Game one of the Western Conference playoff series between the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers wasn’t exactly a tight game. Portland kept it close for a while. They heavily employed the “Hack-A-Jordan” strategy, and Jordan finished 8-18 from the foul line including this beaut, his first attempt of the game:
The Blazers staved off being blown out until LA went on an 11-2 run to end the second quarter, going into half time with a 50-42 lead. The Clippers didn’t slow down from there, opening up a 21-point lead in the third quarter after this great play from Jamal Crawford:
Jamal Crawford cooks up Crabbe then drains the floater!#Clippers
(via @clippittv)pic.twitter.com/dOlvczlrd0— NBA On Def Pen (@NBAOnDefPen) April 18, 2016
The Clippers maintained a steady lead through the fourth quarter, and won the game 115-95. The Clippers’ superior size was key in their win, as they out-rebounded the Blazers 48-40. Damian Lillard had a solid game for the Blazers(21 points & 8 assists on 7/17 shooting), but he was out-matched by Chris Paul. Then there’s CJ McCollum, who scored 9 points on 3-11 shooting, who was outperformed by just about everybody on the Clippers. If their backcourt isn’t scoring dynamically, the Blazers have no chance of competing in this series.
Probably the biggest takeaway from this game was Blake Griffin’s superb play. Griffin, who was coming off of an injury that kept him out for three months. Griffin looked excellent in game one. He played very physically, bullying Portland down low all game, and doing a good job of getting to the line(9-12 FT). Griffin finished the game with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Fellow stars DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul had great games as well. Paul finished with 28 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds, and played stellar defense against Damian Lillard.
The Fourth quarter of this game was a dull affair, as Doc Rivers(for whatever reason) left in his big three for far too long, which led to seemingly endless Hack-A-Jordan. It was fun to see Chris Kaman do stuff, though. Admit it, you forgot he was on the roster.
The Clippers have excellent talent on the perimeter and in the paint. Portland isn’t well-equipped to stop LA in either of those areas. I would be surprised to see this series go past six games. Basically, Portland’s only chance is for Lillard and McCollum to go bananas. But with Chris Paul’s defense, that will be tough.
