{"id":33168,"date":"2020-09-01T09:59:18","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T13:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=33168"},"modified":"2020-09-01T09:59:18","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T13:59:18","slug":"los-angeles-lakers-vs-portland-trail-blazers-playoff-series-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/09\/01\/los-angeles-lakers-vs-portland-trail-blazers-playoff-series-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers Playoff Series Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/los-angeles-lakers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> have advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals in five games against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/portland-trail-blazers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Portland Trail Blazers<\/a>. This was an impressive series by the Los Angeles Lakers against the Portland Trail Blazers. Yes, the Trail Blazers have serious flaws in their team. However, the Trail Blazers has star players that few eighth seeds ever had in the NBA playoffs.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Los Angeles vs. Portland Trail Blazers Recap<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>The Surprising Absence of the Portland Trail Blazers\u2019 Offence<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Surprisingly, the Trail Blazers did not play well offensively. This was something the Trail Blazers <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/2020\/08\/18\/los-angeles-lakers-vs-portland-trail-blazers-nba-playoffs-preview\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">were expected to excel at<\/a>. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/stats.nba.com\/teams\/traditional\/?sort=PTS&amp;dir=-1&amp;Season=2019-20&amp;SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;DateFrom=08%2F18%2F2020&amp;DateTo=08%2F29%2F2020\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stats.nba.com<\/a>, the Trail Blazers were at the bottom half in points per game. This happened even with their key players producing. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nurkiju01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jusuf Nurki\u0107<\/a><\/strong> averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mccolcj01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CJ McCollum<\/a><\/strong> averaged 23.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. This is while <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a><\/strong> averaged 24.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Lastly, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/anthoca01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carmelo Anthony<\/a><\/strong> averaged 15.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 steal per game. Lillard played exceptionally well in game one having 34 points, five rebounds, and five assists.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bubble MVP continues to put on a show.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Dame_Lillard?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@dame_lillard<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Biofreeze?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@Biofreeze<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UZ1RaW2beD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/UZ1RaW2beD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/trailblazers\/status\/1295967481861795841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 19, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, when looking carefully, even some of these players underperformed. Lillard tied for the personal worst in terms of field goal percentage in the NBA playoffs with a 40.6 percentage. Anthony also did not shoot efficiently with a 41.2 field goal percentage. McCollum also shot only 68.2 percent from the free-throw line. For McCollum, this was his worst free-throw percentage in the NBA playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, none of the other players produced much for the Trail Blazers. As a result, the Trail Blazers lost the series in five games. Yes, the injury Lillard suffered according to Mark Medina of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nba\/blazers\/2020\/08\/24\/damian-lillard-right-knee-inury-blazers-lakers-game-four\/5629714002\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USA Today<\/a> during game four played a part. However, by that time the Trail Blazers were already losing the series.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Portland Trail Blazers\u2019 Best Offensive Players Were Also their Worst Defensive Players<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, the Trail Blazers defense has been terrible all season. However, the Lakers&#8217; offense was not producing at the bubble during the regular season. It looked like the Lakers though found their offense against the Trail Blazers. They <a href=\"https:\/\/stats.nba.com\/teams\/traditional\/?sort=PTS&amp;dir=-1&amp;Season=2019-20&amp;SeasonType=Playoffs&amp;DateFrom=08%2F18%2F2020&amp;DateTo=08%2F29%2F2020\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">were ranked fifth<\/a> in offense in the NBA playoffs. The Trail Blazers gave up only 93 points in the first.<\/p>\n<p>However, that could have been because of the poor performance of Lakers&#8217; player <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Davis<\/a><\/strong>. After game one, the Lakers took control. The Lakers scored 111 and 118 points in the last two games. Furthermore, the Trail Blazers gave up 135 points in game four and 131 points in game five. No matter how good the Trail Blazers offense is, they were not going to win games four and five giving up so many points.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/stats.nba.com\/players\/defense\/?sort=DEF_RATING&amp;dir=1\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stats.nba.com<\/a>, a lot of Trail Blazers players had a bad defensive rating in the NBA playoff series against the Lakers. Most notably, it is the same players who provide the offensive for the Trail Blazers. Nurki\u0107 had the worst defensive rating for the Trail Blazers. This was followed by Anthony, McCollum, and also Lillard, who also had a bad defensive rating.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Three Key Players of the Game &#8211; Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Los Angeles Lakers Offense<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a><\/strong> was probably the best player in the series. He averaged 27.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 10.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. James averaged a triple-double throughout the entire series, which is an extremely hard thing to accomplish. He also shot 60.0 field-goal percentage and 46.4 from the three-point line.<\/p>\n<p>James had two triple-doubles and two double-doubles against the Trail Blazers. This included 38 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and two steals in game three against the Trail Blazers. It also helps that he has playoff experience, which must have helped Davis, who struggled in game one.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cPlayoff basketball is no mistakes. When you make mistakes, teams make you pay for it.&quot; &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KingJames?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@KingJames<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The latest from Senior Writer <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KevinDing?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@KevinDing<\/a>:<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zpTjbfNu0r\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/zpTjbfNu0r<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Lakers\/status\/1294402600821878786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 14, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With the Trail Blazers\u2019 lackluster defense there were going to be opportunities to score for the Lakers. They did not get off a good start losing the first game 100-93. Davis struggled in his first game. Although he had 28 points and 11 rebounds, he had only a 33.3 field goal percentage. However, he would fix that in the rest of the series shooting a field goal percentage above 60.0 percent for the rest of the series.<\/p>\n<p>Davis played an instrumental role in the Lakers\u2019 closeout game. In that game, he had 43 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Most impressive though was his field goal percentage which was 77.8 percent in game five.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Closed out in style. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LakersWin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#LakersWin<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AntDavis23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@AntDavis23<\/a>: 43 pts, 9 reb<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KingJames?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@KingJames<\/a>: 36 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2igocGuULz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/2igocGuULz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Lakers\/status\/1299925759037861888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 30, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Davis ended up averaging 29.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. His field goal percentage was 57.3 percent in the first round of the NBA playoffs.<\/p>\n<p>The Lakers got some offensive help with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/caldwke01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kentavious Caldwell-Pope<\/a><\/strong>. He provided that help against the Trail Blazers. He averaged 11.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He only had a 38 percent field goal percentage but had an impressive 40.6 three-point shooting percentage against the Lakers.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Los Angeles Lakers&#8217; Defense<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Defensively, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/carusal01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alex Caruso<\/a><\/strong> was the player of the series according to <a href=\"https:\/\/stats.nba.com\/players\/defense\/?sort=DEF_RATING&amp;dir=-1\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stats.nba.com<\/a>. He had a defensive rating of 90.9. This is the highest defensive rating of both teams. He also had the most steals in the series with 1.6 steals per game.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This perfectly defines Alex Caruso. Putting in that extra bit of effort to force the error and earn another possession, that paid off. <\/p>\n<p>He&#39;s such an important piece to this team \ud83d\udc40\ud83d\udd25<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LakeShow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#LakeShow<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1nnLab2LGM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/1nnLab2LGM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Lakers UK (@lalakersuk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lalakersuk\/status\/1300445422213828610?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">August 31, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuzmaky01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyle Kuzma<\/a><\/strong> was second for the Lakers with a defensive rating of 94.2 and Davis was third with a 96.2 rating. As mentioned previously Davis had 1.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game, which played a key role in the Lakers series win against the Trail Blazers.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Up Next for the Los Angeles Lakers<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Lakers will advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2012. A combination of great offense along with great defense helped the Lakers achieve victory.<\/p>\n<p>They will face the winner of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/houston-rockets\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Houston Rockets<\/a>\u00a0vs. <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/oklahoma-city-thunder\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> series. Both the Thunder and the Rockets are good teams. The Rockets are a star-studded team with two former NBA Most Valuable Player Award winners in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Westbrook<\/a><\/strong>. This is while the Thunder have a 10 time NBA All-Star in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/paulch01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Paul<\/a><\/strong> and a rising star in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gilgesh01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>For the Trail Blazers, this is the end of their postseason. They surprisingly had a hard time scoring the basket. This is despite Lillard, McCollum, Nurki\u0107, and Anthony playing well offensively. However, more concerning was that those four players that provided the offense were the Trail Blazers&#8217; worst defenders. As a result, the Los Angeles Lakers take the series over the Portland Trail Blazers in five games.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<br \/>\n<a id=\"50MnuPxuSZVYvrUDkxRfUg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1205880193\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'50MnuPxuSZVYvrUDkxRfUg',sig:'LWV5Hnl93WeCgHi5dysG4ZzSgMAsuHPe_nqcV-ko9gs=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1205880193',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Los Angeles Lakers have advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals in five games against the Portland Trail Blazers. This was an impressive series by the Los Angeles Lakers against the Portland Trail Blazers. Yes, the Trail Blazers have serious flaws in their team. However, the Trail Blazers has star players that few eighth seeds [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3104,"featured_media":33224,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1608,62,23],"tags":[2037,240,67,1934,187,135,1105,1128,38,152,96,596,184],"class_list":["post-33168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lakers","category-basketball","category-nba","category-trailblazers","tag-alex-caruso","tag-anthony-davis","tag-carmelo-anthony","tag-cj-mccollum","tag-damian-lillard","tag-jusuf-nurkic","tag-kentavious-caldwell-pope","tag-kyle-kuzma","tag-lebron-james","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-nba","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-portland-trail-blazers"],"modified_by":"Chase Gage","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33168\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}