With 29 games remaining in the most surprising season in franchise history, the Blazers find themselves in the strangest of situations: trying not to fail.
For the most part, 2013–14 has been the opposite of past failures. It has been devoid of comical injuries, stagnant ball movement and forehead-slapping errors. The offense has been precise, the chemistry off the charts and the defe… ok, you can’t win them all. However, the defense has been good enough so far to help the team to the third best record in the West.
Thankfully, it appears the best is yet to come.
After chugging into the All-Star break a tired, beaten-down mess, the Blazers look to be re-energized by a rookie, while kept afloat by their stars.
After missing most of the first 40 games—as well as a good chunk of last season—rookie and 2013 10th overall pick C.J. McCollum seems to be coming into his own, sparked by a 19-point effort against Minnesota just before the break, where he single-handedly propelled the Blazers to a crucial road win.
“He made shots, he got out in transition, I thought he did a nice job defensively,” head coach Terry Stotts said. “It’s easy to look at the shot-making, but his playmaking at the point was good when it had to be…and I thought his defense was just as good as his offense.”
McCollum’s energy and shot-making ability seems to have rejuvenated a bench unit that has been maligned for the better part of two seasons. Along with Mo Williams, McCollum brings an innate ability to score, no matter his position on the floor.
Then there’s the Blazers’ two biggest weapons, LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard.
It’s easy to blame the Blazers’ sluggish first half finish on fatigue, and that was certainly a contributing factor. However, what’s often lost is that Lillard was going through the roughest stretch of his career for the last 15 games or so.
His shot wasn’t falling and his defense was as suspect as ever, yet the Blazers remained above water. Now after an eventful All-Star break (to say the least), if Lillard can regain his touch, he appears to be the last missing link for an offense that, at one point this season, was the league’s most dangerous.
Aldridge, on the other hand, saw no drop-off. From the outset this has been his season, his team. With career highs in points (24.1) and rebounds (11.5) to go along with his increased leadership role, Aldridge has been not only the team’s MVP, but a viable candidate league-wide. If Portland—often cited as a non-contender due to their jump shooting nature—is going to make a run past the first round, it will be Aldridge and his low-post game that gets them there.
His ability to perform down on the block—while not his main go-to move—will keep teams honest and let Portland’s three-point shooters (McCollum, Lillard, Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum) have the room they need.
Just because Portland is a surprise team doesn’t mean they can’t make noise come May and June. They have all-stars, leaders, solid bigs and an emerging rookie.
Now it’s time to piece it all together for one last magical stretch.