Blazers’ Season Ends Despite C.J. McCollum’s Historic Night

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Andrew R Tonry, GoLocalPDX Contributor

GRIZZLIES 99, BLAZERS 93
Memphis wins series 4-1

---

Down with :26 seconds remaining and fouling in desperation, Meyers Leonard picked up his sixth. As he took a seat on Portland's bench the TV cameras zoomed in. First Leonard winced, feeling the pain of a season only seconds from expiration. Then, abruptly, he smiled, perhaps realizing that in these playoffs he'd reached new heights.

Somewhere, perhaps more feratively, C.J. McCollum must've felt the same way. He was terrific, Wednesday in Memphis, and for the better part of these playoffs.

The rest of the Blazers, not so much.

Throughout the series LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and Nicolas Batum--Portland's starting core--were inconsistent at best and atrocious at worst.

When the final buzzer sounded the Grizzlies had beaten the Blazers 99-93. Memphis would advance to the second round of the playoffs as Portland headed towards an uncertain future.

The players of both teams met at mid-court to pay their regards. There, Aldridge reluctantly shared a moment with a jubilant Zach Randolph, who appeared to be giving Aldridge a friendly ribbing. It was as surreal as it was unpredictable, that eight years after leaving Portland to make way for Aldridge, Randolph would prevail.

But of course, this series was about more than single players. As coach Terry Stotts put it afterwards when asked what gave the Blazers the most trouble: "Probably the (Grizzlies') balance," Stotts said. "It's kind of difficult to lock in on one thing."

Indeed, Memphis were simply the better team--and that goes regardless of injuries. The loss of Wesley Matthews was cancelled out after the Grizzlies lost Mike Conley in Game 3. That Memphis beat Portland in eight of nine times this season was no fluke.

What Portland fans have to hope was a fluke, however, was Damian Lillard's shooting struggles. He was horrible from behind the three-point line for the duration of the series. Over the course of five games series he made just 5-of-31 tries from deep (16%).

Lillard did, however, show heart and competitive spirit, even after Portland's goose appeared to be cooked.

The same can't necessarily be said for LaMarcus Aldridge.

Aldridge fought hard in the first two games, though the Blazers were waxed in both. As reported in the Oregonian, Aldridge then traveled back to Portland by himself, without the rest of the team. He was the player to do so. From that moment on, Aldridge seemed to shrink. His effort, effectiveness and body language were lacking in the final three games.

Batum was, well, Batum. He drifted in and out, never establishing a rhythm nor reliability.

All three struggled on Wednesday. Lillard, Aldridge and Batum shot a combined 15-of-49 from the field (30%). Together they managed 42 points.

McCollum (33) and Leonard (9) too combined for 42 points while making 15-of-26 (58%) of their attempts.

To be sure, Portland's starting trio saw Memphis' tougher defenders. But that's what stars are expected to deal with. McCollum and Leonard did their part and then some. The starters let them down. It was a strange end to a difficult and ultimately disappointing season.

The series too was a disappointment, whose nadir came early. Those first three games were unceasingly brutal. They cast a dark, doom cloud over the Blazers' fans and future.

In the inspired emergence of both McCollum and Leonard, though, at least few rays of light peaked through.

---

C-	LaMarcus Aldridge Aldridge stunk. Finishing with just 14 points and nine rebounds, he made only 5-of-18 shots from the field. Worse, he just didn't seem to have any fight in him--certainly not like he showed in the first two games. After those losses Aldridge seemed withdrawn--both from the series and perhaps the team. (We'll have more on this in the coming days.)
C-	Nicolas Batum Though he at least was attempting them, Batum couldn't make a shot Wednesday. He heaved 2-of-12 from the floor and 1-of-7 from three, including a critically timed air-ball in the final minutes. He added 10 rebounds and seven assists, but only six points.
D	Robin Lopez Lopez strung together a few decent minutes in the second half, but remained nearly invisible and ineffective in a series that desperately could've used the kind of physicality and hustle he's capable of. Lopez played scored four points, took one shot, and grabbed four rebounds in 18 minutes. On defense, he was repeatedly schooled by Marc Gasol.
F	Arron Afflalo Absolute garbage. In 14 minutes Afflalo took two shots and missed them both. One was blocked. He had one turnover, no points, no rebounds and no assists.
C-	Damian Lillard Unlike Aldridge, Lillard fought to the bitter end. Unfortunately he couldn't get his shot going. Lillard made just 1-of-his-8 attempts from distance. He had success getting to and scoring at the rim. On the night, Lillard made 8-of-19 from the floor. He had just three assists, outnumbered by his six turnovers. He also took a number of bad shot--quick, contested three's--down the stretch. Lillard too was humiliated on defense on more than one occasion.
A	CJ McCollum McCollum was an absolute monster, carving up defenders Beno Udrih and Nick Calathes. It was one for the history books, as McCollum's 33 points were a career-high, and the most ever for a Blazer reserve in the playoffs. He is now the only Blazer who's made seven three-pointers in a playoff game. He is also the only reserve in NBA history to make 33+ points and seven three's in a playoff game.
A-	Meyers Leonard Really for the first time in his pro career, Leonard is out there not thinking, just playing. He's playing in the flow, naturally, and effectively. He drilled 3-of-5 from deep and, remarkably, may have played better defense on Marc Gasol than Lopez. Over the course of the series, while scrambling Memphis' defensive schemes, Leonard made an astounding 10-of-13 attempts from downtown.