FanPost

Overreacting to Game #26: Portland 113, Minnesota 105

PORTLAND IS FINALLY PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER. Yes. A little. Much has been made of how tough the next dozen games are for the Blazers after the Phoenix laugher. If Portland plays badly for this stretch there is a danger of dropping well off the play-off pace. For Portland to hold their place until the schedule eases they need to 1) play better defense 2) win against their peers at Moda, and 3) figure out some rotation issues. So how did they do?

The Blazer defense was active tonight. They had a plan on Towns and, for the most part, covered their rotations well when they brought the double team. Portland had active hands, especially CJ. Nurk had 4 of the 9 blocks, and Zach had multiple great contests at the rim. The numbers weren't stifling, but they were decent: Wolves shot only 44% from the field. They shot 44% from 3, but could only find 16 attempts from deep. Portland also dominated the boards 53-40. The defense played well enough to win this game and many others

Home court wins are vital. With this win, the Blazers are now 10-4. That record is decent, but not exceptional. Portland is one of 6 Western teams with at least 10 wins already, and 3 others have 3 or fewer losses. Moda Magic is going to be necessary for Portland to grab every possible home win this year. Porltand could not lose to a Minnesota team playing without their best defensive player in Covington. They held serve tonight.

What did we learn about the rotation tonight? We found out it is still a work in progress. Harkless responded to Layman's big game by being aggressive himself: 8 points, 2 3-pointers, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Mo doesn't need to score 20; he does need to show up somewhere every night. Curry went from spot starter to no show. Stotts hopes a night or 2 off may get him started. Layman followed up his career night, with a 2-10 night and 0-6 on 3's. Aggressive, yes. Consistent? Not yet. We saw Collins/Leonard again, and once again it did not seem to work. Here is what we know: Stotts is going to give plenty of guys multiple chances. Several guys better step up soon or the clock starts ticking on December 15th.

THE OFFENSE WAS CLICKING TONIGHT. Yes and no. There was some good man and ball movement in this game. 50 points in the paint. 19 fast break points. Contributions from all 5 starters. 47% shooting, with the starters shooting 54%. Good crisp offense.

But there were 2 flaws. First, there were WAY too many turnovers. Some were creative attempts. But most were careless. How many times can you try and throw bounce passes through multiple bodies. No, Nurk, they are not kick balls when you just throw the ball into their legs. 19 turnovers are what kept Minnesota in the game.

At what point do we have to question whether Portland really is a good shooting team from deep? Dame and CJ hit the last 2 clutch 3's to win the game. Before that the Blazers were shooting only 26% from behind the arc. Poor 3 point shooting has been all too common during Portland's struggles. Is there a hot streak from deep coming?

NURK FEVER IS BACK. Should be. We talked a lot last year about good Nurk and bad Nurk. He was solid some nights and a mess other nights. Nurkic has been consistently solid all year. Tonight he was a Bosnian Beast once again. We love the dunks, instead of the half-hearted flips. Jusuf had 22 points, 7-10 shooting, 11 rebounds (8 offensive), 4 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks. That is impacting the game in tons of ways. (Yes, he also came up with 6 turnovers as well). Dame and CJ didn't have to be special until the end when Nurk is on like this. He was the key to the offense and defense tonight, and if Portland wants to succeed this month we need to see more of this.

FINAL GRADE: Down 6 with 4 minutes to go. Do you know what time it was? Portland scored 17 points. Dame scored 10 of them and assisted on another 3. 3 point play. Long 2. 3 pointer. Assist to a wide open CJ. 2 free throws. Just get the game to Lillard and let him close. It hasn't always worked this season. Tonight no one was going to stop him from winning this game. Appreciate prime Dame. It is awesome. The game was sloppy. Poor shooting from deep. Yet Portland won a key game at home. Any win is a good win. Now onto the road to take on the 14th place Rockets. Yes, the West is that crazy. Enjoy the ride. B