PORTLAND IS STARTING TO ACHIEVE SOME BALANCE TO THEIR SCORING. True.If you are not Golden State or a destination franchise like the Lakers, it is extremely difficult to win based solely on star power. The Spurs have been the model of a team that had stars, but also shared the rock and had a multitude of players who would score on any given night. For the last several years, Portland has been a 2-pronged attack, with a bunch of mystery meat. Nurk has added a third leg to the stool, and has raised the level of his scoring and consistency for the last several weeks.

In the modern NBA you still need more scoring to get the 110-120 points you will need most nights. Like many of you, I have racked my brain to try and figure out how to get a 4th leg to Portland, a player who could also find his way to 12-15 points on most nights, and 20+ if you need it. But that hasn't happened and it isn't likely to happen. The Blazers have tried to fill those 4th/5th scoring options by committee: Is it one of the starting forwards? Is it the expensive free agent, ET? Is it one of the cheap newbies, or Zach? Too often, the answer is none of the above.

In order for these guys to produce, they have to have the opportunity and then they have to execute. And by opportunity, I mean shots. Who gets the chance to go put up 8-10 shots night after night? Portland knew they had to win these 2 games against NY and Chicago. But Portland also treated these games almost like exhibition games, focusing on giving some new guys chances to produce. Tonight, nobody took more than 14 shots. That is almost unknown for winning in today's NBA. The Blazers had 5 guys in double figures because 4 of them had 10+ shots and Collins had 9.

它长期以来一直宣称,波特兰行列low in assists because Dame and CJ are so good at creating their own shots. Once again, we saw pass-first Lillard, and he had 10 assists and 12 shots. Portland had 28 assists, a number that would put them among the lead leaders if they did it every night. Portland shot 57% from the floor and 42% from deep for 11 completed threes. With only 8 fast break points, the Blazers scored 124. Look where the points came from: paint-60, threes-33, free throws-19. Portland often scores lots of long-2 pointers. How they scored was almost Rocket-like tonight.

波特兰有路由通过这两个团队Lillard go for 30+ and CJ getting 25. The push to balance out the attack has been inconsistent at times. It takes some adjusting to Portland playing with Dame on the floor and not taking shots. This approach will be tested when the competition gets tougher. Dame will need to launch 20 shots on some nights. But the ability to win 4 play-off games against a tough opponent will require to play the game in multiple ways. When defenses in a series try and take away Lillard, can Curry or Collins or Aminu or Turner take advantage? If they can, Portland might get more than 4 games this summer.

STOTTS RUNS A MERITOCRACY AND PLAYERS RESPOND. True.This is a make or miss league. Terry Stotts want players to feel free to take shots without fear. Coach makes one thing clear: be ready to play when you get the chance. If you do, you will get more opportunities. If you don't, get back to work and be ready for your next chance. Players know when they are not playing well. Stotts manages to cut minutes or bench players completely, and they still stay engaged and ready to go. This is not always well managed around the league. Yet there is no griping in Portland. Their are no heads hanging on the bench.

Nik Stauskas started the season looking like a star. He has spent much of the last month regressing to a player who has started the bounce around the league. After sitting a couple of games with no PT, Nik stepped right back in tonight and nailed 3 quick shots including 2 threes. Take advantage of your opportunities and you will play. It is not personal. It is performance based.

HAPPINESS IS BOTH ROOKIES SCORING IN THE SAME GAME. True.Trent, Jr got 1 and Simons poured in 4 tonight. Both were hoping for more than just 3 minutes of garbage time in the game, but they took advantage.

I hope that they are both watching Jake closely. Layman has demonstrated how damned tough it is to establish yourself in this league. They see him every day in practice and shoot-arounds. They know how good he is. Yet he has started, played off the bench and sat during this half-season. He has had to great games, including a double-double last time out. He ot the start and had some great looks tonight, but missed his first 3 shots, before hitting a drive to the hoop. If he hits either one of his 3's, all would be good. His next game may well determine his fate for much of the remaining season. Some players have the luxury of being up and down and keeping their spots (CJ). A guy like Layman has no margin for error. The rooks will go through this same process next season.

FINAL GRADE: CJ was his old sharpshooter self tonight and it was a welcome sight. Nurk was over-powering with 18 points in only 21 minutes. Curry is establishing himself as the best scorer on the 2nd unit, and this is likely to hold for the rest of the season. Zach had some great rim protection tonight, and he also had a number of plays where he was overpowered or out-matched. He has not lost confidence in his scoring and his 16 points and 9 rebounds were what we saw earlier in the year. Good benches play best at home and Portland got 56 from the reserves, to 41 for the Bulls. The Blazers still have to develop that killer level of play, the one that takes a 6 point lead and turns it into 12. Portland was in control all night, but they could not put them away until very late. The defense will have to be better; they made a terrible offense look decent tonight. A 12 point win with some garbage time is always a good thing, but this team can still play better. B