Blazers weak

[DesertDweller]

They looked bad coming off back to back. Lillard looked early like he might have a good night but Celtic's defense too strong. the only one having a bad night was Turner.

[SHAQATTACK]

Celtics ran over Portland like a steam roller.

[Roy H.]

I'm surprised the Blazers have been as good as they have been. Their backcourt is awesome, but doesn't play defense. Nobody in their front court scares me. Allen Crabbe might be their third best player, and he's a role player coming off the bench.

And yet, more often than not, it has worked.

[fairweatherfan]

The Celtics and Blazers were the two teams that advanced stat models consistently ranked higher than subjective predictions in the offseason.  It's neat to see them both overachieving, and great that we're the better team.

[Who]

The Blazers suck. It's basically two guys playing basketball while the other three stand around and watch. It's not like they are a good defensive team either. Probably  the worst frontcourt in the league. I don't understand how they are .500

[RMO]

They looked bad coming off back to back. Lillard looked early like he might have a good night but Celtic's defense too strong. the only one having a bad night was Turner.

Was also their fourth game in five nights (though they'd won the other four).  I didn't see the game so can't say much else.  Great that the Celtics won.  They didn't play down to their competition (in this case a quality but potentially road weary team) which is what good teams do.

[Evantime34]

I'm surprised the Blazers have been as good as they have been. Their backcourt is awesome, but doesn't play defense. Nobody in their front court scares me. Allen Crabbe might be their third best player, and he's a role player coming off the bench.

And yet, more often than not, it has worked.

During their hot streak they have been one of the better defensive teams in the league. Similar to how we dialed up our defense to go on a run last season. They actually remind me a lot of our team last year.

I think we blew them out because they started to run out of gas and couldn't handle our defensive pressure in the second half.

[KeepRondo]

Blazers run some good offense. We probably caught them on an off night.

Really liked that play the Blazers run where they put two guys on one side of the floor, with the big possessing the ball with his back to the basket 15 feet out and the guard having the option of going backdoor or coming back out for the jumper. Puts a ton of pressure on the defender to not over play The guard for the shot or he's going backdoor.

 

[guava_wrench]

Blazers were on the road on the second game of a back to back. They came out on fire and were horrible in the second half. That is a pattern you would expect on the second game of a back to back.

We also match up well with them because we have AB and Smart. They rely on 2 guards for their offense. That match up is even better when they are playing the second of a back to back.

We were the 4th road game in 5 nights on their east coast trip.

And for the OP -- when the Jazz manhandled us in Utah, did that mean that we suck?

[loco_91]

The Blazers have been good recently. Lillard is a great player, McCollum has been playing really well, and Mason Plumlee is no scrub. I wouldn't take much from this loss; Blazers are still a solid dark horse to pull a first round upset out West. If I were the Clips or Thunder I'd rather face pretty much anyone else, Grizz included, in the 1st round.

[PhoSita]

I'm surprised the Blazers have been as good as they have been. Their backcourt is awesome, but doesn't play defense. Nobody in their front court scares me. Allen Crabbe might be their third best player, and he's a role player coming off the bench.

And yet, more often than not, it has worked.

Having two guys in the backcourt who can take and make a lot of shots has allowed the rest of the rotation -- who are, pretty much to a man, young, energetic, athletic, and long -- to focus on what they're good at without trying to do too much offensively.

Plumlee and Aminu were really smart pickups for them.  Can switch defensively, handle the ball, pass, and finish.  Not great defenders but they work hard and don't have glaring weaknesses.

Like the Celts, the Blazers are also really well coached.

[PhoSita]

The Blazers suck. It's basically two guys playing basketball while the other three stand around and watch. It's not like they are a good defensive team either. Probably  the worst frontcourt in the league. I don't understand how they are .500

Two bolded statements are inconsistent.    Or rather, you think the first because of the second, perhaps.

[Irish Stew]

Hopefully, Celtic Rah-Rah fans won't take too much out of this game. Portland played last night. This was their 5th game in 7 nights. We should win this game and to our credit we did. Portland has no front court. In the playoffs, we will be playing well rested teams using tighter rotations. Enjoy the win, but be beware.

[Evantime34]

The Blazers suck. It's basically two guys playing basketball while the other three stand around and watch. It's not like they are a good defensive team either. Probably  the worst frontcourt in the league. I don't understand how they are .500

Since January 9th they are 18-5 the third best record in the NBA. During that span they have had the 8th best defense in the league and the 6th best offense in the NBA. That's how they are over .500.

Zach Lowe was discussing them on the podcast mentioning that they ran more off the ball screens than any team in the NBA. He adds that he believes doing that makes the players outside of their back court more likely to be engaged on offense. He said something to the effect of it seems like this is a team oriented offense even though Lillard and McCollum are taking all the shots.

I love what they did in the offseason, just going with young players and coaching them up. They have plenty of cap space going forward, and I expect them to conitune to improve.

[PhoSita]

I love what they did in the offseason, just going with young players and coaching them up. They have plenty of cap space going forward, and I expect them to conitune to improve.

Olshey should win Executive of the Year.

Can't imagine a team handling its best player leaving any better.  Helps to have Damian Lillard to fall back on, of course, and the knowledge that they had a young star with great leadership qualities already on the roster certainly informed their strategy.