The Blazers defeat the Timberwolves and start 1-0 in the NBA Cup

The Portland Trail Blazers took on Minnesota Timberwolves Tuesday night in the season’s first set of NBA Cup games. The Blazers came out of the gate strong and never let up, cruising to a 122-108 victory at The Moda Center.

If you missed the first 11 games of the season and decided to tune into tonight’s game, you’d assume the Trail Blazers were undefeated and showcased the top defense and three-point shooting in the league. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, but it was fun to see what this young Portland team is capable of against one of the NBA’s elite teams that just two games ago beat the Blazers by 25 points.

The Blazers played without starting center Deandre Ayton and lost starting point guard Anfernee Simons in the first quarter to injury. These losses would normally have sent the team spiraling into a dark void of nothingness. Tonight, it created opportunities for Donovan Clingan, Delano Banton and game MVP Rob Williams III to shine.

At the end of the day, the Blazers shot 56.3% from three-point land. That was the difference in the game. Portland put their length to work, holding the Timberwolves to 37% shooting from deep. In a season where wins will be hard to come by, it was nice to see the Blazers start 1-0 in the NBA Cup.

Here are several factors that contribute to the win.

Defense

Having the highest ranked team in the NBA would normally be an advantage. If this were 1980, the Blazers would dominate every team in their path. But last I checked, it’s 2024, and every NBA team needs to be able to defend the paint, turn everything on, and knock down three-point shots at a high clip. Tonight, the Blazers did all of those things very well.

Portland’s defense swarmed NBA superstar Anthony Edwards and the rest of the ‘Wolves’ backcourt. Toumani Camara rose to the challenge of guarding his former Georgia Bulldog teammate and was a threat. Deni Avdija used his length to disrupt shooters and played the passing lanes to force steals.

If the defense on the perimeter played well, the interior defense played out of this world. The rookie Clingan set the tone early in his first start of the season when he knocked a hook shot away from Minnesota big man Rudy Gobert on the first play of the game. The single block proved to be a prelude to the rest of the night. Clingan played a season-high 21 minutes. His stats won’t jump out at you, but the gravitas he shifts on the defensive end of the field is noticeable.

If Clingan set the tone on defense, then Rob Williams III finished the song. Williams was simply fantastic tonight for the Blazers (more on this later). He finished the night with three blocks and three steals and was able to help on switches and rebound in traffic and collected nine boards.

All in all, this was a great defensive night from the Blazers.

The long ball

In the Blazers’ previous game against the Memphis Grizzlies, they shot just 9.5% from beyond the arc. After that night, it looked like Portland would never make another three-point shot again. Apparently they just saved all the marks for their first NBA Cup game. The Blazers went 18-32 from deep.

The way they got those shots surprised me. They moved the offense and looked for the open shooter. Camara and Avdija benefited from running away from screens and calling for the ball. Shaedon Sharpe and Banton took several of their threes off the dribble, but they got comfortable looks without forcing action. It’s easy to get locked down by the Timberwolves’ perimeter defenders, so it was encouraging to see this type of performance against them.

Time Lord

Let it sink in. Robert Williams III scored 19 points while shooting 9-10 from the field with 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks and a +13 rating in 25 minutes. Frankly, Williams looked even better from an eye test perspective than his stats indicated. He connected on several lob passes and was a vocal leader on the defensive end of the court. I know there was a lot of talk in the offseason about when (not if) Williams would be traded, but if he can stay healthy, the Trail Blazers might want to consider keeping him.

Ending at Rim

Blazers can get to the hoop any time they want. Scoot Henderson’s speed, Avdija’s craftiness, Sharpe’s athleticism and Jerami Grant’s shiftiness make containment really difficult for defenders. The question all year is over when the Blazers get the easy look.

Tonight against Rudy Gobert, Portland did a much better job of connecting on close attempts, drawing fouls or passing the ball to the open man. The Blazers need to lean more into this superpower and use it to their advantage. Not only will it put them in position for easy points, it will create open looks for others at the arc.

Bench scoring

Portland’s second unit outscored the Timberwolves reserves 64-39.

28 of Minnesota’s bench points came from just one player, Naz Reid. Portland had a more balanced attack. They were forced to go to their bench early with the Simons injury, and the experiment paid off. The Blazers have a deep, if young, rotation. It will be hard to contend if the bench provides balanced scoring and this kind of defensive effort every night.

Next

Box score

The Blazers get the same Timberwolves tomorrow night at 19.00 in the Pacific.