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Portland Trail Blazers – Delaying the Inevitable
The Portland Trail Blazers believe that they can become the first team in NBA history to overturn a 0-3 start to a playoff series and come out victorious. It certainly looked like that confidence was a driving force in their 103-92 win over the San Antonio Spurs, who still lead this series 3-1.
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San Antonio Spurs – Too Easy Means Boring
Things shouldn’t go so smoothly for anyone in the conference semifinals, but the San Antonio Spurs are made from a different mold. There’s been nothing the Portland Trail Blazers have been able to do to slow them down, specifically having problems with Tony Parker who is having an excellent series which might be the result of all that rest he got during the last month of the regular season, leading his team to a 118-103 win and a 3-0 lead in the series.
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San Antonio Spurs – Confident in Their Superiority
Right now? This is looking like a sweep. The San Antonio Spurs keep coming up with new ways to make the Portland Trail Blazers feel and look like they don’t belong at this stage of the playoffs, beating them 114-97 through a dominant performance from Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili, taking a 2-0 lead in the series.
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San Antonio Spurs – Not Going Easy on Rivals
Life is very different as you move up the playoff ladder. The San Antonio Spurs are used to the rise in difficulty, while the Portland Trail Blazers have a lot of catching up to do, especially after getting torched by Tony Parker in a game 1 116-92 humiliation.
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Houston Rockets – Jeremy Lin Can’t Fix What James Harden Ruins
Leading your team in scoring doesn’t mean you aren’t hurting your team. James Harden was awful in overtime and too wasteful for most of the game as the Houston Rockets lost home court advantage with a series opening loss at home, that was almost prevented by Jeremy Lin, who once again wasn’t used enough which didn’t stop him from coming through in overtime, although it wasn’t enough.
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Portland Trail Blazers – Damian Lillard & LaMarcus Aldridge Carrying the Load
One of the goals this season for the Portland Trail Blazers was to improve as a team, which meant a better bench and obviously making the playoffs. Despite offseason changes and the postseason they’ll finally be back to, they’re still overly dependent on Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge, which isn’t such a bad thing against bad teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, coming away with the 124-112 win.
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Portland Trail Blazers – LaMarcus Aldridge Makes it All Better
The Portland Trail Blazers needed something to spark them back into life as we get closer to the playoffs. Playing against the struggling Atlanta Hawks and winning 100-85 is always good for the record, but getting LaMarcus Aldridge back after seven games is even more important.
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Portland Trail Blazers – A Humiliating Night in Charlotte
Everything wrong with the Portland Trail Blazers since their incredible start to the season came to light in a humiliating and humbling 124-94 defeat in Charlotte to the Bobcats, with a defense exposed and the lack of intelligence on their offensive plays shown very early on.
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Portland Trail Blazers – Damian Lillard Does More Than Score
The Portland Trail Blazers are incomplete as long as LaMarcus Aldridge remains injured, but they’re close to their best when Damian Lillard changes his game a bit to become more of a passing point guard, as it seemed to make quite the difference in a 116-103 win over the Washington Wizards.
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Portland Trail Blazers – Looking Nice While Stopping the Slide
Win or lose, the Portland Trail Blazers are a fun team to watch, and it’s a good thing to have them back in the playoffs, trying to succeed with the odds stacked against them because their playing style, especially when LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t playing, simply isn’t going to be good enough to make it far in the postseason. At least Damian Lillard, Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum make it worth watching.