The Portland Trail Blazers picked up their first win of the season in a win over the Sacramento Kings. The Trail Blazers were able to take advantage of Marvin Bagley being out after it was announced he would miss time with a broken thumb. After being tied 57-57 at the half, Portland used a 37-27 edge in the third quarter to coast to a win.
Portland Trail Blazers Spoil Sacramento Kings’ Home-Opener
Complete Team Effort
On Wednesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, the bench struggled to score. Friday Night, that was not the case. Anfernee Simons was the most notable player off the bench.
The second-year guard scored 15 points while going 6/9 shooting and 3/6 from three. He showed a quick shot release and confidence that had the team so excited coming into this season.
Not to be overlooked however is Kent Bazemore. Bazemore didn’t shoot well on Wednesday, but in this one he went 4/7, scoring nine points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out five assists. It’s clear after two games that Bazemore is going to do a lot of the dirty work this team needs.
The Starting Unit
Damian Lillard was the star of the game. However, Hassan Whiteside has probably been the biggest story out of the first two games.
Coming off of a game where he put up 16 points and 19 rebounds, Whiteside went for 22 points and nine rebounds. Also, he showed a good ability to pass out of the high-post, which is something that can open up the offense.
Whiteside also sparked the good third quarter. 16 of his 22 points came in the third quarter. He was also running the floor and has a thunderous putback dunk that energized everyone.
Lillard’s backcourt-mate CJ McCollum didn’t have his best game. However, he was able to get things going into the second half. Especially during the strong third quarter. Overall McCollum finished with 19 points on 8/18 shooting.
Defensive Issues Exist
Denver, of course, went 18/32 from three in the season-opener against Portland. This game was better in that aspect, as the Kings only went 15/37 from distance. However, this team still has plenty to figure out on defense.
De’Aaron Fox was able to do a lot of damage. Fox finished with 28 points on 7/18 shooting and he was able to reach the line a bunch, going 11/14.
The backcourt-mate of Fox, Buddy Hield, finished with 21 points and he was 4/11 from three.
Overall, the defense was better in the second half, which is the reason Portland was able to separate themselves.
The defense was better in this one. However, there were still plenty of defensive lapses. If Portland wants to start racking up wins in a loaded Western Conference, the defense is going to have to improve.
The only real saving grace right now is that interior defense has been excellent through two games.
Trail Blazers Beat Kings: Up Next:
Portland will continue this four-game road trip with a Sunday matchup against the Dallas Mavericks.
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