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HOUSTON – The NBA schedule makers did the Portland Trail Blazers few favors this season, handing them the LeBron James circus on opening night, sending them out of town on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve and assigning them to seven-game, 13- marathon day after the All-Star break.
But they did give the Blazers one gift: An early chance at revenge.
The Blazers will host the New Orleans Pelicans at 7:30 pm Thursday at the Moda Center, where they will be given an opportunity on national television to play their failures last season.
Naturally, Blazers players and coaches downplayed the rematch after Tuesday night's win over the Houston Rockets. This is, after all, just a regular-season game. But after the season with a little momentum, defeating the team that stomped them in April would, at the very least, provide another positive.
"Obviously, we have this game circled," Damian Lillard said. "Obviously, we're going to get back to where we're going." But it's only going to be the last word of the season. So, we'll see. "
The Blazers were manhandled by New Orleans in a first-round sweep last season, when Anthony Davis bludgeoned them, Jrue Holiday outplayed them, the Pelicans' pick-and-roll defense suffocated them and an untraditional lineup stymied them.
But these are different teams and different times.
For the Pelicans, veteran point guard Rajon Rondo, whose experience and savvy was so important against the Blazers, now plays for the Lakers. He has been replaced by Elfrid Payton and the Pelicans have been retooled in other areas, too, signing Julius Randle and Jahlil Okafor to bolster their frontline. Of course, everything still revolves around Davis, whose two-way dominance is unparalleled in the NBA.
New Orleans, the NBA's fastest team at the end of last season, continues to play at dizzying pace. That, combined with their length, makes them a matchup nightmare.
"They have a lot of length, athleticism, and they play hard," Lillard said. "AD … we would not trade for him, we're going to have a tough game, but we're ready for it."
Added Evan Turner: "We've got to be ready, they've got a positive attitude around them. now, I think everyone wants to make it happen last year, but we just have to really come in and focus on what they do. "
And what the Blazers do this season? The additions of Nik Stauskas Seth Curry have been better than expected. The decision to feature Turner as a point-forward in the second unit has been difference-making. And the emergence of second-year big man Zach Collins
The Blazers' depth and versatility, spearheaded by their retooled bench, has opened up new combinations and a new style for coach Terry Stotts to use. Five players are averaging dual-figures, including Collins (11.1 points per game) and Stauskas (10.1) off the bench, and Turner (9.3 points, 4.1 assists) is on the cusp of double-digits. With their depth, the Blazers are winning in a variety of ways.
They've breezed to high-scoring victories over the Lakers and Magic. They've grinded out defensive-minded victories over the Pacers and Rockets. Against Houston, the Blazers' Big Three. Against the Pacers, the Blazers' bench scored a whopping 54 points.
When Lillian and McCollum were bottled up by the Pelican's last-year pick-and-roll defense, the Blazers did not have an answer. When Nurkic was muted by the athletic and unconventional frontcourt of Davis and Nikola Mirotic, Portland had nowhere to turn. Now, they have more weapons, more options and a more diverse attack.
"We've added a few pieces that are really complementary to what we do," Lillard said. "It's made more mature, more polished team."
It's unclear if the Pelicans, who play at the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night, will be at full strength against the Blazers. Davis has missed the last two games with a left elbow injury and their last game with a sprained right ankle.
But while their absence would remove some of the look of Thursday's rematch, it would not deter the Blazers' motivation.
"At the end of the day, this is just a regular season game," said Collins. "But, obviously, they got us pretty bad last year, so we're going to go in there and try to get that win."
Joe Freeman | [email protected] | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman
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