Damian Lillard crossed over LeBron James beyond the three-point line and had a free run down the lane during the second quarter of the Portland Trail Blazers 116-108 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday night.
Standing between the 6-foot-2 Lillard and the basket was the Lakers’ imposing 6-10 forward Anthony Davis, who certainly looks like he’s blocked a shot or 1,300 in his career.
Yet, Lillard didn’t flinch. The Blazers’ leader with deceiving hops and Oakland-born toughness accelerated past the free throw line, took one dribble as he gathered the ball, dipped his body and then launched himself toward the basket with clear intentions to dunk over Davis.
It was going to be the posterization to end all posterizations.
Instead...
Davis met Lillard in the midair and rejected his valiant but ultimately doomed dunk attempt. Davis’ block was forceful and it was clean, and in many ways, it defines this series, that the Lakers now lead 2-1.
Portland’s run to the playoffs has been exhilarating and entertaining. Lillard’s play at the NBA bubble has been legacy enhancing. This team’s resolve and toughness are admirable.
But at the end of the day, the team that is being led by two generational talents is swatting away a lesser team that has displayed the heart needed to drive down the lane against anyone but lacks the firepower and overall talent to finish against a team like the Lakers.
It’s really that simple.
Portland’s offense is getting stymied by one of the best defenses in the league. The Blazers’ defense, one of the worst in the league, can’t defend both James and Davis (few any can). The Blazers’ lack of depth has become a huge issue. ON top of all of that, clearly having played 12 games in 23 days since the restart, all with playoff intensity, has taken a physical on the team.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) scores over Portland Trail Blazers center Hassan Whiteside (21) during the first half of an NBA basketball first round playoff game, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, Pool) APAP
It’s difficult to combat the top seeded team in the West on an empty gas tank.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the only reason for it,” Lillard said when asked if fatigue is becoming a factor. “I think they played good defense. You have to give them credit. Maybe we were a little bit tired. We just didn’t make shots.”
But that’s exactly what can happen when a team becomes fatigued. It becomes tougher to make shots. Also, it becomes tougher to play better defense to make up for not making shots.
Not only must the starters play big minutes, they must do so while playing well enough to compensate for a lack of bench production. The Lakers’ bench outscored Portland’s 24-5 on Saturday and 25-14 in Game 1. The bench scoring was more balanced in Game 2 because the Blazers’ bench logged a ton of minutes in the blowout defeat.
The lopsided bench scoring difference on Saturday essentially meant that Portland’s starters had to outscore the Lakers’ starters by 20 in order to win. The differences don’t end there. Five players off of the Lakers’ bench combined for 23 rebounds and eight assists in 91 minutes. Portland’s four-man bench gave the team two rebounds and one assist in 51 minutes.
Things were so bad that the main four starting quartet of Lillard, CJ McCollum, Anthony and center Jusuf Nurkic played the entire fourth quarter.
“I didn’t like doing that but we had a bad stretch at the end of the third and I just felt like we needed to ride those guys as long as we could,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said.
That stretch involved seeing a 72-72 game reach 93-86, Lakers by the end of the third quarter.
Seven points is certainly not an insurmountable deficit. In fact, the Blazers got to within 93-90 early in the fourth quarter. But then, the pinwheels came off.
The fresher, deeper and more talented Lakers began to impose their will.
Leading the way was James, who attacked Portland’s defense from the get-go, clearly determined to not play the role of passive facilitator. He had 22 points in the first half and finished with 38.
But it was Davis who closed the deal in the fourth with 12 points, including the final eight of a game-changing 12-6 run that left the score at 105-96, Lakers with 5:30 remaining. Davis finished with 29 with 11 rebounds and eight assists.
“It came down to a fourth quarter game and Anthony Davis made his perimeter shots and we came up empty too often,” Stotts said.
Meanwhile, Portland shot 8 for 24 in the fourth quarter with two makes coming in the final 33.2 seconds after the game was out of reach.
Portland also lost the rebounding battle, 55-38.
Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum (3) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard (39) and forward LeBron James, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball first round playoff game, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, Pool) APAP
These are the harsh realities facing a team that has its own power duo in the backcourt that’s simply not as dynamic as the Lakers'. Lillard, who played with a splint on his left index finger, which he dislocated in Game 2, was magnificent, especially in the first half. But come the fourth quarter, he and the entire team faded.
So how do the Blazers combat this situation? They likely can’t. Portland essentially won Game 1 because the Lakers shot 35.1% from the field and 15.6% on three-pointers. When they shoot well (50% on Saturday), their defense is capable of taking care of the rest.
Stotts said he felt that the Blazers, who shot 41.1% from the field and 34.3% on three-point shots, didn’t shoot poorly. But let’s not forget that this team led the bubble sessions with 126 points per game. That level doesn’t appear to be coming back against this Lakers’ defense.
“They’ve got a lot of length, they’ve got a lot of size, they can effect shots,” Stotts said.
That can’t be changed. At this point it appears that the only way the Blazers can win another game is if the Lakers can’t shoot a lick. But can that happen three more times in four games? Not likely.
After Game 3, Lillard and Carmelo Anthony maintained a positive attitude while pointing out that the Blazers were only down 2-1 in the series.
“We get the next one and it’s a tied series,” Lillard said. “That’s perfectly fine with me.”
Said Anthony: “We hit them first. They came out, got two games. Now it’s our turn to respond.”
As Lillard displayed during his drive at Davis, the Blazers’ heart and desire are there but the ability to finish is lacking.
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories
The Link LonkAugust 23, 2020 at 04:05PM
https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2020/08/portland-trail-blazers-running-on-fumes-and-with-little-depth-search-for-answers-down-2-1-to-los-angeles-lakers.html
Portland Trail Blazers, running on fumes and with little depth, search for answers down 2-1 to Los Angeles La - OregonLive
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment