of portland trailblazers faced houston rockets Without starting point guard Damien Lillard on Friday night. In the first few weeks of the season, Portland relied on Lillard’s 31.0 points average to win some close matches. Against the Rockets, he must produce other attack points and safety nets.
After all, the offensive points were plentiful and didn’t need a safety net. I answered. That included getting everyone watching on Moda Center and the broadcast feed to their feet. Jusuf Nurkic dominated midfield. Josh Hart and Jerami Grant found the opening and defended. All of this combined gave him a 125-111 victory over Houston with relative ease.
In case you missed the game, you can find our quarterly recaps here. After that, other observations from the evening.
great attack
From the start, the Blazers made up for Lillard’s absence and Houston’s generally poor defense by willingly sharing the ball. Two to three passes became the norm on any given play. They usually set up the action by dribbling and penetrating. Houston almost always had cavalry for help, and that’s where the fun began.
In a game like this, counting assists is only half the battle. (The Blazers have done 30 in his 48 buckets.) The infamous “hockey he assists”, or assists set up his pass, came up frequently. His 53.3% shooting percentage for the Blazers proves the effectiveness of the offense as a whole. Just shoot 20 free throws and you add 125 total points. The foul shot has become a staple of Portland’s point his production this season. They average 30.6 attempts per game. They didn’t need their charity stripes tonight. Most of their looks ended up being loosely guarded.
Nurkic plays bully ball
Jusuf Nurkic scored 27 points on 12-17 shooting. The low post was his bread and butter. He towered over the enemy defenders. As a result, he was able to catch even though his opponent’s center was literally inches away from him, leaning over his opponent in a mass-based blockade, spinning quickly and firing short shots unopposed. With his dribbling and lack of hesitation, Nurkic performed well in the post.
Turnovers and spotty play returned when things weren’t going well for Nurkic, but he did well for most of his 32 minutes on the floor.
sharp image
Shadon Sharp got off to the first start of his NBA career tonight. He came out aggressive, hitting his first jump shot cleanly and then out into the city. He scored his 14 points on his 7-12 shooting, but a few subtleties made the effort stand out. First, he passed the ball with pleasure, just like his teammates. Second, in attack, he played others when he didn’t have the ball and had a good grasp of spacing, both of which traits you’ll see in his SportsCenter Top 10 tonight. It was useful in the play that can be done.
three festival
The Blazers had a strong 3-point percentage, hitting 37.1% 13-of-35. See also…
Simmons leads the way
Anfernie Simmons stepped into the main scoring role tonight with a combination of authority and restraint. He didn’t start firing the game. He was nearly seamless as part of his attacking ball movement. As the first half ended, Ant picked spots and found more and more chances. At halftime, he scored a total of 23 points on his 3-pointer of his 7–11. He finished the game with his 30. When Simmons stepped in on Dame’s behalf, it was all to be expected.
rebound
Keeping balance on the board is the Blazers’ secret weapon this season. Nurkic’s height and the dedication of his teammates helped that story continue against Houston.Portland had a total of 45 rebounds, 11 of which he had 39 offensively. , 13 were rebounds for the Rockets.
Unstable “D”
Not everything was perfect for the Blazers. The win was fun and loud, whisper, but Portland still couldn’t close out well with a three and didn’t even go back into transition. The Rockets shot 36.8% of his shots from the arc (dropping to that level towards the end of the game) and he scored 21 fast his break his points against the Blazers 18. Easy points are the only kind Houston can score on a regular basis. Portland didn’t stop them tonight.
amount of sales
Despite this, the Blazers turned the young Rockets into 17 turnovers. An opponent’s mistake helped Portland open up an early lead.
Drew Banks
We mentioned Yusuf Nurkic above, but Drew Eubanks also contributed energy and had a surprisingly solid offensive attack behind Nurk. Eubanks was his player on the bench in this match and he scored 10 on 4-4 shooting. I’m glad I became the center.
next
After a few days of an incredible 5-1 start, the Blazers memphis grizzlies Wednesday, November 2, 7:00 p.m. Pacific.
