With Nicolas Batum a no-go for tonight's game due to a balky quad and Raymond Felton sitting (possibly the rest of the season) to rest a sore Achilles, the Blazers were up against it against the Phoenix Suns, falling 125-107. With the loss, the Blazers are now officially eliminated from the playoffs, and are guaranteed to have their first losing season since the 2006-2007 season.
Three Good
1) Three-point shooting - The team was again solid from beyond the arc, led by Luke Babbitt's 4-9 shooting from distance. Wes Matthews had another strong outside shooting performance, connecting on three of his five attempts, while Nolan Smith also notched a make (1-2 for the game). Flynn and Crawford combined to miss all five of their attempts from deep, but you'll take 38.1% shooting (8-21) from deep any day.
2) Nolan Smith - Smith has gone through plenty of growing pains in his rookie season, but looked much more like a rotation player tonight. While the Suns aren't exactly a great defensive team, Smith looked decisive on offense, and provided the best on-ball defense of any player on Steve Nash. 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals on 6-14 shooting with no turnovers in just under 33 minutes. Probably his best all-around game this season, and a definite confidence booster for both him and the front office.
3) J.J. Hickson - While his double-double streak ended at four games, Hickson was again the team's most active (and only) rebounder in the game. Hickson's jumper was solid tonight, and while the team needed more than 8 rebounds in 36 minutes from him with Joel Przybilla leaving early due to an ankle injury, the onus is on more than just him. 22 points (9-15 FG) and 8 rebounds (7 offensive). Management will likely do everything within reason to retain Hickson, who should be a valuable rotation player next season.
Three Bad
1) Team defense - Portland had so many defensive breakdowns (especially early) that led to easy buckets for the Suns. Any time a largely perimeter-oriented team like the Suns is able to shoot 60% from the field, you should be ashamed. Steve Nash was able to do whatever he wanted early, recording seven first quarter assists (13 total), giving the Suns an 11-point lead after one, and were never seriously threatened after.
2) Przybilla's ankle - While Joel isn't the player he once was, a turned ankle forced him out of the game early. While he returned briefly in the second quarter, Przybilla didn't return to the game after halftime. Coach Canales decided to go small, and the Suns were able to take advantage, getting far too many uncontested buckets against the undersized (and undermanned) Blazers defense. If the Blazers don't acquire at least one rotation-caliber defensive big man this offseason, I'll lose my mind.
3) Usage of Hasheem Thabeet - With Przybilla out, the team was sorely lacking interior defense. While Thabeet still struggles with the mental part of the game some, he would have given the Blazers a big body on the interior that could have altered shots. Thabeet did play 13 minutes tonight and was fairly productive, recording 5 points, 4 rebounds and a block in that time. The team is now officially eliminated from the playoffs, and should give the big man a little more run to see his long-term viability to the Blazers.
The Blazers will fly back to Portland tonight, and have an off-day before their home finale against the Jazz on Wednesday. Coach Canales will need to figure out a way to figure out how to shore up the team's interior defense, as the Jazz have a four-deep frontline that could cause the Blazers all sorts of headaches. Look for the preview, which will be posted tomorrow evening.
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