Portland Trail Blazers Grades At The All-Star Break

The Portland Trail Blazers, along with the rest of the NBA, are headed to the NBA All-Star break. This is a great time for the team to regroup – just go home, relax, and see their families.

This year’s All-Star break is a little longer than year’s past. Even after All-Star weekend, Blazers stars LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard will have a few days to relax instead of getting right back on the grind.

Here’s how the team stacks up so far:

Coaching: A

Terry Stotts has done great job this season. Last year, all 5 starters played every game going into the all-star break. This year, multiple players have missed games. The result? A 36-17 record, the exact same record from last year heading into the all-star break.

If Portland could have stayed healthy, we’ll never know, but you have to think they would be somewhere around the same record of Atlanta and Golden State. They are 1 of 3 teams that are top-10 in both offensive and defensive rating (points per 100 possessions) – the other two being Golden State and Atlanta.

Starting Backcourt: B

If not for a horrible shooting stretch from Damian Lillard, this group would get an A. Lillard has shown some much improved defense, especially down the stretch of game. I can think of multiple times where he either got a key block or a steal down the stretch of a close game.

Wesley Matthews has been great on both ends of the floor. This year he will participate in the 3-point contest. He’s my pick to win it. The Iron Man remains one of the premier 3-and-D players in this league.

Starting Frontcourt: B

Aldridge has done everything expected of him, and more. Postponing surgery on his left thumb was a huge statement from him saying that he’s all in for this team. Not only postponing that thumb surgery, but he has played phenomenal since doing so (25.2 PPG and 11 RPG since returning and foregoing surgery). He’s been LAMAZING. He deserves to get the start for Anthony Davis in Sunday’s All-Star game.

Robin Lopez has been great, while in the lineup. He missed 23 games with two fractured fingers. The Blazers went 13-10 during those games. Portland is 4-1 since he has returned to the lineup. 23-7 in the 30 games he’s played. His presence down low has been a key addition to this team these past two seasons – a main reason for their surge this season into the top ten in defensive rating (2^nd with 102 points allowed per 100 possessions).

Nicolas Batum has struggled this year. He still has his games where he fills the stats sheet with a near triple-double, and he has had a few 20 point games (2 to be exact). His shooting has been terrible, just 27% from long range. Just about every stat has gone down from last year’s averages. I honestly think he needs to take next summer off for himself, away from basketball. With his divorce this past offseason and constantly playing with the Blazers or for France, he hasn’t had the time to relax. Hopefully this All-Star break helps him rejuvenate, because the Blazers are going to need his A-game in the playoffs.

Bench Backcourt: C-

The lack of a consistent scorer from the guard position, or wing, has led to rumors flying around about Arron Afflalo and Wilson Chandler. The Denver Nuggets have multiple suitors for either or both of these guys. We’ll have to see what happens with that, but for me, I would welcome either one of these guys. They play hard on both ends of the floor, and with our improved defense this season, they would fit right in.

Steve Blake has still been “eh” for me. Neither good nor bad. He’s out there just playing his game. He has a good assist to turnover ratio (top-10), he moves the ball, gets others involved, but he won’t ever be much of a scoring threat or a lock down defender.

Will Barton and C.J. McCollum have been inconsistent, leading to some swaps in and out of the rotation. C.J. has seen more action on the court, though. C.J. just had back-to-back good games against the Houston Rockets and L.A. Lakers – both wins. I would love to see him add to that after the all-star break, but with the trade deadline looming, we might not see this in a Blazers uniform.

Bench Frontcourt: B+

I can’t say enough about this group. They are a big reason the Blazers have been able to maintain a top spot in the Western Conference.  All of the starting frontcourt players have missed time. Chris Kaman, Joel Freeland, Meyers Leonard, and Thomas Robinson have all done their part in filling in for injuries.

I have to give props to Leonard. This guy is finally showing improvements this season. He is finally getting it out there. His 3-point shot this season… can I can get two claps and a Rick Flair, wooooo. This guy is on pace to join the 50/40/90 club this season. That’s 50% from the field, 40% from 3, and 90% from the free-throw line. Only an exclusive few have made joined the club.

Thomas Robinson is one of the guys that could be on the way out. He’s been a little lost in the rotation, and with Joel Freeland nearing a comeback, he’ll sit as the fourth big coming off the bench. With him having one the bigger contracts on the Blazers bench to help match a deal, the odds are against him.

Allen Crabbe is another guy that filled in nicely during injuries. He started a few games at small forward for an oft-injured Batum. I would have liked him to be more aggressive offensively. The guy can shoot lights out – he just doesn’t shoot enough to get in one of those zones. And now he is back on the bench not getting minutes. Sometimes I don’t understand what coach Stotts is doing with the rotation, but he has them playing well nonetheless. Great job, Stotts. I look forward to seeing what the Portland Trail Blazers can do after the break.