The Joyous, Reckless Return of LaMarcus Aldridge

I’ve been attempting to deceive myself this week about the Blazers. I’ve had open on my desktop a draft of a post, unfinished, detailing how glad I am that the team is winterizing for the summer; that I’m pleased to see the team take a prudent tack after wringing more wins out of their roster than anybody expected. And in some ways, this sentiment is true. Every game the Blazers have overreached to try and win late in the season has been an irrationality I couldn’t explain away; I’ve come to admire this team, this new organization, for what I perceive as an overall flexibility and lack of hubris. That they would pack up their futile playoff chase and start playing the bench with an eye toward next season fits my characterization of them as pragmatists, and so I was half-comforted  to see that they were shoring up their ping pong balls. But only half-comforted. That post went unfinished.

LaMarcus Aldridge is going to play tonight. I’m thrilled. Returning from a sprain he suffered at the start of the Blazers’ present tailspin—the March 27 blowout loss to Brooklyn that ended the playoff charade—Aldridge is going to suit up with six games left on the schedule. On the face of it, it’s almost breathtakingly stupid: Aldridge is perhaps the single known quantity on the team, and his contributions are ensured well beyond the next two weeks. Whether he’s truly hurt or not, the Blazers aren’t really served by playing him. But playing him they are, and I’m grateful to them for it.

I have to tell you a bit about my evolving perception of LaMarcus to explain why I’m so happy he’s coming back for the meaningless final stretch of the season. Early this year, in my first few games covering the team, I was already sick of Aldridge. I argued that Portland would be best off trading him, perhaps to a team like Houston—I was indulging the Internet’s favorite stupid tendency to fetishize the unknown and buy into the myth of “trade him for picks.”

Aldridge seemed to represent the height of NBA drudgery. Even at his most effective, he is not an electric player, and his locker room demeanor is self-consciously staid. He is a terrible quote, quick with a cliché and obligatory humility. I knew he was a good player, but I thought that a lottery team was locked into a joyless centerpiece, and to my mind that joylessness was a cardinal sin. A team should strive to be fascinating or to contend, but dull and uncompetitive I could not forgive.

I remember when my position changed. It was after the January 13 loss to the Thunder in the Rose Garden, the one that ended with Aldridge’s woeful airball over Kendrick Perkins. That shot was the essence of the long-standing homer’s knocks on LaMarcus. He hadn’t attacked the basket, he’d settle for an inefficient shot…it just seemed too complacent. After the game, I expected an appropriately contrite Aldridge in front of his locker. That’s not really what I found.

Talking to reporters after he dressed in a customary plaid flannel, Aldridge was light-hearted about the miss. Not merely accepting of the failure, as all elite athletes are about a relatively meaningless game-winner, but actually in a good mood. He made a few jokes about how Perkins had given him a driving lane to the left, but that he couldn’t really go left, so the terrible shot was his best move. He has a tic in any mood of scratching his cheek while looking at the ground during postgame media scrums, but as he talked about his miss the familiar habit seemed a bit of calculated sheepish humor.

Aldridge is a lightning rod for criticism for several reasons. He is first of all a franchise player, and second of all that least-loved of all player archetypes: the “finesse” big man. Too many times to count I’ve watched him answer questions about why he shoots jumpshots instead of posting up, and too many times I’ve heard terse responses from Aldridge or Terry Stotts that offer little insight. On top of these pressures and criticisms, LaMarcus is the longest-tenured homegrown talent on a team with a notoriously powerful fan microscope. He is immensely scrutinized, and often unsparingly.

And yet after a play that not only lost a game, but so spectacularly matched his detractors’ caricature, he was in one of the more jovial moods I’d seen. I don’t know why, and I won’t know why, but it was then that I understood how capable Aldridge is as a franchise pillar. He was bearing the load, and not straining under the weight.

That hasn’t changed, and it doesn’t change. This season crept on, and the Blazers hung tight to their desperate attempt to shoehorn themselves into the postseason, and Aldridge has been the engine. He captured a conference Player of the Week award as the season slipped away, and he has gotten better almost every week, even as the flaws of the team have made themselves impossible to ignore. He is a steady presence on a team that set a league record for the most consecutive games decided by two possessions. He is the ballast on a blockade runner.

All of which is to say that no matter what the stakes are, the Blazers are better to watch when LaMarcus plays. The juxtaposition of a frenetic, madcap existence on the court and a tranquil locker room is unique this season to the Blazers, and Aldridge is the driving reason. Whatever this team is, he is at the center. I’m glad I get to watch that team, and not a more prudent one. 

Portland 76 Memphis 94: Outplayed, Outmatched

Portland Trail Blazers

76

Final Recap | Box Score

94

Memphis Grizzlies

	Victor Claver, SF 26 MIN | 3-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | -18 Claver played a solid game filling in for Nic Batum, but it’s tough to make up the impact Batum has had this season. Claver is a solid player off the bench, but simply doesn’t do enough to have a meaningful impact as a starter.
	J.J. Hickson, C 37 MIN | 8-12 FG | 1-3 FT | 9 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 17 PTS | -17 J.J. was his usual active self against the Grizzlies. He helped lessen the impact of missing Aldridge and came 1 rebound short of another double double. His ability to create second chances for the Blazers helped keep the score within reason.
	Meyers Leonard, C 28 MIN | 4-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 10 PTS | -8 The highlight of the night for Meyers was back to back jumpers in the 3rd quarter when the Memphis defense decided not to respect his shot. It was a decent offensive outing for the rookie, but Marc Gasol put on a clinic of passing from the high post when Meyers failed to get a hand in his face.
	Damian Lillard, PG 41 MIN | 8-19 FG | 0-1 FT | 4 REB | 6 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 5 TO | 17 PTS | -14 Lillard struggle taking care of the ball against the pesky Memphis guards. He had multiple passes picked off on the perimeter that resulted in easy layups on the other end. What otherwise would have been a respectable offensive game was marred by 5 turnovers.
	Wesley Matthews, SG 39 MIN | 5-16 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | -17 Wesley Matthews, never bashful, struggled with his shot last night. Tony Allen’s defense may deserve some of the credit for Wesley’s 2 of 10 from the 3 point line.
	Joel Freeland, PF 17 MIN | 3-4 FG | 1-2 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | -9 I would like to see what Freeland would be able to do with extended minutes down the stretch the season. He played respectable defense in the post, and had one of the highlights of the night on a spinning baseline dunk against Zach Randolph.
	Luke Babbitt, SF 8 MIN | 0-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | +2 It was eight minutes of agony with Luke Babbitt on the floor to finish the game. Four 3-pointers went up, and four 3-pointers never had a chance. It’s a shame Luke’s ability as a shooter has failed to translate to success in games this year.
	Eric Maynor, PG 31 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 10 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PTS | +1 Maynor didn’t make much of an impact scoring the basketball, but did an excellent job of setting up his teammates all night. A deft pass to Lillard along the baseline for an and-one and an alley-oop to Lillard provided a bit of entertainment in an otherwise dull game for the Blazers.
	Will Barton, SG 10 MIN | 0-5 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PTS | -7 Despite a forgettable outing from the field, Barton was his usual active self around the offensive rim. His most admirable quality was on display as he never gave up on his own misses at the rim and should have finished the game with more than 1 offensive rebound.

FIVE THINGS WE SAW

1. They say you don’t realize what you have until its gone. Aldridge and Batum were sorely missed as the Blazers managed only 76 points against the stingy Memphis defense.
2. Marc Gasol might be the best center in the league. Obviously, when healthy and playing well, Dwight Howard holds the title, but Gasol’s skill set was on full display as he repeatedly created easy baskets for his teammates with brilliant passing from the high and low post.
3. Eric Maynor continues to be one of the bright spots for the Blazers down the stretch. It would be a major disappointment if Portland is unable to retain him during the off-season.
4. Meyers’ jump shot is quite underrated and I would like to see him continue to improve upon his success from the outside. I believe he has confidence in the shot, and having a center with the ability to draw shot-blockers away from the middle is a valuable asset to any team.
5. The Portland bench will look vastly different next season. Enough said.

BLAZERS’ PLAYS OF THE WEEK

Welcome to Plays of the Week, where every Wednesday we’ll take a look at Blazers’ sets from the past 7 days that caught our eye. If you see a play call or a trend that intrigues you, hit us up on twitter or leave a message in the comments section below.

Aldridge-less Offense

With LaMarcus Aldridge out we’ve seen even more pick and roll than usual, and the following action has become commonplace. Damian Lillard initiates the offense by using a JJ Hickson screen – in this case a very solid baseline pick – while Batum and Matthews space the court on the weak side. Myers Leonard joins them on the weak side, ducking behind his defender.

As Lillard navigates the screen, Leonard tip toes the baseline waiting for a dump off. Hickson, meanwhile, trails Lillard looking for a possible offensive rebound.

Throw in the two screens that started the play: Matthews coming off a down screen to accept the pass at the top, and Lillard flaring off a Leonard screen to get to the corner, and it’s a nice variation that keeps all five defenders moving and forces them to make quick decisions. 

Here’s the same action, but with Leonard and Hickson switching places

Nic Batum Moving Without the Ball

Poor Klay Thompson.

In this halfcourt set Nic Batum runs the Warriors guard through a gauntlet of screens before threading the needle to JJ Hickson for the and-one. Watch how Nic hesitates off the Myers Leonard screen and then fakes setting a high pick for Lillard before flaring off a JJ Hickson screen. Beautiful stuff. 

Myers Leonard First Plays

In Leonard’s first two starts, Terry Stotts did a great job of getting the rookie centre easy looks to open the game. The play calls are very similar, with Leonard spotting up after setting an off ball screen for Nic Batum. It’s simple but effective action, and it’s great to see Leonard catch and shoot with confidence. 

Victor Claver

Anytime a 6’10” rookie picks off a pass then calmly Rondo’s someone for an and-one in transition, it’s making the list. Thank you for being you Victor Claver. 

Memphis vs Portland: Meyers' Time to Shine

Meyers Leonard will have his hands full tonight as the reeling Trail Blazers take on the Memphis Grizzlies in the Rose Garden. Leonard has started the last three games in the absence of LaMarcus Aldridge who sprained an ankle in a losing effort to the Brooklyn Nets last week. The rookie center will continue his defensive education at the hands of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph; one of the best front-line tandems in the league.  Meyers has performed reasonably well filling in for Aldridge, including a career night against the Warriors, but has been challenged on the defensive end by the likes of Al Jefferson and Andrew Bogut. Tonight will be no different.

While the Blazers linger on the outside of the playoffs looking in, the Grizzlies have won three straight and are coming off an impressive win against the Western Conference-leading San Antonio Spurs. Memphis sits at a very interesting place in the playoff standings. They are tied for the 3^rd best record with Denver, but due to seeding restrictions, would currently be the 5^th seed in the West. The Clippers will be awarded no lower than the 4^th seed for winning their division. Thus, Memphis is fighting for a chance at home-court advantage and a series against the Warriors rather than losing home court advantage and gaining a much more challenging series against the Clippers.

With so little at stake for Portland, which has all but locked up the 12^th pick in the draft, and so much at stake for the Grizzlies, it’s difficult to imagine the Blazers ending their losing streak tonight. Instead, look for more time on the floor for Leonard, Claver, Freeland and Maynor as the Blazers start to look towards next season.

Missing LaMarcus

LaMarcus Aldridge is the Trail Blazers’ best player.

I know I’m going out on a limb here with my analysis, tagging the two-time All-Star big man as the Blazers’ centerpiece. But it’s true, and for the last 3 games, the Blazers have been without Aldridge, who suffered an ankle injury against the Brooklyn Nets. However, in the waning days of the NBA regular season where teams often hold out key players for the slightest of flesh wounds in order to open up minutes for more inexperienced players, perhaps there is a silver lining. 

Let’s start with the bad news: Portland has lost all 3 games without Aldridge. Stats like this can be dubious though, as there are many factors to a basketball game besides one player. In the Blazers’ case, they were in the midst of dropping 4 out of 6 games despite having Aldridge. Clearly the Blazers had enough problems at full strength and losing LaMarcus only added to the pain.

It comes as no surprise that the Blazers would play worse without Aldridge. Portland, according to 82games.com, is 9.4 points better with Aldridge on the court as opposed to off it. The Aldridge-less suffering isn’t one-dimensional, as both the offense and defense get worse without him. In fact, the Blazers’ offensive rating drops from 105 to 99.7 without LaMarcus and the defense gives up 109.1 points per 100 possessions when he’s out as opposed to 105.4 when he’s playing. 

This trend has proven mostly true over the last 3 games, even if it may be exaggerated by small samples. Since Aldridge has gone out with the injury, the offense actually has held up with an offensive efficiency of 106.4. Unfortunately, the defense has been disastrous, giving up 124 points per 100 possessions. Again, the small sample of 3 games makes this ugly, but the absence is felt. 

Specifically, the lack of LaMarcus affects two areas: rebounding and shot selection. The Blazers rebounding rates are down on both sides of the floor without Aldridge. J.J. Hickson has had to pick up a lot of slack at the defensive end, where his rebounding rate has skyrocketed to 38.8 from a normal figure of 28.5. He’s getting far fewer offensive boards, though, which might be a facet of not being able to clean up Aldridge’s misses that he has become accustom to grabbing. 

The shots the Blazers are getting have changed as well. Without Aldridge, there are less shots happening in the restricted area, which are normally very high-value propositions. These shots are instead moving toward the non-restricted area paint, where the Blazers shoot far worse without LaMarcus. Here is a chart showing the percentage of shot types taken and how the Blazers shoot from these areas:

Shot Type	% of Total Shots (FG%) With Aldridge	% of Total Shots (FG%) Last 3 Games
Restricted Area	31.2 (60.8)	27.7 (63.9)
In The Paint	10.5 (40.7)	15.5 (35.3)
Mid-Range	31.4 (40.5)	30 (40.9)
Left Corner 3	3.5 (45.5)	3.2 (57.1)
Right Corner 3	3.1 (35)	1.3 (0)
Above the Break 3	20.3 (35.2)	22.7 (46.9)

Luckily over these past 3 games, the 3-point shooting has been very good (despite the 0-for from the right corner). 

That’s enough of the doom-and-gloom because there might just be a silver lining to the Aldridge injury. In his place, Meyers Leonard has played some very productive and encouraging minutes. Leonard’s usage rate has jumped from 14 to 21 in the past 3 games he has averaged 15.3 points and 6.7 rebounds on 53 percent shooting, including a 22 and 10 performance against the Warriors. He’s flashed the early makings of a pick-and-pop game with some jumpers and has played with a lot of energy. Leonard still isn’t great defensively and turns the ball over more than Aldridge (he needs to watch the 3-second calls), but is rounding out his rookie year on a positive note.

Aldridge is expected to return at some point this season, which is obviously a very good thing for the Blazers. After watching Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap rack up 87 points on 40-67 shooting over two games that bookended a Carl Landry 25-point performance off the bench, Portland can’t wait to have their anchor back. Also, anything that can keep Joel Freeland on the bench has to be seen as constructive. The only question is whether Aldridge’s return is enough for the Blazers to pick up a few wins before the curtains close on this season. 

Warriors: 125 - Trail Blazers: 98: Another Brick in the Wall

Portland Trail Blazers

98

Final Recap | Box Score

125

Golden State Warriors

	Nicolas Batum, SF37 MIN | 2-10 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 9 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | -12 Batum was all over the place tonight in a negative way, which was pretty unfortunate to watch. He was settling for bad jump shots all night, and was continually getting beat by Harrison Barnes. Best part of his night was definitely the nine assists that he got as the secondary distributor.
	J.J. Hickson, C28 MIN | 5-8 FG | 5-7 FT | 10 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 15 PTS | -7 Hickson providing his usual energy in the game against the Warriors. His defense wasn’t great, but neither was the team’s as a whole. J.J. also didn’t get as many minutes as usual, but that is because the game was already out of hand in the fourth.
	Meyers Leonard, C41 MIN | 9-17 FG | 3-3 FT | 10 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 22 PTS | -11 Leonard provided a lot of awesome plays tonight, showing the same confidence in his jumper that lead to him shockingly making a three. Meyers even provided some good one-on-one defensive moments, even if his rotations were that of a rookie big. My favorite part of the line is the fact he was actually assertive on the glass; regardless of defensive effort, Leonard is a much better NBA player when he picks shots up off the glass.
	Damian Lillard, PG31 MIN | 4-11 FG | 6-7 FT | 1 REB | 8 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 16 PTS | -8 Damian once again wasn’t that efficient scoring from the field, but still found a solid way to score from the line. Lillard also was effective passing the ball, and has shown a knack of being a distributor lately. Watching Curry go off for 39 wasn’t the best for Damian’s already kind of poor reputation defensively, but that will probably be more of an off-season issue.
	Wesley Matthews, SG32 MIN | 6-11 FG | 4-5 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 18 PTS | -9 Matthews was by fair the best Portland wing player scoring the ball from the field, and wasn’t hammered by Klay Thompson on the defensive end. He did get into the trap of settling for bad shots also sometimes, he just made a good amount of positive plays to counteract it.
	Joel Freeland, PF10 MIN | 0-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -17 Freeland has gone 0-9 for his last 9 attempts from the field, which is kind of disappointing. He also looked lost on defensive for the limited minutes he played, so there wasn’t a lot of positive energy for the 26 year old rookie.
	Luke Babbitt, SF10 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | -9 Luke Babbitt made an appearance tonight, which has become sort of an uncommon thing. Nice to see that he hit the glass, and it was very interesting to see him actually drive to the hoop.
	Victor Claver, SF14 MIN | 1-3 FG | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 3 PTS | -14 Claver was pretty lost on both ends of the court. Before the garbage time three point play he was terrible when he was looking to score, and like others wasn’t very helpful on defense.
	Eric Maynor, PG18 MIN | 1-7 FG | 3-4 FT | 1 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | -26 Maynor struggled from the field, much like every other perimeter player tonight. As much as Eric has been a joy to have on the Blazers’ bench it was rough to seem him shoot so poorly. As a passer, though, he was definitely good. Four assists to zero turnovers will always be a good margin.
	Will Barton, SG12 MIN | 0-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | -18 Will struggled, and it was hard to watch as he is a guy to certainly root for. Sometimes he just seems to put himself in bad situations way too much, but hopefully that is him being a young player more than anything.

FIVE THINGS WE SAW

1. Golden State shot 54% from the field the entire game. It is excruciatingly tough to win basketball games when your opponent does that and Portland wasn’t able to overcome it.
2. Going into the game, I thought Carl Landry was going to be a problem. My hunch came to fruition as Landry ending up going 9-10 from the field for 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Just a matter of Golden State’s bench being better.
3. It was good to see some of the young guys getting minutes. Obviously with Meyers he got 41 but there was also a good amount of minutes shown to Freeland, Babbitt, Claver, and Barton. Younger players getting experience is pretty huge for going into next year at this point.
4. With his last three pointer tonight, Damian Lillard tied Steph Curry for most three pointers for a rookie with 166.
5. MEYERS. LEONARD. THREE.

Warriors Blazers Preview: Be Sure To Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair

The Blazers travel south to the Bay Area this evening to dance with the Warriors. The teams have met justonce this season, a 103-97 victory for the Dubs back in January. It was a rather unusual game - together, Damian Lillard and Nic Batum scored 53 of Portland’s 97 points, on 20-36 shooting. Blazers not named Lillard and Batum, however, combined to shoot just 15-56 (26.7%) from the floor and just 5-24 (20.8%) from three.

While the Warriors currently sit in the No. 6 seed in the West, nine games above .500, their record may be a bit misleading - they’ve only outscored their opponents by a total of 23 points over the course of the season. That would suggest that Golden State is an average team - a suggestion that is reinforced by other numbers; the Warriors rank 13th in offensive efficiency and 15th in defensive efficiency.

The game will be won or lost on the Warriors’ three-point line. Golden State leads the league in three-point accuracy, shooting just a hair under 40 percent (39.9%). Meanwhile, the Blazers are among the league’s best in defending the long ball - opponents shoot just 33.6 percent against them, the third-best mark in the league.

The Warriors create a lot of their three-point looks in transition - players like Klay Thompson will run to the long range stripe instead of the rim on fast breaks, and Stephen Curry will set up drag-screens before the defense is set and step straight to the arc for a pull-up. It’s an unconventional philosophy that even the most prepared teams can be caught off-guard by if their focus lapses.

Defensively, Golden State generally does a good job forcing low-efficiency shots, surrendering just a 48.4 effective field goal percentage (eighth-best in the league), and they clean up their defensive glass - they grab 74.9 percent of available defensive rebounds, tied for second-highest. Their problems defensively come in other areas; they don’t force turnovers and their foul rate is a touch high. While neither of those areas are ones that the Blazers are particularly adept at exploiting, it still presents opportunity.

Jazz 105 - Blazers 95: Frustrating collapse, a step toward the draft

Utah Jazz

105

Final Recap | Box Score

95

Portland Trail Blazers

	Nicolas Batum, SF40 MIN | 4-6 FG | 6-7 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 17 PTS | -4 Batum was strong scoring the ball tonight, but that was the bulk of his contribution. Nic wasn’t a minus on the defensive end, and showed it especially on a very nice chase down block. However, he was a decent part of the team’s turnover issues tonight and didn’t do much beyond scoring.
	J.J. Hickson, C36 MIN | 8-11 FG | 1-4 FT | 14 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 17 PTS | -17 J.J. played fairly well for himself. He was hitting the midrange jumper and had some nice highlight finishes on alley-oops. Hickson’s defense wasn’t solid, but I’m not certain if Hickson a was huge issue in terms of the total defense. He easily should be considered a plus for the night.
	Meyers Leonard, C32 MIN | 5-11 FG | 2-2 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 12 PTS | +10 Leonard played decently. He was eaten alive by Al Jefferson on defense, but honestly, what young center isn’t? With the post moves Jefferson displays, he almost has his way with young big men, and Leonard wasn’t different. It was really encouraging to see Leonard have the confidence in his jumper to take open shots, even if he only went 2-5 outside the paint.
	Damian Lillard, PG40 MIN | 7-16 FG | 10-14 FT | 2 REB | 7 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 24 PTS | -15 Lillard wasn’t exactly great from the field, nor was it encouraging to witness his defense on Mo Williams. Lillard was the leader on the offensive end without Aldridge, and his early distribution was certainly a positive.
	Wesley Matthews, SG38 MIN | 3-10 FG | 4-4 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | -15 Wes was nearly solid tonight and didn’t stand out for any poor play, which may not be saying much tonight. As for offense, Matthews was good from three but struggled elsewhere.
	Joel Freeland, PF14 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -10 Freeland was alright tonight. Getting a third of the team’s offensive rebounds in such limited minutes was more than likely good.
	Victor Claver, SF18 MIN | 3-6 FG | 0-1 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 6 PTS | -4 Claver didn’t have his best night tonight. First of all, his three point shot looked atrocious when he took some, and he was playing sub-par defense when he was in. It’s still nice to see him on the floor after his ankle injury.
	Eric Maynor, PG21 MIN | 3-5 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 7 PTS | +6 Maynor was a nice spark off the bench. His floater is always a joy to watch when he is hitting it, and he was finding baskets for his teammates. Once again, Maynor was far and beyond the best player on the bench.

FIVE THINGS WE SAW

1. The first thing that has to be noted is Mo Williams’ performance turned around is the second half. Williams started the first half with only two points, but ended up finishing the game with 28 points. Portland’s defense shifted focus to helping Leonard guard Jefferson, freeing up some of the Jazz’s perimeter players.
2. It was interesting to see Portland’s offense without LaMarcus Aldridge. LMA is obviously a centerpiece to the team and a foundation on the roster, but it was interesting that the offense flowed so well without regular post touches for him.
3. 16 turnovers in one game was frustrating to watch, and it was definitely a team effort for the Blazers. The only member of the team with decent minutes who didn’t have a turnover was Claver, and after him only Freeland had less than two. The 24 easy points was definitely an influence in Utah’s victory.
4. I’m sure this is sort of obvious, but the fact that the Jazz scored 62 points in the paint was really hard to watch. It wasn’t just that Millsap-Jefferson-Favors had 60 combined, as the Blazers struggled to rotate on defense after wing players cut to the hoop.
5. This isn’t in that much doubt anymore, but the Trail Blazers solidified their position in keeping their draft pick. Definitely a shining light in having another lost.