PORTLAND — The moment that stood out most in the Trail Blazers’ 118-101 preseason win over the Golden State Warriors displayed the ease with which they won, the style that they will play and the things that still need ironing out.
It was a fast-break basket, led by their big men, Mason Plumlee and Noah Vonleh.
Plumlee stole the ball after a steal and dribbled it on the edge of the lane, before lobbing the ball to Vonleh — who had an easy look at a lay-up — passing it right back to Plumlee for a basket.
These Blazers are different in many ways. The most notable, of course, is the fact that they lost LaMarcus Aldridge in the pivot.
But the Blazers ran with — and past — the Warriors, whose bench players were logging heavy minutes and no starter went more than 26 minutes.
Reigning league MVP Stephen Curry scored 30 points and dished seven assists in 26 minutes and was the only Warrior to have a notable performance.
But the Warriors also led the league in pace last season, and the Blazers looked comfortable playing at their speed.
Expectations are low for the Blazers, but they will be fun to watch, and they’re having fun playing a more wide-open style that doesn’t get bogged down in watching one player do everything.
“It’s fun, we have nothing to lose, we are just out there hooping,” Damian Lillard said. “We’re defending, getting hands on balls. We’re learning who we are and what we need to do to be successful.”
The new Blazers — at least some version of their ideal selves — were on display.
CJ McCollum ran the show extremely well, scoring 19 points, dishing out five assists and committing only one turnover while getting extended run as the back-up point guard.
Swingman Allen Crabbe could barely miss as the team’s leading scorer, finishing with 25 points on just 12 shots.
But what Lillard saw on that play between Plumlee and Vonleh, isn’t the type of fun he wants to see. The fans loved it, but Vonleh was instantly taken out.
The Blazers are going to play a fun style, their big men all love to pass the ball and they totaled 25 assists.
But while the Blazers’ tempo and youth is leading to great possessions to watch, they’ve still got to take care of business if they don’t want to find themselves in the Western Conference basement at season’s end.
“Those are the plays that I’m talking about, the ones we need to take out,” Lillard said of the double-alley-oop. “If Noah has a shot there at the basket, we would like him to just drop that in and score it. That shows how unselfish this team is, but at the same time the better play would have been to just score it.”
McCollum’s last two nights at the Moda Center didn’t go so well. Thursday against the Golden State Warriors, things were different.
On a night when head coach Terry Stotts told the media we’d see him more as the point guard when Lillard sits, McCollum delivered.
The Blazers scored a whopping 77 first-half points, leading the Warriors by 15 at halftime. All the while, Lillard couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat, at least from the field.
Lillard scored 22 points, but was 3-for-18 from the field, getting 15 of his 22 points at the free-throw line.
Lillard has been working on getting to the line more often, something he did on Thursday.
“It’s extremely important,” Lillard said. “There’s going to be nights where the shots don’t fall. I’m happy it happened in the preseason.”
