"RUH-ROH". YOU'RE RIGHT SCOOBY. THE NBA HAS A RIP CITY PROBLEM. True.I know I call these overreactions. But can we help ourselves after these 2 games? We bemoan the fact that the "experts" give Portland no respect. Many decided that the Blazers would be the first team out in the newly competitive West. Then ESPN gave the Jazz the nod for homecourt over Portland.

But Portland has been playing a conservative, short-pants, puppy dog strategy for the last several years. Yes they want to win, but management has favored internal development and holding onto to marginal assets over taking risks. Players with uneven improvement patterns have been given multiple chances to succeed. The Blazers have trotted out several players who "can" compete on a given night versus full-blown opponents and stars who will produce night in and night out. The most extreme oopposite of Portland's approach who employs a "win now at all costs" approach.

We saw the beginnings of a change when Portland signed Curry and Stauskas on the cheap and put both right in the rotation. Nik was given every chance to make it, but Portland finally pulled the plug. Then Oshey traded for Hood and used his connections to bring in Kanter. Portland has built its reputation on its 2 stars and continuity. Now they are trotting out a team with 3 new players in their top 9. Instead of trying to play elite basketball with "ifs", the Blazers are filling the court with proven commodities.

Can Portland incorporate extra talent while maintaining chemistry? That is part of the genius of Terry Stotts. Portland's coach is respected around the league. He faces a huge challenge as he re-arranges playing time. One of Terry's strengths is keeping players energized and engaged even when they are not playing as much as they would like. Clearly Leonard's minutes are gone. Zach has been reduced to a part-time reserve. Harkless and Aminu are on notice to produce or lose minutes. One of the big winners so far has been Layman, who has been playing both the 4 and the 2.

Stotts is like Popovich in that he encourages, expects and demands that players take shots and produce when they do get minutes. You may lose your spot, but he wants you to go down swinging. Or better yet, he wants you to succeed. Hood and Kanter have received a green light and they are taking advantage.

Every coach says the same things at the all-star break: We have reached the home stretch. We need to play together leading to the play-offs. We need to sacrifice for each other on defense. Stotts has a proven record (helped by a great court leader in Dame) in making sure that these points are realities late in the season, not just platitudes. I know the 76ers were missing Embiid. But they were a failure in chemistry 101 in this game at home. There was no fight in that dog. By contrast, Portland was playing with the turbo button pressed, even on a 2nd night in a row in which they did not shoot well from deep. These 2 games, big wins on the road against rested play-off teams, point to a huge 2nd half for Portland...….and beyond.

MIS-MATCHES, SCHMIS-MATCHES. True.Even without Joel, Philadelphia presents impossible players to cover. This is especially true for a Portland team that trots out 2 small guards. Who can Lillard defend? Who tries to stop Simmons? Who chases Redick? What about Butler and Harris? Who did you have in the "most likely to be abused in mis-matches" pool? Dame or CJ. The answer was neither. Mo Harkless abused JJ Redick in the low post tonight. Lillard had no interest in chasing JJ around the perimeter. So he was faced with the prospect of going up against a great offensive player with a huge size advantage. The combination of great effort by Dame and enough help meant no problem.

Meanwhile Nurk and Kanter made a joke out of the post play for a 2nd night in a row. Boban is a great novelty act in small doses. But when his minutes increase he gets exposed. The Blazers got 40 points from their 2 centers, and eliminated the prospect of rim protection. The wore out the interior defense and soon it was an I5 direct line to the hoop.

PORTLAND WON THIS GAME ON DEFENSE. True.I know the Blazers ended up with 130 points. I know the Blazers had a 41 point 3rd quarter. But only some late 3's in garbage time kept the box score from reflecting how truly outstanding the defense was tonight. We know Portland does not get 15 steals or 15 blocks a game. Their goal is to protect the rim, protect the arc, and try to contest mid-range jumpers. Too often, the pick and roll has resulted in wide open shots, or attempts in which a late defender is flying and flailing ineffectively at a shot. There was a cohesion to the defense that has often been lacking tonight.

It is one thing to see possessions in which a defender does or does not get help. But the key to a good defense is whether a teammate helps the helper. We have watched game after game in which Leonard comes flying over to contest a guard only to have his man dunk at the rim. Today we saw players drifting off their guard to give assistance, yet still make it back to contest the 3. Or if they were fully committed, someone else was rotating to help. There was a lot of great team defense in this game. Hood and Layman's length on the 2nd unit is a noticeable factor in the game.

The last line of defense is rebounding. Obviously Portland crushed the offensive boards, grabbing 19 of their own missed shots for the 2nd night in a row. Philadelphia took 87 field goal attempts and only grabbed 7 offensive boards. That is beyond good. That is championship level.

Shooting doesn't always travel well. Defense and post scoring do.

FINAL GRADE: Portland shot 5-23 from behind the arc for 22% shooting. Dame and CJ combined for only 32 points. On the road against a top 4 play-off team that is THE recipe for disaster. Yet Portland won going away. Aminu and Mo were amazing, producing 28 points on 18 shots. Portland produced 29 assists; none were sweeter than Hood's combinations with Kanter. Layman is not going to get as many shots with Kanter around and with defense paying him attention. His activity level is contagious. 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. His attack from the wing past Butler and over Boban was the play of the game. Lillard has only 30 points in the 1st 2 games of this road trip, yet he couldn't be happier. Winning on the road does that. Don't doubt that during his off-day tomorrow Dame is in the gym working on his shot. He is getting unprecedented open looks, and if that continues he will destroy this league. Ruh-Roh. A+