Blazer Beef
Rather than look at the team, let’s pile on the NBA and their sponsors!
The “Meet The Hoopers” State Farm ad took a turn for the extremely bizarre when they had Baby Damian DOLLA produce a rap song with Kevin Love.
The song doesn’t sound too bad, other than the fact it’s a commercial, but the visuals with Lillard’s and Love’s heads floating on younger bodies in unsettling for just about anyone.
• The NBA didn’t do CJ McCollum any favors by making him a last-second addition to the 3-point shootout but that’s not even where they went wrong.
It’s hard to be mad at Chris Bosh for pulling out due to injury but the planners could have done McCollum a slight favor by not forcing him to go in the first flight of 3-point shooters.
After competing in the Skills Challenge, McCollum was one of the first four players asked to shoot in the 3-point shootout almost immediately after.
There probably wasn’t a lot that could have helped McCollum’s performance in the shootout after finding out the day before.
But if you’re going to ask someone last minute, at least throw them a bone.
Blazer Bravo
The defense for the Blazers has been excellent over the last month and if they can keep this up, I don’t think they’ll need to make many drastic changes.
Offense with Lillard and McCollum has never been the problem for the Blazers, but the inexperience of their group has been an Achilles heel defensively.
They’re starting to coalesce from the starters to the bench.
The Blazers can throw all kinds of different looks at opposing teams and have options to matchup with just about everyone.
Terry Stotts deserves a ton of credit for getting the Blazers for whatever matchup they’ll have and playing lineups that the context of the game demands.
Far too often, coaches get fixed in rotations and tendencies, but Stotts has done an excellent job of making little tweaks night-in and night-out.
By The Numbers
4 — This year was the first year since 2012 that the Blazers have not had a representative in the NBA All-Star Game.
8 — CJ McCollum became the eighth Blazers player in franchise history to compete in the 3-point shootout.
The Week Ahead
NBA Trade Deadline, Thursday at Noon: The deadline for the Blazers and every other team to make a trade is fast approaching. The Blazers have the most salary cap space of any team ahead of the deadline, making them a team to keep an eye on.
Friday vs. Golden State Warriors (7 p.m., CSN): The 48-4 Warriors make their final regular season visit to the Northwest. They waltzed to a 128-108 win despite a 40-point outing from Oakland native Damian Lillard.
Sunday vs. Utah Jazz (6 p.m., CSN): The Blazers and Jazz each sit at .500 at the All-Star break, holding the 7th and 8th places in the Western Conference respectively. The Blazers clinch the season series tiebreaker with a victory having already won two of the first three meetings.
