is the first time we’ve seen him demonstrate that he knows, and values, this approach. That’s really good news for Portland.
Shaedon had 20 points on 8-13 shooting, 4-7 from the arc at the half, leading Portland to 73 points at intermission. He played sparingly in the second half, finishing the game with 22.
Center Rotation
A quieter, but fascinating, subtext from this game was the center rotation for Portland.
Donovan Clingan started. He provided EXACTLY what you’d expect: guarding the lane and bothering shots at the rim on defense, copious offensive rebounds on the other end. He looked good. But the Blazers didn’t stay with him, or anyone at the pivot, for long.
Yang Hansen got the call next, about four minutes into the game. (He’d also get time in that disastrous fourth quarter.) The good news: Hansen looks quick getting up and down the floor. He’s far more into Portland’s vertical pace than Clingan is. The bad news is that his recognition needs work. That’s hardly a surprise, but it was still evident. He got into Sharpe’s driving lanes, set screens late, brought the ball down when defenders were right underneath him, and tried to make slow passes that got intercepted easily. He played defense with eagerness but Golden State’s plays developed at 48 speed while Hansen rotated in 33. The tempo of the game is too much for him right now. He’ll need a while to adjust and understand his position.
Hansen fouled out in 21 minutes of play. The most damning stat of his night was 4 rebounds in that span. By comparison, Deni Avdija had 8 in just over 19 minutes of play.
The Blazers also ran lineups with Duop Reath and others without a true center at all. The latter combinations were certainly fast. Pressing and transition play were flashy hallmarks, delighting like a pop-up book in a six-year-old’s hands. Unfortunately, rim protection and rebounding were all but absent during these stretches. It didn’t hurt that much versus the older, slower, and less-engaged Warriors, but in a real game, the drawbacks of the center-free lineup are likely to affect Portland as much as the advantages. It seems like a selective strategy more than a real solution.
Three-Point Attack
Portland had no hesitation on their three-point shots tonight. It seemed like they were consciously setting up threes at the diagonals, trying to make Golden State’s slower defenders run. This stands in contrast to the top-of-the-key-or-sideline attack we’re familiar with. (They got corner threes too, though.)
Toumani Camara became a flamethrower shooting 4 of 9 from distance. It’s a perfect role for him on offense. It also looks like a natural one.
Speed Merchants
Outside of Sharpe destroying the Warriors in the halfcourt, the name of the game for Portland tonight was speed. Bench players came into the game early and often, keeping legs fresh. Everyone from Hansen to Blake Wesley to Kris Murray was looking to convert possessions into instant offense, running full speed down the floor. Not a tenth of a second of thought elapsed before feet and ball were moving. Possession. Turn. Run like hell.
Last year Avdija led the charge down the floor for the Blazers, often alone. At the start of this year, it’s Deni and the Speedsters taking the stage. Multiple players looked like mini-Denis. Stay tuned to see if they can keep this up.
Turnovers
Winning the turnover battle is part and parcel of the speed strategy. The Blazers forced several TO’s in the backcourt, a result of effective pressing. The Warriors looked a little surprised. Portland ended up forcing a healthy 19. They committed 18, but they held a lead in this department until that fatal fourth.
In the end, a combination of youth, speed, and turnovers allowed the Blazers to attempt 103 shots while Golden State managed only 89. That was a big part of Portland’s success.
It’s worth noting that the Warriors’ huge run in the final quarter coincided with a speedier lineup coming in for them. Portland’s trap had less effect and the turnovers dried up. Once that advantage went away, so did half of the success. (To be fair, the other half disappeared because non-scorers populated the floor for Portland. That weighed just as heavily.)
The Bad News
Not all the news was great. A few things need work and/or continued observation as the season unfolds.
At the team level, Portland’s defense was good as long as they kept a man firmly in front of the ball. As soon as help was required, the Blazers weren’t able to cope. They sent the initial man, but had no ability at all to cover the three-point arc after. The Warriors got WIDE open pretty much every time they got a shoulder past the initial defender.
Speaking of, Avdija looked a little passive on defense. He wasn’t awful but he wasn’t at the forefront either. Whatever he does or doesn’t do on the other end, the Blazers need Avdija as one of their two best defenders (along with Camara) in order to generate the intensity they require.
Jrue Holiday looked smart on reads and compact in his motions, just as you’d expect. BUT…I’m going be honest here and you won’t like it…he also looked about two inches behind on defensive plays and offensive finishes. The best way to describe it is that Holiday’s mind was ahead of plays but his body seemed to be trying to catch up to them, with mixed success. Maybe some of that is preseason rust or conservation. It bears watching.
The news wasn’t much better for Jerami Grant. He played 21 minutes while shooting 2-11 from the field and 1-5 from the three-point arc. On defense, it seems like he was existing more than thriving. Those hoping for a Renaissance for Grant will need to wait a little longer, it seems.
Up Next
The Blazers will host the Sacramento Kings in their second Preseason game on Friday night at 7:00 PM, Pacific.
