FanPost

STOP THE PRESSES! Game 48 (Mem) Overreactions

THIS WAS A PLAY-OFF CALIBER WIN!

True. Memphis wanted to get off to a good start to a long, packed road trip. They feature a newly minted All-Star (Gasol) and the point guard some are claiming is more of an AS snub than Lillard and McCallum (Conley). They came in with a wide gap over 8th place in the West and have a good chance to climb the ladder and move up a rung or two when they get fully healthy. Even after a stumbling start, Memphis climbed back into the game and were poised to take this game away. All of Portland's inconsistencies and insecurities were emerging. The shooting was cooling off. The Grizzlies were starting to clamp down defensively. Memphis wins all their close games. If you did not watch this game with a sense of dread, you have not been paying attention to the 2016-17 Blazers. The L was all but delivered, with Golden State coming in on Sunday.

Then out of the West came someone we saw often last year. It was the hero we wanted and also the hero that we needed: All-Star snub Damian Lillard put on his white hat and road in with "Lillard Time". 3 straight 3's and 15 points in the fourth quarter. It was a beautiful thing. Even with a couple of fumbles down the stretch Dame delivered enough for Portland to win a home game over a winning West team. If Portland has any hopes to climb back into the play-offs winning home games against 2nd tier play-off teams has to become the norm, not the exception.

THE NEW LINE-UP NEEDS TO CHANGE

False. Vonleh did have a fairly empty game tonight. Home cooking may be the recipe for Aminu's shooting woes, as his stroke looked much improved tonight. Turner didn't shoot well, but his 8 assists, timely 3's and defense on Conley were all vital (and resulted in a team-leading +11 tonight). We admire CJ and Dame offensively so much that we assume they don't need help. Turner's Batuum-lite imitation is making their life easier. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This group of starters will continue for a while.

PORTLAND WILL MAKE THE PLAY-OFFS

True. I have already dwelled on the home/away imbalance. Even with the last couple of home games, Portland has still played four more on the road than at home. But eventually the 8th seed is going to have to creep close to .500, and that requires a solid winning record at home. Look at the other pretenders' home record: Denver (12-11) New Orleans (13-13) Sacremento (8-13) Minnesota (10-14) and Dallas (10-12). Portland's 13-9 looks sterling by contrast. If Portland can just produce a minimal amount of home court magic they will sail into the play-offs.

MEMPHIS' ROSTER MOVES ARE WORKING WELL

False. Probably the best move the Grizz made in the off-season is at coach: Fizdale may look more like a professor, but he has done a great job maneuvering the team through injuries and a change of style. We got another extended look at the free agent that was #1 on Oshey's list: Chandler Parsons. Remember there was acceptance that his knee issues are likely to increase over the four years of his new contract. He is still struggling to fully recover, and based on a couple of blow-bys tonight, he is likely to be a defensive sieve for the rest of his career. By contrast, 40 year old Vince Carter looked like a spring chicken attacking the Blazers on both ends. Failing to land Parsons may turn out to be the best move for the Blazers in the summer of '16.

FINAL GRADE: Gasol played like what he is: the best center in the NBA. Many of his moves tonight were unstoppable without 2 defenders. One of the benefits of the line-up change is that it requires Crabbe to step up for the bench unit and he was on fire tonight. Maybe he did review the Lou Williams tape. Even though Portland was out-rebounded by 9 and gave up 48% shooting, there was a grittiness to the defense tonight. Plumlee had another double-double, and Chief looked like shooting a basketball may be easier than calculus. But ultimately it was Lillard. He clearly has a chip on his shoulder again and that is good news for Portland. Not a clinical win but a very good one. A-