Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2015)
6 CLACKAMAS PRINT • APRIL 22,2015 Trail Blazers prepare for the Memphis BBQ Grizzlies vs Blazers by Zak Laster by Blake Thomason S' Finally! The Blazers season stum bles to a close and now, It’s tim e for playoffs! This time last year, there was excitem ent and optim ism because the Blazers had a strong starting five, w ith nearly everyone h ittin g th e ir stride a t th e rig h t tim e. The same cannot be said fo r this year’s team, as th e y e n te r th e playoffs Injured, battered and on a four-gam e losing streak. Unlike last year’s opponent, th e Houston Rockets, w ho play lit tle to no defense a t all, this year’s o p p o n e n t, th e M em phis Grizzlies, th rive on th e ir defensive play. The Grizzlies have given the Blazers huge problems this season. Memphis won th e season series 4 -0 , holding the Blazers to under 1 00 points in all fo u r games. I don’t see this playoff series going any different. Memphis matches up well at every position and the Blazers are not even close to healthy. LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicholas Batum, Arron Afflalo, Chris Kaman, Dorell W right and C.J. McCul- lum are all either battling nagging In juries or will be unavailable for some or the entire first round. That doesn’t even take into account th e loss o f “Iron Man,” Wesley Matthews, w ho has been out on Injury since March 6. All o f this does not look like it will add up to a winning playoff series in 2015. That being said, Blazers fans can take pride In knowing their team won their first outright division cham pionship since the 1998-99 season. Blazer fans w ill p o in t to th e fact th a t Memphis Is dealing w ith th e ir own Injuries, but their current lineup is better than any th a t th e Blazers can put on the court right now. If the Blazers had a healthy group o f play ers, th e series m ight extend longer, although it’s safe to assume th e re sult w ould be the same. The Blazers playoff run w ill be short and sweet, like Memphis barbeque. Pencil the Grizzlies in to th e second round. ZL: I'm taking the Grizzlies in five games. BT: I see Portland winning a tough, gritty series in seven games. Rip City Is back In th e playoffs and Blazer fans should be excited. As usual, the west had a w ild finish. Teams ranked No. 2 th ro u g h No.6 In the conference were all tied or w ithin a game o f each other. Of the four pos sible draws fo r a first-round matchup, Portland g o t th e m ost favorable w ith Memphis. The Grizzlies ended the season In a mini-slump - going 5-5 in their last 10 - similar to Portland. The Blazers have had Inconveniently tim ed Injuries dow n the stretch - losing Wesley Matthews for the season, Arron Afflalo fo r the start o f the playoffs and other m inor ailments - but they’re not alone. Two o f the Grizzlies’ best guards, Mike Conley and Tony Allen, are also lim ping into th e postseason. W hile th e loss o f Matthews hurts th e Blazers, the rise o f second-year guard CJ. McCollum has helped ease the pain. Allen Crabbe has also done a nice jo b filling In during Matthews’ and Afflalo’s absence and he should see an increase in minutes until the latter returns. Memphis’ strength is in Its frontcourt, lead by Marc Gasol and fo rm e r Blaz er Zach Randolph. P ortland also has strength, experience and most im por tantly, depth. LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez, Chris Kaman and even the young Meyers Leonard w ill all play key roles in this series. W hile Leonard may not be th e biggest bruiser o r best d e fender like some o f the other posts, his ability to knock dow n perim eter shots w ill be Im portant. Drawing Randolph or Gasol out o f th e paint w ill free up room fo r Aldridge and Damian Llllard to operate. His overall athleticism will also help the offense. Despite similar lineups, these tw o foes play drastically different styles of bas ketball. Memphis likes to slow the game and pound the ball inside. Portland ex cels when they run and push the tempo. If th e Blazers are able to control th e pace, they should be able to score easy and often on a tough Grizzlies defense. P o rtla n d sh o w e d last y e a r th e y w ouldn’t be fazed by having to w in on the road and th a t should be the same this year given the team ’s added expe rience. The Blazers have been trem en dous at home and the Grizzlies are the second w orst team on the road of the four possible opponents.
