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Damian Lillard drops 51 as Blazers edge Sixers, 124-121

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

The Blazers are coming off a tough loss to the Los Angeles Clippers yesterday afternoon and have to turn around and take on the Philadelphia 76ers less than 24 hours. Both teams came into the game with three wins a piece. The Sixers will finish somewhere between the four and six seeds in the East.

Portland came into the game fractions of percentage points ahead of both the San Antonio Spurs and the red hot Phoenix Suns. It’d be cliche to say that this is a must win game against Philadelphia but this a must win game against Philadelphia.

The Suns and Spurs both have favorable schedules going forward and the Blazers only have two games left after today. One against a really explosive Dallas team and the last against a depleted, yet dangerous Brooklyn Nets.

With both Simmons and then later Embiid out, the Blazers got a big 124-121 win.

First Quarter Thoughts

Early on we saw the game plan from the Blazers immediately. Lots of high screens from Blazer bigs that freed up Damian Lillard to attack the rim at will. Both Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins did a great job of setting these high screens and then popping to the three point line to draw the defenders. This left Lillard with a wide open path to the basket. This was big in helping the Blazers get an early double digit lead.

One of my big fears was Jusuf Nurkic picking up quick fouls while guarding Joel Embiid. Fears were realized in the first 47 seconds of the game. Nurk picked up two quick fouls and will spend quite a bit of time on the bench. Embiid a few minutes later ended up tweaking his knee or ankle when he crashed into the stanchion.

Without Hassan Whiteside that means that Wenyen Gabriel would get a lot of minutes in the first half. Gabriel is a hustler and wants to earn his spot in the NBA. He did pick up a couple of quick fouls, but did have a steal, a rebound, three points, and played some really solid defense. He took away a couple of easy baskets by the Sixers.

Lillard continued to dominate the Sixers to a tune of 14 points in the quarter. This came without hitting a single three pointer or an outside jumper. He did have two old fashioned three point plays.

Both teams looked tired and played incredibly sloppy throughout the first quarter. The teams had seven combined turnovers while the Blazers shot 12 of 25 and the Sixers shot 6 of 24.

Portland had a 33-19 lead heading into the second.

Dame had about the craziest shot go in that I have ever seen.

Second Quarter Thoughts

The Sixers did not start off the quarter well. They look incredibly lost out there without Ben Simmons. The offense is stagnant and the passing is god awful. Blazers were able to force a total of five steals, two coming from Mario Hezonja. Those two steals led to a layup for Mario and then one where he dished it to the corner to Gary Trent Jr. for another three.

Trent might be the best overall player in Orlando right now.

Philadelphia started running their offense through Josh Richardson and the Blazers 17 point lead quickly dropped to seven with about six minutes left in the quarter. The Blazers helped a lot by taking a lot of jumpers and missing a lot of jumpers. Their offense was totally out of sync with Lillard going to the bench.

Lillard and Carmelo checked back into the game and started attacking the soft interior of the Sixers and once again finding success. Portland pushed the lead back up to 13, but then started to make some really odd offensive choices and their defense became porous. They had no answer for Richardson. For some reason the Blazers stuck with CJ on Richardson and didn’t let Trent have a crack at him. Trent was on Tobias Harris and kept him quiet while he was the main defender.

Carmelo Anthony moved up to 15th on the NBA’s all time leading scoring list. He needs to score 99 more points to pass Tim Duncan for 14th all time.

Portland was outscored 39-34 in the quarter and went into halftime with a 67-58 point lead.

It’s going to be interesting to see if Terry Stotts stays big as the Sixers are more than likely going to go ultra small to start the second half. Al Horford will be at the five and Harris at the four with three guards. Based on Stotts passed I don’t expect him to make any adjustments. He’s going to keep both Nurkic and Collins out there to guard a three point shooting lineup.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Lillard continued his hot shooting. He had a quick seven points in the first five minutes of the quarter, bringing his total to 29 points for the day. And up to this point he was only 1-7 from three to this point. However, he was 8-8 from the free throw line.

Josh Richardson and Tobias Harris continued to knock down buckets. The Sixers started running the Blazers offense against them with Richardson getting or setting high screens and slipping late for open jumpers. If he got covered he’d dump it down to Tobias Harris for an easy basket.

The Sixers managed to come back and tie the game at 86 with about three minutes left in the quarter. Stotts kept CJ McCollum on Josh Richardson throughout the quarter and CJ is one of the worst defenders on a team of horrible defenders.

The Sixers shot 70% for the quarter and outscored the Blazers 34-24 in the quarter. It looks like Gary Trent Jr. has come back down to earth and the only Blazer able to do anything is Dame with some help from Melo. CJ has once again disappeared in a big game.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

The fourth did not start off well. Mario Hezonja attempted a step-back three on the Blazers first possession. Philadelphia continued to knock down shots and if it wasn’t for Carmelo Anthony the Blazers could have quickly been down by double digits in the first three minutes of the quarter.

The defense has really come off the rails the last two days. They really could use a Trevor Ariza or Rodney Hood for games like this. And CJ McCollum has been absolutely useless on the defensive end all season. He has the ability to score a lot of points, but his inability to guard anyone almost makes his points scored irrelevant.

Richardson continued to make big threes to push the Sixers lead up. Damian Lillard and Carmelo Anthony kept the Blazers close.

WIth just under three minutes to go Lillard goded Richardson into the air on a three, drawing the foul and converting the free throw to put the Blazers up three, 117-114. Lillard had been short on most of his threes on the day and this one got him zeroed back in. The next trip down he knocked down another three to give the Blazers a six point advantage with about two minutes left in the game.

There isn’t a player in the league with a heart bigger than Damian Lillard.

Al Horford was left wide open with 12 seconds left to hit a three to cut the Blazers lead down to a single point, 122-121. The Blazers three point defense has been so bad throughout the year. They really need to address this in the offseason. Give all the money to the best defensive assistant coach out there. It is absolutely inexcusable that this keeps happening.

Their inability to get stops against a bunch of backups two days in a row is everything you need to know about the Blazers defense.

Blazers were lucky to get out with a win.

Next Up

Tuesday August 11th, against the Dallas Mavericks at 3:30 PM PST.

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Joel Embiid-less 76ers visit the Blazers tonight

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
Joel-Embiid-and-Ben-Simmons.jpg

The Blazers have a bit of an early Christmas present (there are 26 days until Christmas music is allowed by the way) coming to them this year. Joe Embiid is suspended for the game tonight as the undefeated Philadelphia 76ers (4-0) visit the Portland Trail Blazers (3-2) tonight at Moda Center.

Embiid was suspended two games for his donnybrook with Karl-Anthony Towns a few nights ago. The two have a little bit of an unfriendly history and finally decided it was GO TIME. Now the big shoots for the Sixers coming into the game is Ben Simmons. The Sixers are going to be missing almost 24 points and 11 boards from Embiid. Not sure who is going to start in the place of Embiid, both Al Horford and Mike Scott filling in at the four for Horford.

Simmons did a great job for the Sixers last year in guarding Damian Lillard. He held Dame to an average of 16 points a game in the two meetings last season (both Blazer blowout wins). The 76ers are going to need someone besides Simmons, Horford, and Tobias Harris to step up and score some points.

Josh Richardson seems to be the guy the cards point to. He was a first or second option in Miami last year and has been relegated to the third, fourth, and sometimes the fifth option this year for the 76ers. He’s put together a string of 30 point games in the past. He can score and CJ McCollum is going to need to spend a lot of time playing defense to keep him in check. Richardson so far this season is averaging just over 13 points a game this year.

With the Sixers missing Embiid it takes some of the sting out of missing Zach Collins. He was a good off the ball compliment in both scoring and rebounding to Hassan Whiteside in the post. Anthony Tolliver will still have quite a bit to handle in Horford and Scott. I’d much rather have Kent Bazemore start and have Tolliver come off the bench. Bazemore gives the Blazers better energy on both ends of the court. Scott does spend more time beyond the arc than in the paint so Bazemore is going to be a better matchup.

Rodney Hood has a favorable matchup early in the game. I’m a little nervous when Matisse Thybulle comes in later in the game and starts causing havoc on the defensive end. Thybulle is a rookie out of the University of Washington and he only has five points off the bench in four games for the Sixers, but is averaging a block and a half a game and three! The kid is pure defense. He might already be one of the five best perimeter defenders in the league right now. He and Simmons are going to lockdown Dame and CJ late in the game so the Blazers are going to need scoring from somewhere.

That scoring is going to need to come from Hood or from Anfernee Simons. If I were Stotts I think I’d trot out a three-guard lineup a lot. Simmons and Thybulle can not guard everyone. They can switch out to everyone, but they can’t guard everyone.

Injury Report

Hassan Whiteside – Out (knee) — updated
Zach Collins – Out (shoulder)
Pau Gasol – Out (foot)
Jusuf Nurkic – Out (leg)

Joel Embiid – Out (suspended)
Josh Richardson – Game-time decision (toe)
Shake Milton – Out (knee)

Game info

Place: Moda Center
Time: 7:00 PM
TV: NBATV or NSNW

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Ranking the 2019-20 NBA Shooting Guards

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
James_Harden.jpg

The shooting guard spot is slowly merging into the small forward spot, well this is positionless basketball coming into fruition. There are a lot of great players at this position and there are quite a few bad ones. There is also a lot of potential for some really good players that I have ranked pretty low. Guys like Garland and Barrett. They had some decent showings in the preseason, but can they do it over 70+ games (hopefully 82) over the course of the year?

30. Dillon Brooks

I really like Brooks, I think he’d make a great bench role player somewhere. He’s not an everyday starter in the league for a fringe playoff team, but for a team that might win 35 games, he’ll do.

29. Bryn Forbes

Forbes is such a Gregg Popovich player. He’s not going to do anything spectacular, but he’s going to play hard.

28. Darius Garland

I hate judging rookies. Especially rookies that barely played their last year in college. Garland seems healthy and torched some nets in the preseason. Let’s see how he does every night.

27. Josh Okogie

He won’t score a lot and he’ll try on defense. He tries… he tries.

26. RJ Barrett

Barrett has a lot of good qualities, he can score, the potential to be a plus defender, but he seems to disappear in games. I said the same thing about James Harden early in his career too.

25. Bruce Brown Jr.

If you play in Detroit does anyone really see you play? Brown is a nice player, he has some low projections this year and they are warranted. I think he can play a little bit above himself and deliver a quality year for the Pistons.

24. Tyler Herro

He won the job over Dion Waiters, but that’s not saying much. Herro might have the smoothest shot out of all the rookies.

23. Dwayne Bacon

I’m shocked he’s in his third year already. He’s improved year after year and I’m not sure he’s going to be a little bit better than last year.

22. Wesley Matthews

He was once one of the best lockdown defenders on the perimeter but after the knee issues this is no longer the case. He’s a decent rotational body and he can hide out in Milwaukee and be protected on both ends of the court.

21. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

This is not his normal position (obviously) and after the Thunder move Chris Paul he’ll get moved over the PG list. The problem is we don’t know who can take on that massive Paul contract.

20. Tim Hardaway Jr.

He’s a solid third option for the Mavericks. He can score a lot of points in a hurry (like dad) and he can give up just as many on the defensive end. That might be Dallas’ plan though, score as many points as possible and hope to god the other team doesn’t score more.

19. Kevin Huerter

I think we’re going to see a big year from the former Terp. His jump really needs to come on defense. He’s got all the tools in his offensive repertoire to be a 17-20 point scorer this year.

18. Evan Fournier

He’s a solid complementary player. He doesn’t need to be the focal point of the offense and plays decent defense.

17. Gary Harris

The oft-injured guard is great when healthy. He was once relied upon for points, but with the emergence of basically every other starter, he’s now the fourth or even fifth option on the floor when starting.

16. Danny Green

He’s going to be the Lakers’ third scorer and that’s an issue. With how hot and cold Green is — yeah, don’t rely on Green to be an every night 25 point scorer.

15. Landry Shamet

With Paul George out he’s a solid third or fourth option for the Clippers. I would love to see him work with Bev and improve himself on the defensive end of the floor.

14. Buddy Hield

There is talk that this could be an All-Star year for Hield. The dude will be the primary threat for the Kings outside and has the potential to lead the team in scoring. I think we could get a 50 point game out of him this coming year.

13. Josh Richardson

He’s going to be a piece of that defensive wall in Philly. Any time that he scores north of 15 points on top of playing good defense is great for Brett Brown and company.

12. Jaylen Brown

Brown will average close to 20 points a game this year and play some solid lockdown defense. Mix in some poster dunks and playing too fast and we have Jaylen Brown.

11. Caris LeVert

Without Kevin Durant, LeVert is going to be the second option next to Kyrie Irving. He’s not a bad defender, but he can improve.

10. Fred VanVleet

Freddy is going to have a bit of a dual role this year. He’s going to start at the two and then transition to the one when Lowry heads to the bench. He’s got a great chance to average career highs in most stats.

9. D’Angelo Russell

This might be Russell’s most natural position. The dude has never met a shot he doesn’t like. His defensive numbers have improved year after year. Steve Kerr is going to make sure they improve even more.

8. Zach LaVine

There is an opening for an All-Star guard in the East this season. He has all the talent in the world to lock that down for the next few years. He has to stay healthy and has to stop making those dumb mistakes throughout the game.

7. Jrue Holiday

Holiday is one of the best guys in the league, not necessarily player, but just a solid dude. There is a lot of young talent around him in New Orleans, it’ll be interesting to see how he fits in with those guys. he should be the Pels leading scorer this season.

6. Devin Booker

Booker is going to score a ton of points this year. He’s on my list to be one of the three leading scorers in the league this season. On defense, he’s not great. Is is so much fun to watch offensively though.

5. Victor Oladipo

He’s one of the better all-around players at the position. He’s good offensively and good defensively. Hopefully he can come back as close to normal as possible. He’s looked good in some of the practices I’ve gotten to see him.

4. CJ McCollum

CJ is going to push for an All-Star push this year and I think he gets it. The marketing going for him is too strong right now. Sadly, as his points have gone up his defensive efficiency has gone down. Portland needs a lockdown perimeter defender and he’s their best bet.

3. Donovan Mitchell

I look forward to Donovan not needing to shoulder the whole load for the Jazz this year. That will relax him and he’ll be much more efficient because of it. I think he’ll be a 25 point guy this year and play some good defense.

2. Bradley Beal

For the Wizards to be remotely competitive he’s going to have to score almost sixty points a night. He won’t score that much, but he’s going to need to. He’s a leader, he is seemingly a good dude. Wish he was in a better spot.

1. James Harden

With Russell Westbrook in town, he’s not going to need to score so much this year and maybe we’ll see a little less ISO offense. I doubt it, but the dude is going to put up a lot of points, get a lot of assists, and spend more time at the free-throw line than his house.

Other posts in this series:

Ranking the 2019-20 coaches
Ranking the starting centers
Ranking the starting power forwards
Ranking the starting small forwards
Ranking the starting point guards

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