BLAZERS SHOW PROMISE DESPITE LOSS TO JAZZ

Last Sunday, Oct. 4, the Portland Trail Blazers hosted the Utah Jazz in an NBA preseason match-up which ended in favor of the Jazz, 123-112 – a game that the Blazers had in their pockets until they opted to rest their starting lineup in the final quarter and give their newcomers some more minutes.

And the fans weren’t bothered at all, as they knew that their star players are more than ready for the regular season to begin (Oct. 18 vs. the Lakers). Damian Lillard finished with 23 points and seven assists, CJ McCollum added 21 points and four assists and Jusuf Nurkic had 20 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks to end the night.

These three put in some serious work during the off-season and it showed Sunday as Lillard nearly had a perfect night from the field, making 9 of 11 shots which included 4 of 5 threes. And McCollum wasn’t far behind, making 8 of 13 shots, including 3 of 6 threes.

Nurkic was by far the most impressive, from defending Utah big man Rudy Gobert, setting screens on offense, making shots at the rim and shooting a couple of threes. Yeah, you heard me right: Nurkic was 2 for 2 behind the 3-point line and the crowd loved it, as it cheered him on. After the game in the locker-room interviews, Nurkic did say he won’t force them, but if he has an open look, he’ll take it, when asked if he was going to shoot many threes this season.

Portland head Coach Terry Stotts said that Dame, CJ and Nurkic played really well and were efficient against the Jazz.

“Damian was very efficient, obviously. I thought he played with good pace, had good looks,” Stotts said. “Nurkic was outstanding defensively. He disrupted things at the rim in the paint, blocked shots.. (and was good) rebounding. And CJ had a great all-round game.”

Lillard said he’s ready for the regular season and his regular minutes once the real season begins.

“This summer I did a lot of conditioning so, I came into camp and felt like I was in pretty good shape,” he said. “So, once we started playing at camp I was like, man, I’m in way better shape than I thought I was. Tonight, 25 minutes was a breeze so, I think I can play my regular minutes already, but we’ll see going forward.”

The fourth quarter mostly consisted of testing rookie guards Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr., as well as returning Blazers Wade Baldwin IV, Zach Collins and Caleb  Swanigan. The Jazz took advantage, outscoring the Blazers 39-20 and making the most of the seven Portland turnovers.

But overall, the Blazers looked to be the better of the two teams Sunday night, at least when both teams played their starting lineups and made rotations that are more likely to be seen once the regular season begins. Rookie guard Simons was the only non-starting Blazers player to score in double digits, finishing with 10 points in 13 minutes of play. He seemed more confident and aggressive, telling reporters he tried playing that way the first two preseason games, but had been too nervous.

“Tonight, I said ‘Go out there and play my game,’ ” said Simons. “All the confidence comes from all the work I put in.” His play on Sunday was “going out there, doing what I do in practice, and working hard,” he added.

Portland is set to open its 2018-19 regular season at home in front of an expected sellout crowd as they host the Los Angeles Lakers of LeBron. The game is big, not only for the fact that the Lakers went from missing the playoffs last season to being considered a real Western Conference contender this year, but also for bragging rights for Blazers fans, and an NBA record.

Why bragging rights? Well, because the Blazers have won 15 straight against the Lakers, which is tied for third (the other 15-game streak against the Minnesota Timberwolves, in 1993-96) for longest win streaks over a team in Portland franchise history. And because the NBA record for most home opener wins is the Blazers’ own 17 straight, and they will look to get No. 18 come Thursday at the Moda Center.

Tipoff is set at 7:30 p.m.; the game will be televised on TNT.

Advocate Staff