Saturday Slam: Can the Portland Trail Blazers withstand Damian Lillard's absence?

 

                                             (Credit: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) 

Earlier this week, Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard underwent abdominal surgery. The team announced that he will be re-evaluated in six weeks, though he could be out as long as eight weeks or even longer. After averaging 30.0 points per game in the 2019-20 season and 28.8 points per game in the 2020-21 season, Lillard has regressed a bit this year in his production, averaging 24.0 points per game. The last season he averaged fewer than 25 points per game was his third season in the NBA (21.0 points per game), so for his standards this is quite a drop off. 

If you are the Blazers, you have to hope that by undergoing this surgery, that'll help Lillard get back to his old self where he was averaging 28+ points a night. Lillard hasn't felt healthy all season long. It's clear that his production has suffered. 

While this surgery is good for Lillard and the Blazers long-term, this does hurt them in the short-term. They are 10th place in the Western Conference standings right now at 17-25, just .5 game up on Sacramento. With Lillard out, it does look unlikely that they'll hang onto the 10 seed, which means that when he comes back (assuming he does come back this season), they're likely going to be on the outside looking in of the Western Conference play-in tournament. 

If the Trail Blazers are to have any hope of making the play-in tournament and making a run in the playoffs, they're going to need shooting guard C.J. McCollum (20.6 points) and swingman Norman Powell (18.6 points) to really step up. If those guys can get going and pick up the slack, it's possible the Trail Blazers hang around and don't fall too far in the standings. 

Speaking of McCollum, he is expected to be back Monday against the Magic per Shams Charania of The Athletic after being out with a collapsed lung that he suffered on December 4th against the Celtics. So that's one piece of good news for the Trail Blazers. 

Ultimately, it'll be interesting to see how the Trail Blazers look without Lillard and whether or not they'll be able to stay afloat. He's by far their most important piece and when he's not on the floor, they're nowhere near the type of team that they know they are capable of being. Going on without him will be an uphill battle, but it's the cards they've been dealt. They have no choice but to solider on as best they can. 

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Tomahawk Tuesday: The Trail Blazers are securing their future

                                         (Credit: John Leyba/The AP) 

Earlier today, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that the Portland Trail Blazers have inked their star shooting guard C.J. McCollum to a three-year, $100M extension, giving him a five-year, $157M contract that keeps him in Portland through the 2023-24 season. This extension comes after Damian Lillard's five-year, $196M max extension, which keeps him in Portland through the 2024-25 season. By inking both of their star guards to long-term contract extensions, the Trail Blazers are securing their future.

This past season, the Trail Blazers made an impressive run to the Western Conference Finals before getting swept by the Golden State Warriors. Had Jusuf Nurkic been available, that series may have been pretty competitive. I'm not saying the Trail Blazers would have won, but instead of it being a sweep, it could have been a series that went six or seven games.

With the Warriors' dynasty appearing to be on the brink of extinction due to the departure of Kevin Durant and the torn ACL of Klay Thompson, the Western Conference is wide open, giving a team like the Trail Blazers a unique opportunity to make a run to the NBA Finals. These windows don't last long and the Trail Blazers know it, thus their efforts to secure McCollum and Lillard.

I'm still undecided of as to who I think comes out of the Western Conference next season. The Clippers are the easy choice after landing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, but first year experiments don't always work out. I think it's possible the Clippers don't do as well as everyone expects. If they fall short of expectations, then it really is anyone's game. Including the Trail Blazers.

The bottom line is the Trail Blazers are giving themselves a shot to win a championship by securing one of the most electrifying backcourts the NBA has ever seen. Together, C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard can take this Trail Blazers team to the promised land. Especially as their front office continues to put quality pieces around them.

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Skyhook Sunday: C.J. McCollum and Kawhi Leonard came to play

                                         (Credit: John Leyba/The Associated Press) 

Before I share my thoughts on Sunday's incredible Game 7s, let me first wish all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day! Also, I send my condolences to those who have lost their mothers. I know this can also be a hard day.

If you were able to watch Sunday's Game 7s, you were given a real treat! Both games were close with wild finishes as the Portland Trail Blazers edged out the Denver Nuggets on the road 100-96 and the Toronto Raptors hung on for dear life to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 92-90. While there were many heroes who stepped up today, two stood out from all the rest: Portland's C.J. McCollum and Toronto's Kawhi Leonard.

Let me first start with McCollum, who finished with 37 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 incredible chase down block. In a game where Damian Lillard struggled to get going, McCollum was brilliant from start to finish, scoring 15 of his 37 points in the first half. Thanks to him, the Trail Blazers trailed by just nine points (48-39) at halftime as opposed to 20.

In the second half, McCollum was even more incredible. He scored 22 points and found a way to stave off the Nuggets in the final minutes of the game, making several clutch jumpers to go along with a LeBron-esque chase down block. While he often gets overshadowed by Lillard, McCollum was the one who owned the moment in this crucial Game 7 for Portland. He elevated himself from a borderline All-Star to a legitimate superstar. It was incredibly fun to watch!

#TrailBlazers SG C.J. McCollum was incredible today! 37 points! https://t.co/tbqmbVqnMS #NBA #NBAPlayoffs

— NBA Lord (@nba_lord) May 13, 2019

                                         (Credit: John E. Sokolowski/USA Today Sports) 

As for Kawhi Leonard, he had storybook performance, finishing with 41 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and a game winner that reminded me of Tiger Woods' epic chip in at the 16th hole of the Masters. It was the first buzzer beater in a Game 7! Leonard owned the moment in every way today and showed why the Raptors traded for him. Without his off the charts performance, they wouldn't have won this series. Earlier in the week, Max Kellerman received criticism for saying Leonard was more clutch than Kobe Bryant and while that comparison is still a bit premature, Leonard made Kellerman's case a lot easier after today.

It wasn't just Leonard's amazing game winner that was spectacular. There was a ridiculous layup reminiscent of Michael Jordan, a stripping of Joel Embiid that led to a breakaway jam, and many other eye-popping plays. Like McCollum, Leonard owned the moment and reminded us of why he's one of the best players, if not the best player in the NBA.

#Raptors SF Kawhi Leonard was unreal today! 41 points! https://t.co/ID5LZakhF7 #NBA #NBAPlayoffs

— NBA Lord (@nba_lord) May 13, 2019

Regardless of how the conference finals go, we shouldn't forget these amazing performances by C.J. McCollum and Kawhi Leonard. Both guys played like absolute studs and deserve all the praise in the world for stepping up like they did on such a big stage. While I think we're in for a Warriors-Bucks finals, don't count out the Trail Blazers or the Raptors. When you have guys like McCollum and Leonard on your team, you definitely have a shot to win a title.

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Tomahawk Tuesday: Don't sleep on the Portland Trail Blazers

Last season, the Portland Trail Blazers traded Mason Plumlee to the Denver Nuggets for Jusuf Nurkic and unfortunately were not able to reap the immediate benefits of the move due to Nurkic suffering a non-displaced right leg fibular fracture at the end of the season. During the 20 games that he played in a Trail Blazers uniform, Nurkic averaged 15.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game, making an immediate impact and helping the team lock up the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

With a healthy Nurkic, the Blazers finally have a quality low post player to pair with their dynamic backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. The real question is how good will this Blazers team be if they are able to keep their core trio healthy? While it's somewhat a tricky question to answer given all the moves made during the offseason, I think it's safe to say that this Blazers team has all the pieces to get back to the playoffs and possibly win a series pending on who they draw in the first round.

The real think to keep an eye on is what the Blazers do with the excess of power forwards that they have to pair with Nurkic. Ed Davis, Jake Layman, Meyers Leonard, Caleb Swanigan, and Zach Collins can all play the power forward position and it is unclear which of those guys will get the bulk of the minutes alongside Nurkic. There are good odds that the Blazers will trade one of those guys for a quality backup point guard to give their roster a bit more balance. Which one gets shipped is what remains to be seen.

Probably the other main thing to look for with this Blazers team is how ready they are mentally to take that next step. They've been hanging around for the past couple of seasons but have not yet found a way to really give a contender a scare. Lillard and McCollum are at a point of their careers where they should start to make some serious noise in the playoffs. While the addition of Nurkic is huge, it is still up to those two guys to carry the load for this team and take them to that next level where they can actually threaten to reach the conference finals.

Overall, the pieces for success appear to be in place in Portland. They have a fantastic back court and a big man to give them scoring and interior defense down low. They just have to find a way to balance out their roster a bit and build on the success that they had towards the end of last season. While I'm not yet ready to make a prediction on how deep this team goes, I am ready to say that this is a team that deserves our respect and attention as we head in to the 2017-18 season.

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Western Conference Playoffs Preview: Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers

In the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, the #1 seeded Golden State Warriors (67-15) will take on the #8 seeded Portland Trail Blazers (41-41). The Warriors won the regular season series 4-0. Game 1 will be played on Sunday at 3:30 PM EST  on ABC in Golden State.

It's nearly impossible to argue a case for how the Portland Trail Blazers can win this series. They are sitting right on the .500 mark and barely made the playoffs, edging the 40-42 Denver Nuggets by one game. The Warriors on the other hand have the top record in the NBA and are one a mission to win another NBA championship. They are determined to prove that the addition of Kevin Durant was worth it, wanting to move on from this series as quickly as possible.

What the Trail Blazers do have going for them is they have Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum in the backcourt. Lillard is averaging 27.0 points and 5.9 assists per game on 44.4% shooting from the field, 37.0% shooting from three-point range, and 89.5% shooting from the foul line. As for McCollum, he's averaging 23.0 points per game on 48.0% shooting from the field, 42.0% shooting from three-point range, and 91.2% shooting from the foul line. Both guys are elite scorers and shoot the ball very well from all ranges on the floor. If those guys get hot, they have the chance to beat anybody on any given night.

The problem is that it's hard to win four games that way. The Trail Blazers will need others to step up in order to give the Warriors any sort of a scare. If there's one guy who could actually do this, it's Jusuf Nurkic, who may or not be available to play due to a right leg fibular fracture that he is recovering from. If Nurkic is able to go and be productive, that will be huge since he gives the Trail Blazers a third scoring option (15.2 points) and a big body down low (10.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks). In addition to Nurkic, the Trail Blazers need guys like Allen Crabbe, Maurice Harkless, and others to step up and produce to take some pressure off of Lillard and McCollum. If the Trail Blazers turn into the Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum show, this series will be over quick.

The Trail Blazers can't rely on Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum to carry them because the Warriors are simply too loaded. Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson combine for nearly 73 points per game and are all capable of getting hot from beyond the arc. In addition to their offensive potency, the Warriors are playing elite level defense thanks to Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, and Kevin Durant, who is averaging a career high and team high 1.6 blocks per game. The Warriors are simply the more talented team in this series and they should be able to put the clamps on both Lillard and McCollum on the perimeter.

My prediction for this series is the Warriors win in five games. The Portland Trail Blazers will win a game in Portland. They have a good home crowd and have the pieces to defend their home floor for one night. Once it shifts back to the Bay Area for a Game 5, the Warriors will win in a blowout and close out the series. The Warriors will simply prove to be too much for the Trail Blazers to handle. It's that simple.





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Skyhook Sunday: The Portland Trail Blazers are locking down the 8 spot out West

For much of the season, the race for the 8th seed in the Western Conference playoffs has consisted of a bunch of mediocre teams stumbling in the dark and tripping over each other with no one being competent enough to separate themselves from the rest of the competition. Finally, after five months of this stumbling and tripping, we have ourselves a team that is finally pulling away from everyone else. That team is the Portland Trail Blazers, who have won 9 of their last 10 games (6 straight) and are finally at the .500 mark at 38-38. With six games left and two full games up on the 36-40 Denver Nuggets, it looks like the Trail Blazers are going to secure the 8th seed and give themselves a chance to take on the top-seeded Golden State Warriors.

A big part of the Trail Blazers' late season surge has been the magnificent play of Damian Lillard, who has put up 30+ points in 6 of his last 10 games. Lillard dropped 36 points at San Antonio and 49 at Miami, both of which were crucial road wins. Lillard is playing like a guy who feels he should have played in the All-Star Game and is really doing all he can to lead his team into the playoffs.

Of course, the major question in all of this is does this all really matter? I mean, the Warriors are going to breeze through the first round of the playoffs regardless of who they face, right? Without giving away my impending Warriors-Trail Blazers playoff preview, what I will say is that anytime you have a guy like Damian Lillard on your team, you got a shot to do some damage. The NBA is a star driven league and teams with guys like Damian Lillard always have a shot to make some noise in the playoffs.

What helps Damian Lillard is that he has a fantastic backcourt mate in C.J. McCollum, who is averaging 23.3 points per game. Together, these two guys are capable of making life hell for any team. Especially when they are playing up in Portland.

At this point, all I can say about the Portland Trail Blazers is that they have certainly earned the 8th seed in the Western Conference. While they are yet to officially clinch it, all signs point to them doing so. They're on quite a roll and Damian Lillard is playing like a man on a mission. It will certainly be interesting to see what will happen in Game 1 of a Warriors-Trail Blazers series should things continue to go as expected.

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