A win is a win, but the Portland Trail Blazers made reaching the NBA playoffs harder than it should be

The Portland Trail Blazers’ playoff hunt should be over by now.

After a 124-121 win over Philadelphia on Sunday in which Damian Lillard scored 51 points, reaching the play-in round in the NBA bubble in Florida should be seen as a foregone conclusion with Dallas and Brooklyn remaining on the schedule.

But there’s a problem. The Mavericks and the Nets have nothing left to play for. Both secured playoff spots before the reboot. Both teams could sit star players for the rest of the course to rest for the playoffs.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why a lot of trepidation should remain regarding these Blazers reaching the NBA playoffs.

For the second day in a row, Portland’s ninth-place finish, after looking this strong for four games, allowed a starless team to maintain a lead at the end of the fourth quarter. Luckily for the Blazers (33-39) on Sunday, they managed to pull off the win against a team 76ers minus All-Star forward Ben Simmons (out for the season with a knee injury) and All-Star center Joel Embiid from 6: 12 points in the first quarter after exiting the game with an ankle injury.

Due to their absence, Sunday’s match shouldn’t have been close. But this is a team of the Blazers that lost 122-117 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, who seated All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard and removed All-Star forward Paul George from the game with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, essentially saying he didn’t care if they had won the game or not. But somehow they still won as they shot 44.1 percent three-pointers.

On Sunday, Portland saw guard Josh Richardson play as an All-Star and score 34 points to bring nearly the 76ers (42-28) to a roll over as he shot 46.7% with three-point shots compared to 31.4% of Portland.

“I’m really happy we got the win,” said Portland manager Terry Stotts. “In some ways it was similar to the game (yesterday) with the Clippers (47-23). They played a smaller lineup, they shuffled, Josh Richardson had a great game. We thank him and how he played. But the most important thing is that with the increasing pressure we have still found a way to win a game. “

Basically, the fewer All-Star players, the better against these Blazers. And that doesn’t bode well for Portland on Tuesday against seventh-placed Dallas (42-30), a team that announced Monday will field All-Star guard Luka Doncic and forward Kristaps Porzingis against Utah. What are the chances of those two playing a lot, if at all, on Tuesday?

As for the Nets (34-36), seventh in the East, were without All-Star Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan, who did not return to the team for the restart. They will have nothing to play for Thursday against Portland.

On paper, all of this should mean the Blazers will win their last two games and will be in the play-in round as either eighth or ninth-placed team, depending on what happens with eighth-place Memphis (33-38 ). But is not so. Instead, Portland is a potential defeat from falling from ninth place and out of the running to be in the game turn.

San Antonio (31-38) and Phoenix (31-39) are just waiting to pounce.

Obviously Lillard was a special Sunday. He has recovered since Saturday when his two missed free throws and a three-point attempt in the last 50 seconds contributed to the loss to the Clippers. The story of him overcoming that disappointment for a major game is legitimate, but not remotely unexpected.

“This was a team defeat yesterday and obviously Dame missed her free throws, and I don’t think anyone thinks less of Dame,” Stotts said. “Tonight he showed the determination and willpower he has shown throughout his career, and obviously here in the bubble.”

Lillard said he was a little bored on Saturday night, but through the help of conversations with teammates and friends, he rationalized that games and bad times happen to everyone and that they are only part of the game.

While his great performance was certainly a strong storyline, Portland shouldn’t need to rely on Lillard to score 51 to defeat what Philadelphia put on the floor. The reality is Portland didn’t head to Florida for the reboot to watch Lillard do what Lillard does. The Blazers went to Orlando to qualify for the playoffs and earn a shot at the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. And right now, that target remains in jeopardy.

Portland not only had a chance to pick up two this weekend and get exclusive hold of eighth place, but they had a chance to do so without spending too much energy. Lillard thrives in such situations.

“I like those games mentally because you see people start to break down mentally,” he said. “People start having mistakes. You get to that point where only a few people will be able to overcome and maintain the same level of concentration. And I like to take advantage of it because I know I’ll be there all the time. Physically and mentally. “

But few are on the level of Lillard. Without the backup center Hassan Whiteside (hip injury), Jusuf Nurkic has had to play a lot more and on consecutive days. He sucked up to give Portland 15 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes, but acknowledged that his body wasn’t feeling well Sunday after Saturday’s tough game. After all, he’s coming out of a broken leg that cost him 16 months.

Most alarming here is that Portland’s perimeter defense showed no improvement. So any NBA player capable of jump shots can have a great game against Portland because it will have an open look. It happened for Richardson of Philadelphia, who made 13 out of 20 shots, including 6 three-point 10 attempts. For the season, he averages 13.6 points per game.

If Portland fails to close more effectively against shooters against Dallas and Brooklyn, both matches will become incredibly lost no matter who’s on the pitch.

Give credit to the Blazers, however, for how late their defense performed against the 76ers. Portland was incredibly trailing 114-108 with 4:23 remaining before scoring nine consecutive points and taking the lead 117-114. Carmelo Anthony scored a three. CJ McCollum hit a sweater. Then Lillard sank a triple with 2:53 left, made a foul and shot the free throw.

But to win the game, Portland, who lost 39 points in the second quarter and 63 in the second half, had to make a few stops.

Leading 124-121 with 10.2 seconds left, the Blazers got the stop they needed when Anthony harassed Richardson just enough to make him miss a triple and then several Blazers got involved for a run for the loose ball that Philadelphia finally grabbed but not before time ran out.

“We just wanted to change and not be apathetic and make any kind of mistake,” Anthony said of that final defensive position.

Maybe if they could have accomplished such feats more often early in the game, it wouldn’t have been that close and their future in the playoffs wouldn’t have remained so uncertain.

– Aaron Fentress | [email protected] | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).

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