I don’t think I’m breaking any news here when I say that the first two games of the Portland Trail Blazers opening round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies could have gone a little better for Terry Stotts and his crew. In fact, one might even argue that, with the possible exception of the first quarter of Game 2, both games were an unmitigated disaster from start to finish. There’s no reason to sugar coat it. Things are looking bleak in Blazer-land.
The Blazers do have one thing still working in their favor, though, and that’s their two upcoming home games. The Blazers have been one of the top home teams in the NBA all season long, so, if they can hold serve at home they just might find themselves right back in this series. If you’re looking for optimism, that’s theory you’re grabbing on to. That, and the idea that the Blazers can’t really play any worse.
If you’re being honest with yourself, though, it’d take a near-cataclysmic event to swing things in the Blazer’s favor. Coming into this series, even the most homerific of Blazer fans knew that it would likely take a gargantuan effort from the team’s two All-Stars, mixed with some abnormally hot shooting from three-point land to advance. Instead, Aldridge has been inefficient, Lillard has looked like a rookie, and everyone else has been so cold they could sink the Titanic.
In fairness to the Blazers, though, injuries have really taken a toll on a team that only a few weeks ago was considered a legitimate title threat. With Wesley Matthews, Arron Afflalo and Dorell Wright yet to even suit up, and Chris Kaman going down before Game 2, this team is a shell of its former self. It’s tough to beat any NBA team when you’re missing four key rotation players, and Memphis isn’t just any old NBA team, they’re a legit contender to win it all.
So, what are you to do if you’re Terry Stotts and his staff? Is there anything they can do?
In all honestly, the answer is likely “No.” That’s just the honest-to-goodness truth.
All season long, this was one of the nightmare matchups for the Blazers, even before they were besieged with injuries. Now, with the roster in shambles, it’d likely take a Herculean effort from just about everybody on the roster in order to win even the two games necessary to get the team back home for Game 6, let alone take the whole series.
That’s precisely why it’s time for Terry Stotts to start leaning on some of his youngsters a little more. Start running iso-plays for CJ McCollum, send Meyers Leonard off screens for open 3s, or maybe even (gasp!) call a few plays for Allen Crabbe and see what he can do.
Sure, it might sounds crazy, but, that’s just the sort of thing we’re looking for here. I’m not saying that they need to throw in the towel and empty the bench, start Meyers over LaMarcus, play Crabbe over Batum in crunch time (if any ever exists in this series), or give CJ more minutes than Dame. I’m simply saying: whatever plays, sets and strategies are being employed up until now clearly aren’t working, so why not explore some of your lesser used options. Particularly those with legitimate upside to their game.
Say what you will about Stotts’ (usually) beautiful offense and the (usually) dominant starting unit, but whatever the Blazers have been doing out there this series hasn’t been working. Plain and simple. That’s why it’s time to shake things up and give these developmental players a real go.
Maybe giving the team a kick start of youthful energy and unpredictability catches the Grizzlies off guard and allows the Blazers to steal a game, or maybe it doesn’t. But, let’s be real here, in all likelihood the result will be the same either way, with Memphis cruising on to the next round while the Blazers are left to ponder what-could-have-been had their bodies not betrayed them.
What it will do, however, is give the Blazers young core a whole heaping pile of experience that simply can’t be acquired during the regular season or in the spot minutes they’re getting behind the starters.
Because, no matter how talented a player might be, there is always a “welcome to the playoffs” moment. That situation where a young player truly realizes that it’s simply a different game in the NBA’s second season. The pressure ramps up, the defense tightens the screws, and the refs swallow their whistle.
All those shots that were nice and open are suddenly contested. That layup off a pick-n-roll suddenly comes with an extra bump, and you better believe you’re not getting bailed out by one of those ticky-tack regular season fouls. Especially if you’re some unknown bench player getting hip-checked into press row for the first time.
Just like with any new level of basketball, the only way to truly prepare yourself to play in the brightened lights of the NBA playoffs is to get minutes. Get out there, take your lumps, and discover the nuances of playoff basketball. Learn how to dig deep and find that extra level of intensity that you didn’t even know existed. Or, even if you can’t do it yourself, simply go out there and get whooped by someone who can.
Put Meyers Leonard on Zach Randolph and let them battle in the post. Run him off some screens and see if he can continue his torrid pace from behind the arc. Make him guard the diversified game of Marc Gasol and see if he can pick up a few tricks along the way. Sure, he might get schooled a few times, but, those are some big time learning experiences. The kind that will stick with you into the offseason, and run through your head all summer as you put in your offseason work.
At the same time, go out there and call some plays for CJ McCollum. Make him go one on one with Tony Allen, maybe the most tenacious and physical perimeter defender in the league. Let him take an extended turn trying to stay in front of Mike Conley while trying to navigate a flurry of brutal screens from the plethora of Memphis big men. Test his mettle in big moments
We’ve seen great progress by young players like McCollum and Leonard this season, and Crabbe has the looks of a legitimate NBA player, too. That being said, all three are quite green when it comes to playoff basketball, possessing virtually zero big game experience from anywhere other than the bench.
That’s why it’s important for Terry Stotts to go out and make sure these youngsters get some legit minutes this playoffs this season, even if it means sacrificing what minuscule chance the Blazers still have at advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the second year in a row.
Because, this is about more than just winning this series, it’s about winning series’ in years to come. It’s about building a championship-level bench from the ground up, and getting them ready to contribute as soon as next season, when this Blazers team hopes to find themselves right back in the thick of the Western Conference Playoff hunt. Only this time, that championship-level starting-five might bring with it a bench to match.
And, heck, maybe the young guys surprise everyone, provide a youthful spark and rally the team to an improbable first round upset. I mean, it can’t be really be any less effective than what the Blazers trotted out there in the first two games, can it?
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