NBA
Portland Swept: What Went Wrong in the Rose City?
The Portland Trail Blazers walked into the Moda Center Monday night looking to extend their 2019 playoff run. Down 0-3 to the Golden State Warrior’s, the Blazers looked to avoid being swept out of the post season for the second year in a row.
It was a dream match-up for the Oregonian’s and their beloved Blazers. The opportunity to take out the vaunted Golden State Warriors. Sure, Kevin Durant wasn’t going to play but none of that mattered. This is the most “vulnerable” Warriors team in the last half-decade.
That dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Blown leads and missed opportunities all contributed to the win or go home proposition Portland was left with.
Seeing the Warriors advance comes as no surprise. However, the utter dominance in which the Warriors play is unlike anything the modern NBA has ever seen. What went wrong in the Rose City?
Curry + Thompson > Lillard + McCollum
Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum do not have the luxury of playing the role of “solid” NBA guard. They need to play at an All-NBA level each and every night in order for the Blazers to contend with the top teams in the West. As a result, the tandem was going to have to outplay the best shooting back court the NBA has ever seen. While a spirited effort was put forth the tandem of Curry and Thompson proved to be to much to handle.
Damian averaged 22 points on 36 percent field goal shooting in the Western Conference Finals. A far cry from the 28.4 points on 43 percent shooting he averaged in previous rounds. C.J has also saw a dip in efficiency averaging 22 points per game on 39.1 percent shooting. As opposed to his 25.6 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting in previous rounds.
Rounding Into Form
The drop off in production couldn’t have come at a worse time as Stephen Curry has decided to kindly remind everyone why he has multiple NBA rings and MVP trophies to his name. Averaging 36.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game! Klay Thompson also contributed 21.5 points per game to go along with his outstanding on-ball defense.
Running on Fumes
The NBA playoffs are a grind in every sense of the word. As a result, teams look to end a series as fast as possible. This allows for less wear and tear on the body and longer periods of recovery. Unfortunately Portland went into the Western Conference Finals two days removed from a 7 game dog fight with the Denver Nuggets. Not to mention, Game 2 of the series which took 4 overtimes to decide!
Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals marked Lillards 95th game of the 2018-19 season. Two more games than he’s played in any other season. His total minutes played (2,838) in the regular season and 607 in the playoffs lead the league. In contrast, Steph Curry played 2,331 regular season minutes. Giving him a sizeable advantage in the Rest & Relaxation department.
The regular season disparity along with the extra rest that the Warriors have received played a crucial role in the outcome of the series. With this in mind, is it really a shock Portland was sent sputtering to the finish line while Golden State looks as dominate as ever?
Draymond (Pre-Durant) Green
The argument that the Warriors are a “better” team without Kevin Durant is laughable. Losing arguably the best player in basketball is never good.
That being said, Golden State did a masterful job mitigating the lose of KD. Particularly Draymond Green. Averaging a near triple double for the series with 16.5 points, 8.8 assist, and 11.8 rebounds! Green is the first player since the 1983-84 season to tally 20+ points 13+ rebounds 12+ assists & 4+ steals in a single playoff game.
While impressive, you don’t need numbers to see how big of an impact Draymond is having on this playoff run. Just watch the game. He’s a bully on the court. Often times, grabbing the rebound and going coast to coast for what turns into a wide open transition three for a teammate or a lay up. Everyone knew that Steph Curry and Klay Thompson were going to step their game up. Allowing Green to dominate on both ends of the court left the Blazers with no chance to contend.
NBA Game is 48 minutes…
Terry Scotts Blazers never put together a complete game. Consequently, Game 2 through 4 felt like mirror images of each other. Portland was able to dominate the first 24 minutes of the basketball game. Only to have Golden State storm back in the second half. Entering game 4 the Warriors held an 91-63 scoring differential in the 3rd quarter alone! Game 4 was the same song and dance.
No lead is safe when a team posses the fire power Golden State has. Unfortunately, Portland figured this out the hard way. All in all, it was a successful season for the Trail Blazers. With the core relatively young it will be up to the organization to surround the star studded back court of McCollum and Lillard with enough pieces to join the NBA’s elite.
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Written by Joseph Osuna
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Photo credit to Trailblazers via Twitter
