Portland Trail Blazers Fall To 0-2 Since The All-Star Break Following Loss To Memphis Grizzlies

The past few seasons, the Portland Trail Blazers have blown their high positions in the West following the All-Star game. They started off the 2015 year strong, like usual, but saw a bit of a decline before the break. Portland came out and lost what should’ve been an easy win over the Utah Jazz on Friday, and the annual routine appeared to begin once more.

Prior to the game versus Memphis, it was announced that LaMarcus Aldridge wouldn’t play due to the right thumb injury he sustained back in January. Playing the Grizzlies with a full lineup is always a struggle, but without Aldridge, Gasol and Randolph are going to dominate the paint.

Surprisingly, Portland built up a quick double digit lead in the second quarter behind lights out shooting from Meyers Leonard and Dorell Wright. With LA sidelined, they both saw more minutes than usual. Leonard ended with 11 points and Wright with nine, most of which they scored in the first half.

This brief lead vanished when the Blazers went on a five-minute scoring drought, letting the Grizzlies get right back into the game. By halftime, the game was tied at 38, pretty good for the depleted Blazers. They had four more turnovers than Memphis which led to 13 total fast break points, compared to Portland’s two. Also, Damian Lillard had just four points before the start of the second half on 2 for 5 shooting. Despite all this, they still remained in the game and even had the slight upper hand going into the third.

Portland hit the floor running, building up an eventual 13-point lead in the fourth quarter. They controlled the third, shooting better than Memphis and playing much stronger defense. Everything seemed to be functioning perfectly for the Blazers, until about six minutes left in the game, when it all turned sideways.

The Grizzlies put together a 12-0 run closing the gap instantly. Portland couldn’t score for four-plus minutes for the second time this game, proving how key Aldridge really is to the offense. Memphis’s best D in the league came out when they needed it to, and they took the lead late in the final quarter and never looked back. The Blazers kept making bad shot choices and couldn’t get anything to fall.

They’re now 0-2 since the All-Star break, and LaMarcus Aldridge doesn’t have a timetable for his return. Hopefully the addition of Arron Afflalo, who made his debut tonight and scored eight points in 24 minutes, will help add another threat on both ends of the court. If Aldridge is to miss any more time, they’ll need all the help they can get.