Blazers Thumped by Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs showed last night why they are going to be a very dangerous team in the NBA playoffs. San Antonio’s offense is firing on all cylinders right now.
San Antonio 124, Portland 89
When: 8:30 PM ET, Monday, April 23, 2012
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas
Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #34 Kevin Cutler, #42 Eric Lewis
Attendance: 18581
Portland had no answers for the Spurs.
The Spurs led 63-41 at halftime and their 124-89 win was one of the biggest blowout losses of the season for the Blazers.
Love ‘Em
1. Offensive Rebounding
Portland grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in this one, compared to just eight for the Spurs. J.J. Hickson and Wesley Matthews both had three offensive boards, while Kurt Thomas, Hasheem Thabeet, and Nolan Smith had two.
2. Nolan Smith
Nolan Smith is getting a look at the point guard spot here in the last few games. Smith filled up the stat sheet nicely yesterday. He put up 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. He finished with only two turnovers, which shows how well he took care of the basketball.
Raymond Felton and Wesley Matthews combined to shoot 14 for 40
Hate ‘Em
1. Where’s the Defense?
It’s been a common theme for the Blazers, especially toward the end of the season. Blazers opponents have been racking up ridiculous offensive numbers, and the Spurs continued that trend.
San Antonio shot 59.3% from the floor in this one. The Spurs had 11 players score at least six points in last night’s game. San Antonio made 12 out of 22 three-point attempts.
2. Too Many Shots from Backcourt
The starting backcourt of Raymond Felton and Wesley Matthews combined to shoot 14 for 40 from the floor last night. Matthews led the team in scoring with 24 points, but he took 24 shots to get to that point total.
Felton was 5 for 16 from the floor. It would have been nice to get the ball inside a little more often rather than settling for jumpers.
3. Lack of Fight
The Spurs are an excellent team, but losing by 35 points really shouldn’t happen. Portland didn’t show up to fight in this one, and that was disappointing to see.
Portland will take on Utah Thursday night in Salt Lake City.
Thursday’s game will be the final game of the season for the Blazers.
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