When I was a kid, I wrote a running diary about every game of the Portland Trail Blazers’ 1991-1992 campaign. Reading every recap was like reading how every game was either the best day of my life or the end of civilization. Rarely was I levelheaded unless I was running down the stat line of players and even then it was iffy. If you know how that season ended, you know it was not a good week in my life. It’s hard being a fan and being reasonable at the same time. There is a reason why ‘fan’ is short for fanatic. Which is why I have invited my inner, overreaction self to assist me with this year’s Blazers recaps so I don’t have to try and be (too) reasonable. This will be has therapeutic and informational as any recaps get, mostly therapeutic for me. So, without any more ado, I give you the recap of the Blazers home opener.
Overreaction Me: Northwest Division crown here we come! 60 wins? Here we come. This was a great way to start a championship season and it firmly plants us with the best in the west.
Reasonable Me: No doubt this was a good win. But, it was just the first game of the season and it was against a Thunder team without Kevin Durant.
Overreaction Me: Whatever. We showed why tonight we will be a team to reckon with. Even after a horrible first 24 minutes in which Damian Lillard proudly represented his first half point total on his jersey, we just rode LaMarcus Aldridge until the rest of the team was ready to play. We just don’t lose on opening night, it’s impossible. This was our 14th straight home open win.
Reasonable Me: LaMarcus was impressive. He was largely overshadowed by Westbrook’s more athletic 38 points. Aldridge’s 27 points was impressive in that it kept a mostly lethargic Portland team in the game for 3 quarters. He was a calming presence when the Blazers needed a bucket to just stay within arm’s reach.
Overreaction Me: And then it was Lillard time in the 4th! Give me 4th quarter clutch any day over Westbrook’s talent to play in 3 quarters only to disappear. Once Lillard and Batum woke up, it was all over. The Thunder doesn’t have anyone else besides Westbrook, especially with Durant out, who can score. Nobody.
Reasonable Me: Speaking of Russell Westbrook, he was the sole reason I was concerned about this game. In the first half, he was like a kid in a candy store who stole his Mom’s (Durant) wallet and was allowed to do as he pleased without any concern for criticism. And for a while, he did not disappoint. But, by the fourth quarter I think he grew tired of carrying the Thunder on his shoulders.
Overreaction Me: Oh, please. Did you see any of those flops? How do the refs still fall for those? I’m pretty sure he earned at least two Academy Award nominations during that game. That flop in second quarter against Wesley Matthews was egregious. The refs helped him out with at least half his points. Not impressed one bit. Aldridge earned every point.
Reasonable Me: I liked Chris Kaman tonight. He looked good for the most part. However, all those offensive boards the Blazers allowed when the game was still in question is concerning.
Overreaction Me: I liked Kaman too. Mark him down as a potential 6th man candidate…
Reasonable Me: Oh boy…
Overreaction Me: …and as for allowing all those offensive boards to the Thunder, as you said earlier, it’s only the first game. I mean, we can’t be perfect after only one game. Give us at least a month to perfect ourselves. Besides, the Thunder allowed just as many as we did. We had 13 offensive boards to their 14.
Reasonable Me: How did you like the defense tonight? It was one area the Blazers really needed to improve upon this year.
Overreaction Me: We had more points than the Thunder so I thought our defense was terrific. Take out Russell Westbrook and this team barely scores 50 points.
Reasonable Me: Should we be concerned about Portland’s bench? Kaman was the only real threat. He had 12 points and 6 boards which was a solid game. The rest of the bench had 8 points total. C.J. McCollum looked shaky. Blake had 5 assists but went 0-4 from the field. No one else saw any real minutes.
Overreaction Me: Nope. Next question.
Reasonable Me: No concerns? I’m a bit concerned.
Overreaction Me: Dude, you are ruining my high.
Reasonable Me: OK, so who’s your MVP tonight?
Overreaction Me: Is there any doubt. LaMarcus Aldridge is a NBA MVP candidate after tonight. That dude is for real.
Reasonable Me: Agreed. Aldridge is the MVP. For tonight’s game. Let’s play at least a month or two before we start chanting NBA MVP, though. Wesley Matthews should not be over looked, however. With 22 points, Wes was 5-9 from behind the three-point arc and his two consecutive three’s in the fourth helped Portland pull away in the end. By the way, how sweet was that alley-oop from Nicolas Batum to LaMarcus Aldridge in the 4th quarter that pretty much let all the air out of the Thunder?
Overreaction Me: We are riding the L-Train to MVP land baby and then to the Finals!
Reasonable Me: How about we look at the next game first?
Overreaction Me: At Sacramento? Cake walk.
Reasonable Me: We have trouble in Sac Town a lot. But I think it should still be a ‘W’.
Overreaction Me: Blazers by 30.
Reasonable Me: I’ll keep it more of a game. Blazers by 12, but like tonight, it’s close for 3 quarters. See you all for the next recap!
Overreaction Me: Can’t wait to recap the Finals!
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