Well, at least it’s just scrimmages, right? The Portland Trail Blazers left their final scrimmage at Orlando 131-120 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 0-3 in pregame scrimmages. The Blazers played without Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, which paved the way for Anfernee Simons to lead all scorers with 23 points. Gary Trent Jr. contributed 19 points for Portland, while Zach Collins added 10.
The Thunder scored seven players in double digits this afternoon, with Darius Bazley’s 20 points leading. Chris Paul, like Lillard and McCollum, did not play.
Penny is not so terrible
If you’ve been paying a little attention to the Blazers this season, then you know it’s been a year of ups and downs for Anfernee Simons. Scrimmages were difficult for him up to this point as he apparently struggled to find a rhythm even when he broke double digits in the loss to the Raptors. But Simons took over on this one, adding 23 points in 30 minutes, and most of that came in the first half.
One notable thing was how helpful it was for Simons to have Jusuf Nurkic and Collins to help him. Simons has not had the luxury of playing with greats like those two, and clearly opened things up for Ant in the first half. Nurk was able to operate as a game creator at times, freeing Simons to fly around the court. Collins successfully spaced floor times, preparing Simons for plays like this:
Putting these three into more lineups together could benefit the Blazers when the season officially begins again on Friday. Simons has had a difficult year by most metrics and he definitely struggles as a defender, but today he showed that when he plays with quality players, his performance improves tremendously.
Collins‘Bidirectional value
While Nurkic has been the highlight of practice games, Collins has shown how valuable he is at both ends. Collins played well in his final scrimmage, contributing 10 points and three rebounds in 20 minutes of play. He was active on the defensive end while showing versatility offensively, using his improved footwork on the post while also hitting a par three.
Collins was deeply missed this season, especially defensively. The Blazers were one of the worst teams on that end before the season was interrupted. But Collins has shown that he has the tools and the versatility to cover up the frequent failures that occur around him.
Defensive concerns
Two things that can be true at the same time:
1.) The Blazers will be better defensively with Nurkic and Collins.
2.) The Blazers will continue to fight defensively.
This game was a good example of how awkward big men’s pairs are for Blazers if you include Hassan Whiteside. The Thunder often tried to capitalize using perimeter-oriented alignments against Portland’s towering front. A result that forced Nurkic and Whiteside to protect faster players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Collins has shown he can keep up with those guys, and Nurkic’s footwork has improved, but it’s a mismatch that the teams will continue to exploit. The Thunder, like many other teams, landed from a distance (18-of-37 from outside this afternoon), and the fastest players like Dennis Schroeder and SGA had no trouble beating the big boys. That is why they were able to accumulate 131 points without Chris Paul.
To tell the truth, I had this wrap-up all wrapped up. I didn’t think I would need to write about much more. But Wenyen Gabriel is so much fun to watch that I felt compelled to notice how he played. He put 14 points in just 18 minutes of play. He was all over the floor, chasing orange shirts all over the floor. He can cut a conductor in the paint and then quickly return to the perimeter faster than many Blazers, and he’s put together a compelling case for minutes with this outfit. There is so much energy with this boy.
Gabriel is raw. He still gets into trouble and plays with an energy level that borders on reckless. Regardless of the flaws, it is a joy to see it.
Until next time
Score box
Portland will officially begin its season on Friday at 1:00 PT against the Memphis Grizzlies.
