Suns Outshoot Trail Blazers in Phoenix

The Portland Trail Blazers fell short of a win Sunday night in the Valley of the Sun, falling to Kevin Durant and Phoenix Suns 116-109. Portland fell behind early, then made a nice comeback in the second and third periods. However, the fourth quarter was all Phoenix until it didn’t matter anymore.

Kevin Booker led the Suns with 28, followed by Durant with 20. Anfernee Simons scored 20 for the Blazers, one of six Portland players in double figures. Both Deni Avdija and Jerami Grant lined up at 17.

Here are some highlights from the game.

Missing threes

The Blazers went on a few streaks throughout the game, but overall shot just 15-49, 30.6% from the three-point arc. It was one of those nights where the opponent left Portland open on the perimeter. The shooting just wasn’t good enough to make them pay. It’s unfortunate, because just a few more threes would have changed the color of the game. But what will you do? 49 out of 94 attempts at distance do not allow for increased volume. If you want to win, you have to hit them. Portland didn’t.

Shaedon aggressive

After a couple of half-disappeared games, Shaedon Sharpe hit the aggression button tonight. He drove when he could, shot threes quickly when he was open. Shaedon going hard is very different from Shaedon trying not to offend. Although he shot just 5-15 from the floor, Sharpe finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. At least he tried.

Robert Williams Redux

Robert Williams III returned to the floor tonight, shooting 4-4 ​​for 8 points and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes. He helped get a run in the second quarter for Portland, but didn’t get much credit in the second half.

Clingan offensive sense

Donovan Clingan got the start tonight but was still on a minute restriction. He managed 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in 19 minutes.

I’m still a bit concerned about Clingan’s bonus feature that hasn’t been previously announced: he has a much better floor feel on offense than his scoring ability and production would indicate. Offensive rebounding is the usual symptom of good court vision in centers. Clingan does. But he also passes quickly and cuts into space without the ball. I don’t just enjoy watching Clingan score, I enjoy watching him play. If this is any indication of what kind of veteran he will be, Portland has a gem in this year’s draft.

Offensive rebounding

Speaking of offensive rebounding, it’s been hit or miss lately, though it was a definite team strength when the Blazers started the season. Portland thrived as they bullied the lesser Suns on the glass tonight. They grabbed 12 offensive rebounds with streaks of production matching their three-point shooting. However, they allowed Phoenix 12, nullifying their advantage.

Simon’s finishing

Say what you will about Anfernee Simons, but he has a feathery touch on layups. No one else on the team has the ability to put the ball in as many places on the glass and still convert as he does. It was an underutilized part of his game earlier in his career, but now that he’s closer to a #1 scorer, he’s getting more use out of his arsenal.

Drive isn’t the strongest part of Simons’ game, but I’m always happy to see him use it.

Paint points

In case you missed the last four points of analysis, all of which had to do with interior scoring, the Blazers finished with a 50-44 edge in the paint tonight. They get better and better inside the arc. If only they could hit outside of it too.

Stupid statistics

This is a pet peeve, but I’m getting a little tired of the statistical talk on Blazers Broadcasts. I understand that when the team loses so much, they want to look on the bright side of everything to maintain interest. Yet the statistical claims made by broadcasters are almost misleading, slanted and angled as if to prove a point or paint a sunny picture.

One of those tonight was that three players off Portland’s bench – Dalano Banton, Scoot Henderson and Deni Avdija – averaged at least 10 points and 2 assists. Portland is the only team in the league with that distinction.

OK…so? Who chose 2 assists as the limit? What does it indicate or affect? They probably drew the line there so they could include Banton and his 2.6 assists and thus qualify. Raise the bar to 3 assists and the Blazers don’t look so exclusive anymore.

Also between them, the aforementioned trio average 6.6 turnovers along with their 10.7 assists per game. That’s a ratio between help and revenue of 1.62. Granted, that’s better than the horrible 1.3 ratio the Blazers own as a whole, which basically ties them for last in the league. But 1.6 would put those bench players in the bottom third of the NBA if extended to the full squad. In other words, everything ball handling and passing is no bueno. However, you’d never know it with the carefully crafted stats on the screen.

I don’t like it when individuals slice and dice stats to prove some outlandish point or make a story seem better/worse than it already is. I like it even less when basketball pundits do it. We’re supposed to learn more about the games by watching them, not less.

I like the Blazers Broadcasting team in general. I just wish they would stop the eye-rolling numbers game. The team’s play gives the lie to all the stacking of goopy-syrup stats. How about we just talk about why the Blazers win or lose games and use the numbers to demonstrate? I don’t think anyone would think less of the organization if the broadcasters said the team had issues with defensive rebounding or really excelled on the 3’s. It would help us understand what we see, which would increase engagement with the game.

Tyus Jones

Tyus Jones had a solid 19 points on 8-9 shooting with 4 assists tonight. On a recent episode of the Trail Daddy podcast, we talked about the Blazers needing a true point guard instead of the array of hybrid ball handlers they currently field. This is especially true if Scoot Henderson doesn’t strike out. Jones is on a minimum contract with the Suns this year. It expires at the end of the season. The Blazers wouldn’t have the cap space to make him an offer, but if Jones remains in transition over the next few seasons, Portland might want to keep an eye on him.

Next

Box score

The Blazers are off until Thursday when they face the Denver Nuggets at 7:00 PM in the Pacific.