The Trail Blazers gave the Warriors everything they could handle in Game 2 but, unfortunately, couldn’t make the plays they needed to steal the win. This happens to the Warriors. Beating them always requires a certain degree of improbability and so when they look vulnerable for a quarter or two, they let you latch onto
Portland Trail Blazers
There is no prelude necessary as we get ready for the Western Conference Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers. Today we’re walking through 10 questions that will define the series and determine who gets to face the winner of the Milwaukee-Toronto matchup for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. When are Kevin Durant
Stephen Curry came out blazing hot and buried the Trail Blazers under a barrage of 3-point bombs in Game 1. Without Kevin Durant, the Warriors look like a different team. Unfortunately for the Trail Blazers, it was the old team. You know, the one that won 73 games and was led by the NBA’s first
DENVER, CO – MAY 12: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers shots the layup against the Denver Nuggets during Game Seven of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on May 12, 2019 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading
PORTLAND, OR – MAY 9: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers high-five during a game during Game Six of the Western Conference Semifinals on May 9, 2019 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that,
AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty ImagesDENVER, CO – MAY 7: Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets gets the crowd pumped up after a bucket during the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. The Denver Nuggets versus the Portland Trail Blazers in game five of the teams’
Previewing the first-round series between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder with shot charts, assist maps, offensive style charts and expected win probabilities. Shot charts Aside from the stellar play of Damian Lillard, the story for the Blazers heading into the playoffs is the injury status of CJ McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic. According
With the NBA’s post-season in full swing and historic playoff games being played almost nightly, there are some storylines to watch as the race to a championship unfolds. Here are a few things to watch, especially if some of the ongoing series don’t play out as some had hoped when the season started some seven
PORTLAND, OR – MAY 5: Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets prays with teammates before the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday, May 5, 2019. The Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trail Blazers game four of their second round NBA playoff series at the Moda Center in Portland. (Photo by AAron
PORTLAND, OR – MAY 3: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts against the Denver Nuggets during Game Three of the Western Conference SemiFinals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on May 3, 2019 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and
Previewing the second-round series between the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers with shot charts, assist maps, offensive style charts and expected win probabilities. Shot charts Following a bizarre conclusion to Game 7, the Denver Nuggets have advanced past the San Antonio Spurs into the second round. Over the course of the regular season, the
The regular season ended with both the Thunder and the Blazers hobbling into the playoffs and neither guaranteed much postseason success. Portland lost its best player, cruelly, to a gruesome leg fracture in the 55th minute of a late-March game while Oklahoma City clawed for every win down the stretch, taxing its players in the
DENVER, CO – APRIL 29: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets reacts to a play against the Portland Trail Blazers during Game One of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 29, 2019 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by
“Lazy! Ballhog! Choker!” The basketball social media universe is unforgiving for a number of players in the NBA. By scanning the timelines of many users in this world, you’ll see all kinds of arguments and debates—seriously or jokingly—rooted in recency bias due to the 24/7 news cycle rate at which news happens in 2019. A
Damian Lillard sent the Thunder packing and his Trail Blazers to the second round with an all-time great playoff performance. One of the feistiest first-round series in this year’s playoffs was ended by one of the greatest shots in playoff history. With the score tied at 115, Damian Lillard calmly dribbled the ball just this
PORTLAND, OR – APRIL 23: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts after he hit a game winning three-pointer against the Oklahoma City Thunder after Game Five Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees
Damian Lillard and company have answered every challenge from the Thunder, taking Game 4 and giving the Trail Blazers control of this series. The Thunder seemed to have stolen momentum in Game 3, getting a big night from Russell Westbrook and trolling Damian Lillard throughout their first win of the series. The Trail Blazers bounced
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum were too much for the Thunder, pushing the Trail Blazers to a blowout Game 2 win. Through two games, the series between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder has been sketched in by the stars. Paul George, with a bum shoulder, and Russell Westbrook have traded off having
PORTLAND, OR – APRIL 14: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers reacts during play against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter at Moda Center on April 14, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) Breanna Stewart appears to suffer serious leg injury in Euroleague title game by Ian Levy
A duel between Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard favored the Oklahoma City Thunder at home, who won, 120-108, to keep their 2019 NBA Playoffs hopes alive. The nature of basketball says teams generally go as far as your best player take them but rarely do such top-heavy groups test that truism as aggressively as Portland
Before the playoffs began, we used this space to check in on six key questions that would help decide who won the first-round series between the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Blazers now lead that series 2-0 after sweeping their home-game set, so we figured now was as good a time as
Last year in this space, we introduced a metric called Wins Above Age-Derived Expectation, or WAADE. It measures exactly what it sounds like: how many more wins an NBA team actually gets than you would have expected them to based on their minutes-weighted age. In introducing the metric, we highlighted several teams that stood out
Zach Collins doesn’t remember the time, the day of the week, or even the name of the hotel. His body was waging a war against itself — a need for sleep but too much energy to simply succumb — as he tried to accept the immensity of the moment. “You’re sitting there, alone, thinking, ‘Damn,
Can you believe that the NBA regular season is less than a month away from concluding? It’s March 18, and teams are gearing up for the final stretch run before the playoffs get here. Thus far, there have been three teams to solidify their spots—the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers—while the rest of
Welcome to The Whiteboard, your daily source for the previous day’s best NBA content from around the internet, plus an original column. Catch The Whiteboard here on The Step Back, and subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. The two teams leading the NBA in net rating in the calendar
Al-Farouq Aminu remembers when he was on a minimum contract. It was five summers ago in 2014. The Dallas Mavericks had signed him to a two-year, $2.1 million deal with a player option for the second season. After playing as a rookie with the Los Angeles Clippers and spending the next three years in New
After bruising and scoring through Kevin Knox‘s clutches, Jusuf Nurkic was anchored at the free-throw line, chasing a retrograde 3-point play. Moments later, he twirled the ball between his bear paw hands, dribbled twice and capped a 68-second stretch featuring six points, two rebounds and one block. But first, a young fan, clad in a
Last week, the NBA’s trade deadline finally came and went — along with plenty of worthwhile fireworks of their own — and buyout season is officially in full swing. But as franchises continue bolstering their roster ahead of the postseason (or lottery-bound future efforts), another deadline occurred recently without much fanfare. In January, the cutoff
The NBA is a beautiful league, full of exciting players. There are players of different height, weight, speed, all with unique styles of play that make each player special. No one has Giannis Antetokounmpo’s wingspan, LeBron James’ combination of size and speed, Steph Curry’s range, or Russell Westbrook’s explosive athleticism. But buried in the Pacific
PORTLAND, OR – JANUARY 16: Rodney Hood #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers works against Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers in the first half during their game at Moda Center on January 16, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph,