Portland is in an all too familiar place after Wednesday’s Game 2 loss. For the third straight year the Blazers are down 0-2 in a playoff series. They lost Game 3 the past two times and will try and reverse that trend when they host the Clippers on Saturday.
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TRAVEL/SCHEDULING/LETDOWN/LOOK AHEAD
As I’ve said before about this series, the Blazers need to win the backcourt battle to have any chance. They failed again in Game 2, falling 102-81, and face a 0-2 series hole heading back to Portland. Wednesday was undoubtedly a stronger Blazers performance than Game 1, but it ended with the same deflating result.
Portland made some key adjustments early. But just like Game 1, the Clippers defense bottled up Portland’s backcourt. Damian Lillard shot 6 of 22 and finished with 22 points. After a hot start, C.J. McCollum finished with 16 points on 6 of 17 shooting. Making the Game 2 loss even more difficult to take is that the Blazers were done in by L.A.’s bench, which extended a six-point lead entering the fourth quarter and effectively ended the game. But despite the 0-2 hole and offensive struggles, Lillard said he isn’t rattled as the teams head to Portland for Game 3.
INJURIES
Injuries are not a concern for either team heading into Game 3 of the series. But poor shooting is. Veteran forward Paul Pierce, who played nearly 11 minutes in Game 1, didn’t touch the court on Wednesday and Clippers coach Doc Rivers offered no explanation.
KEY MATCHUP
All of Portland’s other issues mean that their star player, Lillard, needs to play out of his mind to carry the Blazers to a victory. However, Chris Paul has largely gotten the better of Lillard so far in this series, which has only made things easier for the Clippers. We could laugh at the fact that the Blazers star was shooting 4 of 20 at one point on 4/20, the fact the he finished this night just 6 of 22 from the field goes pretty far toward explaining why Portland is in trouble.
The Blazers were always going to go as far as Lillard could carry them. And unless he can turn around his matchup with Paul, just making the playoffs may be the crowning achievement for Portland this season. But Lillard isn’t ready to give up just yet. He got plenty of good looks Wednesday night and just couldn’t knock them down. “Going home, everybody will be more confident,” he said. And why not, the Blazers are 76-37 all-time at home in the playoffs.
QUICK PICK
Entering the playoff series the Blazers said they might have to make the game “ugly” and “grimy.” That’s exactly what they got on Wednesday and they still couldn’t take advantage. It’s no secret the Blazers talent level among starters isn’t quite the same as the Clippers. What was unexpected was the play of L.A.’s bench. The group blew open a close game on Wednesday, outscoring Portland 43-10 in the game.
The Blazers will get a boost with the series headed to Portland, but these Clippers don’t look like the Clippers of old. They are a focused bunch that isn’t just satisfied with being in the playoffs. They hammered the Blazers with their depth and continued to do so with their defense. Lillard and McCollum have been held in check and it doesn’t matter what Mason Plumlee does because it just isn’t enough.
NBA Odds: Los Angeles 107, Portland 99
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