Sunday night saw the first real blowout of the season for the Trailblazers, a 30 point stomping of the hobbled Minnesota Timberwolves. No Blazer scored over 20 points in the evenhanded beating. The big men, Nurkic, Collins, and Leonard were especially dominant, out-rebounding the Wolves 66-38. It was a nice way to bounce back after a tough loss to the Lakers the night before. The final score was 111-81.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have been at the center of one of the more watched storylines this season as star player Jimmy Butler expressed openly that he no longer wanted to be part of the team. Not long ago Minnesota was a land of promise, with Butler guiding rising stars Karl Anthony-Townes and Andrew Wiggins to a celebrated playoff appearance. But on this night the team appeared fairly toothless. Jimmy Butler sat out due to "rest" and Derek Rose, who had surprised the league a few games back by dropping 50 points on the Utah Jazz, was sidelined with a sore ankle. Blazers took full advantage.
From the start of this game it was clear who would own the paint. Blazer big man Jusuf Nurkic appeared to be able to get any shot he wanted, and when he exited, Zach Collins picked up the mantle, and when he exited, good old Meyers Leonard stepped up to have one of the best games of his career. Blazer fans have often expressed frustration with the physically gifted Leonard, but on this night he played just how many have long hoped he would, fighting hard for rebounds and making his presence known inside. Leonard finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, his first double double of the season. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum looked great, as usual. The Blazers led by double digits at the half.
Let's take a look at some of the fans in the hallways during the break, shall we?
A father/daughter duo, with fries!
Wait, is that NBA and Trailblazer legend,Terry Porter?! Why, yes it is. He said he was just here to check out the game and root for his old team. Terry Porter!
Mother/Daughter!
Facepainters:
This dude, Josh, was one of the few Wolves fans present at the game. It turns out he's a NBA superfan, taking a week off work to follow the Timberwolves on this current road trip. That's dedication, man!
The second half of the game was enjoyable because the Blazers led the entire time, but there wasn't a lot of drama overall. Karl Anthony-Towns was the only bright spot for the Wolves, though he kind of shut it down once the game became fully out of reach. Blazer rookie Gark Trent Jr. saw his first NBA minutes and scored his first basket in the fourth quarter. Welcome to the league, Gary!
I'll go out on a small limb here and say that this year's Blazers look better than last year's Blazers. With only 10 games played it's a small sample size, but a few things look apparent:
1) Key players have improved, most notably Zach Collins and Evan Turner.
2) On the whole the new guys play stronger than the guys they replaced. The duo of Stauskas and Curry has more scoring power than Napier and Connaugton and seem to gel better with their second unit counterparts. Unlike last year, the second unit doesn't struggle to hold the score.
3) Three point shooting options are much greater. This game wasn't a great example of that, but on any given night, the Blazers now have multiple options from outside. Last year it was pretty much only Lillard, McCollum, and Aminu.
4) Lillard and McCollum are bringing the same awesome goods to the table offensively, and seem determined to shake the weak defense label that has dogged them in past seasons.
The question remains whether this improvement is actually enough to make a real difference in the highly competitive Western Conference, but right now the Blazers sit at a respectable 3rd place with a 7-3 record. They play the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks here in Portland on Tuesday. If you are looking to catch an early season game, this would be a good one as the tickets are reasonable and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is a wonder to behold, a future superstar who will surely give the Blazers trouble.
