The Portland Trail Blazers hit the floor with the Sacramento Kings tonight as CJ McClum scored 37 points in a three-point shootout of 11-11. McCollum excited Blazer early, late and everywhere, making sure his teammates could relax and enjoy the evening. Carmelo Anthony and Annes Carter took full advantage of the bench, not only holding, but expanding, the edge CJ deposited in their laps. Cumulative efforts resulted in a 30-point lead in the third quarter and a final score of 125-99.
First trimester
The Blazers jumped from McCullum to a quick lead of 16-8, 9 points behind. He scored from inside and away, confusing Sacramento’s defense at every turn. Both teams initially seemed content to keep him in the halfcourt, which is a good fit for the Portland defenders. The tempo picked up as the quarterly progressed. At first it seemed to favor the Blazers, as Robert Quington and Derrick Jones, Jr., passed away, and at least four Kings players opted out, while some Portland couples did the job. The protection of the blazer was slightly exposed, especially on the inside. His offense went on a deep shot that missed. Carmelo Anthony came up with a mid-quarter course correction, taking the offense inside (and further into halfcourt isolation, which turned out to be a good thing while protecting the lead.) ‘Mello scored 8 runs in the period. Sac0% shooting, half a dozen assists and an incredible 10 free throws during this period – along with Sacramento’s relatively poor shooting – helped Blazer get to the quarterback. They led 38-24 in a row.
Second quarter
Sacramento dropped the revised zone defense as soon as the second period began. When an open-distance shot was found, Portland’s bench, except for a rare asset, appeared to be fluttering. At the other end, Blazer had no answer for Hassan Whiteside and Sacramento’s inside game. The Kings started from the inside, then the ball bounced off when Portal fell on the lane … a diet that should have seemed familiar to anyone who has been defending the Blazers for the past two years. As soon as Whiteside sat down, however, the canter fell on the glass. He and Anthony saved the Blazers during the second half minute, as the three-pointers refused to fall headlong. Despite all the odds, Portland’s opening players took a 50-88 lead when they checked his half-shift. With the table in front of him, Damien Lillrd hit day shots and entered next to Joseph Nourik tearing up the Kings defense. Sacramento also warmed up to finish the half, but they made no progress. Portland, meanwhile, led 66-49.
Third and fourth quarters
Forcing Claus into tough passes and shots, the Blazers built up a defense to start third. Sacramento stumbled and flooded Portland. Lillard centered the attack, penetrated and passed. McCullum became a favorite target, hitting three threes and a short shot, pouring 11 more points before the quarter five minutes old. Jones, Jr. and Nurick also came into the act. Virtually anyone who wanted to score, could. He kept up the pressure and speed until the Kings had to cry, “Uncle.”
Terry Stots kept McCullum inside until the latter half of the fourth. Actually, he was able to beat the Kings himself by tonight. Throwing in proper center play and fine rebounding kept the contest completely uneven. Tyris Halliburton was the only Sacramento player to make a sound in the second half. It looked great, but it wasn’t close enough. The Blazers opened a 30-point lead and never looked back, ending the game at 26.
Notes and analysis
CJ McCallum is scoring very easily right now, his highlight looks like a reel ballet. Close or two eggs, one foot or two ball, ball or catch-and-shoot, everything in rhythm and loud. McClum also drew five absurd shots tonight, and made his production eye-catching and totally inappropriate. He scored 37 runs in 13-22 shots, 6-11 from deep, with 3 assists and 2 steals in 29 minutes. If the Blazers can get bigger and keep their early defenders below 30 minutes per game this way, that year looks pretty good.
Damien Lillard scored 17, shooting just 1-7 from the arc, but he seemed content for playing in the stream and for other players, especially McCullum’s Cade shots. But Lillard met Joseph Nourik with the help of a couple, found a big man in the action.
Nurikic responded with 4-8, 8-rebound, 10-point effort in 23 minutes of play. He was just as active on defense as he has been all season, running and diving to the floor after a loose ball in the third quarter, when the game was already won. His passing was initially sketching, but clicked from time to time somewhere in the second quarter and he started to look a little old Nurik. That’s a positive sign for Portland.
Carmelo Anthony was effective early on, making sure that none of the lead created in the first part of the Kings Blazers could be shaved. He had only completed 4-12 shots, probably allowing himself too much in the offense, but from that point on he started missing the hardcore, winning the game even after that. Even though it is effective, Carmelo slows down the crime. The more it rolls, the more the second unit stays. Flip a coin whether it is good or bad; It depends on the situation and the opponent. On the plus side, Anthony defended cautiously in the second half. Still, it’s a walking puzzle. Bho stands at the center of one of the great philosophical questions of the season: is Portland’s bench just to score or do they want more?
Ans Carter joined Anthony in bench patrolling, smacking Sacramento’s hand whenever they tried to make an effective run. He came up with 15 rebounds in 19 minutes. He turned around Hassan Whiteside and scored through everyone in the lane, but Kanter was there whenever anyone missed a shot. On the one hand, it has turned “just” again, but on the other hand, there is no need to worry about who is watching the glass, freeing Portland defenders to consider their assignments on the perimeter.
1 game – 41 (.51. %%) Three point shooting was the biggest “easy button” factor for the Blazers in this game, especially the Kings shot only .– 300 (26.7%) over long distances. But the sneaky-good state was Portland with 15 turnovers centered on 10 turnovers. Theft made the offense quick and easy, replacing a potential win for sure.
Portland’s passing offense looks better than it did a few weeks ago. The Blazers had 26 assists on 44 made shots. Those numbers don’t tell the whole story. They didn’t miss each other or failed to read as much as they were doing at the start of the season. Sacramento were not defending it well, but Portland did not allow them to take a defensive step either. With the exception of McCullum (who took shots at him almost every time), the Blazers massively moved their legs and ball well.
Everything was not rosy. The Kings threw an intermittent zone defense in the second half that the Blazers liked for a while. Portland settled in a strange-angle thrash instead of aggressively breaking it. Between their shooters and Nurick’s mid-range ability, Portland should never be hurt in any zone. They are practically made to break it. Let’s see if they evolve if other teams should try the same.
Internal defense has also been an area of serious concern. Huge scoring margins make him kidding, but whenever Sacramento took over or posted inside, good things happened to him.
Those are small concerns in a wide-ranging win. Not only did the Blazers take care of the business tonight, they closed the shop as early as possible and got a mini-vacation. That’s all you can ask in a regular season game against the Kings. Bravo.
Now the next
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The Blazers welcome the Toronto Raptors to the Late Center on Monday at 7:00 p.m.
