Blazers Make Statement With Domination of Grizzlies
Portland rose to the challenge against Memphis with one of its most complete performances of the season.
Notes, observations, analysis, clips and more from the Trail Blazers' dominant 130-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night at FedEx Forum.
- This one was basically over late in the second quarter, Portland playing with the edge, intensity and – as Damian Lillard called it on Tuesday night – "desperation" befitting a team in need of a statement win. It was Memphis who failed to meet the challenge in these teams' third and final meeting, despite the Blazers playing on the second leg of a road back-to-back. Making matters more impressive was how they responded to a brief threat, stepping on the Grizzlies' throat again early in the fourth quarter. There are countless positives to take from Wednesday's win; it's probably the Blazers' best of the season. But the attitude Portland' played with, almost from start to finish, might be the most telling and sustainable one.
- Norman Powell went scoreless against Indiana, and was pretty quiet in each of Portland's previous two losses to Memphis. Terry Stotts went out of his way to ensure that wouldn't prove the case on Wednesday, dialing up a set for Powell on the game's first possession that let him prey on Jonas Valanciunas in pick-and-roll. His speedy, swooping, lefty finish was a harbinger of things to come for Powell, who played one of his most aggressive games in a Blazers uniform. He attacked the paint relentlessly with straight-line drives, keeping the defense honest by pulling up from mid-range and finding open teammates with kickouts. Powell was a terror in transition, too, draining early-clock threes and raking-and-taking for explosive one-man fast breaks. Needless to say, Portland is a much better team when he's a central part of the offense – and Powell clearly thrives off the confidence that role provides him.
- The Blazers, by the way, hadn't won consecutive games by double-figures since the first week of February. They were a completely different team back then, playing without McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic and a world away from trading Gary Trent Jr. for Powell. If Portland turns its season around and makes noise in the playoffs, back-to-back blowout wins over the Pacers and Grizzlies will be considered the turning point.
- Powell, Lillard and C.J. McCollum combined for 73 points, nearly splitting field goal attempts evenly between them. The consistent pressure Powell put on the rim was huge, but McCollum was the Blazers' best offensive player on Wednesday, dissecting the Grizzlies in the halfcourt with typical poise and creativity. He made nine of his first 10 shots, scoring on an array of jumpers and finishes – including a lengthy, off-hand floater after putting Ja Morant in the blender. All three of Portland's starting guards were awesome against Memphis, but the ease with which McCollum did his work stood apart.
- Not to be overlooked: Derrick Jones Jr. didn't get off the bench in this game, out of Stotts' normal rotation and not getting off the bench during extended garbage time in the fourth quarter. He's been dealing with a hip injury recently, but hasn't been on Portland's injury report the last two games That Rondae Hollis-Jefferson received first-half minutes at small-ball five is revealing, too. At this point, it's safe to say Jones isn't a regular part of the Blazers' lineup, instead relegated to a matchup-dependent defensive specialist.
- The Blazers brought it defensively in their biggest game of the season, putting a body on Ja Morant early in transition and packing the paint in the halfcourt, neutering Memphis' two most consistent sources of offense. Portland was physical, communicated and even – for the most part, at least – seamlessly toggled between man, zone and switching, a season-long bugaboo. The shooting-challenged Grizzlies are prone to these types of ugly offensive performances, and definitely missed some easy looks from in close and beyond the arc. Lillard first set the defensive tone on Tuesday, extinguishing a hot Malcolm Brogdon by directly taking on the assignment. Portland followed that lead again less than 24 hours later, and it made all the difference – no matter how off a shooting night befell its opponent.