Instant Reaction and Observations: Warriors 101, Blazers 97
Sean Highkin | Friday, October 19, 2012 at 9:33PM Damian Lillard made his Rose Garden debut tonight against the Warriors. Portland got out in front early, but poor defense and a hot-shooting second half from Golden State did them in. A few thoughts:
- Lillard has yet to play his first complete game. As has been the case since Summer League, he started off slow tonight both from a shooting standpoint and as a facilitator. What we saw from him after that is what the Blazers saw when they drafted him, however. His passing instincts continue to be impressive for a rookie—of particular note was a gorgeous bounce pass he threw through traffic to Nicolas Batum for a layup. Later on, he found Meyers Leonard for an alley-oop. It wasn’t perfect, and I’d still like to see him take fewer long twos and more threes, but seven assists and only one turnover is something you’ll take every day from a rookie point guard.
- LaMarcus Aldridge had his best night of the preseason… on offense. In 27 minutes (mostly in the first half), he shot 7-for-12 from the floor, and mostly had any shot he wanted from midrange. His battle with David Lee was entertaining all night, as both had their jumpers going. But LMA hasn’t really shown any of the post moves he developed last season in these exhibition games, and tonight was no different. Oh, and he only had two boards all night. That isn’t going to cut it, especially given the inexperience of the rest of the frontcourt.
- Meyers Leonard had a few isolated instances of good defense, and grabbed six boards in 14 minutes, but also collected five fouls in that time. I continue to like what I see from him, at least in spurts. But if he wants to be effective, he has to stay on the floor. This is a lesson all rookie big men learn, and I’m sure he’ll be no different. But for now, minutes will be an issue.
- Interior defense is going to be a problem for this team. The Warriors, particularly David Lee, had their way with the Blazers’ defenses inside, scoring 40 points in the paint. Between JJ Hickson’s general defensive ineptitude and Leonard’s and Joel Freeland’s inexperience, Portland could very easily lead the league in points allowed in the paint this season.
-Nolan Smith was catastrophically bad tonight. In 17 minutes, he missed all six of his field-goal attempts, including a three on Portland’s last possession of the game that fell about three feet short. The would-be backup point guard also had three turnovers and no assists. Once Ronnie Price is back, there’s no reason at all for Smith to get minutes. Which pretty much sums up the season we’re in for.
- Nicolas Batum had a rough first half shooting, but found a rhythm somewhat in the second half.
- Not a lot of note from Wesley Matthews tonight, but he did make two layups. So there’s that.
- Victor Claver had his second consecutive solid performance off the bench. He didn’t get open to shoot much, but grabbed four rebounds and played excellent defense on Brandon Rush during his first-half shift. He’s making a case for minutes backing up Batum once the season starts.
- Will Barton is the rawest player likely to get minutes this season. He had a few impressive plays tonight (particularly a putback dunk off a missed Smith layup in the fourth quarter), but he has a ways to go before he can be counted on to contribute night-in and night-out. Don’t be surprised if he sees some time in Idaho this season.
- Speaking of which, Neil Olshey joined Mike and Mike on the broadcast for a few minutes during the second quarter, and reminded us again of one of my favorite changes he’s made since taking over: purchasing the Idaho Stampede as the exclusive property of the Blazers and implementing the same system there that Terry Stotts is running for the Blazers. Luke Babbitt has probably gotten everything there is to get out of the D-League, but I could see Olshey’s aggressive approach to using it being beneficial to players like Smith, Barton, and Claver.
- Stotts tightened up the rotation considerably tonight, mostly playing the players one might expect to get minutes during the regular season. Even when Stotts started playing other players in the fourth quarter he mostly kept it to guys that already have roster spots secured—guys like Luke Babbitt and Jared Jeffries. No Coby Karl and no Adam Morrison. It would appear that the Stache Lion dream is over.
- The big news on the Warriors’ end of this game is a bummer: Stephen Curry sprained his right ankle in the second quarter and did not return. This is the same ankle he had surgery on last season. Let’s hope he doesn’t miss any time.
Reader Comments (1)
Two things I want to say:
First, I think Damian Lillard is going to be a dark horse for winning Rookie of the year. he has shown so much poise for a rookie almost being reminiscent of Derrick Rose, John Wall and Kyrie Irving during their rookie seasons.
Second, I hope Adam Morrison makes the team. The man has worked so hard to come back to the NBA. he deserves a shot at redemption.