Saturday, August 15 – 11:30 a.m. PT
Blazers injuries: Rodney Hood (out), Trevor Ariza (out), Caleb Swanigan (out), Nassir Little (out)
Grizzlies injuries: Tyus Jones (doubtful), Justise Winslow (out), Jaren Jackson Jr. (out)
How can you watch TV? ABC (or watch Fubo for your streaming needs)
Radio: 620 AM
SBN Affiliate: Grizzly Bear Blues
After an intense stretch of games, the Portland Trail Blazers were able to push through the Memphis Grizzlies to earn the 8-seed and the all-important advantage in the 2-game play-in series. A win on Saturday would give Portland the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. A loss would mean the two teams on Sunday again in a winning-take-all matchup for the right to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.
The Grizzlies entered Orlando with a 3.5 lead over the Blazers, but won only two of their eight seeding games. Portland, meanwhile, went 6-2 at Disney World, including a 140-135 overtime victory over Memphis to kick things off. The Grizzlies will be without Years Jackson Jr. who scored 33 points in that game. Memphis emerges from a 119-106 must-win victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Ja Morant (12 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) and Jonas Valanciunas (26 points, 19 rebounds, 12 assists) both had triple-doubles in the game. Former Oregon Duck Dillon Brooks scored 31 points.
What to see
- Damian Lillard. Not enough can be said about what Portland’s All-Star guard has done over the past eight games. Lillard averages 37.6 points and 9.6 assists per game in Orlando, while shooting 43.6 percent on 12.6 attempts of three points per game. That percentage is particularly impressive considering how often he shoots controversy as a deep three-pointer. Lillard’s willingness to win was especially evident in Portland’s last three games. After missing two free throws against the LA Clippers last Saturday, he scored 51, 61 and 42 to close out the seeding games. The Blazers needed each of those points to win three close games, and they will need a good performance from Lillard again on Saturday.
- Shoot three points. Portland shot the ball very well from outside the arc into the bubble (41.4 percent), while Memphis was below average (31.7 percent). The Grizzlies will face the possibility of Jackson Jr. missed to stretch the floor (he went 6-of-15 of three against the Blazers). Grayson Allen (48 percent) and Anthony Tolliver (41.7 percent) are the only Grizzlies who shot better than 35 percent in the bubble. The Blazers have four players – Gary Trent Jr. (50.7 percent), Carmelo Anthony (46.9 percent), Damian Lillard (43.6 percent), and CJ McCollum (37 percent) – who consistently hit from deep.
- Effort and energy. The Blazers have had to play through a lot of effort in all the bubble games, but especially in the past three matchups. Across the board, players dived for loose balls and consistently put extra effort into making hustle plays. Can Portland continue to play with the level of energy they had last week? At one point playing hard fought, games could take a toll on Blazer players. Lillard and McCollum are first and second in minutes played in Orlando (41.7 and 40.9 per game, respectively); Yes Morant is third with 37.8. Saturday’s game will be the first game in a week that is not a must-win for Portland. Will that cause Portland to lose a bit or can they maintain the same level of effort and energy to avoid an elimination game?
What they say
Grizzly Bear Blues’ JLew23 wrote about Grayson Allen’s bench score:
In the bubble, Grayson was a 50-40-90 player, converting on 50% of his field goals overall, 40% of his threes, and 90% of his free throws (in just 10 attempts – again, small sample size ). That’s an unrealistic pace to expect from a third-year bench player over the course of an entire season. But Allen’s chances of shooting 3’s will be affected by his ability to score the dribble. If he was not a threat to ride or make for his teammates (if he was one-dimensional), teams could game plan to take him away. A set with triple-threat skills lets him be a vital piece for a team growing out of their battle window.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe notes that Ja Morant does not find success against switches:
Big men walk away, inviting Morant to hoist jumpers or dribble right into them. Morant does not want those 3s; he often steps in for long controversial 2s. He’s athletic enough to be rebuilt and completed by some great men, but that’s hard sledding against good defenders.
The Grizzlies have scored a putrid 0.799 points per possession when Morant shoots against a switch, or passes to a teammate who fires immediately – 114th among 129 ball controllers who have at least 50 switches this season, per Second Spectrum. Opponents in the bubble trade against Morant on about 10 screens per 100 possessions, up from 6.2 previously.
Drew Hill of the Daily Memphian recounted how former Blazer Anthony Tolliver’s veteran leadership has helped the Grizzlies’ young players:
“I’m still learning today,” Morant said. ‘I actually talked to Anthony Tolliver one night at the pool – he has many years under his belt – and some of the things he tells me I do not even understand. But he finally had time to explain it.
Morant wants to keep the exact context of that conversation private, but he has offered this:
‘That’s my vet. … What knowledge can I take from (experienced players), I accept it and do what I can with it. ”
