Back to the Bottom
The Portland Trail Blazers responded with a big win in their first game after the trade deadline and with a new coach on the sideline. There was a smidge of optimism amongst Blazers fans.
Milwaukee 116, Portland 87
When: 10:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
Officials: #18 Matt Boland, #8 Marc Davis, #64 SirAllen Connor
Attendance: 20387
Last night’s embarrassing home loss to the mediocre Bucks took Portland back to rock bottom once again. The team looked as if they didn’t care at times, and it left us to wonder what could possibly be wrong with this team.
Milwaukee torched the Blazers defense en route to a 116-87 win at the Rose Garden.
Love’ Em
1. Wesley Matthews
For a third straight game Wesley Matthews played very well on the offensive end last night. Matthews knocked down 5 out of 7 three-point attempts, and he finished with 21 points and nine rebounds.
2. LaMarcus Aldridge
LaMarcus Aldridge went 7 for 11 from the floor and 7 for 8 from the charity stripe. He also led the team with 12 rebounds.
Hate’ Em
1. Bench Production
It’s hard to imagine there has been a worse game in the NBAall year by any team’s bench than what the Blazers bench did last night. Portland’s reserves went a ridiculous 2 for 29 from the floor in last night’s game.
Trail Blazers Aldridge drives against Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova, - (AP Photo/Don Ryan)
Jamal Crawford was 1 for 8 and Nolan Smith was 1 for 9.
2. Lack of Ball Movement
A constant problem for this team has been the lack of ball movement, and that was evident again last night. Portland finished last night’s game with 14 assists as a team. The Bucks finished the game with 35 assists!
If the Blazers continue to play one-on-one offense they will keep struggling. Where’s the team mentality here?
3. Terrible Defense
Once again the opponent lit up the Blazers from three-point range. The Bucks went 11 for 21 from beyond the arc. Milwaukee shot 58% from the floor overall.
The Bucks got multiple wide open looks under the hoop on simple back cuts, and there was no concept of team defense at all from the Blazers.
Kaleb Canales has his work cut out for him to try to get the Blazers put back together right now.
This team has plenty of talent, but they aren’t playing as a team at all.
Portland hosts Memphis Thursday night at the Rose Garden.
Team Statistics
| Milwaukee | Portland | ||
| Fast Break Points | 21 | Fast Break Points | 9 |
| Points in the Paint | 42 | Points in the Paint | 38 |
| Biggest Lead | 29 | Biggest Lead | 5 |
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