HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS On using three-guard lineup tonight: “The obvious thing was Shabazz was playing really well and I didn’t want to take him out. They had a lineup where defensively we could kind of match up and they didn’t have a big three-man or a big guard that we couldn’t match up with. But Shabazz had a great night and I needed to keep him on the floor.” Would you have stayed with it if Simmons had stayed in? “I would have certainly looked at it. I mean, CJ, we were prepared to have CJ on him. But Simmons, he was tough. I would have certainly kept with it to see if it didn’t work or not.” What would it mean if Napier continues to play like this? “Well, I’ll tell you what, if he goes 5 for 5 from threes every night, that’s a good thing for us. I’ll go out on a limb and say that’s really good.” “He gives us a spark. On a night where Evan kind of struggled a little bit and Pat missed his shots, it was a big spark. Being able to kind of rest Dame and CJ and see how that goes, I think sometimes it might be tough with lineups, but he’s playing really well.” On Napier’s defense as well: “He’s good at anticipating. He had a matchup where he could kind of roam a little bit and in the last couple games, he’s got some steals and deflections. He can create some turnovers for us.” On three point shooting success tonight: “It was good to see Dame make them obviously. CJ’s threes – that last one with the ball rolling around, it was ridiculous – I mean, a leaner at the shot clock buzzer. We made some tough threes, but I thought we moved the ball well to the weak side to have some open threes as well.”
DAMIAN LILLARD On guards playing well tonight: “I think me and CJ, we both played well offensively but the biggest difference was ‘Bazz. I think what ‘Bazz did off the bench got our energy going. He gave us a punch – scoring the ball, getting his hands on balls defensively, the pace of the game – he changed the game in the second quarter.” What does it do for you guys when Napier plays like that? “It gives us that much more balance on the perimeter where usually it’s me or CJ creating, scoring points or making plays, and if not, it’s E.T. Now, a team goes small and you’ve got me, CJ, E.T. and ‘Bazz now. He’s catching on the weak side and knocking down open shots, catching it and getting into the paint and scoring, getting fouled, making plays. Just physical on defense. He’s one of those smaller guys that’s not going to back down. He’s going to be physical, he’s going to give a hard foul if he need to, and he’s going to compete and care. It means something when a guy really cares about the greater good of the team. He wants to do whatever he can to help. He’s constantly communicating and he’s impacted our last two wins.” Have you seen this from Napier behind the scenes? “I think everybody knew, it was just a matter of getting an opportunity. The first year he got here in came, he was a handful. We was going at it in practice from day one. That’s the kind of stuff that prepares you for the season. All along we knew he can play, he can do a lot of things. He’s competitive, he’s smart, he knows the game and he’s a true teammate and a true team player in his heart. I know he is because his birthday is the day before mine and I am so it’s just in us. It’s no surprise to me and I doubt a surprise to anybody in this locker room that he’s doing as well as he is.”
SHABAZZ NAPIER “It felt good. I felt like we showed a lot of resiliency today being down at the beginning, which is great to see us bounce back – not from a loss but just from the beginning of the game and to get our second wind.” On being in good rhythm offensively and defensively “When I get in the game, my mindset is just kind of to spark whichever way I can, defensively, offensively and sometimes I’m fortunate enough to put my hands on balls and sometimes I’m not, it’s just being ready.” On maintaining a stay-ready mindset while seeing more regular opportunities: “I still have got to have that mindset and that’s not going to change no matter how well I’ve been playing. Just want to keep that mindset.”
HEAD COACH FRANK VOGEL I know you wanted to dictate tempo, pace… only 79 field goal attempts tonight, how did they better dictate the tempo of the game? Scoring the ball really. Their offense were able to sink the ball in the net too much. We had some good possessions, but we didn’t persist with our pace well enough. That second quarter run took the air out of the balloon, how did you get back in it? Yeah. This is a tough place to win. We know they’re going to go on a run like that at some point, and I thought our guys caught themselves at half time. Came out in the third quarter and made it a game the second half. We had a chance to win the game. What did you think the difference was? Napier? 3-point shooting? Napier was certainly a factor. He killed us. 5 for 5 from the three, played a terrific basketball game. They went smaller than we were. We’re small, but they went even smaller. It hurt us with penetration and the 3 ball. You plan for Lillard and McCollum, but Napier is a wild card: It is. That’s what you need to win. You need one guy like that to step up. Credit to Shabazz, and credit to the Blazers. How big was that loose ball possession near the end of the game? It’s one of those nights. Did you feel good with how you started the night? Yeah! We played a good basketball game. We had one stretch in the second quarter where we let them take control of the game at that point, but we hung in there and made our run and had a chance to win it late. I’m proud of our effort, and we just fell short. What did you see during that 17-0 run in the second quarter? I thought it was offense. We had 7 turnovers in the second quarter. Turnovers for runs for them, and their guards got hot. They got some terrific scorers down there, and you can’t turn the ball over with that type of offensive attack. We did during that stretch. Overall, were you happy with the shots you were able to get your guys? For the most part. I mean, you always want a little bit better. In certain situations, there’s always a handful in there making a run where we set-up for something quick. I think not taking care of the basketball during that last stretch was the biggest factor. Did you learn more about the team from this trip? You learn every game about your group. I like the team we have. We have a good team. We knew this was going to be a tough trip – hoping to get more than one win – but we have to lick our wounds and get back on the winning track when we get home. You’ve had some injuries, what are your thoughts on the team holding this together with guys out? Guys are stepping up and responding. I’m proud and happy with the spirit, and the energy our group has. Like I said, we fell short tonight, but we’re a good team. Excited to get back home.
NIKOLA VUCEVIC On having a good first quarter but then losing the lead: “It was frustrating. When we first came back in, we kind of came out flat. We let them get a lot of easy points and offensively we just took quick shots and made bad decisions, which led them to get some easy ones on the other end. During those four minutes it hurt us a lot because we had a nice lead but we still responded in the second half, just down the stretch it felt like our offense was too stagnant, we weren’t playing in rhythm to be effective.” On the difference maker in a narrow game: “I think our defense wasn’t consistent for 48 minutes, we had some good stretches and some bad ones. Shabazz [Napier] hurt us from making those three’s. Then [Damian] Lillard and [CJ] McCollum they did what they do. I thought at the end when we were able to get stops, just offensively we couldn’t get something going. I thought it felt like we stuck too much to just playing pick and rolls instead of trying to get everybody involved, moving the ball more and getting different looks to make them work because whenever we made them work offensively they struggled to contain us so I felt like we could’ve just done a better job on that end.” On the importance for them to win the next few games at home: “It’s critical that we win the next two games at home. We’re now 8-7, right? So we need to stay above .500 before the next trip so it’s very important that we get these two and it’s going to be two hard games. Utah plays very well although [Rudy] Gobert will be out, they still play very good basketball, smart, they play at a slower pace than other people so it’s going to be important for us to beat them and then Indiana’s a young team with a lot of energy and they play well. So two big games for us coming up and then we have another tough road trip but that’s part of the league, if you want to win in this league you have to get though those. Some teams get it early, some teams later in the season, it doesn’t matter, you have to go through them at some point so you have to find a way.”
EVAN FOURNIER On giving up their lead after the first quarter: “They were just more aggressive. We started great and they just picked it up. They pushed us, started to disrupt our rhythm offensively and they were more aggressive, setting better screens, going to the glass and that’s basically why CJ [McCollum] and I got into it, they were just more aggressive. I think that was the whole mindset, we need to find that.” On their fourth quarter struggles: “Well as always they started to make shots so we had to bring the ball up and down the court every time. There was no reason, there was no pace, we didn’t get stops. You can’t run, you can’t get transition buckets and that played a big part. And like I said they were just more aggressive.”
TEAM • The Trail Blazers tied their season-high with 14 3-pointers (of 27). Portland’s 51.9% mark from deep was the second best 3-PT percentage they have shot this season (58.3%, Oct. 18 at Phoenix). • Portland went on a 17-0 run to close the second quarter, holding the Magic scoreless for the final 5:44 of the period. • The Trail Blazers scored 14 second chance points off of 10 offensive rebounds compared to the Magic’s 10 second chance points off of seven offensive rebounds. • Portland’s reserves outscored Orlando’s bench, 32-30. • The Trail Blazers outscored the Magic in the paint, 40-38. • The Trail Blazers held the Magic to 94 points, marking the second game in a row that Portland has held its opponent below 100 points.
PLAYER • Damian Lillard had 26 points (9-21 FG, 5-10 3-PT, 3-4 FT), 11 rebounds, and seven assists. It was Lillard’s third double-double of the year, and second with points and rebounds. • CJ McCollum logged 24 points (8-16 FG, 4-7 3-PT, 4-4 FT), four rebounds, three assists and three steals. He has made at least three 3-pointers in six straight games, extending the longest streak of his career and tying the third-longest streak in the NBA this season (10, Eric Gordon). • Shabazz Napier scored a season high 19 points (7-12 FG, 5-5 3-PT) off the bench to go along with a two assists and three steals. Napier’s five 3-pointers tied his career high. • Shabazz Napier is the third player in Trail Blazers history to make five 3-pointers off the bench while shooting 100% from beyond the arc. He is the only bench player to accomplish that feat in the NBA this season. • Jusuf Nurkic rounded out the four Portland players in double figures, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Nurkic’s five assists tied his season high. • Noah Vonleh (seven rebounds) and Ed Davis (six rebounds) each secured two offensive rebounds off the bench. • Evan Fournier had 22 points (8-17 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 4-4 FT), three rebounds and two assists to lead the Magic. It was Fournier’s 10th game of the season with 20+ points. • Nikola Vucevic logged his fifth double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Well, Stotts talks about playing Napier more because he was hitting so many shots. Does that mean he has to hit 100% to get more playing time, instead of his usual 60%? This guy has been playing very well since pre-season. For me, he has become so much of a positive factor that he needs to be considered when making plans for the team. For one thing, his play makes me feel less reluctant about losing CJ in a trade for a star SF. Although that ship seems to have sailed....... Only guys who might be available seem to be Middleton or Covington and it seems CJ is worth more than that. The other thing; that three small guard lineup. Wouldn't it be really nice to have a mobile shot blocker in that lineup. Could Collins eventually fill that role or should we be looking for someone like John Henson? Any other ideas?
It's weird to me the constant criticism? Stotts was playing him. He was playing him before he went 5-5 from 3. Just happens he played well again. Then where is this getting rid of CJ stuff coming from? Without CJ last night they lose that game? Draft and develop a SF or look for one through trade but you don't give up DAME, CJ or NURK to get it.
