Tonight was ecstasy. Before any qualifier, before any contest or any argument, tonight was joy. A win to savour as the Portland Trail Blazers upend the short-handed Sixers, 130-104, far from Philadelphia.
The Portland Trail Blazers are not a good basketball team. This should not be a shock, a surprise or an insult, even after a win. It’s true, their newly minted 14-33 record precludes them from it.
The Philadelphia 76ers are a strong basketball team. This is not proven false by a loss, not here, not against Denver. It’s true, their 29-16 includes them in the darkhorse contender category.
The Blazers blew out the Sixers, capitalizing on a squad playing without their two best offensive players. And yet, it almost doesn’t matter. Certainly the win matters; the result matters in further isolating Portland as the fifth-worst record in the league.
But no Tyrese Maxey and no Joel Embiid proved nothing about this season for either team. The game merely suggested what the National Basketball Association so rarely markets: you play who is in front of you.
Portland are no strangers to injuries. They’ve missed 159 player games due to injury. They’ve featured 77 different lineups. They’re missing Shaedon Sharpe right now. And they’ve proven if you don’t take an NBA team seriously, they will end your game quickly and effectively.
Ask Cleveland. Ask Utah. Ask Sacramento. Ask Philadelphia.
Doctor Strange Rebound
The 76ers nearly managed to steal the Blazers’ soul tonight. It was a rough start; a sicko’s sequel to the masterpiece in sicko culture that was last night’s game against the Chicago Bulls.
When Pat Beverly and Chauncey Billups earned double technicals, it was pretty clear message: Billups can play the pockets-empty pose from Monopoly to a tee. Also the referees were ready to call a game, not listen to a podcast.
Fair enough. Philadelphia just drove into the paint, baited the young Blazers into fouls and went on a 12-2 run to end the first quarter up, 28-20. Every bit of veteran guile went into the first 18 minutes of this game, Kelly Oubre Jr. slashed to the rim and double-clutched for points with impunity.
Then the Blazers tightened up. Portland decided the paint was just as much free real estate for them as it was for the Sixers. They stayed with it on the boards. They remained committed on defense. They sealed off Tobias Harris from easy paint points. They let Malcolm Brogdon cook.
And they were rewarded. Every closeout made without abandon came to Brogdon’s hands and pinball pass play hit every bumper the right way into the hands of Deandre Ayton for a flush. Blazers up, 54-53. Then, Simons turned on the jets and added two more to end the half, 58-55.
Or, How I Stopped Worrying…
In the third quarter, no one was prepared. Philadelphia was not prepared. The crowd was not prepared. The referees were not prepared. Hell, the Blazers were not prepared. But Ayton was prepared.
Forget Oubre Jr., he’s first half news. The Blazers lobbed that rock to Ayton with impunity. The Sixers left the paint open like a stable. And Ayton blew right through it. Brogdon would not stop tossing up the carrots. He sank the three for a six-point lead.
And when the points didn’t come easy, Jabari Walker found them anyways. Cutting, rebounding, making his threes. He is easily the most positive development of this season. And he proved it in one rebound.
Walker scrapped from behind Oubre Jr., gathered the rock on the baseline, tip-toe dribbled to the rim and threw it up for two more. He did something the Blazers rarely manage: expanded a lead into double-digits. Nick Nurse could call timeouts. He would try and motivate his win. But it didn’t work.
Portland drove the paint, found the penalty, confused the Sixers on defense, forced poor shots, and then found Ayton again to cap a 19-2 run. The Blazers outscored their guests 36-22 in the quarter, shot 12-19 from the floor, notched nine assists, limited themselves to one turnover and built a 17-point margin, 94-77.
When Simons drove for the last offensive possession of the quarter for the and-1, he capped perhaps their most dominant performance in a quarter.
(It depends how you grade it to a 42-27 third frame against the Wembanyama-less San Antonio.)
…And Learned To Love the Rebuild
Nurse lasted five minutes. Five minutes of Portland’s lead bobbling anywhere from 17 to 21. Matisse Thybulle and Toumani Camara forced the issue with backcourt pressure and turnovers. Ayton ricocheted the rock to Thybulle for three. Scoot Henderson drove to the rim with the pose of a Greek statue. And then Brogdon capped it with a three for a 12-2 Blazers run.
All poor Paul Reed could do was dunk; Nurse saw enough. He waved that white flag like a hankie, wishing goodbye to the Titanic. Bench cleared. And Henderson did not care; what was a rough game with three early fouls became a an example in resilience.
He can attack the paint. He can finish when he has the open lane. He can draw the foul regardless. The real trick to it though? Shooting and making the three pointer then feeding Camara in a two-man game after his fellow rookie took the charge on the other end. It ended with 20 points, two pretty assists, two steals and block in the quarter.
Score turned off, the game became an informal dunk contest. Philadelphia’s Ricky Council IV drew first blood with a tomahawk jam down the lane. Henderson had mean intentions all quarter-long, but he wouldn’t find an opening until another transition play.
There would be no kickout to Camara. There would be no Greek approach to the rim. It was intent to cause harm to that poor basket. The Sixers tried to stop him, they tried to foul. But Henderson did not care. And-one.
Whatever, said Council, as he reverse dunked the ball. Whatever? Well, the young Blazers couldn’t stomach that. So they just took the ball away once. Then twice. Who cares if they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) score. Neither could Sixers pad.
This was not the perfect game. It’s probably not replicable for the Blazers. It’s not even worth obsessing over the statistics for. You want statistics? Go to ESPN or NBA.com for statistics.
This was the next best thing in a rebuilding season. When it is so easy to be negative or dismissive or disinterested, this game is what makes watching a season like this worth it. This was for the vibes.
The Blazers will need it for the emotions on Wednesday.
