Ok. Let’s all take one, big, collective deep breath…and exhale slowly. Now that we’re relaxed, we can all ask in unison, “What the fuck is going on with the Blazers, man!?!” What happened to the 2015-16 season Cinderella team? The golden boys that brushed off the skeptics and marched proudly to the 2nd round of the playoffs? The young team that proved themselves worthy to play in the big leagues? Who's this team getting stomped by 20+ points?
Well, it appears that in the off season the Blazers forgot that the basketball court has two sides; the side where you score points, and the other side where you keep the opposing team from doing so. You know, offense, and FREAKIN’ DEFENSE! Basketball players don’t have the luxury that football players have. They can’t just leave the court when the ball starts going the other way. Another squad won’t come in and do half of their job for them. The Blazers are giving up an average of 113.7 points to their opponents a game this season. Where are the Blazers on the NBA Defensive Efficiency rankings you ask? 30th. There’s 30 teams in the league, by the way.
Yes Blazers fans, we all have a reason to cringe and scream at our TVs, but the season is young. The home team didn’t get off to a roaring start last year either. They may be under .500 with a 9-10 record, but take another deep breath, and realize there’s 63 games left this season. Plenty of time to ring that “W” bell and climb up the rankings. All the Blazers need is a little vitamin D.
Last night the Blazers went nose to nose with the Indiana Pacers, led by former Blazers’ head coach Nate McMillan. Sitting at 9-9, the Pacers aren’t exactly off to the races this season either. It was a good night for the Blazers to even themselves out. Fortunately, the Blazers looked much more whole last night, and were able to crank past the Pacers comfortably, 131-109.
Offensively, the Blazers spread the wealth marvelously throughout the game. They had six players in double digits. Damian Lillard was on top in the points column with 28, and Maurice Harkless was close behind him with 23.
Mason “Professor” Plumlee also plunked in 16 points in a most raucous fashion. He was insatiable in the paint. Professor Plumlee seemed to be in the right place, at the right time, every time in the first half. He brutalized the iron on the receiving end of three flashy alley-oop plays by the ten minute mark in the second quarter, and jammed another one down in the third. Per usual, his passing game was on point as well. Nothing like a full court baseball pass to Evan Turner for a three to get the crowd on their feet.
Defensively, things didn’t look as bleak as previous games. In the first quarter the Blazers held the Pacers field goal percentage at a cool 33%. It even looked like they were going to hold the Pacers under 20 points in the first, but eventually let them walk with 23 in the last minute and a half. The Blazers also pulled 26 defensive rebounds, swiped 13 steals, and they even held the Pacers to the occasional shot clock violation.
There were definitely a few bright flashes of brilliance on the defensive side last night, but there was still some real dead spots. Watching Dame twist his face and throw up his hands incredulously at Meyers Leonard after he let Pacers’ Aaron Brooks drop a three-pointer uncontested was a sad sight to see. Plus, there was more than one occasion where the Pacers seemed to teleport the ball across the court and into the hoop even before an official gave the okay whistle for them to inbound the ball.
Pat on the back for effort and hustle on the defensive side last night Blazers, but lets keep the D-Train rolling hard and heavy so we don’t look like a bunch of chumps with our hands in our pockets.