The Blazers’ commitment is questioned in the Grizzlies’ loss

If one sound could sum up the Portland Trail Blazers’ game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night, it would be the sound of a rat being crushed by a grand piano. The Blazers had a terrible first quarter in which they were outrebounded, outraced and outclassed. Things got worse from there. Memphis’ lead grew to more than 40 in the fourth quarter before eventually settling to a final score of 134-89.

Here are some of the factors that characterized the action.

First quarter blues

For the second game in a row, Portland dropped the first quarter badly. They shot 6:21, 1:10 from distance in the quarterfinals. They committed nine turnovers, many of which were almost inexplicable. Something just didn’t click right. A 31-17 deficit isn’t the end of the world, but it certainly makes winning more difficult.

Once upon a time, the Blazers started games hot and then fell short in the third period. Looks like they’re starting to cut out the middleman. Stay tuned.

Sharpe starts

Shaedon Sharpe started the game in place of Deni Avdija. The reasoning is pretty clear: Portland needs more offense and more explosiveness overall. Sharpe offers both.

The move didn’t seem to benefit either player tonight. Sharpe started the game 1-4. Portland’s defense suffered. Avdija still didn’t manage to hit a shot when he came into the game, plus his playmaking was less important with Scoot Henderson down.

Sharpe finished the game with 7 points on 3-10 shooting and 0-5 from distance. Avdija had 0 points, 4 assists, one block and 2 turnovers in just 13 minutes of play.

Defense again

What talent the Blazers once had on defense, particularly in interior defense, appears to have faded this week. The Grizzlies brought the ball into play with impunity and often slipped into the lane with just one pass against zero opponents. More and more teams are starting to take away Portland’s big men. This robs the Blazers of their best defensive configuration. These bigs aren’t agile enough to get back in once the ball is in motion. Portland’s smalls are not at all intimidating in one-on-one defense down the field. The result is ugliness and high field goal rates for the opponent.

Memphis shot 47-85, 55.3% from the floor tonight. They also had 58 points in the paint.

Augh my eyes

The aim of modern attacks is to generate open shots. Teams are much more agnostic about who is shooting than they used to be. Space for the shooter is the ultimate goal.

In Portland’s case, that may not be a good idea. The Blazers used ball movement and general athleticism to break free often tonight. Their shots were haphazard at best. The number of shots that hit either the front iron or the back heel was astounding. We’re not talking about rattle-in-and-out experiments here. Just total bricks. They might as well have shot a square ball.

It’s hard for me to understand how NBA players can suddenly become so cold. The Blazers shot 34.0% from the field tonight and an incredible 9.5% from the three-point arc. Less than half of that had to do with Memphis’ defense. It was just shaky accuracy.

Sales

Losses of the ball were also a constant problem for the Blazers, especially in the first half. This can at least be attributed to the Grizzlies’ athleticism. It can also be attributed to the general confusion among Portland players. Maybe it was the new setup. Maybe it was the damp Sundays. Anyway, it didn’t look like the right hand knew what the left hand was doing most of the time out there. But that didn’t matter much since the big toe was busy shooting the ball into the opponent’s hands anyway.

The Blazers committed 23 turnovers. They forced the Grizzlies 22, but big celebrations. Scoreboard.

Effortless gaming

When you put it all together, the big question is, “Are the Blazers even trying anymore?” It’s shocking to ask if he looked so energized after the first three weeks of the season. The fact that the squad has become healthier recently gave cause for hope. Instead, the team appears to have stalled. They don’t move their feet and don’t expect any moves, either their own or the opponent’s.

The last two games looked strikingly similar to last season. That’s not a compliment, as the team fielded third-line players in the 2023-24 season and (by all accounts) tried to win next to nothing. Whatever is going on, let’s hope they fix it quickly. The season is not yet old enough for that.

If head coach Chauncey Billups doesn’t pull something new out of his bag for Portland’s next game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, Blazers fans will likely start wearing bags over their heads to cover up the shame.

Next

Box score

The Blazers welcome the Timberwolves to Pacific on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.