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CJ Elleby

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Blazers put a whoopin on the Sixers, 121-105

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Are the Blazers cursed? It sure seems like it, doesn’t it? I’ve seen some teams get bit by the injury bug, but this season for the Blazers is on another level of cursed. Tonight the Blazers were without Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Derrick Jones, Jr., Jusef Nurkic, and Zach Collins (does he even live here anymore?).

When is the last time an NBA team was missing literally half their team?

The 76ers were in attack mode to start, especially with Tobias Harris working the midrange hard against Carmelo Anthony. I’m not sure why Anthony was on Harris to start, it seems like a matchup that Robert Covington would be the one to guard Harris.

But this is Terry Stotts making the decision and we all know that Stotts knows defense.

With Anfernee Simons on a time limit restriction due to a pulled hammy, Rodney Hood got the start tonight at the point guard position. He does have a history of playing point in the past in high school, some at Duke and some with the Jazz.

Hood ran the offense pretty efficiently while he was in the game. The Blazers did hold an 18-16 lead when he exited the game.

Joel Embiid hurt his knee during a goal tend on Ene Kanter. His knee flexed all funny when he landed. For a guy his size with his injury history that probably isn’t a good sign.

And the Blazers did take advantage of this. After Embiid went out the Blazers attacked the paint hard Gary Trent Jr., CJ Elleby, Enes Kanter, and Melo all got easy baskets in his absence and the Blazers had a 27-22 lead.

Then Embiid came back into the game and the Sixers went on a 6-0 run to take the lead back. He’s definitely a much better overall player than Dwight Howard.

I love Simon’s energy on the court and how he could potentially be a sparkplug off the bench for the Blazers, but he shoots for the sake of shooting when he first comes into the game. Rarely is he on fire and he does start knocking down shots when he’s more into the flow of the game. He came in to run the point, took two bad and contested three-pointers, and he was immediately replaced at point by Trent and CJ Elleby.

When Stotts pulls your position for a rookie you know you messed up.

To start the second quarter, Harry Giles replaced Kanter and Embiid bullied him. It was not a fair match up at all. Embiid would get to any position that he wanted in the paint, Giles was not remotely strong enough to deal with Embiid in the paint.

This got Giles playing on his heels, Embiid would drive, Giles would retreat and hold at the basket, and Embiid would simply pull up with space and knock down a short jumper. He did this on back to back possessions and Giles looked so frustrated. I don’t blame him, Embiid is a potential MVP and he is well, Harry Giles.

If not for Embiid it’d be safe to say that the Blazers would have a double-digit lead halfway through the second quarter. It took Stotts over seven minutes of game time to Kanter back in on Embiid. It didn’t matter when Kanter came back in, Embiid racked up six quick points on him.

This is just a night when you cannot stop Joel Embiid. The Blazers literally started to triple-team him and he was still scoring at will in the paint. He had 31 at half. He’s having an amazing game. I thought he was done for the game and he has come back really mad and making the Blazers for it.

Gary Trent Jr. is one of the best off the ball movers in the whole league. The dude never stands still on a possession. He’s constantly probing the defense. He’ll do in cuts, backdoor cuts, cross cuts, rip cuts, and miter cuts. You can get lost on a play watching him work.

If the defense does fall off he does set himself up so well for a catch and shoot three. You can see that he was so well-coached by Coach K. There are so many things that Trent does well. Spend a few possessions and watch how he operates.

The third quarter tends to be the worst quarter for the Blazers and it has been this way for years now. Basically, the entire tenure of Terry Stotts the Blazers have been absolutely god awful in the third quarter.

Tonight, missing 87 players, the Blazers started the quarter on a 12-0 run to take a 69-57 lead and forced Doc Rivers to call a time out. Gary Trent Jr. had two huge three-pointers to start and cap the run.

The Sixers were also running some really questionable defense here as well. They were running loose traps at half court on both Hood and Melo to force the ball out of their hands. It left a lot of Blazers open and their offense has a lot more motion to it tonight too.

Did Terry Stotts get replaced by Bob Knight at half time? This is some of the best team offense I have ever seen from the Blazers. There are so many off the ball picks, fade runs, pick and rolls at the top of the key, but then hitting a backdoor cutter as the Sixers collapse at the top rolling guy.

Can Stotts keep this going forward when Dame is healthy? So much heart and hustle from this team tonight.

I’m so impressed with this team so far tonight. CJ Elleby is playing like a second year player, Simons let himself get into the offense, and started knocking down some buckets, and Hood running the motion offense to perfection tonight. Lots of open looks against a really good defensive team in Philadelphia.

The hustle and movement got the Sixers flustered. It led to a technical foul on Tobias Harris and made Embiid work hard on defense. Most of his shots in the third were short and he only had four points.

The Blazers thwarted a quick run by the Sixers to start the fourth. Elleby had sealed the game away with a steal and dunk a few minutes into the fourth.

Again, this is the best the team as a whole has looked all season. Really happy with how the offense did not stagnate and turn into a Melo ISO show for 40 minutes tonight. The defense was extremely active. Really loved the game tonight.

Box Score

Next Up

Blazers head to MSG to take on the Knicks at 10 AM PST.

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Sacramento Kings blowout Blazers in final home preseason game, 121-106

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

There is nothing quite like preseason NBA basketball. Especially in a pandemic. There have now been two games back in Moda for the first time since March and it’s eerie without anyone in there.

This is the second time the Portland Trail Blazers and Sacramento Kings have gotten together this weekend. The Blazers put a beat down on the Kings on Friday night.

The Blazers decided to keep their starters on the bench for the second half as the Kings blew out the Blazers, 121-106.

Let’s get into some thoughts on the game.

First Quarter Thoughts

The Blazers definitely were not as hot to start this game as they were in the first game. Blazers missing a few open shots to start the game.

Jusuf Nurkic got his first start of the year after he had returned from his home in Bosnia and had to be part of the NBA Covid-19 protocol. It’s good to see him out there with both Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr. Their combined physicality and defensive prowess are going to be interesting to witness this year.

The Blazers had none of that last year.

CJ McCollum was the only Blazer that seemed aggressive to start the game. He knocked down two early threes and had a nice mid range jumper. Damian Lillard is taking more of an facilitator role tonight.

The Kings are a lot sharper tonight. De’Aaron Fox is running without abandon and creating all sorts of chances for his guys. He’s showing a lot better form on his three point shot this year. If he starts to hit that consistently he will jump up quickly into the conversation for Top 10 point guards in the league.

Well, his pick and roll reads could use some work too.

Rodney Hood takes the court for the first time in a year. He’s going to be a huge piece of the bench this year for the Blazers. Gary Trent, Carmelo Anthony, Rodney Hood, and Enes Kanter are going to be be huge for Portland this year.

The Kings attacked Kanter as soon as he enter the game, Frank Kaminsky even looked like a legit NBA player attacking Kanter.

Second Quarter Thoughts

Way, way, way, way, way too many open threes for the Kings to start the quarter. Having flashbacks to how the Blazers defended the three last year. Kings are also jacking them up in tight quarters. Luke Walton did say he wanted to shoot at least 35 threes tonight. The Kings are well ahead of that pace with nine minutes left in the 2nd quarter.

Rodney Hood makes his first basket of the year! He converted with a nice post up move on Buddy Hield.

A quick reminder that Hood was shooting 49% on threes before his achilles injury last December. It’s really good to see him out there tonight. He’s going to be so important for the Blazers this year.

CJ Elleby is not ready for the NBA yet. I haven’t seen any updates on Nassir LIttle, he has to still be suffering from injury. I thought we’d see Little a lot more at three tonight, could even be used at the two in defensive lineups with Trent at point guard.

Terry Stotts gave Damian Lillard a near thirteen minutes of rest tonight on the bench. I was starting to think that Lillard was done for the night and he came right in. Stotts is throwing out some interesting lineups tonight. We’ve had some all offense, mostly defense with CJ, and then some head scratchers.

Noticing that Damian Lillard is using the Euro Step this year. It was not a big part of his game at all. Did not see it a whole lot in the first game on Friday night and he’s busted it out at least twice tonight. It’s big for Lillard to continue to add to his game. He’s already the best point guard in the NBA, he can be a top five overall player if he continues to expand all his tools.

I was looking forward to an extended run of Trent-Hood-Anthony all playing next to each other. There was enough defense out there, but the ball movement was shocking. There was some chemistry between Carmelo and Hood. They found each other on a couple of cuts for easy buckets. It’s probably because Hield was shading toward both Trent and Lillard at the three point line, but it allowed Hood and Melo to operate in the paint and in the mid-range. Got them a combined six points.

The Blazers cut the lead down to seven, after they were down 17 halfway through the second.

Halftime Thoughts

I am liking what I am seeing from CJ McCollum these first two games in the preseason. He’s a lot more aggressive on the offensive end and it looks like he finally gives a damn on the defensive end. Been waiting years for CJ to play some sort of defense. Tonight he’s been pretty active on both ends of the floor.

Harry Giles is looking like he’s going to get the minutes at center behind Jusuf Nurkic. Ene Kanter has not looked good in either preseason games so far this year. Kanter had a deep playoff run with the Celtics last year, but has only had two practices with the Blazers this year. He should pick it up, but Giles right now is so much better.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Covington is the only starter to start on the floor for the Blazers to start the second half. He’s joined by Trent, Keljin Blevins, Giles, and Elleby.

It is going to be tough to keep Harry Giles off the floor this season. He’s earning some major minutes off the bench this year. His energy is contagious, his vision is great for a guy his size, and his passing backs it up.

To illustrate this, there was a play on defense with about 7:45 left in the quarter, he closed on a Hield corner three from about 20 feet away in two steps and almost blocked the shot in the time it took Hield to gather the ball and shoot. That’s less than a second and a half.

Get off the couch and see how fast you can cover 20+ feet and in how many steps.

Also, that blind pocket pass he got to CJ Elleby for a layup was an impressive pass. Just a wow pass.

Picking up where he left off from the bubble, Trent is looking strong. He’s got the three point shot working, he’s showing off some mid range shots, plus that defense is already back where it needs to be. Stotts also had him running point. I’m thinking there are going to be defensive lineups where Trent is running the point with Hood, Jones, RoCo, and Giles. I don’t think we’re going to see many minutes with that lineup, but I bet it’ll be used to spark some turnovers and to get the Blazers running.

Case in point, the Blazers bench unit is out scoring the Kings starters 31-18 through the first 11 minutes of the third quarter.

Sloppy play at the end of the quarter allowed the Kings to take a three point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

Derrick Jones Jr. was the lone start to be on the court for the Blazers to start the quarter. Blazers did not start the quarter well, not that it really matters, but the Kings started off on a 12-2 run to get a double digit lead again.

The Blazers did not do a lot worth mentioning in this quarter. It broke down into a garbage time matchup.

Giles led the Blazers in points with 19 and Trent had 17 for the Blazers.

Next Up

The Blazers get a couple days off before they head to Denver to play the Nuggets. Tip is at 6:00 PM local time.

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