The Portland Trail Blazers press on into the dog days of the NBA season, traveling to face the Chicago Bulls tonight to kick off a five-game road trip.
The rebuilding Chicago Bulls may be the only NBA team in history to follow Neil Olshey’s revolutionary “Oops, All Guards!” team-building philosophy . The Bulls’ trade deadline was fraught with transactions, with Chicago taking back a guard in nearly every deal. Notable acquisitions include recent lottery-pick point guard Rob Dillingham, slightly less recent lottery-pick guard Jaden Ivey, much less recent lottery-pick guard Collin Sexton, and Blazers legend Anfernee Simons. They briefly retained talented young forward Ousmane Dieng, but traded him to the Bucks upon discovering he was taller than 6-foot-5.
The Bulls, much like the rebuilding Grizzlies, are a motley crew of holdovers and temp employees, who resemble the idea of a basketball team more than they function like one. Losers of their last ten competitions, the Bulls are a great representation of the NBA’s current lower class. Gone are the days of 10-day contracts and nepotism signings (miss you, Keljin). Now, GM’s are acquiring a smorgasbord of young talent that are entirely incongruent with one another’s skillsets, allowing them to shine on an individual level without ever threatening to win a basketball game. Anfernee Simons, who may miss the rest of the season with a fractured left wrist, was taking full advantage of this freedom in his limited appearances, averaging over 14 shot attempts a game. Matas Buzelis, the Bulls’ promising second-year forward, has also been keen on “getting his,” recently dropping 32 points in 33 minutes in a loss against the Hornets.
The Bulls, like any NBA team, have talent that is capable of beating anyone. The Blazers ought to be familiar with this, nearly dropping a game to the zombie Memphis Grizzlies mere weeks ago. That said, the Bulls are trying their very hardest to lose, without teetering into the Adam Silver will be sending black SUVs to my house at 3 a.m. because my tanking is so blatant territory. The Blazers should win this game. However, if it looks like a trap game, walks like a trap game, and… quacks(?) like a trap game, then it’s a trap game.
This is Donovan Clingan’s team now. The last week of Blazers basketball has been defined by Clingan’s ascension into what appears to be the franchise’s long-term center. Over his last 10, Donovan is posting averages of 15 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2.3 blocks on 55% shooting and 46.3% from three. The eye test more than affirms those statistics. Against the Bulls, whose only healthy centers may be Nick Richards and Lachlan Olbrich, expect Clingan to continue his reign of terror (if he’s able to go tonight; shortly before publish time, the Blazers announced the big man is questionable with an illness).
Beyond Clingan, the Blazers possess more size and talent than the Bulls across most every position. The question, as always, will be “Can the Blazers hit enough three-pointers to win?” Against the Bulls, a sounder strategy may be more rim attempts, given their stark lack of size. However, the Blazers rarely seem to deviate from their sick and twisted Moneyball-esque strategy of “get more possessions, shoot more threes.”
The Bulls and Blazers play a similarly-optimized offensive game. Billy Donovan prefers rim attempts, three-point attempts, or no attempt at all. The Bulls are 2nd in the league in rim frequency this season, and 8th in three-point frequency. The Blazers are 13th in rim frequency, and 7th in three-point frequency. However, these stats take into account the first half of the season, where the Bulls were still walking the tightrope between tanking and finishing in the 10th seed for the fifth consecutive season. Their gameplan likely won’t deviate though, only their ability to capitalize upon it.
Portland Trail Blazers (28-31) vs. Chicago Bulls (24-35) – Thu. Feb 26th – 5pm Pacific
How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network.
How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass or NBA TV everywhere else.
Trail Blazers injuries: Donovan Clingan, Yang Hansen, Robert Williams (questionable). Deni Avdija, Damian Lillard, Caleb Love, Shaedon Sharpe (out).
Bulls injuries: Patrick Williams (questionable). Jalen Smith (doubtful). Zach Collins, Noah Essengue, Jaden Ivey, Anfernee Simons (out).
Individual Infernos. The Bulls lack the chemistry or camaraderie to put on a dominant, team-oriented win. They do, however, have NBA players on their roster each capable of putting up big numbers by themselves. The Blazers must be diligent to not allow Joshey Giddey or Matas Buzelis to drop 40 points on 70% shooting (I’m looking at you, Olivier-Maxence Prosper! And you, Aron Baynes!). The Blazers’ veterans and the power of friendship will be the two driving forces behind tonight’s win, as well as their superior young talent in Scoot Henderson and Donovan Clingan. Really, everything is driving this win. But remember: trap game!
Scoot’s Hands. Since his return, Scoot has looked electric. He has been getting to the paint seemingly at will, flying around screens for dunks, and slinging one-handed passes cross court to open shooters like a cooler, less psychologically tormented Ben Simmons. At the same time, he is boasting a 20% turnover rate. This has been an issue since his rookie season and doesn’t seem to be improving at the rate you’d want it to. His rookie season saw a turnover rate of 17.5%. His sophomore season was nearly the same, at 17.1%. Though the sample size for this season is limited, the trend isn’t promising. There are at least two passes each game where you say to yourself “uh, what?”
Scoot is talented. He is a more-than-capable passer, and has been displaying his athleticism and strength on a level we haven’t yet seen across his three seasons as a Blazer. That said (and this is advice that is useful for the Blazers as a whole), the turnovers must get better.
