Jan
21
- Bruce Ely / The Oregonian
Batum recorded his first career triple double with 12 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebound. Throw in 3 steals and 2 blocks, and the Blazers end up with… another loss (98-95) to the Washington Wizards. It would have made all the difference if Batum hit one of his three, 3 point attempts, but he was doing so much that there’s really nothing to be critical of. He was simply amazing. And yet somehow, Portland inexplicably lost again to the 9-30 record Wizards.
Blazer team defense was porous and provided very little resistance in the post. The Wizards punished Portland over and over, and over with wide open corner three point buckets. Portland simply could not come up with many defensive stops. And critical mistakes proved extremely costly. Hickson with 2 painful turnovers (3 of his 4 turnovers were traveling) in the 4th quarter alone, and followed by Lillard getting striped by John Wall gave the Wizards 6 fast-break points.
No, the bench wasn’t the only problem tonight. Fifteen bench points and only 2 turnovers. How is this loss not entirely on the bench? The bench production has been so bad this season that a game like tonight actually makes me feel like they played really well. Then I look at the box score: aside from Leonard going 3/3, the rest of the bench went 3/12. Babbitt and Claver both shot 1 for 5. So, this wasn’t on the bench? Not so much. The bench does not start the game, and the Blazer starters consistently start slow, on defense, on offense, and sometimes on both ends - tonight, it was on defense. It is as if they are prepared to play the entire 48 minutes, and are conserving their energy - stock piling for the big comeback. Hickson was abused inside the paint, as Nene went 6 for 6 to start the game. JJ didn’t take up much space and wasn’t a threat to block shots. That forced the rest of the team to pick up the slack. The Blazers simply could not get a stop, as both teams scored over 30 points in the 1st quarter. That trend continued in the 4th quarter. Jared Jeffries provided some sage veteran advice in the locker room after the game, that Portland allows guys to get comfortable early in the game and by the 4th quarter they are playing free and easy. You end up with Jordan Crawford feeling invincible and getting dog-piled after the buzzer from draining a ridiculous game winning three. Hopefully that strikes a chord with the Blazers and is something the team will fix moving forward.
That makes it 10 consecutive games now decided by 6 points or less, 19 on the season. That doesn’t include the first overtime win in Houston where Portland finished the game ahead 10 points. Having started the season 10-2 in games decided by 6 or less, Portland is now 10-9. They also lost 2 additional games by 7 points. It is absolutely baffling the Blazers were sitting on cap space and did nothing with it. What one single player could have done for this team… what one single player could DO for this team. Olshey?
Additional Info: With only 6 rebounds in 28 minutes tonight, while LA grabbed 12 and Batum 10, this game is a prime example why it’s hard to disagree with advanced stats that show Hickson is an overrated rebounder, taking rebounds from teammates rather than actually increasing team rebounding. Leonard had 4 in less than half the time. Hickson was bullied in the paint by a real center in Okafor and the big bodied Nene.