Week in Review
Blazer Beef
It’s hard to be picky against a team that’s playing well to close the regular season but the Trail Blazers were pretty sloppy and needed a last-second shot to beat Sacramento on Wednesday.
The Blazers racked up 18 turnovers against Sacramento — and had a pair of them in the final minutes.
They made the plays and found a way to win, but once they get to the playoffs, making mistakes at a volume won’t help them win against the West’s top teams.
Blazer Bravos
We’re going to stick with the same game. Dorell Wright had not made a shot the entire game and came off the bench cold to stick the eventual game-winner.
Kudos for that final play also goes to Terry Stotts and Damian Lillard.
Stotts made the call to space the court with Wright rather than Robin Lopez and Lillard drew the defense in, making the right read for the shot.
The playoffs have seen unheralded players step up before.
Even though the stars make their name in the playoffs, there have been plenty of Steve Kerr’s and Robert Horry’s that have done the same and the Blazers need to keep that trust in each other.
By the Numbers
17 — The Blazers have been above average on defense since the All-Star break and are now 17th in points allowed per 100 possessions.
7 — Where the Blazers rank in effective field goal percentage defense, a field goal metric that includes the extra value of three-pointers. The Blazers allow the fewest threes per game in the NBA.
4 — Portland’s game on Sunday against the Warriors featured four of the top five leaders in three-pointers made in Golden State’s Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry and Portland’s Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews.
The Week Ahead
Wednesday vs. L.A. Clippers (7:30 p.m. on ESPN, KGW): The Clippers will finish with the third seed and Blake Griffin has had as good of a season as anybody not named Kevin Durant or LeBron James.
Saturday or Sunday (TV and Time TBD): The Blazers will begin the first round of the NBA playoffs. The league will release the playoff schedule immediately following the final game of the season on Wednesday.
