Blazer Beef
Name a way to lose a game, the Blazers have probably found it. The biggest trend with the Blazers this season has been their inability to finish and their inability to find ways to win. It is a clich?, but adaptation is a skill in the NBA. And the Blazers have, more often than not, failed to come through in clutch situations.
They’re 6-11 in games within five points in the final five minutes according to NBA.com. The Blazers may find solace in the fact that they’ve been in these situations in all but seven of their games, but they’ve not been able to find ways to come out with wins.
Portland’s point differential is that of a 12-13 team according to Basketball-Reference.com, so Portland has cost themselves at least two wins with their inability to close teams out.
Improvement, not winning, has been named the operational directive for the Blazers this year. And while losing will help them get a higher draft pick, it would be nice to see the players who will be here moving forward show some growth in these high-pressure situations by season’s end.
Blazer Bravo
Ed Davis has been a machine off the bench for the Blazers and has been one of the best back-up big men in the league so far this season.
Davis is third in the league in offensive rebounding percentage behind Oklahoma City’s Enes Kanter and Detroit’s Andre Drummond. He’s slippery for other big men to box out in the paint and has been a solid finisher shooting 64 percent.
The Blazers deserve kudos for their strong defense in the close of Friday’s win against the Phoenix Suns. That the Blazers took care of business against the Suns, especially on the defensive end. It was almost the exact opposite of what happened on Saturday against the Knicks.
By The Numbers
13.1 — Blazers guard CJ McCollum’s scoring average per game has jumped 13.1 points from 6.8 to 19.9 points per game this season.
12 — Blazers guard Allen Crabbe is 12th in the NBA in 2-point field goal percentage and is fifth among guards in that category, just behind Atlanta’s Kyle Korver.
2 — The Blazers are two games out of the eighth seed in the Western Conference but are also one game ahead of falling backward into a top-five draft slot.
The Week Ahead
Monday vs. New Orleans (7 p.m., CSN): Injuries decimated the Pelicans at the start of the season, but the return of Tyreke Evans and the greatness of Anthony Davis are keeping fragile playoff hopes together in the West.
Wednesday at Oklahoma City (5 p.m., KGW): After shaking off a hamstring injury, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant is starting to look like himself.
Friday at Orlando (4 p.m., CSN): Defense has been the key to a much awaited leap for the young Magic in their first year under head coach Scott Skiles.
Sunday at Miami (10 a.m., CSN): Head coach Erik Spoelstra has constructed an elite defense around a fully healthy Chris Bosh, the shot-blocking of 26-year-old journeyman center Hassan Whiteside and precocious rookie Justise Winslow.
