Piece By: Jackson Waddleton
The Portland Trail Blazers are my favorite team in the NBA. I have no geographical or historical ties to the team, but my admiration of Damian Lillard’s production, attitude, and leadership has led me to fall in love with Rip City. After a 2020 season riddled with injuries and misfortune, the Blazers crawled their way into the playoffs as the 8-seed; they were mercilessly rewarded with a first-round matchup against LeBron and the dominant Los Angeles Lakers. Now fully healthy, the Blazers were favored by many journalists and NBA personalities to give LA a run for their money.
These predictions certainly seemed correct after Portland topped the Lakers in Game 1 and jumped out to an early series lead. However, as I’m writing this, the Blazers have dropped three games in a row and will be without Dame for Game 5. The series has quickly slipped out of Portland’s control, and it appears they will end the 2020 season on a rather disappointing note. Portland has had the same core for a few years (built around Dame and CJ), but it appears they have hit a stalemate in the team’s progression.
They’ve made playoff runs (even making the WCF last year before getting swept), but Portland can’t seem to get over the hump and become a powerhouse. There is no shortage of talent in Portland; they have stars on both ends of the floor at multiple positions. I don’t think the problem with Rip City is their talent level or even their chemistry. Lillard and McCollum play perfectly together and Nurkic and Whiteside anchor the inside at an elite level. The problem lies in the make-up of the team and the frequent matchup issues that the team’s construction causes. Portland’s lineups have a few fatal flaws, and I think with a few roster moves they could catapult themselves to be a yearly contender in the West.
This take may come as a surprise, but the main problem with the Blazers revolves around Dame and CJ. Huh?!?!
I’d like to start by saying that Lillard and CJ are phenomenal players individually, and they work well together. Dame is the best point guard in the league and can pretty much do everything. He’s the perfect leader and will stick with Portland through thick and thin. CJ McCollum is a first-class shooting guard with an expansive offensive game. CJ can score from anywhere, can create his own shot whenever he wants, and plays well as a teammate. Once again, talent is not the problem. It’s difficult to find many backcourts in the league that can match the talent and chemistry that Portland’s two stars have.
However, the pairing of Lillard and CJ as the cornerstones of Portland’s core causes some fatal problems. Dame stands at 6’1 or 6’2 depending where you look, and his arms are short. Despite being a good athlete, Damian suffers on the defensive end because of his short stature and lack of length. This issue could be alleviated by pairing him with a bigger, more defensively sound shooting guard. This strategy is what Golden State did with Steph and Klay, Washington did with Wall and Beal, and Boston did with Kemba and Jaylen Brown.
Portland has a completely different arrangement. CJ McCollum is 6’3 with short arms. He is built remarkably similar to Dame and is a below average defender. This combination of defensively-challenged short guards with small wingspans causes major problems for Portland on the defensive end. It’s just a hard combination to win with, and it takes an expertly crafted roster to overcome. Portland does not have that either.
Because of the shortcomings of Portland’s guards, you would expect them to have an excellent and deep rotation of wings. This is not the case, and it causes even more problems. The Blazers have two wing veterans past their prime in Carmelo (slow and clunky) and Trevor Ariza (meh), who can contribute in their own ways but don’t have the all-around games they used to. Rodney Hood is solid but is too injury-prone to be counted on as a long-term piece. Young pieces like Gary Trent Jr., Mario Hezonja, Nassir Little, and Wenyen Gabriel can contribute sporadically but are still developing. Portland’s big men are nice, but the lack of wing depth causes more matchup issues even at the 4 and 5 positions. Often, the Blazers are forced to put both Hassan Whiteside and Jusuf Nurkic on the floor at the same time; while this provides excellent rim protection, it causes a slew of other problems. Whiteside and Nurkic clog things up on offense and provide little versatility on the defensive end. Anytime one of these slow big men has to switch onto a guard, the defense instantly breaks down and Portland is left very, very vulnerable.
Take all of this into account and think about the current series against the Lakers, a team full of length, size, and versatility. Damian and CJ are often matched up against bigger, longer, and sturdier guards like Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and JR Smith. LeBron James is usually guarded by Gary Trent Jr. (WAY too small) or Carmelo (way too slow); having no one to guard stars like Lebron is a huge roster red flag. Portland will never be able to win a championship with no one able to guard KD, Giannis, and Kawhi. LA’s other star, Anthony Davis, is being guarded either by the smaller Carmelo or the slow combination of Whiteside and Nurkic. So Portland looks small, short-armed, clunky, and rigid on both ends of the floor. Portland’s team is just one big mismatch.The Blazers have immense talent, but it doesn’t even matter because of the way the roster is constructed.
So what’s the solution? Some might jump to a lofty conclusion and say it’s time to get rid of CJ; I wouldn’t go there just yet. McCollum has put his whole career into Rip City and provides an elite offensive option at shooting guard. Dame and CJ can work, but the rest of the roster needs to be built around fixing their shortcomings. I would start with looking to trade for more wing depth to ease some of the matchup issues on the perimeter.
Names that instantly come to mind are guys like Justise Winslow, Andrew Wiggins, and Josh Okogie. I would also look to get rid of Whiteside in favor of a more versatile big man to put at the four (preferably one that could space the floor and switch easily on defense). I’d be searching for someone like the Morris twins or Danillo Gallinari. With these additions, Portland could slide Carmelo to the bench (if he’s still on the team) and pick up some better veteran options in exchange for their young guys. Portland has attractive players for the trade market, and it could be relatively easy to build a less clunky and more effective roster around their two stars.
Rip City has been fun to watch for the past few years, but it’s time to make some changes to help the team get over the hump. Trade Whiteside, find some wings, and get a more versatile man to start at the four.
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