National Basketball Association

Trail Blazers Outlook: First Week of November

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Portland Trail Blazers guard Evan Turner (1). Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

After garnering a respectable 2-1 record in the season’s opening week, the Trail Blazers have four games to prepare for this week. November starts with a home-away back to back, which then feeds into a mini road trip.

Damian Lillard has so far backed up his preseason MVP goal with his other-worldly standard of play, averaging 35 PPG, 8 RPG, 5.3 APG. He is hinting at a potential 50-40-90 season (stats courtesy of basketball-reference.com). The question for Dame will be, how long can he sustain this level of production?

C.J. McCollum has picked up exactly where he left off last year and Portland’s star back-court are responsible for roughly 50% of the teams 111.3 points per game. It’s still the early days, but it’s worth watching to see how Terry Stotts manages the pair’s workload. Both are playing roughly five minutes more per game than last year, which is over 40 minutes a piece. That could generate some wear and tear over the season if sustained.

Let’s now take a specific look at the teams that the Trail Blazers will face this week. It won’t be an easy task, but Stotts’ squad appears to be primed to continue to build on their winning record.

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) passes the basketball against Portland Trail Blazers guard Allen Crabbe (23) and center Ed Davis (17). Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Warriors vs Trail Blazers (11/1/16)

This is a great time for the Portland to host Golden State. For all the hype the Super Team created over the summer, it didn’t take long for the San Antonio Spurs to find the Warriors’ achilles heel. Size.

The opening night shock-defeat might have been a wake up call, but it showed that this team is mortal and needs time to adjust to their new roles. Sure they bounced back with wins against New Orleans and Phoenix (though the latter victory looked shaky at times), but neither of those two squads provide the same level of challenge as the Blazers.

As we saw in last year’s playoffs, Golden State will present Portland a with a few problems. Perhaps the main being the match-up between McCollum and Klay Thompson. McCollum gives up 2 inches and 15 pounds to Thompson, and he has struggled to contain him (when guarding him) in the Western Conference Semifinals.

If the Blazers are going to win this one, it’s going to come down to the frontcourt. Al-Farouq Aminu’s match-up with Draymond Green is also one to watch. Green is averaging a double-double already, so disrupting his effectiveness inside the Warriors’ offense will be key to winning this game.

Realistically, it’ll be a difficult game to win for the Trail Blazers. It will take everyone firing on all cylinders for Portland to win in front of the home crowd.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0). Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-USA TODAY Sports

Trail Blazers vs Suns (11/2/16)

Albeit a road game, but there are few more preferable opponents than the Suns on the second night of a back to back. Phoenix is winless (at time of writing) and the Trail Blazers should add to that streak in this one.

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Somewhat surprisingly, small forward T.J. Warren is leading the young Suns in scoring with 23.3 PPG. Behind him, Eric Bledsoe, Devin Booker and Brandon Knight make up the rest of the Phoenix roster averaging double-digit points. Lillard, McCollum, and Maurice Harkless shouldn’t have too much trouble handling these guys – but any of them could get hot and go off. With only one day off before visiting the Mavericks, the Blazers need to kill the game early and give the bench unit some extra reps. This would also be a good game to help acclimate Evan Turner, who appears to be struggling to adjust to the Blazers style of play (although he did have a strong game in Denver).

Phoenix can cause difficulties, as they showed against Golden State on Sunday. But this should be a win for the Blazers, the key will be winning whilst also limiting the minutes of the starters.

Dallas Mavericks guard Wesley Matthews (23) defended by Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0). Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

Trail Blazers vs Mavericks (11/4/16)

Dallas is looking old. Also winless (again, at time of writing), the Mavericks have missed their talisman, Dirk Nowitzki, who following their opening game against Indiana has suffered from an illness and sore achilles. Despite being 38 and notably static in his twilight, there is no question that Dirk’s presence lifts the Mavs.

In the German’s absence, there has been a collective effort to carry the load with four other players averaging over 16 PPG. But it’s not enough, and this could be the year that for the first time since 2012-2013 (and only second time since 1999-2000) that Dallas fails to earn a playoff berth.

Harrison Barnes and Wes Matthews will likely bring the biggest threats on offense. Andrew Bogut will be the biggest factor on defense. From top to bottom there is not enough depth or pace to contain the Blazers.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (0) guards Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Conley (11). Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

Trail Blazers vs Grizzlies (11/6/16)

A visit to Memphis and the Grindhouse on Sunday will see out the Trail Blazers’ week. New head coach, David Fizdale, has brought some changes to the way the Grizzlies play. The pace remains slow, but this iteration of the team have scored at least 100 points in regulation in each game so far. Last year, their 99.1 PPG ranked 24th in the league. This season sees them jump to sixth.

The biggest factor in their additional points? A jump in threes attempted, up from 18.5 per game to 26.7. Factor in they’re hitting them at a better click (.438 up from .331) and it’s no surprise really that the Grizzlies’ scoring has gone up. Heck, even big man Marc Gasol is getting in on the act, putting up 4.3 threes a game after previously never averaging more than 0.2 attempts in his previous eight seasons.

What does that mean for the Blazers? Well Memphis has stepped up their offensive game while maintaining a similar defensive intensity, so this is going to be tough one. A team that has become harder to stop, and on whom it is hard to score on – equals a tight contest for any opponent. Factor in Memphis’ home crowd, and we have the making of an uphill climb.

By my estimation, it’s a 2-2 record for the week (anything extra is a bonus). That’ll put the Trail Blazers at 4-3, coincidentally the exact record they had after seven games last year.

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