Sports Hey PDX December 16, 2024 0 Comments

Suns Outshoot Trail Blazers in Phoenix

The Portland Trail Blazers fell short of a win on Sunday evening in the Valley of the Sun, falling to Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns 116-109. Portland fell behind early, then made a nice comeback in the second and third periods. The fourth quarter was all Phoenix, though, until it didn’t matter anymore.

Kevin Booker led the Suns with 28 followed by Durant with 20. Anfernee Simons scored 20 for the Blazers, one of six Portland players in double figures. Both Deni Avdija and Jerami Grant put up 17.

Here are some of the key points from the game.

Missing Threes

The Blazers went on a few streaks throughout the game, but overall they shot just 15-49, 30.6% from the three-point arc. It was one of those nights where the opponent left Portland open on the perimeter. The shooting just wasn’t good enough to make them pay. It’s unfortunate because just a couple more made threes would have changed the complexion of the game. But what are you going to do? 49 of 94 attempts coming from distance doesn’t leave room for increased volume. If you’re going to win, you have to hit them. Portland didn’t.

Shaedon Aggressive

After a few games of half-disappearing, Shaedon Sharpe pressed the aggression button tonight. He drove when able, shot threes quickly when he was open. Shaedon going hard is much different than Shaedon trying not to offend. Though he shot only 5-15 from the floor, Sharpe finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. At least he tried.

Robert Williams Redux

Robert Williams III returned to the floor tonight, shooting 4-4 for 8 points and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes. He helped key a second-quarter run for Portland but didn’t get much second-half glory.

Clingan Offensive Sense

Donovan Clingan got the start tonight but was still on a minutes restriction. He managed 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in 19 minutes.

I’m still kind of taken with Clingan’s bonus feature, previously unadvertised: he has a much better floor sense on offense than his scoring ability and production would indicate. Offensive rebounding is the usual symptom of good court vision in centers. Clingan does that. But he’s also passing quickly and cutting into space without the ball. I don’t just enjoy watching Clingan score, I enjoy watching him play. If this is any indication of what kind of veteran he’s going to be, Portland got a gem in this year’s draft.

Offensive Rebounding

Speaking of offensive rebounding, it’s been hit or miss lately despite being a clear team strength when the Blazers started the season. Portland prospered when they bullied the smaller Suns on the glass tonight, though. They garnered 12 offensive rebounds with streaky production similar to their three-point shooting. They allowed Phoenix 12 as well though, nullifying their advantage.

Simons Finishing

Say what you want about Anfernee Simons, but he has a feathery touch on layups. Nobody else on the team has the ability to put the ball as many places on the glass and still convert as he does. It was an underutilized part of his game earlier in his career, but now that he’s closer to a #1 scorer he gets to use more of his arsenal.

The drive isn’t the strongest part of Simons’ game, but I’m always happy to see him use it.

Paint Points

In case you missed the last four analysis points all having to do with inside scoring, the Blazers finished with an 50-44 edge in the paint tonight. They’re getting better and better inside the arc. If only they could hit outside it too.

Silly Stats

This is a pet peeve, but I’m getting a little tired of the stat talk on Blazers Broadcasts. I understand that with the team losing this much they want to look at the bright side of everything in order to keep interest. Still, the statistical claims made by broadcasters are darn near misleading, sliced sideways and angled as they are to prove a point or draw a sunny picture.

One of them tonight was that three players off of Portland’s bench—Dalano Banton, Scoot Henderson, and Deni Avdija—average at least 10 points and 2 assists. Portland is the only team in the league with that distinction.

OK…so? Who picked 2 assists as the borderline? What does it indicate or affect? They probably drew the line there so they could include Banton and his 2.6 assists and thus qualify. Raise the bar to 3 assists and the Blazers don’t look so exclusive anymore.

Also, between them, the aforementioned trio average 6.6 turnovers along with their 10.7 assists per game. That’s a 1.62 assist-to-turnover ratio. Granted, it’s better than the terrible 1.3 ratio the Blazers own as a whole, which basically ties them for last in the league. But 1.6 would place those bench players in the bottom third of the NBA if extended to the entire squad. In other words, all that ball-handling and passing is no bueno. You’d never know it with the carefully-crafted stat on display, though.

I don’t like it much when individuals slice and dice stats to prove a specious point or make a story seem better/worse than it already is. I like it even less when basketball experts do it. We’re supposed to learn more about the games by watching them, not less.

I like the Blazers Broadcasting team in general. I just wish they’d stop the eye-rolling numbers game. The team’s play is giving the lie to all of the goopy-syrup stat stacking. How about we just talk about why the Blazers are winning or losing games and use the numbers to demonstrate? I don’t think anyone would think less of the organization if broadcasters said the team was having trouble defensive rebounding or really excelling when the threes fall. It’d help us understand what we’re watching, which would increase engagement with the game.

Tyus Jones

Tyus Jones had a hefty 19 points on 8-9 shooting with 4 assists tonight. On a recent episode of the Trail Daddy podcast, we talked about the Blazers needing a true point guard instead of the raft of hybrid ball-handlers they currently field. This is especially true if Scoot Henderson doesn’t pan out. Jones is on a minimum contract with the Suns this year. It expires at the end of the season. The Blazers wouldn’t have cap space to make him an offer, but if Jones remains in career transition over the next couple seasons, Portland might want to keep an eye on him.