Clingan, Sharpe Lead Blazers to Victory over Timberwolves

The Portland Trail Blazers got a rare win against a good team on Tuesday night when they blew out the Minnesota Timberwolves on their home floor. On Wednesday the same two teams played the second night of a back-to-back against each other. The book said the Timberwolves would come back with a vengeance, taking out the Blazers with ease.

Portland did not read that book.

Shorthanded, without starters Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton, also missing reserve center Robert Williams III, the Blazers still took the Timberwolves to school. Stellar defense from Portland’s wings, backed by rookie Donovan Clingan as the only standing center, led Portland to a surprising 106-98 win.

Here are the factors that contributed to victory for Portland.

Clingan Strong

After the first couple minutes of the game, Donovan Clingan did a great job eating space and altering shots in the lower lane on the defensive end without picking up fouls. It was his most steady overall defensive performance yet, also the most explosive. Clingan’s second-half shot blocking was prodigious. His teammates were long and rangy enough to slow down penetration. That was all he needed to hone in. He even got a flat-footed block against Rudy Gobert in the fourth quarter.

Clingan also made a couple nice passes to cutters from the top of the court in the second half. Nice.

The rookie finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 blocks.

Temporary Defensive Woes

When Portland’s defense works, it works pretty well. When it doesn’t, though, it tends to domino all the way into oblivion. That happened under three circumstances tonight.

The first came when Minnesota beat them down the floor outright. As we’ve said before, this is a big no-no, especially for a team as young and quick as the Blazers. The ‘Wolves managed it, though, less on unopposed breaks than on quick-hits against single, overmatched defenders.

The second came on bad switches. With their height and relatively parallel level of defensive prowess—especially across the wing corps—Portland has adopted switching as their tactic of choice against opposing screens. It works well enough when they have a healthy lineup. Missing so many players impacts their ability to carry off the scheme. They either get caught with a slow player like Clingan on the ball or a short player like Scoot Henderson in the lane. Against opposing second units they can get away with that. Against premium scorers like Anthony Edwards or enormous giants like Rudy Gobert, not so much.

On the rarer occasions when the Blazers actively sent help, a fast pass to the open man or an easy offensive rebound by an unguarded Minnesota big resulted.

Put these all together and you had a pretty easy time for the Timberwolves for a while. They scored 33 in the first quarter and looked to be running away with the game.

Small Ball to the Rescue

The cure for the above came from an unexpected source.

The Blazers did well in the second period when, without centers, they fielded a lineup of forwards, wings, and Scoot Henderson. They stood strong in the mid-regions of the lane, stopping penetration when the Timberwolves went one-on-one. Once the ball stopped moving forward, Portland took advantage of the stall with busy hands, forcing steals and running.

It was kind of a big deal, as the momentum held for most of the rest of the game, even when Clingan checked back in as a true center. It’s a reminder how defensively-active the Blazers’ big guards and small forwards are. Being able to switch multiple players between 6’6 and 6’9 really makes a difference to Portland’s defense.

Kris Murray deserves special mention. He stood in on multiple defensive possessions, beating his man to the spot and forcing bail-outs or turnovers. It was a heck of a performance for a lower-rotation player.

Sharpe Shooting

It’s hard to pick a hero for Portland in a game where they made like Super Friends, but Shaedon Sharpe was a one-man circus in the lane tonight. He seemed to know that the Blazers were missing scoring punch with Ayton and Simons out. Shaedon took the ball to the rack with authority, absorbed contact, and rose for looks that ended up looking easy (though they surely weren’t). He saved the game for the Blazers late by taking it right at Gobert and scoring on him repeatedly.

Sharpe finished with a team-leading 33 points in 36 minutes. It’s good to see his promise come to fruition in a hotly-contested matchup.

Scoot Pick and Roll

Scoot Henderson probably wishes he could see Rudy Gobert every game. Henderson and Clingan teamed up for multiple pick and roll plays, forcing the French center to help stop penetration on the drive. Scoot’s vision and passing were unerring in those situations. Gobert wasn’t fast enough to stop Portland’s point guard nor agile enough to recover to Clingan before the ball arrived. The resulting scores were both sweet and critical to Portland’s mid-game success.

Damian Lillard used to BBQ Gobert on the regular. It appears the Blazers have another point guard able to do so, just in a different way,

Henderson finished the game with 5 assists, albeit against 5 turnovers. For once, the former weighed more than the latter.

Paint Points

Sharpe played the lead role in the dunk-o-thon tonight, but he was hardly alone. This was the best game all season as far as flushes for the Blazers. Lack of centers on the home side plus clunky pivots for the visitors resulted in open lanes and lots of highlight-reel material. That’s a rare, and welcome, sight in Portland.

The Blazers scored 52 in the lane tonight, edging out the bigger, more experienced, and more talented Timberwolves by 2.

Minny Threes

Portland benefited from googly-eyed shooting by the ‘Wolves from distance tonight. Their contests weren’t any better than they were last night when Minnesota shot a respectable 37.1% from the arc. The ‘Wolves just missed a host of open shots, much to Portland’s delight.

Minnesota shot just 7-39, 17.9%, from distance in the game. Anthony Edwards, one of the most prolific shooters in the league from distance, fired 0-9.

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Boxscore

The Blazers have several days off now before facing the Atlanta Hawks at 3:00 PM, Pacific on Sunday.