Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
The Blazers pull out a big win against the Sixers in Philly.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Charles Fox/The Philadelphia Inquirer.)
So the Blazers, without much of their starting line-up, upset the Sixers in Philadelphia. One of the absences include Damian Lillard so, yes, this was a pretty big surprise.
With all these injuries, you kind of realize how deep Portland can get. Even with all of their defensive woes, they have players that can get buckets. Obviously, Carmelo Anthony is one of the greatest scorers the league has ever seen and he’s still a threat today. Rodney Hood is known for his offense. Gary Trent Jr. has come on over the last year and Enes Kanter just gets it done inside. CJ Elleby, who was their second-rounder, was able to get 15 points on Thursday and Anfernee Simons got 14 off the bench. Simply put, they can score.
What had me wondering at the start of the season was if they can ever get their defense together. Currently, they’re 28th of 30 teams in defensive efficiency (that is points allowed per 100 possessions). But we also know that Portland has historically been stricken with bad luck on the injury front. Zach Collins seems like he’s been out forever. Jusuf Nurkic is out extensively with a hurt wrist. CJ McCollum won’t be back for a few weeks. Lillard sat out Thursday and the Blazers are blessed that he has stayed relatively healthy his entire career.
In the week where they won 4 in row (Jan. 7-13), the Blazers ranked in the middle defensively (14th). So they are capable. And they have defensive players on their roster like Nurkic (who was hurt on the 14th, which they lost by 24 on the second game of a back-to-back), Derrick Jones Jr., Trent, and Robert Covington. While they only have four players left from that particular roster, the 2017-18 team was 8th in defensive rating. Granted, Lillard and McCollum are not the greatest defenders, even if willing, but they had have a full year of Nurkic, who is just a wall inside.
In the meantime, it’s all about staying healthy for the Blazers. They’ll try to outscore opponents because they are way better than that than stopping anybody. But they’ll have to get better on that end of the floor if they really want to contend.
(For reference, the Blazers team that went to the West Finals finished 16th in defensive rating.)
Bullet Passes
Kelly Oubre, Jr. scored a career-best 40 points against the Mavericks. The Warriors scored 147 overall. Good for Oubre, who has been blasted for his porous play this season.
The Jazz are back on their winning ways and Jordan Clarkson continues to prove himself as the best 6th man in the league today. He led the Jazz with 23 points in their blowout win over the Trae-less Hawks.
Well, that was a rough one for the Nuggets.
Christian Wood‘s season was halted again after injuring his ankle once again. It’s really too bad because the Rockets had been riding high as of late. That would mean extended time for DeMarcus Cousins. He did have some vintage games during that win streak. He’ll have to do it again now that he’s back on that spot.
LeBron James is not happy about the NBA potentially holding an all-star game. That’s a huge statement because anything LeBron says, the NBA is likely to follow. We’ll see how this develops.
NBA Scoreboard
Feb. 4, 2021
Watch This Play
It’s pretty rare to see a dunk highlight from Draymond Green.
Draymond Green tonight
11 PTS, 15 AST, 6 REB in 29 MINSpic.twitter.com/mv5UDdYPsA— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) February 5, 2021
Draymond also had 15 assists. He started at center. That is only the third starting center to dish that many dimes.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.