If ever a team needed a solid stiff arm on the way to victory, it was Portland Wednesday night in the Moda Center.
Instead, it was the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chris Paul delivering the winning shot.
Earlier in the game, Paul paid tribute to Nic Batum’s infamous French uppercut to Spain’s Juan Carlos Navarro in the 2012 Olympic quarterfinals with a straight arm posted to Chris Kaman’s wishbone region. In a boxing match, Kaman would have had a moment to adjust his groin guard for better point guard protection.
Losing a close game to a Western Conference rival in what felt like a playoff game was painful enough. The Kaman cup shot didn’t help.
After Paul released his grip on Kaman’s shorts, tempers flared. An off-balance Paul got a two handed shove out of bounds. Kaman turned up court. He didn’t look back, didn’t look worried, and maintained composure with Paul and Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis in pursuit.
Do teams practice a protective formation drill for emergencies like Big Baby and Chris Paul going off script? The Blazers circled up for one of their own, screening upset Clippers away from further conflict. The Secret Service should take notes. Big Baby took a seismic flop to add more drama, then tried to get to LaMarcus Aldridge. The protective shield held strong.
The question was if it was a Flagrant 1 or Flagrant 2 on Kaman. After reviewing the action, the crotch shot and double handed jam equaled out and everyone played on. Made it feel more like a playoff game.
Did the low blow make a difference in the game? Possibly. What’s known for certain is the Trail Blazers needed a hero in the final minutes. If it had been Robin Lopez, he would have matched his twin brother Brook’s last shot for the Brooklyn Nets win over the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden at the end of the early game.
That’s how sports story books end. Then the brothers send out tweets congratulating each other. Not tonight.
This one ended with a few more questions than answers.
When will someone remind Blake Griffin he can’t hit his jumper? You don’t finish with twenty four points on faulty shooting. Add seven rebounds and you’ve see the problem, and it’s not refs letting him hop behind the three point line and shooting without dribbling. A traveling call wasn’t the problem, it was Chris Paul’s forty one points and seventeen assists.
Paul spent the day surrounded by social media clips of Steph Curry making him look old and weak and falling down. He’d lost a step. Couldn’t anticipate Curry’s quicks. He was moving into the John Stockton instinctual-play part of his career after Curry broke his ankles in front of everyone.
Memo to NBA: he’s not there yet.
Instead he plays inside with a shocking physical presence. He spins a dribble fake toward Joel Freeland on a right side drive and pulls the ball back like a yo-yo on a string. Who else whips a long diagonal pass to the corner with a spin that bends it like Beckham? Or dives for a ball with Damian Lillard, on Lillard, rolls on top of him and sits NFL style before passing?
Chris Paul is smarter than everyone on the court and plays up and down the floor, on the floor, everywhere. And he’s in the second game of a back to back playing long minutes. Didn’t look tired until he chest bumped with Dahntay Jones and nearly went down. Neither did Matt Barnes.
All Barnes did was wrap up Batum and LA, making me miss Wesley Matthews to settle his attitude. What would Wesley do after Barnes pushed Lillard into the sideline chairs near the end of the game?
The Trail Blazers needed a hero. C.J. McCollum was almost that guy. Dorell Wright looked good going coast to coast.
This was a playoff test. Time to start pushing back harder. Let’s keep it above the belt next time.
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