Author

Kevin Nesgoda

Portland Trail Blazers

Blazers re-sign Norman Powell to 5-year $90 million deal

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

In what was an expected move the Blazers have re-signed Norman Powell to a five-year, $90 million dollar deal on Monday evening. All indications were that the Blazers were going to ink Powell to a deal at the start of free agency and it looks like Neil Olshey did not mess this one up.

I think there was some fear that he’d let Powell walk and play Greg Brown at the three spot in the coming season.

Powell came to the Blazers last season in a trade that sent fan favorite, Gary Trent Jr. to Toronto/Tampa. Norm played in 27 games with the Blazers and averaged 17 points a game and proceeded to start in all six of Portland’s playoff games as well.

With the signing of Powell, four of the five Blazer starting spots are locked up. Will be interesting to see what the Blazers do at the power forward spot in the coming days with the $8 they have left to spend this summer.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Cody Zeller signs with Blazers on minimum one year deal

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Blazers were not done in free agency yet, but they are getting really close to spending all that cash money that they have. It’s being reported that the Blazers have signed oft-injured big man, Cody Zeller to the veteran’s minimum. He might be injured a lot, but he plays more than Zach Collins and is coming in a hell of a lot cheaper.

Zeller has averaged about 9 points and six boards for his career. Is known for his hard, but not stellar play. Hopefully, this does not mean that Enes Kanter will not be returning. Kanter better be returning.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Blazers add Ben McLemore

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Blazers have begun to piece together their bench, announcing their first signing of the year in guard/wing player Ben McLemore. This isn’t the big free agent signing the Blazers need to compete for a title, but with the crap cap management that Neil Olshey has done over recent years, this is about the best they can do.

McLemore should be slated to take the minutes that Carmelo Anthony had been occupying the last few years. Anthony is expected to sign with the Lakers and attempt to win a championship again with Russell Westbrook. We know how that went the last time.

Pauses for laughter.

McLemore has been a bit of a disappointment since coming into the league in 2013. It might not be totally his fault, he did spend his first few years in the league playing for the Sacramento Kings and that place has ruined a lot of careers over the last twenty years.

McLemore has averaged 8.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1 assist, and just over half a steal a game for his career.

Hoping this signing does not impede the development of guys like Nassir Little and potentially Greg Brown.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Zach Collins is finally done in Portland

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Over the weekend the Blazers announced that they were not going to be tendering Zach Collins an offer, thus declining the first right to re-sign him, and making him an unrestricted free agent. Today, Collins signed a 3-year $22 million dollar deal with the San Antonio Spurs.

Collins spent more time injured at home, on the bench, or being under anesthesia being operated on than he spent on the floor with the Blazers. When he did play for the Blazers he did show some flashes of promise that made the Blazers trade up to get the 10th overall pick out of Gonzaga.

The Blazers having enough salary cap issues were smart in not re-signing Collins as he becomes the Spurs inpatient now.

If there is one person on this planet more injury-prone than Carson Wentz, it might be Zach Collins, but at least somehow the Eagles were able to get something for Wentz.

Well, the Blazers do get something in return with Collins moving on to the Spurs: peace of mind and an extra empty hospital bed.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Portland’s pathetic defense and coaching costs them Game 2 in Denver

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

On a night when the Portland Trail Blazers could have really put the Denver Nuggets in a deep hole in these playoffs their terrible defense and even worse coaching. The Blazers couldn’t use the record-breaking night from Damian Lillard to take a 2-0 series lead at Ball Arena in Denver.

Terry Stotts made some decisions tonight that would have had rookie middle school coaches scratching their head.

First Quarter Thoughts

As expected the Nuggets started out red hot and lept out to a double-digit lead in the first four minutes of the game. The Nuggets were hitting all their threes and Nikola Jokic was doing his typical MVP-type things. The Blazers did not have the energy early on to keep up with the Nugget onslaught.

Nate Tibbets and Michael Porter Jr decided to get into it a bit after a timeout. It’s not often that you see an assistant coach get into it with an opposing player. Both individuals were assessed technical fouls and we are allowed to move on with our lives.

Nikola Jokic is ridiculous. There is a shot that he could go for somewhere around 700 points tonight. Not sure if defensive mastermind, Terry Stotts, has it in his constitution to put together a game plan that can stop Jokic.

Logo Lillard knocks down a three from well, the logo. Anfernee Simons follows up with a three of his own and the Blazers are only down six to end the quarter. All things considered, things could have gotten way out of hand. It might have been a success only being down by around 11.

Second Quarter Thoughts

Lillard goes to the bench and the Blazers begin to turn the ball over again. The Denver defense has been solid tonight, but some of these turnovers by Portland are definitely self-inflicted. They are going to need to start taking care of the ball to keep things close.

Denver took advantage of the turnovers to push the lead up to 16 points. Michael Porter Jr. is really becoming that second and third option that the Nuggets needed.

I also don’t like how this game is being called both ways. The officials are keeping their whistles in their pockets on some stuff that would have been a foul in a Knicks-Heat series back in the 90s. I like letting them play, but not when dudes are getting knocked out into the covid riddled fans of Denver.

Carmelo Anthony and CJ McCollum knock down a couple of baskets to give the Blazers some hope. Paul Milsap decided he didn’t like to give hope to anyone and had back-to-back three-point plays to push the Nuggets’ lead up to 18 points.

It might just be time to take a shower and head off to bed.

Damian Lillard was not ready for bed and he did not care that the bus was warming up. He hit three straight threes to cut the Nuggets lead down to 11, 57-46 with 4:45 left in the half. It seems like it’s been since February since we’ve seen this Damian Lillard. It looks like that hamstring might finally be healthy.

Oh hey, Derrick Jones Jr. finally was allowed to get into the game. They needed someone to slow MPJ down.

Lillard hits another three and goes to the line for two free throws. The Denver lead is down to only eight points, 61-53. The man is absolutely ridiculous right now. He has 29 points for the game and 19 in — he hit another three before I could finish typing out this sentence.

My god! I have a feeling I’m going to need a cigarette after this and I don’t even smoke.

Lillard single-handed led the Blazers back within four points. it doesn’t matter where he is shooting from they are all going down. There is no better step-back three in all of the league.

The Nuggets were forced to call a timeout and Mike Malone got Denver to pick up the defensive intensity. This led to some big plays by the Nuggets who finished the half on a 9-0 run to take a 73-61 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Portland is focusing on getting CJ and Nurk going to start the third quarter here. I like the move to get their other two main scorers going, but Lillard had the hot hand — it’s a damned if you do and a damned if you don’t situation. I’d like to see Norman Powell get going as well.

It might also be because Aaron Gordon is now on Damian Lillard.

The Nuggets have only outscored the Blazers by three points (8-5) so far here in the third quarter, but it feels so much more than that. I’m having flashbacks to that 94 series of the Sonics and Nuggets with how loud the crowd is getting into this. If I were the Blazers I’d start using Norm as the point guard and play both Dame and CJ off the ball. Make their defenders work a bit more.

Austin Rivers and Facundo Campazzo have both been pretty annoying in various ways this game. I’d love Campazzo if here were a Blazer, but he’s not.

Looking at the box score and Robert Covington has not taken a single shot this game. He’s not done much else either. Enes Kanter with only two points and three boards in this game as well. Only seven points combined from the Blazer bench. Eesh, Carmelo Anthony and Simons really need to get going.

Greg Anthony with the Bobby Heenan “ham and egger” reference. Damn, I miss that dude. His work at Royal Rumble 92 is some of the best wrestling commentary work of all time.

Campazzo gets a flagrant on CJ by just running into CJ. That is one of the worst calls I’ve seen in a game of bad calls. This leads to a four-point play by the Nuggets and they are back up by 17 points. Yet again, this is another really bad Blazer third quarter.

Threes by both Dame and CJ to end the quarter cut the Nugget lead down to 14.

That was not pretty whatsoever. I can’t wait until Stotts is fired and third quarters might not be something to be scared of anymore.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

Portland had some nice defensive energy to start the fourth quarter. Nurkic with a big move to start the quarter, Powell attacking, and Nurkic fouls Milsap for no apparent reason… this was his fifth foul. About 15 seconds later he fouls out of the game.

No idea why Stotts didn’t pull Nurk out with so much time left and Jokic not on the court. Stotts makes some of the dumbest coaching mistakes I’ve ever seen in games. Nurk was playing well to start the fourth, but not to the point of leading the Blazers back on his own. He’s best served using that last foul on Jokic at some point in the final six minutes of the game after Kanter gets a rest.

Stotts then challenged the foul and it was unsuccessful. It was an obvious foul so the challenge was just a waste of the challenge and a timeout. The Nuggets of course go on a 9-0 to get the lead back up to 20 and ice the game.

Monte Morris, Shaquille Harrison, and Jokic finished off the game as the Blazers brought in the back end of the bench. At least Harry Giles, Nassir Little, and CJ Elleby got some playoff minutes. That’s about the only positive for the night.

Not a good look at all tonight.

Up Next

Game 3 is on Thursday at 7:30 PM — the series switches to Portland.

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Portland Timbers

Expectations & Predictions for Portland’s second leg against CD Marathón

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Portland Timbers will face CD Marathón in Providence Park at 5pm PT this evening for the second leg of their Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 clash versus CD Marathón of Honduras. Portland secured a 2-2 draw in the previous fixture.


Photo via Portland Timbers (used with permission)

Photo via Portland Timbers (used with permission)

The Timbers left San Pedro Sula one week ago with two away goals and plenty of confidence. Despite Honduran goals that leveled the tie not once but twice, Portland looked like the better team throughout. In a more familiar setting (and, more importantly, a more forgiving pitch), Portland should be able to put themselves through.

Now they face a straightforward task in the home leg: win or draw without conceding two goals.

This will be just the second match in Providence Park with fans since last season, and the first for the Timbers since a 1-0 victory over Nashville SC on March 8th, 2020. With the park operating at 20% capacity, the extra support should give Portland a small home boost.

Portland were without Sebastián Blanco and Jeremy Ebobisse for the first leg, and both should be back—if not starting—for the second.


My expected starting XI for today

My expected starting XI for today

Don’t be surprised to see Ebobisse starting over either Felipe Mora or Blanco. Mora did score last match, although he also missed a small handful of chances. We’ve seen Jebo on the wing and up top in the past, and he may be more fit than Blanco, who is coming off an ACL tear last season.

I expected Portland to let the game come to them a little more in the first leg, but after snagging the majority of possession in that match (58% to be exact), I expect them to do the same tonight. Marathón only need a single goal to flip the script, so the first score will be crucial. Gio Savarese & Co. will have to go for an early one to grab control of the tie.

With away goals being the tiebreaker, one Timbers goal means Marathón will need two to win. Portland certainly have the more talented roster, so this isn’t that tall of a task.

The Oregon Lottery Scoreboard has Portland at a comfortable -500 odds to win, with a draw at +700 and CD Marathón win least likely at +1000.

I predict a comfortable two-goal win for the Timbers, either 2-0 or 3-1. Maybe even four goals if the boys in green have their shooting boots on tonight.

Follow @doublepostpod for total coverage of tonight’s match, including our postgame reaction podcast later this evening.

As always, RCTID!

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Portland Trail Blazers

Heat burn Blazers in Portland, 107-98

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Tyler Herro had 14 points off the bench while Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo combined for 42 in a solid defensive win for the Miami Heat in Portland.

Damian Lillard was held to 12 points on 3/10 shooting, burying the decent supporting cast of Norman Powell (17 points), CJ McCollum (17), and Enes Kanter (10 on 5/5 from the field).


Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Jusuf Nurkic made a return to the starting lineup for Portland after missing last night’s game with a minor knee injury, although he was restricted to 25 minutes. Enes Kanter has been putting up historic numbers in his place, and both would miss time in this game.

The Heat were without one of their newest players—Victor Oladipo—who was out with some type of knee problem.

The first quarter was a sloppy one, but the Blazers came out of it with a 31-25 advantage.

The second quarter was ruled by the Heat, though, who took an eight-point lead into halftime. Tyler Herro’s 10 points off the bench complemented Jimmy Butler’s 10 and Bam Adebayo’s 15 well.

Portland has struggled in third quarters this season, and that trend continued tonight. The Heat held a 89-71 lead by the start of the fourth.

A pair of CJ McCollum threes were Portland’s only points from the 6:48 to 2:44 marks in the third. Derrick Jones Jr’s third takeoff of the night was one of the bright spots, while Kanter getting hit in the face and leaving the game was not.

Meanwhile, Dame was struggling. He was only 3/7 by the end of the third, boding bad news for the Blazers. Sure enough, his first three attempts in the final period were all misses, and the Heat soon assumed a 20-point lead.

The bench was in the game with four and a half minutes to go, but they played well against the Heat starters. They were able to whittle the lead to single digits by the end of the game. Final score: 107-98.

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Portland Trail BlazersUncategorized

Kanter logs historic night as Blazers beat Pistons 118-103

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Enes Kanter snagged a Trail Blazers franchise-record 30 rebounds—12 of them from the offensive glass—to go with 24 points as the Blazers cruised to a series sweep over the Detroit Pistons.

Damian Lillard reminded us all why he’s currently second in the NBA’s Kia MVP Ladder, splashing a pair of early threes. He would finish with 27 points and 10 assists.


Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Photo via Trail Blazers (used with permission)

Game Summary

Derrick Jones Jr. shook Detroit’s backboard with a vicious block at the end of the first quarter. Terry Stotts surprised some when he benched Jones—one of Portland’s best on-ball defenders—in favor of a shooting boost in Norman Powell.

Portland went on a 9-0 run to close the first quarter and led 33-23. Lillard and Saddiq Bey both had 12; but Enes Kanter’s seven points, 10 boards (five offensive, five defensive), two assists, a steal, and a block stole the show.

Kanter started in place of a resting Jusuf Nurkic, and this season’s usual starting center introduced himself early on with an aggressive slam.

Kanter would finish the first half with 11 and 16. By the end of the game he had notched a Blazers-record 30 rebounds alongside 24 points.

The Blazers ended the second quarter with a flurry as well, rebuilding what was once a 16-point lead into nine before the break. Portland’s surge was fueled by some missed calls against Kanter and Lillard, who turned their frustration into tough finishes at the rim.

That lead grew to 15 in the first few minutes of the third as CJ’s point total grew to 17. He would finish with 26. Portland would cruise in the fourth and earn a much-needed comfortable victory.

Next Up

Portland host a Victor Oladipo-less Miami tomorrow at 7pm on the second night of a back-to-back. The Blazers defeated the Heat 125-122 on March 25th as part of a four-game road winning streak.

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Portland Trail BlazersUncategorized

Portlan(d) gets blown out by the Clippers

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Yes, that d is initially put in parentheses. Defense was very optional for the Blazers tonight as the Clippers just did everything they wanted to on offense all night.

This game featured a potential first round playoff match up as the Clippers are currently in the 3 seed in the West and the Blazers are currently in the 6 seed.

No Nurkic tonight due to knee inflammation. Patrick Beverly is back from his knee soreness. First game for Rondo and Cousins tonight. Here we go.

First Quarter:

The Clippers are serious today. They are playing both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. This means that they mean business because it doesn’t happen that often. They’ve only played together in 35 of their 62 games this season.

The Clippers start the game by hitting their first 8 shots and four 3 pointers.

PG is in his bag tonight.

Dame answers with a pull up 3 to stop the run and bring the game to 12 – 6.

Defense is option for the Blazers in this quarter.

Reggie Jackson misses his first shot and the first shot for the Clippers with 6:44 left in the quarter.

CJ is balling and scores 5 straight buckets for Portland. He is 5-5 fg with no 3 pointers.

The Clippers finally cool off a bit as the clock hits 4 minutes. They’ve missed 3 straight after starting 14-15 fg!

Carmelo drops a nice baseline dime for a corkscrew dunk for Airplane Mode.

Paul George gets a tip dunk at the end of the quarter to end with 22 points on 7-9 shooting and 4-6 from 3pt.

The Clippers shot 18-25 in the quarter for 72%!

They were 7-11 from 3pt for 63.6%. . .

CJ led the Blazers with 12 points on 5-5 fg and 2-3 ft. No 3s attempted.

47-32 Clippers.

Second Quarter:

The Clippers start the quarter with 3 fouls and a shot clock violation. Hopefully, they are coming back to Earth after that first quarter.

Well that was short lived. Clippers extend the lead to 58-33 with 9:45 to go and are now on a 9-1 run to start the quarter.

DeMarcus Cousins makes his Clippers debut. Can’t guard CJ on the pick and roll that leads to a wide open Carmelo 3 pointer. He’s now 1-6 fg tonight.

On the other side, he hits a long 2 for his first points as a Clipper. It’s 66-41 and everyone is hitting shots for LA.

Nice block by RoCo on Zubac. Nice to get a defensive stop/highlight in this half.

Powell and CJ score back to back buckets to cut the lead to 68-51 with 5:14 left in the half.

Nice drive and carry . . . err. . . dunk by Norman Powell cuts the lead to 13 with 2:50 left.

Maybe the Blazers have a chance tonight.

CJ hits a 3 to cut the lead to 10 with 1:28 to go.

Kanter is straight balling tonight with a double double in the first half. 11 points and 10 rebounds. This guys just collects rebounds.

RoCo hits a 3 to cut the lead to 7 in the last points of the half.

The two teams trade airmailed 3 pointers before Dame tries a 50 footer at the buzzer that hits the rim. He may be a wizard.

73-66 Clippers.

LA’s shooting came down to earth, but they are still shooting over 56% from the field.

Third Quarter:

After 3 missed shots to start the half by both teams, CJ hits a tough running 14 foot floater to start the 2nd half scoring.

Paul George hits a tough fadeaway 3 as the shot clock winds down and then throws a stupid behind the back pass that goes out of bounds. This is the PG-13 experience in a one minute microcosm.

The Clippers lead is back up to 14. 84-70 LA.

12 point run for the Blazers after a 3 by RoCo cuts the lead to 2! Maybe they have a chance! #DumbAndDumber

Reggie Jackson hits a 3 to keep the Blazers at bay.

Another corner 3 for Reggie Jackson and a technical foul on Dame leads to a free throw that stretches the lead to 9 with 2:50 left in the 3rd. Tough night for Dame.

Norman Powell misses a wide open corner 3 as time expires in the 3rd. That doesn’t happen often.

101-89 Clippers.

Fourth Quarter:

Norman Powell keeps getting to the line and is keeping the Blazers in this game.

Ahh, the dreaded four point play by Reggie Jackson. Great flop.

Reggie Jackson is the captain now and has 17 points in 23 minutes.

Norman Powell had himself a game tonight. 32 points in 37 minutes. 14-15 from the free throw line. Well done, sir:

The Blazers pull the starts with 3:28 to go. This one is over.

It’s good to see Harry Giles and CJ Elleby get some time, but this was an ugly one.

133-116 Clippers over Blazers tonight.

Tough night for Dame. 2-14 for 9 points.

The Clippers tandem of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined for 65 points. 36 for PG-13 and a quiet, efficient 29 for The Terminator.

Dominant win by the Clippers.

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Portland Timbers

Timbers draw CD Marathón 2-2 in first leg of CCL Round of 16

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Portland Timbers weren’t expecting a normal match in Honduras today, and they certainly didn’t get one.

With a muggy pitch and restricted pace, Portland struggled to find finishing luck in the Marathón box. Goals from Mora and Valeri were highlights for the Timbers, but both were met with Honduran equalizers.

Portland got out to a hot start in San Pedro Sula, but the pitch was a huge detriment to their quick-paced combination play. The Timbers still found success playing throughballs in behind and winning the ball back in the midfield.

A pair of early chances went begging for the Timbers as they tried to acclimate themselves to the horrid pitch conditions. Ground passes farther than 10 yards were virtually out of the question.

Valeri and Yimmi Chará were effective on the right side, with Valeri tucking into the space between midfielders and the back line. He had a decent shot in the 20th minute that skipped up on him and sailed over.

Eryk Williamson had the best chance of the first 30 minutes, flicking the ball over his defender and forcing a great save from Denovan Torrez.

Felipe Mora broke the deadlock in the 34th minute after getting a ball from Josecarlos Van Rankin. Portland’s first goal of the 2021 season included the first assist for Van Rankin in his first start.

Van Rankin’s glory would be short-lived, though. It wasn’t five minutes later before Marathón’s Edwin Solano burst down the left side and beat Van Rankin much too easily. His cross found a wide open Brayan Castillo in the box for a tap-in. 1-1.

Marathón came dangerously close to taking the lead in the 44th minute, as Kevin Hoyos bodied Van Rankin into getting a shot off way too close to Clark’s goal. The shot was blocked and saved by Clark, but it was a very shaky moment nonetheless.

The second half was a much rougher start for the Timbers. Clark was forced into a double-save in the 53’ after the back line left Mathias Techera wide open to get his head on a free kick.

Yimmi Chará missed another chance to score in the 56’, with a beautiful set-piece play finding him in open space in the box. His shot left much to be desired, though, and it was saved well.

Then Diego Valeri did a Diego Valeri thing.

While it’ll go down as an own goal, Valeri couldn’t hold back a smile after this other-worldly strike. With a pair of away goals, the Timbers had a lot to be happy about in Honduras.

That is, until Portland gave up another goal. This one was much worse, as Marlon Ramírez took three touches before slotting the ball past Clark on the fourth. The xG on that shot must be pretty pretty low.

Clark produced another huge save in the 82’ from a Techera header. The towering center back leaped high enough to beat Marvin Loría to the ball, and the result was almost disastrous.

Portland grabbed the lion’s share of possession late in the match, but weren’t able to do much with it. Mora had another chance in the box but couldn’t spot his teammate quick enough to make the flick.

Asprilla had a chance of his own right as we entered stoppage time, but his shot left much to be desired. A 2-2 result with away goals as a tiebreaker is a good one, but fans won’t help but think that it could have been much better.

Portland will be back home next Tuesday for the reverse fixture.

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