The Blazers had what was essentially a skeleton crew on the floor last night. The team was already without LaMarcus Aldridge for the rest of the season, but ended up sitting starters Joel Przybilla (illness) and Raymond Felton (Achilles), as well as sixth man Jamal Crawford. Nicolas Batum was also limited due to a strained quad, playing only 16 minutes. Predictably, Portland was beat up inside, as they were outrebounded 49-39 by the bigger, more physical Jazz frontcourt. Ultimately, the Blazers fell to the Jazz 112-91 to close out their home schedule.
Three Good
1) Jonny Flynn - After struggling against the Suns as the starter, Flynn came off the bench against the Jazz on Wednesday. Flynn played 25 minutes in the game, and largely made good decisions with the basketball, finishing with 7 assists against only two turnovers. Flynn was 3-7 from the floor, but did a great job of attacking the basket, attempting 7 free throws (making five). While it would be a stretch to call Flynn a starting-caliber point guard, he's still just 23 years old, and could be a decent backup.
2) Luke Babbitt's confidence - It's been amazing to see the difference in Luke Babbitt since becoming a rotation player under interim coach Kaleb Canales. While his shooting numbers weren't great (6-17 FG, 2-7 3PT), he's decisive with the basketball, and isn't afraid of getting pulled should he miss a shot. He also worked hard on defense, though he lacks the lateral quickness to guard some elite small forwards and the bulk to bang with big power forwards. Like Flynn, Babbitt is probably never going to be a starter for the Trail Blazers, but if he's able to continue to shoot the three with confidence and accuracy (46.4%), then he could be a solid contributor as a scorer off the bench.
3) Wesley Matthews - Matthews continued his stretch of solid play for the Blazers, logging a team-high 21 points. This stretch has done wonders for his confidence, as he's been more consistent in squaring his shoulders on his shot release, and has seen his three-point shooting numbers improve considerably. Whether Matthews is better-suited as a starter or coming off the bench long-term, his energy, effort and improved performance have been good to see.
Three Bad
1) PG Nolan Smith - Don't get me wrong, I like Nolan Smith. The problem is, I like him as a shooting guard. Smith struggled with pressure from both Devin Harris and Jamaal Tinsley, and didn't record a single assist in 39 minutes of play. He didn't shoot the ball poorly (7-16, 16 points), but there was limited offensive flow when he manned the point. Smith is a two-guard trapped in a point guards body, and will likely be at his best when trying to score.
2) Three-Point differential - Being as thin as they were, Portland knew they needed to pick their poison against the Jazz. The team actually did a reasonably good job of closing up the paint on offense (34 points between their top four big men), but Utah was able to connect on 10 of their 17 attempts from three (58.8%). Meanwhile, the Blazers weren't able to re-capture their recent success, hitting just 6-20 from three (30.0%). On a night when Portland needed big production from outside, they couldn't get it done.
) Rebounding - I hesitated putting rebounding on my list, as the team was ridiculously short-handed in the frontcourt. It wasn't as if the team didn't put forth the effort, but the Blazers were out-rebounded by 10.
Just three games remain, and it's pretty clear that the young guys will continue to get the majority of the playing time. The Blazers start their season-ending three game road trip Saturday against Memphis. Look for the preview tomorrow evening.
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