Celtics (28-26) at Trail Blazers (31-22) Game #55 4/13/21

[Somebody]

LET'S GO CELTICS

[colincb]

POR is struggling right now. Their starting lineup with Powell in it is good, but the rest is crap. Nurkic has been injured, and his production is down. He's on a minutes restriction, and Kantar is still a huge defensive liability. Carmello is not much of a threat anymore, and Rodney Hood was sent to TOR after his play had dropped off dramatically since last season. POR is a good offense, bad defense team with a net rating of -0.2 vs. the Cs +2.0. This is a very winnable game for us if we continue to play the way we have recently.

https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2021/04/nba-power-rankings-portland-trail-blazers-slide-after-losing-week.html

“It was a rough week for the team in the Pacific Northwest. The Blazers went 1-3 and they were not even close in their defeats, losing by an average of 15 points. Their hold on the sixth seed is slipping with Dallas now just 1 ˝ games behind.

“The Blazers struggled with their shot from deep last week, shooting just 32.4 from three. They went as their star went as Damian Lillard had an off week not just from three but from the field, shooting just 33.8 percent. Teams have continued to constantly throw double-teams at him while daring other Blazers to beat them.

and

“It’s hard to take the Blazers seriously as anything other than a Western Conference also-ran in 2020–21. Portland is 6–6 in its last 12 games, and it hasn’t beaten a winning team since March 25. There’s far too much Enes Kanter and Carmelo Anthony in the frontcourt. Anfernee Simons has yet to take the leap many hoped for. Damian Lillard’s crunch-time brilliance has kept the Blazers afloat thus far, though ultimately, there are severe limitations on the roster. In a crowded West, the Blazers appear poised for an early exit.”

[Rondo9]

POR is struggling right now. Their starting lineup with Powell in it is good, but the rest is crap. Nurkic has been injured, and his production is down. He's on a minutes restriction, and Kantar is still a huge defensive liability. Carmello is not much of a threat anymore, and Rodney Hood was sent to TOR after his play had dropped off dramatically since last season. POR is a good offense, bad defense team with a net rating of -0.2 vs. the Cs +2.0. This is a very winnable game for us if we continue to play the way we have recently.

https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2021/04/nba-power-rankings-portland-trail-blazers-slide-after-losing-week.html

“It was a rough week for the team in the Pacific Northwest. The Blazers went 1-3 and they were not even close in their defeats, losing by an average of 15 points. Their hold on the sixth seed is slipping with Dallas now just 1 ˝ games behind.

“The Blazers struggled with their shot from deep last week, shooting just 32.4 from three. They went as their star went as Damian Lillard had an off week not just from three but from the field, shooting just 33.8 percent. Teams have continued to constantly throw double-teams at him while daring other Blazers to beat them.

and

“It’s hard to take the Blazers seriously as anything other than a Western Conference also-ran in 2020–21. Portland is 6–6 in its last 12 games, and it hasn’t beaten a winning team since March 25. There’s far too much Enes Kanter and Carmelo Anthony in the frontcourt. Anfernee Simons has yet to take the leap many hoped for. Damian Lillard’s crunch-time brilliance has kept the Blazers afloat thus far, though ultimately, there are severe limitations on the roster. In a crowded West, the Blazers appear poised for an early exit.”

Trying to slow Lillard and Mccollum is the key to victory and they may need to rely on Thompson to handle the more physical Kanter. Williams have been a mixed bag against physical centers lately. Seems that Portland is more vulnerable than their record indicates.

[liam]

POR is struggling right now. Their starting lineup with Powell in it is good, but the rest is crap. Nurkic has been injured, and his production is down. He's on a minutes restriction, and Kantar is still a huge defensive liability. Carmello is not much of a threat anymore, and Rodney Hood was sent to TOR after his play had dropped off dramatically since last season. POR is a good offense, bad defense team with a net rating of -0.2 vs. the Cs +2.0. This is a very winnable game for us if we continue to play the way we have recently.

https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2021/04/nba-power-rankings-portland-trail-blazers-slide-after-losing-week.html

“It was a rough week for the team in the Pacific Northwest. The Blazers went 1-3 and they were not even close in their defeats, losing by an average of 15 points. Their hold on the sixth seed is slipping with Dallas now just 1 ˝ games behind.

“The Blazers struggled with their shot from deep last week, shooting just 32.4 from three. They went as their star went as Damian Lillard had an off week not just from three but from the field, shooting just 33.8 percent. Teams have continued to constantly throw double-teams at him while daring other Blazers to beat them.

and

“It’s hard to take the Blazers seriously as anything other than a Western Conference also-ran in 2020–21. Portland is 6–6 in its last 12 games, and it hasn’t beaten a winning team since March 25. There’s far too much Enes Kanter and Carmelo Anthony in the frontcourt. Anfernee Simons has yet to take the leap many hoped for. Damian Lillard’s crunch-time brilliance has kept the Blazers afloat thus far, though ultimately, there are severe limitations on the roster. In a crowded West, the Blazers appear poised for an early exit.”

Trying to slow Lillard and Mccollum is the key to victory and they may need to rely on Thompson to handle the more physical Kanter. Williams have been a mixed bag against physical centers lately. Seems that Portland is more vulnerable than their record indicates.

Kemba will be a key to winning against Portland. He needs to hold his own against either Lillard or McCollum.

[Sophomore]

Put Enes Kanter in pick and roll. Hunt him every single trip.

[nickagneta]

Given the above info regarding Lillard, his shooting percentage and double teams against him, I wonder if Stevens will trap him with the double when near the sidelines or have both defenders cover him on the pick n roll, allowing someone else to rotate to cover the roll man.

[footey]

Look forward to the TT - Kanter battle of the boards!!

[mobilija]

Lets gooooo!

Loving the vibe of posters on this thread and the analysis! Hopefully, players have their own vibe and are ready to seek and destroy!

Feelin like were on the cusp...good things are happening and we're gonna really start rolling

[slamtheking]

Put Enes Kanter in pick and roll. Hunt him every single trip.

never happen.  they may try to get a coverage switch to get him on Tatum but you can almost put money on Tatum hoisting a stepback 3 instead of driving to the basket.

[GreenCoffeeBean]

Kind of a bad matchup because most of their offense is at the two positions we don’t guard very well. Maybe Kemba won’t play as much and get victimized by Lillard.

But we’re going to whoop em anyway!!! Boo yah!

[SHAQATTACK]

This feels like a win .

[liam]

This feels like a win .

Does Portland have anyone to guard Tatum?

Covington seems a little slow to do it.

[SHAQATTACK]

This feels like a win .

Does Portland have anyone to guard Tatum?

Covington seems a little slow to do it.

Nah .....unguardable ..

He is “ The Beast” of the east

[liam]

This feels like a win .

Does Portland have anyone to guard Tatum?

Covington seems a little slow to do it.

Nah .....unguardable ..

He is “ The Beast” of the east

Seems like it could be a big night for Tatum. 54?

[gouki88]

Put Enes Kanter in pick and roll. Hunt him every single trip.

You would think we should be all over this given how often teams exploited him against us!