Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers.
Gary Trent Jr., Portland Trail Blazers.
Despite a lack of fans in attendance, the collective groan from Rip City was very loud. When Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard took a wrong step while driving to the hoop on Sunday, injuring his knee, it was like every fan went ugh, simultaneously. Then TNT had to show the replay 80 times to reinforce the Blazers bad luck. That’s a different story for another day.
Dame left the bubble on Wednesday to have the knee re-evaluated in Portland by the team’s medical staff. According to Mark Spears of the undefeated, the injury will not require surgery. If true, Lillard and the Blazers dodged a big bullet.
While attention has been diverted first by the injury, then the NBC players boycott, the Trail Blazers series with L.A., feels like an afterthought. Portland is down 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. With Lillard, it felt like the Blazers were a long shot. Without him, their chance to advance is on life support. There is hope. Portland can win, and here’s how.
When LeBron James is on his game, he can lead a high school team to beat an NBA squad. An exaggeration maybe, but not far off. King James will get his points, assists, and rebounds and look like the best player to lace up a pair of Nike shoes in the process.
Portland didn’t stop him before, and they won’t on Friday either. Nobody stopped James in 17 years, that’s why he is who he is. This point will make Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts gag, but his team is better off trying to contain the damage James will inflict rather than trying to shut him down.
Terry Stotts, Portland Trail Blazers. (Photo via Wikimedia
What Portland can do on defense is to take away the best of James’ alternatives. Stotts should start Hassan Whiteside, the team’s best big-man defender, to make Anthony Davis’ night miserable. Whiteside is an outstanding rebounder and shot-blocker in the paint.
Putting Whiteside on him will force Davis into more of the mid-range game. He shot very well on Tuesday, but that doesn’t reflect his season to date. This year Davis did most of his damage inside. He shot 17.3 percent from 3-10 feet and 15.5 percent from 10-16 feet.
C.J. McCollum can expect a heavy dose of James when the Portland Trail Blazers have the ball. By the end of the night, Lakers coach Frank Vogel will know McCollum’s preferred gum deodorant, and likely his underwear size.
What will kill the Blazers (or any pro team) is giving Los Angeles second and third chances to score. Since Whiteside will force the Brow to shoot from someplace other than next to the rim, Portland has to crash the glass on defense. If that means running in every power forward on the roster to play physically on the boards, then make it happen.
On the other end, James is guarding McCollum. Make C.J. the decoy and get James away from the boards. Clear out, so Trent and Simmons have room to work. Let Anthony do his thing in the low-post. Unless he’s doubled, that turnaround j can bury a dagger into the heart of the beast.
Carmelo Anthony, Portland Trail Blazers.
Because Whiteside starts to take advantage of his defense, Jusuf Nurkic will have to come off the bench. When the two have played at the same time, they didn’t blend well. Without Lillard, McCollum being guarded by LeBron, and Nurkic not starting, Portland’s offense will have to come from other players.
First, Carmelo Anthony has to play like mid-2010’s Melo at the three and take no prisoners. Next, both Gary Trent Jr. and Nurkic have to provide quick-strike offense when they check into the game. Finally, it’s time for Anfernee Simmons to grow up. He’s shown flashes of brilliance before. Friday, he has to be brilliant for an extended period.
Here are the keys
If Dame can return, he has to spend four days in self-quarantine. It will be Game 7 at the earliest for a return. Should Lillard not be able to play a “Dame Time” levels, the all-star guard can still give his fellow Portland Trail Blazers an emotional push. Maybe Dame could have his Willis Reed moment.
Do you think the Portland Trail Blazers have a chance to beat Los Angeles on Friday? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.