Trail Blazers Season Ends (Yeah this is a little late)

This is a little, well quite a bit, late but I wanted to put a cap on the Portland Trail Blazer season.  Actually San Antonio did that ousting Portland in the second round in five games.  I thought it might go six but they ran in to a Spurs team that was on a mission after barely beating Dallas in round one.  This just wasn't a good matchup for Portland and having no depth hurt this team.  The Spurs stifled the Trail Blazers as the Blazers only shot 41% from the field.  In retrospect we could just say nobody was going to beat the Spurs but the Trail Blazers played well in round one and I still don't think a six game series was too much to ask for.  Portland also turned over the ball 35 more times than the Spurs.  That is crazy for a five game series.  Nicolas Batum alone averaged over four per game.    

No matter how it ended it was a good season for Portland.  54 wins and beating Houston in six games in round one was a win as far as I'm concerned.  Now Portland needs to add quality depth in the off season.  The starting five is good but there is next to nothing in terms of production coming off the bench.  They didn't have a pick in last night's draft so developing what they have, trades or free agents seem to be about the only way to go.  We'll see how things look after the summer.  Many teams are looking to move players as they jockey for the best free agents on the market.  A few quality pick ups and this team could be in the second round again and maybe more.  They just have to continue to improve as a team and get a real bench.  It is nice to have a good season in the books and hope for the same or better next year. 

San Antonio Spurs Dominate in Route to 5th Championship

This was not the NBA Finals I was expecting.  It was the one I had hoped for but I did not expect what I saw.  Watching San Antonio lose a heart breaking series last year I dreamed of a rematch in which the Spurs take out the Heat.  While his comments scared me, I wanted Tim Duncan and the Spurs to say "We want the Heat".  I would want nothing less.   They should be pissed they lost last year and should want to take out the "last year of having to live with it" on Miami. 

Other than game two this was a total domination by the Spurs.  And game two was very winnable had it not been for four straight missed free throws in the fourth quarter and iffy defense by Duncan on Chris Bosh in the last 30 seconds of the game.  All the talk has been about the Spurs' dominating play, the coaching, the passing and the play by Spurs players not named Duncan, Tony Parker, or Manu Ginobili.  But none of it was overstated.  San Antonio was all over the place on defense never letting LeBron or other Heat players get comfortable on offense.  The Spurs' offense was either running and gunning or constantly in motion.  Miami could never keep up on defense.  San Antonio seemed to have found the fountain of youth while Miami looked like a team who just couldn't stay with them.  Coach Gregg Popovich seemed to know what to do each game and when to do it.  Whether it was moving Tiago Splitter to the bench for the last three games or lighting a fire under Kawhi Leonard he didn't seem to make a mistake.  And the "non big three" players all did their part.  Even Patty Mills was a starred during game five. 

Miami for it's part looked lost and beaten down.  Wade isn't the star he once was and Bosh wasn't a banger but a spot up three pointer guy.  Heck Chris Anderson had more rebounds than Bosh.  It wasn't pretty.  No matter how bad it got Erik Spoelstra never had an answer.  His tinkering didn't work.  I think it was two things.  The talent around LeBron wasn't there and they didn't adjust when the Spurs' suffocating defense took away what had worked for them all year.  San Antonio was just too good to allow the Heat to win on pure talent like they could against everyone else in the NBA.   

Again San Antonio dominated.  It wasn't even close.  Look at the series box score.  You thought when Miami went up 16 early in game five that the Spurs would have to claw their way back.  It wasn't even close.  They blew Miami away the rest of the game when Miami should have been able to steal a game.  I should have wanted a close series but every now and then you have to love a good ole butt whooping.  Especially when the story behind it is revenge.  And there are many stories besides just the fact they lost to Miami last year.  The Spurs are a team that has many angles to it.  A nice story at Grantland talks about this team.  They dominated in the regular season and sans an unexplainable hiccup against the Mavericks in the first series of the playoffs they were just as dominating in the post season.  They may not be one of the top five teams of all-time but I think they have made the top ten.  Even if they aren't I'd love to see them face off against any of those lineups.  San Antonio was fun to watch.  The Grantland article talks about it.  Commissioner Adam Silver said while presenting the trophy to the winning Spurs how San Antonio showed the world how beautiful basketball is (I'm paraphrasing).  But it was so true.  Their style is exciting and selfless.  The stats from this year's team are mind blowing.  No player average over 29 minutes per game or over 16 points per game while winning 62 games.  That just doesn't seem to add up but that is what makes this team so great.  Ok, I'm done gushing now but I loved watching this series.  It was fun to see the good guys win and see them enjoy a well deserved championship.  I hope I can be back here next year talking about their greatness again.  No matter what they do next year this team is one I won't soon forget. 

Trail Blazers Beat Rockets in Seven and Will Play Spurs in the Second Round

Portland edged out Houston thanks to a spectacular last second shot to win their first round matchup with the Rockets.  I thought this would be a close series and it didn't disappoint.  Damian Lillard's three as time expired in game six closed out a series that was hard foughtand any Portland fan, to include myself, has to be happy about.  You wanted Portland to close this out at home in game six and watched teams like Atlanta, Memphis and Toronto fail to do so only to lose in seven.  This was huge.  The starting five of the Trail Blazers played well with Lopez the only starter not to average 15 points or more per game.  And he still had a good series averaging 9 points, 8 boards and almost 3 blocks per game.  Of course the stars are Aldridge (29/11/2.7 blks) and Lillard (25/6/6.7 asts).  This is what you want to see.  Those guys stepping up and taking it to the opponent come playoff time especially when you have a bench that won't give you a ton of quality minutes (only Mo Williams had more that 13 minutes a game off the bench with 25 per).  While I didn't get to see every minute of every game I did get to see quite a bit and it was great.  I really thought they played as a team.  Didn't mean they were always in sync but I believe the starting five can hang with just about anyone out there. 

Now they move on to play the Spurs.  I figured Dallas would only get one victory at best but the Mavericks took it to San Antonio who had to win the series in seven games.  Not sure exactly what to take out of that.  It could really irritate them, hopefully have worn them out or not affect them at all.  It seems like a crap shoot when determining what a series like that will do to a team.  Considering the veterans and coach I'd say it could be the former.  No matter I think this will be another good series.  I'd love to say Portland wins but the Portland stars are matched up with guys of equal talent and savvy.  While Tim Duncan may not be better than LaMarcus Aldridge at this point in his career I am a big believer in Tim and think it will be a completely different series for Aldridge than what we saw in round one.  Houston didn't have a great matchup and Aldridge took advantage.  Duncan is that guy that has been around forever and can make the best of power forwards look bad.  Lillard will be matched up against Tony Parker who can match his intensity and can play defense.  Lillard can run him around the floor and will get his assists but he isn't the best defensive point guard around so this could be tough.  I think it is a push at the other positions.  That said the edge goes to San Antonio who also has a deeper bench (they had eight players average 16 minutes in round 1).  Hopefully I'm jinxing Yaz and the Spurs.  Nothing personal my friend.  I expect some close games but again the veteran presence and coaching of the Spurs should make this a six game series with the Spurs advancing.  Hopefully Portland can rise to the challenge building off what they did last series and maybe pull out the upset.  That is the fun part.  We won't know until the games are played... 

2014 NBA Playoff Preview

I wanted to take a quick look at all the matchups in round one of the NBA Playoffs.  I won't get too analytical or too long winded but I think the playoffs are intriguing this year.  That said I'm not sure I see many upsets but that doesn't mean the first round is short on great matchups.  And for all the grief the Eastern Conference has gotten this season the Atlanta Hawks are the only team in the playoffs with a losing record.  The Western Conference is better but I think five of the teams from the East would be competitive in a matchup against their Western rivals.  On to the games...

Pacers-Hawks - See here for my thoughts on the Hawks. 

Heat-Bobcats - I'm a big Al Jefferson guy but Charlotte has little else on this team and will probably bow out in four games against Miami.  It shouldn't diminish the fact that this team is only two years removed from a seven win effort in the strike shortened season. 

Raptors-Nets - Name a starter on the Raptors...name any player on the Raptors...  Rudy Gay!  Jose Calderon!  Oh wait they were both traded...  This team probably doesn't get any respect but it tough as you can see.  Brooklyn is the vogue pick here with their late season surge but it is hard to argue that the Nets aren't the better team.  I'd like to see Toronto win this series but it will be tough unless Brooklyn remembers their team remembers they are actually old and should be getting tired about this time of the year.  I say this could be a seven game thriller.

Bulls-Wizards - Wizards are another team that I'd like to see come away with a series win but Chicago probably won't sweat too much while taking this series.  I'll be curious how star youngster John Wall plays in his first playoff series and the teams first post season appearance since the 2007-2008 season.

Spurs-Mavericks - Yaj has to be stoked with how well the Spurs are playing.  I know I am.  While Dallas has some good players anchored by Dirk Nowitzki the Spurs probably only have one loss in them against Dallas. 

Thunder-Grizzlies - Oklahoma City is the real deal and should compete for the Western Conference title.  Too much talent here though I think the Griz will play big and take a game from the Thunder.

Clippers-Warriors - Golden State looked so good early in the year.  They came back down to earth, remembered they aren't that good on defense, and now must play at least the first round without Andrew Bogut.  I still think they can steal two games from Los Angeles but Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan won't let the Clippers lose this series.

Rockets-Trail Blazers - My thoughts on this series are here.

Portland Trail Blazers to Play Houston Rockets in Round 1 of the Playoffs

Game 1 of the Blazers - Rockets first round seven game series is set for this Sunday in Houston.  Portland had a very good year winning 53 games and looking good doing it.  Portland has studs LaMarcus Aldridge (PF) and Damian Lillard (PG) leading the way.  Both are stars and both had career years.  But they also had a very good supporting staff in the starting lineup.  Wesley Matthews (SG), Nicolas Batum (SF) and Robin Lopez (C) all had good years making this one of the best starting fives Portland has seen in years.  The bench is where things get dicey with point guard Mo Williams being the best of a very thin group.  Still I expect Portland to rely heavily on their starting unit.

 

Houston will throw out a starting five of James Harden (SG), Dwight Howard (C), Chandler Parsons (SF), Terrance Jones (PF) and either Patrick Beverly or Jeremy Lin at the point.  Their bench feels a bit stronger but I may be overrating them a bit.  I do like what Aaron Brooks (SG) and Omar Asik (C), when motivated, bring to the game.   Harden is probably the best shooting guard in the game and Howard is top three among centers.  I'm a big Parsons fan.  He is a wing guy who spreads the floor with 37% three point shooting, can handle the ball and doesn't turn the ball over (1.9 per game) while playing with a high motor. 

 

Portland's short coming will be defense as it has been all year.  Stats make the two teams close in terms of defense but Portland doesn't pass the eye test.  Lillard for all his talent hasn't developed into a good defensive player and Aldridge and Lopez while ok on defense aren't shut down guys.  Batum is a very good defender but unfortunately won't be playing Harden.  I think the key will be stopping Harden.  I think Howard will get his though Lopez should play him tough.  It is a matter of how much Harden controls the game.  If he is hitting in the flow of the game allowing the offense to stay in rhythm it will be hard for Portland to win.

 

It sounds like I'm painting  a picture where Portland loses this series and maybe I am.  I'm not convinced Houston wins this series.  They do have home court and Portland hasn't gotten past the first round in 14 years but the Trail Blazers have a team that can win any given night.  But I can't go with my heart no matter how much I want to.  I truly think James Harden is the type of difference maker who can carry his team and I think that will be the difference in this series.  Combined with the issues on defense Portland has I think Houston wins the series.  I can see the it going seven games and each could come down to the last possession.  I hope the ball bounces Portland's way a few times and they can steal a few games to take the series.  No matter I expect a hard fought matchup that should be fun to watch.