Kelvin Kuo / Associated Press
Everything the Portland Trail Blazers wanted to get into the NBA’s Disney World bubble was a real chance for the playoffs. They got one and took full advantage of it, punching their ticket for a seventh straight season after scoring a 126-122 win over the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference play-in match on Saturday to set up a first-round match with the seeded Los Angeles Lakers.
Though a lot of buzz surrounds the Blazers as a potential upset candidate in the wake of Damian Lillard’s otherworldly performance in the eight seeding games (37.6 PPG, 9.6 APG) and Jusuf Nurkic’s triumphant return from a broken leg, continuing this unlikely run against LeBron. James, Anthony Davis and associates will be a tall order. Perhaps insurmountable, as impressive as Portland in Florida was.
“They are the number 1 seed in the West for a reason,” Lillard said after the game. “They have the best player in the world on their team. But at the same time, we haven’t fought as hard as we fought in the bubble to just say, ‘Okay, we’re seeded eighth’ and get out here and get beaten.”
The Lakers weren’t impressive in the Orlando area bubble, which might not mean much. LeBron’s newer Cleveland Cavaliers teams have spent four seasons looking tired and bumpy in the regular season, only to flip a switch in the playoffs and race to the finals every time. And all respect for Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, but James has never had a running mate as good as Davis in Cleveland.
This is a series in which the Blazers will seriously miss Trevor Ariza, who has decided not to play in the second half due to a family situation. Ariza isn’t the blocking perimeter defender he was five years ago, but he’s been solid this season for Portland after arriving from Sacramento on a January exchange.
At least he would have been better equipped to handle James than anyone else on the Portland roster. The task of pairing James for a full seven-game streak will be left to Carmelo Anthony (a better defender than he was given credit for, but not close to “defending LeBron in the good playoffs”) and the gritty but prone to foul Gary Trent Jr.
Davis also poses a matchup problem for Portland. Nurkic was a defensive tipping point in the bubble, but he struggled hard against Davis in the 2018 playoffs, when the sixth seeded New Orleans Pelicans swept the Blazers out in the first round.
Nurkic will be written by Hassan Whiteside, who is athletic enough to match Davis jump by jump but too inconsistent to count on that level of talent. Whiteside was excellent in the Blazers’ seasonal win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, but a huge disadvantage in the play-in match against Memphis. This has been his story in the bubble, and really, all season.
Kelvin Kuo / Associated Press
Also featured in that 2018 Blazers-Pelicans series but missing in this matchup: “Playoff Rondo, “ the mythical form that Rajon Rondo, otherwise well beyond his first place, assumes at this time of year. The Lakers point guard recently arrived in the Orlando area to continue his rehabilitation from a fractured hand but remains out.
Rondo and Avery Bradley, who opted for family reasons, would likely spend most of their time guarding Lillard on the show. This is a tall order for Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. A huge streak by Lillard against the Lakers’ weakened backcourt is a good chance, but it may not be enough.
The Blazers went 7-2 after the second half (counting the play-in game) purely by beating their opponents. They only gave up less than 120 points twice and less than 115 once. During the season, their defense was the fourth worst in the league, losing 114.3 points for every 100 possessions. The prospect of beating a team with James and Davis in a pure scoring contest is risky, especially as the Blazers don’t have the staff to defend either player.
If Portland is to have a chance, the roleplayers on the team must outdo those in Los Angeles.
Trent has turned off the lights and will have to continue doing so (he had already started returning to earth after the first four hot games). The best version of Whiteside will have to appear for an entire series. They must find a way to survive the Mario Hezonja minutes. Lakers sharpshooter Danny Green fought in the bubble, and Caruso and Caldwell-Pope will have their work cut out for them on the defensive side with Lillard and CJ McCollum.
The idea that the Blazers can continue this streak and become the No. 1 seed. 8 to beat a seed no. 1 since the 76ers beat the Bulls in 2012 is a tempting storyline. But any talk of their actual possibility can be rooted in LeBron’s teams’ tendency to lull opponents and observers to indulge in regular season’s listless play.
If you think James, after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 2005, isn’t spared to make a statement in the opening round that the West is the Lakers’ losing player, well, you haven’t seen that. .
However, Lillard has been packing clothes for three months. He has already faced long odds of dragging the Blazers into the playoffs in the past couple of weeks and beat them. He’s not ready to go home.
“We feel like we have a chance in a series against someone in this league,” Lillard said. “We feel like we have a chance on this show. That’s how we’re going to approach it.”
Sean Highkin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report and co-hosts the Bulls vs. Blazers. He currently resides in Portland. His work has been awarded by the Pro Basketball Writers’ Association. Follow him chirping, Instagram and in the B / R app.
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