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ÇPflD TC U un1 WEDNESDAY/MAY 7, 2Ö14 Western Conference Sem ifinals TEXAS TWO-STEP S ports E ditor B lake T homason gives REASONS WHY THE P ortland T rail B lazers ’ playoff JOURNEY WILL END HERE. A d M anager Z ak L aster gives REASONS WHY THE P ortlad T rail B lazers ’ rodeo RIDE WILL MOVE RIGHT THROUGH S an A ntonio . Here's how the Blazers' duo matches up against their second straight Texas opponent, the San Antonio Spurs. Damian Lillard T r a il w ill en d h e re T h i s is n o c o u n t r y fo r th e B la z e r s fo r o ld m e n The Portland Trail Blazers ended the longest playoff-victory drought in the NBA last Friday in dramatic fashion. Fans finally got w hat they wanted for so long, b u t it probably took some years off their lives. After a wild scramble for the ball, the H ouston Rockets got a lucky bounce and Chandler Parsons scored w hat looked like the game-winning basket that would sendthe series back t o H o u s t o n fo r a s e v e n t h g a m e . O n ly , clock for the Blazers. W ith 0.9 seconds left, Blazers coach Terry Stotts drew up a play for LaMarcus Aldridge. However, D am ian Lillard cam e open after running around a screen and dapped for the ball. Seeing how open h e was, Nicolas Batum w ent away from the original play and inbounded the ball to the second-year star. In one swift motion, Lillard caught the ball behind the three-point line, planted his feet and flicked his w rist The ball splashed through the net and the crowd erupted. It was the first game and series w inning buzzer- beater since John Stockton did it in 1997. Four o f the six games were decid ed on the last possession o f the game, and three games went to overtime. These teams were so evenly matched, and all six games could’ve easily gone the other way. In the series, the Rockets actually outscored the Blazers 672-670. However, as I predicted, the Blazers w on in six games and advanced for the first tim e since2000. U p next is the defending Western Conference champs. The San Antonio Spurs hold the league’s best record and are the num ber one seed in the west. The veteran Spurs will provide a tough test for the young Blazers, as their experience and continuity are far superior. Tim D uncan was playing for the Spurs while Lillard was in .second grade learning basic m ath and cursive writing. The original “Big Three” of D uncan, Tony Parker an d M anu Ginobili have been playing together since 2002 and have been to four NBA Finals, w inning three. As a longtime Los Angeles Laker fen, I’ve grown to despise the Spurs. W ith Gregg Popovich at the helm, the team always has a chance to win the championship. In fact, I think this year they will w in it Home-court advantage might not have seemed that big in m e last series against the Rockets, b u t this series will be different The Spurs will not lose two games at home, meaning the Blazers will have to steal one and win best road team in the NBA. In the regular season, the series was split 2-2 w ith each team winning a hom e and road game. These two teams m atch up pretty well, an d have similar personnel. The key difference is the Spurs’ depth; as m any as 11 Spurs played consistently in their first round series, including nine who saw double-digit minutes. Com pare that to the Blazers w ho only played eight guys consistently. In feet, the only reason other players got to play was due to starters fouling out o r the game being out of hand. T he Blazers certainly did not w in their first series because of their defense; the Rockets scored over 100 in each game except the final one. In ro u n d two, the Blazers certainly have the weapons to match the Spurs’ attack, b u t tneir defense, o r lack o f one, will be the reason they lose. Easy baskets an d second-chance points were detrimental to th e Blazers, and the Spurs are one o f m ost efficient offensive teams. In addition, the Spurs have a true multi-dimensional attack with role players like Ginobili, D anny Green, M arco Belinelli, Patty M ills and Kawhi Leonard who can go off o n any n ig h t C oach Stotts won’t be able to hide guys like Lillard and Mo Williams in this series, and Popovich will take full advantage. This series should be a fun one, possibly an o th er classic like last round, b ut Ultimately the Spurs will w in in six games. 6.7 assists p er game LaMarcus Aldridge 29.8 points p er game 11.2 rebounds p er game Tony Parker M atchup Date T im e/ C hannel G am e 1 Blazers @ Spurs May'6; 2014 6:30 PM Ch: T N T G ame 2 Blazers @ Spurs M ay 8, 2014 6:30 p M Ch: ESPN2 G am e 3 Spurs @ Blazers M ay 10, 2014 7:30 PM C h:E S P N G am e 4 Spurs @ Blazers M ay 12, 2014 7:30 PM C h :T N T *Game 5 Blazers @ Spurs M ay 14, 2014 TBA Ch: T N T *Game 6 Spurs @ Blazers M ay 16, 2014 TBA Çh: ESPN *Game 7 Blazers @ Spurs M ay 19, 2014 TBA C h :T N T 20.3 points p er gam e 4.7 assists p e r game Tim Duncan 17.3 points p er gam e 8.4 rebounds p er game R egular season match up SAS @ PO R P O R W 115-105 Friday, Jan. 17 P O R @ SAS PO R W 109-100 W ednesday, Feb. 19 SAS @ PO R SAS W 111-109 W ednesday, M arch 12 P O R @ SAS ad manager Manu Ginobili Saturday, Nov. 2 SAS W 103-90 ZAK LASTER a to u g h seven gam e series against th e D allas M avericks. T h e Blazers are coached by T erry Stotts, w ho Finally! T h e P o rtla n d T rail w as the. M avericks’ lead assistant fo r four years before jo in in g th e Blazers defied th e o dds a n d w ere able to escape the first ro u n d o f the ’ Blazers in 2012. It’s d efinitely p o s sible th a t Stotts w ill b e calling up playoffs by defeating th e H o uston his b u d d y for a few tips o n w hat R ockets. It w as an exciting series th a t w ent six gam es o u t o f a p o s w orked well against th e S purs a n d w hat didn’t. sible seven. T h è o th e r th in g th e Blazers T h e Rockets, how ever, didn’t have going fo r th è m is youth. T he m ake it easy o n th e Blazers w ho Spurs have fo u r players over th è w ere looking to escape th è first age o f 31, w ith th e ir oldest player ro u n d fo r th e first tim e since 2000. T h ree o u t o f th e six gam es bein g 38; how ever, th e 38 year old is T im D u n c an w ho is a tw o-tim e w ent to overtim e a n d th e series M V P t h a t h a s w o n f o u r titles. T he ■w w a e t i n e h t i - d b y a - D a m i a n L i l l a r d average age o f th e Blazers how ever th re e -p o in te r as tim e ex p ired . is 25.5, w ith th e ir oldest starte r Now , th e o n ly th in g sta n d in g being 28. T h e Blazers sh ould b e betw een th e Blazers a n d a sp o t in able to ru n circles a ro u n d these th e W estern C onference. F in d s is o ld dinosaurs. th e league’s oldest b u t best team , In 2000, w hich was the last tim e th e San A n to n io Spurs. th e B lazers advanced past th e first T his P o rtlan d team is young, ta le n ted a n d rid in g a wave o f great ro u n d , th e Blazers m ad e it to th e W estern C onference Finals. I see m o m e n tu m th a t’s h a rd to stop. San A n to n io is ju st c om ing o u t o f P ortland doing th e sam e th in g this year, beating the Spurs in six games. by by BLAKE THOMASON sports editor 17.7 points p er gam e 4.6 assists p er gam e
