It’s finally here! Game 1 out of 82 in the 2014-2015 NBA Season tips off in the Moda Center this evening on national television. All eyes in Rip City will be on the team that led us all on the magical ride to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 14 years.
Not many faces have changed, the coaching staff is the same, the philosophies have matured but not changed. The expectations are through the roof, but when the referee throws the ball up at 7:30, none of those expectations matter. That is when the off-season of talk turns into action. And that is why the city of Portland will be electric.
Not only is the opener a big game year in and year out, this year the Blazers tip off against their division rivals, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The games against the Thunder the last couple years have been incredibly competitive, highlighted by four All-Stars and down-to-the-wire games.
This year the game has lost a little bit of its appeal as the reigning MVP Kevin Durant is sidelined 6-8 weeks with a fracture in his foot. Not only that, the Thunder are also missing two other valuable rotational players in Jeremy Lamb and Reggie Jackson.
During the off-season the focus has been on how this team can improve from the season in which a lot of people think the team over-achieved. It all seems to boil down to defense and how this team can improve on the defensive side of the basketball.
The Blazers have played seven preseason games but you can’t learn a whole lot from those exhibitions. The defense in the preseason looked incrementally improved, but not dramatically. Tonight, when it matters, we will see just how improved this defense really is.
It all starts at the point, with possibly the most talented player on the team, Damian Lillard.
Lillard has long been criticized by his lack of defensive skills and intuition. He can make clutch shots and run a team offensively, but in a league full of offensively talented point guards, he has struggled at times.
Opening night, when the lights are brightest, Lillard gets to test his hand at defending one of the most explosive point guards in the NBA, Russell Westbrook.
The key to a Blazer victory in this game might just be how well Lillard can contain Westbrook. With Durant and other key scorers out, Westbrook will try to take out the game offensively. Westbrook would prefer to drive the lane every time down the court. If Lillard lets consistent penetration from the perimeter, it may be a long night for the Blazers. Letting Westbrook penetrate not only gives him easy looks at the rim, it forces the help defense down into the key and opens up shooters like Serge Ibaka and Perry Jones.
Westbrook wants to penetrate, Lillard needs to make him shoot jumpers, contested jumpers.
The rest of the team will fall into place defensively. Wesley Matthews has been very open that he believes he is a lock down defender and one of the best two-way shooting guards in the league. Nicolas Batum is so long and athletic that he is a terrific perimeter defender. Robin Lopez really emerged last year as a premier rim protector and post defender. LaMarcus Aldridge is somewhat underrated for his grit and willingness to battle on the defensive end.
The challenge rests on Lillard. And Lillard is not one to back down from a challenge.
If this team is going to improve on a 54-win season in this incredibly competitive Western Conference, they are going to need to improve on the defensive end of the court. That improvement will start with Lillard, and it should start tonight in the Moda Center!
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