Well, fuck.
That basketball game wasn't very fun, was it? It didn't even have the decency to be fun. The Trail Blazers lost the second game of the series to the Los Angeles Clippers by a mark of 102-81. The Blazers are now down 2-0 in the series. The good news is, the series is headed up to Portland for the next two games—the bad news is the Clippers seem to be dream-eaters right now.
They're playing really well—frustratingly, maddeningly well. Playing the Clippers right now is like trying to build a sand castle during high tide, it's like beating Battle Toads, it's like eating a 72 ounce steak at Sayler's Old Country Kitchen. Every time you think you're making progress, the reality of how daunting your predicament is comes crashing back in. Just when the Trail Blazers go on a run, the Clippers battle road back with a barrage of unlikely threes or a swarm of stifling defense. Fuck.
I think Blazer fans were hoping game two was a course correction for the Blazers, it ended up being a confirmation. Mason Plumlee played better in the post and McCollum scored more, but the Blazers still missed so many open shots. They had what can only be described as “hella” shots blocked at the rim. They let JJ Redick run around and drain what seemed like endless shots off of screens. They couldn't slow down Chris Paul. When the team was within four points at halftime, it seemed like a fluke, and it turned out that it was. The pendulum swung closer to the Blazers favor than it had before, but like pendulums do, it then swung even farther away. I'm sorry this recap is grim, I was sitting in front of a bunch of loud dickhead Clipper fans who thought it was funny to scream “Tyler Hansborough” every time Plumee had the ball. I nearly killed them with my hands.
There's reason to be optimistic. The series heads back to Portland and Damian Lillard hasn't gone off yet. It seems like that's going to happen. The rest of the team knows what they're doing. Chris Kaman is contributing! In games one and two, the Blazers played their instruments one at a time, it was never a song, just a bunch of sustained noise.
As they return home, they're going to need to give us a symphony.
The Blazers take on the Clippers in game three at home this Saturday, April 23. Tipoff 7:30 pm. Tickets here.
