Clippers VS Trailblazers (Game 5)

Trailblazers Lead Series 3-2

The Clippers have lost and are now in a downward spiral. They were doing such a great job. The game was tied in the 3rd quarter, but what happened?

The Clippers played well through the first 3 quarters. They were very aggressive. You could tell that they expected to win the game too. 52 of their points came from the paint. Jeff Green was very active on offense as he had 17 points. J.J. Redick had 19 points as well. These are two guys that need to produce if the team is to win.

Going into the 4th quarter is when the Clippers lost it. Jamal Crawford really hurt them. He played 10 minutes in the quarter and shot just 0-4 from the field in those 10 minutes. They weren't the best quality shots either and none of them were in the paint. Other than that the Clippers offense was fine.

Their defense was a different story. Damian Lillard had 16 points in the 4th quater! They were horrible defending him when a big came up to give him a pick. They kind of laid off him letting him get off the shots. When guarding Dame, you can't let him get an open shot at a 3. He will knock him down. Force him inside the arc where he can't hurt you as much.

Damian Lillard - Shot Chart 4th quarter - www.nba.com/stats

The Trailblazers had a great overall game. They once again beat the Clippers in rebounds. Mason Plumlee was a big reason why. C.J. McCollum played great as he ended the game with 27 points. Harkless had a double-double as he had 19 points and 10 rebounds. These guys really contributed to the game which took pressure off Damian Lillard as he only had to come out and close the game. The play from the Trailblazers was amazing and if they keep it up, they are going to be looking at closing this series next game.

Clippers VS Trailblazers (Game 4)

Series Tied 2-2

Chris Paul went down. So did Blake Griffin. Could it cost them. It sure could. Let's take a look at how it could affect them.

First off, I want to say that Doc Rivers made a big mistake not putting Luc Richard Mbah a Moute in the game during the 2nd half. Aminu took advantage of this as he had 30 points and 10 rebounds in the game. The effort wasn't there defensively from Jeff Green. I also think people forget just how great of a defensive player Chris Paul is. Austin Rivers just doesn't have as great of a defensive game as Chis Paul has. Without him, I think that Lillard is just going to explode in scoring these last games of the series, something the Clippers have been doing a great job of limiting this series.

J.J. Redick needs to produce with these 2 out. So does Jeff Green. You might remember back when Jeff Green was on the Celtics, KG told him he could be a star in this league. That never really happened, but now, Jeff Green kind of has his chance. They are going to rely on him to score. He needs to produce. J.J. Redick had 8 points in the game. He needs to be coming off tons of off-ball screens because that is where he excels. He must be much more aggressive coming off those screens. These two guys need to score.

C.J. McCollum was amazing in this game. While he didn't break 20 points in this game, he was amazing in this game defensively. He played solid defense. I was amazed with his impact defensively. You probably weren't watching, but off the ball, he defended so well getting around screen and just getting in his man's face.

Again, Mason Plumlee was amazing. He has been the surprise of the series. He had just 2 points, but he pitched in 14 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 blocks with those 2 points. He has done so much for this Blazers team. He really helped this Trailblazers team get 58 rebounds in the game while the Clippers had 42!

The Clippers aren't looking good. They need offense, and they need it bad. Someone is going to have to step up, and fast.

Clippers VS Trailblazers (Game 3)

Clippers Lead Series 2-1

Portland went home. This was a game that they needed to win, and they delivered. Everything I said needed to happen in my Game 2 breakdown, they did. Let's take a look at this game.

First off, Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum both decided to finally have a productive game on offense. Lillard had 32 points while McCollum had 27. I was very happy with McCollum's defensive effort too. He was a big benefactor to have on the defensive end. Both of these guys really helped their team win and they both had a superior offensive game unlike in games 1 and 2.

Mason Plumlee was a big part of Portland's win. While he only had 6 points, he had 21 rebounds and 9 assists to go with that. He out rebounded DeAndre Jordan, which is pretty impressive. As a result of this, Portland won the rebounding battle as they had 56 rebounds while the Clippers only had 44 rebounds. This is something that the Clippers have to do better. If they are going to win next game, they have to keep the Blazers off the offensive boards. The Blazers had 18 second chance points.

The Clippers took some really tough shots in the game. They tried to get into the paint but a lot of their shots were at tough angles when they tried to get in close. A part of that was Mason Plumlee's great interior defense, but they need to do a better job of penetrating.

I also think that they need to get Redick involved more in the mid-range game. Redick didn't take many mid-range shots and they weren't in his hot spots. They need to get him coming off screens from the top of the key. While Redick is a good 3-point shooter, he is a great mid-range shooter. They need to get him going with his mid-range shot.

I think that Portland can very well win this series if they keep up what they are doing. As for the Clippers, this wasn't that great of a game for them and they kind of strayed away from what they do. They need to get back to that.

Clipper VS Trailblazers (Game 2)

Clippers Lead Series 2-0

This was Portland's game to win. In fact, they might not get a better shot to beat this Los Angeles Clippers team. You have to take advantage of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan having poor nights.

The blame really falls on to Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum. I though both of them played really poor defense on Redick and Chris Paul. They both shot really well from the floor but that is because they were both defended poorly. Both of them also didn't play that great on offense. Both of them scored under 20 points in 38 minutes of play. Not to mention that Mason Plumlee was having a great game with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists and Harkless had a good game as well. It was Portland's chance to win and their stars let them down.

While the stars of the Trailblazers shot horribly from 3 and played poor defense, the rest of the team played very well. They tied the Clippers in rebounds with 52. They also capitalized on points off turnovers and also had 18 fastbreak points. The bench wasn't that great for the Trailblazers but that was mainly because they played with McCollum and Lillard on the floor who weren't able to take over at all.

Meanwhile, the Clippers bench play was amazing. They had 43 bench points as they were very productive and they picked up for Griffin's poor shooting night. They shot well and produced at a great rate. The guards were also great for the Clippers. Chris Paul and J.J. Redick were amazing. They both carried their team offensively.

This was a game that Portland could have very well. If they are going to win, they need Lillard and McCollum to produce on offense but also play much better against these talented guards in Redick and Paul. 

Clippers VS Trailblazers (Game 1)

Clippers lead series 1-0

The Clippers had a dominant game. Chris Paul was dominant, DeAndre Jordan was dominant, and Blake Griffin, he was dominant! The Clippers really took it at this team offensively. Part of this had to do with the interior defense of the Portland Trailblazers. Harkless and Plumlee can't guard DeAndre and Blake. That is where the Blazers don't matchup well with the Clippers and their big just need to step it up.

C.J. McCollum needs to score. Portland has the advantage in their backcourt and they need to use it. Chris Paul and J.J. Redick outscored McCollum and Lillard. That just can't happen for this Portland team if they are going to win. They need scoring from their backcourt. One positive for this team is that Gerald Henderson played really great. I think they should probably insert him into the starting line-up to provide a big lift at the beginning of the game. That should open up things a little more for Dame and McCollum.

If you watched the highlights from this game, you might think that the Trailblazers really got beat in transition, but the Blazers actually did a really great job with their transition defense, only allowing the Clippers to get 8 fastbreak points. Damian Lillard and McCollum made sure that they got back on defense and Chris Paul can't run like he used to.

Really, the Blazers shot pretty poorly and they just are going to have to step it up on offense next game. they also need their bigs to step it up on defense. The Clippers are really doing great. This is going to be a fun series to watch once Damian Lillard and McCollum start hitting more shots.

Aaron's Awards For The 2015-16 Season

As you might not have known, last year I made a post giving who I thought the award winners were for last year. This year, I am doing the same thing. So here we go...

Coach Of The Year: Before I jump into this, I do want to give a shout out to Dave Joerger; a guy that I think should be in the running for coach of the year. The guy had to deal with 28 different players this season. A regular team only has to deal with about 15-18 different players. The best thing about this, is that Joerger still managed to help this team get the 7th seed in the west even without most of their starters that they started the year with. But enough of me ranting on about the Grizzlies, I'll make sure I'll have a different post to do that in. Right now, we need to bring back the meaning of the Coach of the Year award because right now it seems like the team with either the best or the second best record gets the award. I think that doesn't really mean much. In fact, I don't think Steve Kerr even deserves this award. While they did great, I don't think it was their coaching staff that went above and beyond, I think it was their players. I also think it shouldn't be the "Coach" of the year, I think it should be the "Coaching staff" of the year where the whole coaching staff gets this award. While the head coach does so much, assistant coaches, coordinators, all of the film guys, and especially the medical staff do so much. Now, who is the Coach of the year? It could really go to Terry Stotts, who has done such a great job coaching Portland, or even Dave Joerger. But my coach of the year has to go to Gregg Popovich. He has lead to a great Spurs record of 67-15. Not only that, but they were able to do that while resting guys. With their best player, Kawhi Leonard out of the lineup, they were 7-3! That is why Pop is my pick.
Winner: Gregg Popovich

Sixth Man Of The Year: Jamal Crawford has the points but he has done nothing other than throw up shots. Enes Kanter, on the other hand, has been grabbing rebounds and has stepped up his defense. Kanter is shooting a career high in FG percentage and 3-point percentage as he has been a big help off the bench. Crawford, meanwhile, has been shooting poorly and has tied his career low in assists per game. Kanter has affected the team to be able to win while Crawford hasn't put up good shooting percentages or assisting numbers. While Crawford hit some big shots for the team, Kanter has been the better bench player.
Winner: Enes Kanter


Rookie Of The Year: While Porzingis and Okafor played pretty good, Karl-Anthony Towns was amazing. Here is what he lead the rookies in; points, rebounds, double-doubles, and minutes. He was second in blocks, shot 54% from the field, and averaged a double-double. Not to mention, he is the only rookie this year to get a player of the week award. He has played the best out of the rookies by far.
Winner: Karl-Anthony Towns

Most Improved Player: You could make a case for Isaiah Thomas or Kemba Walker, but C.J. McCollum has gone from a 6 PPG player to a 20 PPG player. I really can't give the award to anyone else, because no one has done that this season. Nothing even close to such change. Not to mention, he has been a big part in Portland making the playoffs.
Winner: C.J. McCollum

Defensive Player Of The Year: Draymond Green and Kawhi Leonard, how do you pick between the 2. Well, Draymond has been the better defensive player. While Kawhi has been putting tons of effort on offense, Draymond has been focusing his game on defense. Even though both guy negatively affect the team when they are taken off the court, Draymond has a bigger impact. When Draymond is taken off, the Warriors allow about 12 more points per 100 possessions, while the Spurs allow about 5.5 more when Leonard is off the court. Draymond averages 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks while Leonard averages 1.8 steals and 1 block. As you can see, both are great defensive players, but Kawhi is more of a focused offensive player.
Winner: Draymond Green
 
Most Valuable Player: Tied for 1st in steals, 11th in assists, 45.4% from 3 while shooting 11.2 3-pointers per game, made over 400 3's as he broke his own record of most 3s in a season, lead his team to the best record ever of 73-9, lead the league in points with 30.1 per game, and was only 10th in turnovers, Stephen Curry. Any arguments?
Winner: Stephen Curry

Do you agree? Disagree? Comment your thoughts down below!

Fantasy Friday: Preseason Pickers

The Preseason has been great. It has given us a preview of some great players and has given us a picture of what they will be like in the regular season. Take a look at the guys you need to pick up.

10. Nikola Vucevic: Well, this man can play basketball. We know he can rebound and we know he can score. But one thing Vucevic has shown us in the preseason is his passing and defense has improved. He had a great 5 blocks total so far and 4 steals. He also has 10 assists in 6 games. He is looking pretty snazzy, and improved. His recent 24 points and 14 rebounds game makes it seem like you need Vooch on your fantasy team.

9. Kyle Lowry: He doesn't look much better from last season, but the reason why he is on here is because people were very concerned when he played very poorly in the playoffs, but I can assure you Lowry is just fine. And if 40 points in 1 preseason game isn't enough, I don't know what is.

8. Nicolas Batum: Batum looks better than he ever has. This fantasy stats filler looks great in a lot of categories. He has had 2 double-doubles so far and he has passed the ball well. He will be a key player for the Hornets and looks like he will be filling the stat sheet.

7. Paul George: Nobody was really sure how Paul George was going to do, but I can assure you PG-13 is looking great. He has shown us a double-double and a 35 point night. He has scored and passed the ball, and is looking mighty fine on the court.

6. Andre Drummond: There was some questioning whether Andre Drummond would get more offensive opportunities when Greg Monroe went to the Bucks, and it seems like he is getting more opportunities. So far, in 7 games, Drummond has not scored less than 12 points in a game. He also had a 21 point night and is looking very strong offensively. Of course, Drummond's best area is his defense and his rebounding. He has 6 blocks and 6 steals total along with 88 rebounds. All of this being in just 7 games, where Drummond isn't playing many minutes. Expect him to be very strong offensively and defensively when the season comes along.

5. C.J. McCollum: This man is going to be in the running for 6th man of the year and most improved player. He has been doing a great job of scoring, rebounding, and passing the basketball, and he has been doing it at a high rate. How is 18.3 PPG, 4.4 APG, 2.6 RPG, and shooting 40.5% from the 3-point line not impressive.

4. Jeremy Lin: Surprise, Surprise, Jeremy Lin is coming back, but this time he is more of a role player. He might just be the best role player out there, and he is going to be a steal in the draft, mainly because he has been going undrafted. While he didn't look so great with the Lakers, he has averaged 15.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, and 47.1% from the 3-point line in 6 games with the Charlotte Hornets. Great job Jeremy!

3. Derrick Williams: Honestly, I don't even know how I can put this man at number 3 and not in a higher position because this mans preseason performance has been absolutely spectacular. This man is going to be on the free agents list for your league most likely, so pick him up. He has averaged 16.2 PPG, and 3.8 RPG. I'm asking myself, do I even know this player? Derrick Williams will give you points. Derrick Williams, didn't see that coming.

2. Gerald Green: Nobody could foresee a guy who just got a finger amputated, averaging 16.9 PPG, and shooting 41.2% from deep. But he has done it and Gerald Green is looking better than ever as we are seeing him hit some clutch shots lately. Good for Green!

1. John Jenkins: Who? The man who is averaging 20.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, and 1.5 APG, that is who. John Jenkins is averaging stats nobody who even dream of him averaging. He has done the impossible and hopefully it carries over to the regular season. Pick him up now, before someone else does.

Grizzlies VS Trailblazers (game 5)

Final Score: Grizzlies win 99-93



Grizzlies win series 4-1

It's all over. Another series finished. The Grizzlies just were too much for the for the hurt and lacking Trailblazers. Let's take a look at what the Portland Trailblazers did right and wrong.

The Blazers had a great contribution form C.J. McCollum as he had 33 points and shot 7-11 from 3 point range. He wasn't enough to give this team the win though. Even though Batum had a horrible shooting night, he still had 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Damian Lillard only shot 1-8 from the 3 point line. He had shot like that all series. Arron Afflalo just couldn't shoot. He was scoreless in the game. The Blazers also had 18 less rebounds than the Grizzlies. All of those things contributed to the loss in game 5 for the grizzlies.

The Grizzlies just played great. They controlled the boards, dominated in the paint, and played great defense. One thing they could have done better is shoot the 3. They only shot about 7% from three point range. That's pretty sad. Defensively, Tony Allen played great. He had 5 steals and 2 blocks. The Grizzlies had an astonishing defensive rating of 94.6. Beno Udrih played absolutley horrible. He had a defensive rating of 111 and an offensive rating of 65.3! That's a net rating of -46.6. Absolutely horrible! Udrih was great in pretty much every game of the series, but game 5 he couldn't do anything. He is going to have to play better in the next series if Conley is still out. If Conley is back, I don't see this guy play much if he continues to play like this. Of course, this was just one game. I expect him to bounce back in game 1 against the Warriors. 

The Grizzlies are moving on. I will miss the Trailblazers and all their crazy three point shooting they gave us. I wish the Grizzlies best of luck going into the next series. They are going to need it.

Grizzlies VS Trailblazers (game 4)

Final Score: Trailblazers win 99-92



Grizzlies lead series 3-1

The Blazers finally get one. It took them a while. It really didn't look like they'd get one either. Damien Lillard finally started to get his game together, and you could see how great the Blazers can be. But they can do better. Let's see how.

The Trailblazers get the win. How? Let's look at Lillard. He had 32 points to go along with 7 assists. The guy that stood out to me was Nicolas Batum. He had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. He also had the best defensive rating on his team. The biggest thing was Meyers Leonard and C.J. McCollum. They both a plus/minus of 23 and had the best offensive ratings for their team. They needed to step up as Afflalo ended the night shooting 0-5 from the field and had no points. They are going to have to have him step up in the next game though.

The Grizzlies played great. They were missing Mike Conley but that can't be an excuse. Zach Randolph can't be shooting 20 shots and only making 6. He also can't have 3 of the Grizzlies 9 turnovers. That can't happen. They also need to rebound better. The lost in the rebounding section 40-50. The Grizzlies should be the best rebounding team. Get a body on Batum. Other than that they looked pretty solid. Gasol was regular Gasol with 21 points and 6 assists. But he only had 7 rebounds. The Grizzlies are a great team and they just need to step up their game a little bit. If they can do that, they will win this series.