The offense didn’t look any better for it. The obvious talent of that duo has been counterbalanced by the lack of team success surrounding their gaudy numbers. Much has been made of Portland relying on isolation scoring from their backcourt of Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons throughout the year. Granted, Chicago didn’t have to get fancy, but at least their lane points were hard-earned. To their credit, though, the Blazers didn’t let cutters past them often. In half a blink, Chicago dribblers went one way, Portland defenders the other. They got their feet in position, but bit on every fake like a Keto dieter in front of a bag of Gummy Nerds. The Blazers’ main problem in the halfcourt defense was inexperience, coupled with over-eagerness. They had no chance in the halfcourt, so bravo for being able to ride those trains as long as they did. Portland forced 17 turnovers and nabbed 11 fast break points. ![]() Heck, they even converted defense into offense, running faster than their elderly Bulls counterparts. But in those in-between times, the Blazers got in passing lanes, converged on ball-handlers, and rebounded their hearts out despite being out-sized. Zach LaVine was too talented, Nikola Vucevic too big. They couldn’t tick the “one-on-one” defense box. The young Blazers moved fast, kept that motion going, and tried to make plays actively. But you know what? They hustled and tried tonight. Any discussion of the Trail Blazers’ defense is going to come with a ton of asterisks. ![]() After you’ve seen that, peruse these other observations from the game. If you missed the action, here’s our always-entertaining (yes, even in a blowout) quarter-by-quarter recap. Portland fell 124-96 in a surprisingly spry, yet ultimately futile, effort. Shaedon Sharpe, Matisse Thybulle, Trendon Watford, and company gave it the old college try, but had about as much hope of beating the Bulls as an actual college team. Awash in a sea of aches and injuries, the Portland Trail Blazers started their 6th-10th men against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
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