Conclusion: Is the Portland Trail Blazers vs. the Los Angeles Lakers a lock?
No! There is no guarantee Portland can beat Memphis. Their offense is amazing but their defense is a catastrophic liability! Memphis can convert Portland’s long misses into easy fast-break points on offense.
Their last game was as close as it can be. Memphis and Portland went into overtime in their last meeting. Memphis fought hard but Portland’s big three of Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Carmelo Anthony proved to be too much in overtime.
Melo hit some clutch shots in regulation. Dame and CJ put Memphis away in overtime.
This game took place when Memphis had Jaren Jackson III, who scored 33 points. As I alluded to earlier, Jackson is out for the season.
Very unfortunate!
Memphis rookie forward Brandon Clarke will likely start in Jackson’s place. Clarke will have to step up even more than he has already. Clarke is super athletic but does not have the same shooting range as Jackson. Veteran center Jonas Valančiūnas will do battle with Nurkic inside.
The ramifications of losing Jackson is huge for Memphis. Portland can keep two big men in the paint with Clarke and Jonas Valančiūnas in the starting lineup, which hurts Ja Morant’s ability to drive to the basket. Morant will dust anyone on Portland defensively but a clogged paint makes his acrobatic finishes and lob passes a little less viable.
Portland’s offense is unstoppable with Dame making shots from half-court. They are going to score 125 points per game in their sleep. Opposing teams have to keep up.
Who can make up that scoring production for Memphis? I don’t have an immediate answer off-hand. The team is really young. I see Portland winning this game in an offensive shootout. Ja Morant finishes with a triple-double but, once again, Portland proves to be too much.
Let the playoffs begin!
Score: 125-114, Portland