Rip City Revisited: 2021 Playoff Edition
A sufferer of early onset Blazermania details why Dame and Co. are worthy of your rooting interest.
In all of sports there is no professional franchise nearer to my heart than the Portland Trail Blazers, whose first round showdown against the Denver Nuggets tips off tomorrow.
Blazermania most recently swept through Portland a couple years ago during the squad’s thrilling run to the Western Conference Finals, where they were finally vanquished by the Golden State Warriors dynasty. Along the way, Dame waved Russell Westbrook and the Thunder goodbye and survived a riveting 7-game series against the Nuggets.
Maybe you don’t follow the NBA or feel obligated to root against the league because of political affiliations, and I hear your hesitation. Basketball is the most expressive and progressive of the major sports, and the NBA’s teams and players are whole other story-world to learn. We can’t learn all the worlds!
But if you feel like following along, I’m here with this handy guide to fill you in on the storylines shaping Portland’s playoff push. This year the Western Conference is as deep as ever, and the road to the Championship will be brutal. Still, even as a 6-seed, the Blazers are plucky contenders lead by a cool and fun superstar. So today I’ll be Blazervangelizing why this season’s iteration of Rip City is worth swearing your undying allegiance to.
What are “Blazers”?
The Portland Trail Blazers are an NBA franchise established in 1970, Oregon’s first and predominant sports team. Despite residing in one of pro sports’ smallest markets, the Trail Blazers have seen remarkable success, winning an NBA Championship seven years after their inception. While they haven’t been champions in my lifetime, the Blazers frequently qualify for the playoffs, and make deep playoff runs once or twice a decade.
The Trail Blazers are an intensely beloved institution in Oregon, and Blazer fans are widely regarded as the most zealous in the NBA. That this fervent fandom toward a primarily Black team in a primarily white city is a major theme of David Halberstam’s The Breaks of the Game, which is widely regarded as one of the best works of sports literature, wherein the journalist details the whole Blazers’ organization through their disappointing 1979-’80 season. Here’s a scene he paints from preseason camp:
There is in the breakfast room of the motel a quick flash of alien cultures, the grandchildren of early outdoorsmen and loggers, white, often stocky, often bearded, predominating, and then, sprinkled in with them, the grandchildren and sometimes children of sharecroppers from the Deep South—black, tall, elegant, the foremost celebrities of the entire state of Oregon.
The book is an excellent look at the inner workings of basketball teams, at Portland four decades ago, and the role the Blazers played in pushing back racism in the Pacific Northwest.
Portlanders hold a unique passion for the Blazers. Like all teams, there’s a lingo and lore behind the red and white pinwheel. Phrases like “Bingo Bango Bongo”, “Bust-a-bucket,” and “Rip City” are canonized alongside the sorrow of draft busts Sam Bowie and Greg Oden. There are fan favorites like Jerome, Uncle Cliffy, and ‘Sheed, and historical heroes in Bill Walton, Clyde Drexler, and Brandon Roy. The latest iteration of the Blazers is headlined by Damian Lillard, and most recently made a run to the Western Conference Finals in 2019.
Speak to me of the NBA. What is this league, and what is its present condition?
Despite the claims of one loud ex-president, the NBA grew steadily in the last decade, with revenue skyrocketing over the last five years. Even with arenas shut down for most of 2020, NBA franchises averaged $263 million in revenue, the league’s third most lucrative year ever. Despite its status as the youngest of the world’s major sports, basketball is already third in global popularity, trailing only soccer and cricket, with a worldwide audience (2.4b) that dwarfs both baseball (500 million) and American football (410 million) combined.
As to the game itself, the NBA is currently in an Age of Heroes. Most every team has at least one player of transcendent talent—contenders need at least 2-3 such players—and the league is headlined by a series of veteran icons who’ve changed basketball forever, including Carmelo Anthony, Steph Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, and the reigning Best Player Alive for almost two decades, LeBron James.
There are also the still ascendant superstars with legacies yet to leave—Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, and this year’s clear MVP favorite, Nikola Jokic—each of whom remind me of some Chimera that would result if you combined two other legendary NBA players. (Antetokounmpo, for instance, is like an unholy conglomeration of Karl Malone and Tracy McGrady.)
In such a Heroic Age, have the Blazers any chance at all of reaching the grail of the NBA Finals?
Every team in the Western Conference with the exception of Memphis and Dallas have a solid chance at winning.
A few weeks ago Portland seemed toast after a 3-10 slide through most of April, including a brutal six-game stretch of games decided by two points or less during which they lost five. While the offense was excellent, the Blazers’ defense was painfully porous, and doomsayers were calling for coach Terry Stotts’ head.
Then the team found a groove. The abysmal defense locked down, generating stops and turnovers. The offense, one of the NBA’s best, upgraded their firepower in Norman Powell. With the D rejuvenated, the Blazers finished the season on a 10-2 run. Considering Portland played most of the season without two of their three best players, they enter the playoffs well-rested and underestimated.
Tell me, who are the big Blazers I should know? How have their journeys lead them to here?
Damian Lillard, Point Guard
We start with the Letter O, the Blazers’ first unequivocal superstar since Clyde Drexler, and a man announcer Lamar Hurd repeatedly calls “the best leader in sports.”
Outside of being cool, content with small markets, and widely-beloved, Dame is also the perfect point guard, hitherto only imagined in video games: a masterful facilitator who can attack the rim, breezily swish 3s from half-court, or skip pass out of a triple-team for an open corner assist. Oh, and when the game is on the line, Damian Lillard goes supernova in ways even Kobe and MJ couldn’t match. Dame Time is a way of being, and cheering for Damian Lillard is the purest happiness of my sports-watching life. I am grateful for every moment.
This year was rough for Lillard, filled with grief as multiple close family and friends passed away. There was joy, too, at becoming the father of twins. Despite exhausting circumstances, Dame played heroically through a grueling season, carrying the Blazers while Nurk and C.J. were down, a 6’2” dynamo taking charges and banging knees while many other superstars sat under minute restrictions. Dame finished with one of his finest seasons, 3rd in points and 7th in assists, an outside MVP candidate.
Sub Zero knows the window to contend is waning, and these Blazers are deep enough to win it all with some lucky bounces. Even with a strong supporting cast, this show rests on Dame, though, and he will need to shine bright as ever to bring a parade to Broadway. I pray often for his health.
C.J. McCollum, Shooting Guard
C.J. McCollum is the answer to the question “What would happen if Steve Urkel and Stephon Urquell were frankensteined into a Perfect Urkel, only Perfect Urkel was a wily NBA shooting guard?” On one hand, McCollum is one of the NBA’s smoothest shooters, with handles reminiscent of a Drunken Fist master, who can enter flows, flummox defenses, and drop 50+. On the other, he’s a journalism major from Lehigh who married a dentist and endorses Crocs and Quorn.
I mean, look at this picture of C.J. McCollum in high school. How can you not love him? Like Dame, he’s a gift of a player who we’re fortunate to cheer for. His game is crafty and aesthetically pleasing and I hope he hits as many flow states in these playoffs as superhumanly possible.
Jusuf Nurkic, Center
Portland’s wild card is usually Nurkic, the soft-handed and mightily strong Bosnian seven-footer who can be brilliant and graceful as a passer and shooter, and maddening when he takes plays off. When Nurk’s in the mood, he’s an intimidating post force and defender. As Nurk’s headspace goes, so, too, will the Blazers.
He also faces a challenging matchup in Nikola Jokic, his most dangerous nemesis. Nurkic was once Jokic’s backup, twin Balkan towers separated by the former’s trade to Portland. I often wonder how much Old World tensions are at play in the matchup between the two skilled big men. They’re both 26, grew up 142 km apart, and are the top players representing two distinct ethnic groups who were at war when they were children. I’d guess the stakes in this series are high in their homelands.
In any case, Jokic is the the dominant talent, but Nurk often plays up against his Serbian rival. My bet is Nurkic is relishing this showdown after missing out on the epic seven-game series in 2019. I hope he’s up for the task, because the vast majority of Denver’s offense will run through the guy he’s supposed to stop.
Carmelo Anthony, Small Forward
The NBA’s tenth all-time points leader is an offensive genius who’s older and slower than his All-NBA days, but also wiser. Once known as the league’s elite solo scoring machine, Carmelo is now one of the game’s elder statesman, a crucial team player who provides 3s to the dome, leadership, and a chill vibe off the bench. Carmelo got his swagger back in Blazer black, and I hope this team will play their hearts out to win the future Hall-of-Famer his first ring.
Enes Kanter, Center
Kanter is a stalwart rebounder with a shockingly soft touch around the rim and, unfortunately, ho-hum defense. He’s a contender for the NBA’s 6th Man of the Year Award, and provides crucial post presence when Nurkic is resting. He’s also highly likable in interviews, a gifted writer, is dating a Rockefeller, has abs that look like this, and cannot return to his native Turkey since Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan hates him and his family.
Enes is one of the most fascinating folks in the NBA. He looks like he descended from an Ottoman War Champion, so I can see why Erdogan’s afraid of him. Now that Ramadan’s over, expect Kanter to come out hungry and looking to hustle and board Portland into the later rounds.
Other Key Role-Players:
Robert Covington, PF - The Blazers’ best defender, a disrupter who generates steals and shoots a solid, high-looping 3-pointer on kickouts.
Norman Powell, SF - A third backcourt scoring option who defends and attacks the hoop nearly as well as Dame and CJ. Norm won a ring with the Raptors and is key to easing scoring pressure on Dame and C.J. He’s set to excel in these playoffs.
Anfernee Simons, PG - A young and lanky backup point with prodigious hops (this season, he became the first Blazer to win the Dunk Contest), an extremely relaxed demeanor, and deadeye accuracy from deep.
Nassir Little, SF - A 3rd year small forward who, alongside Simons and the injured Zach Collins, represent the Blazers’ future. Athletic and all-around skilled, just needs experience.
Derrick Jones Jr., SF - Also lanky with prodigious hops. He brings defense and alley-oops and bounce off the bench.
Who are the Blazers’ Nugget nemeses?
Besides low oxygen levels due to elevation, the Blazers face a tidy machine in the 3-seeded Nuggets. Two years ago, these teams faced off in a classic 7-game series, with Portland just barely surviving. This year’s iterations are a little different, with Denver’s backcourt noticeably worse, but with a frontcourt mightily improved. These are their best players:
Aaron Gordon, PF - An extremely athletic goober who the Blazers tried to trade for this season. Gordon is a dangerous leaper and decent outside shooter. He also released a ridiculous documentary this year lamenting his second place finish in the 2016 dunk contest. This made me glad the Blazers didn’t land him.
Paul Millsap, PF - Another almost-Blazer who seems old and cranky (Millsap is four years younger than me) but still very good.
Michael Porter, Jr., SF - The Nuggets will need a major breakout from this 6’10” Klay Thompson clone. Only 22, Porter, Jr., was the NBA’s 9th most accurate 3-point shooter this season and he’ll likely be in the league a long time.
Jamal Murray, PG - Murray emerged as one of the NBA’s brightest young guards the last few years. He was on fire in the bubble, leading Denver to the Western Conference Finals, and he seems to enjoy matching Dame’s acrobatic shot-making.
Except Jamal’s ACL tore in April, so he’s out for the playoffs. This is crushingly sad for the Nuggets specifically and fans of basketball generally, but a massive relief if you root for the Blazers.
Without Murray, Denver will rely on Monte Morris, Austin Rivers, and fancy-passing Facundo Campazzo to carry the backcourt. None of these guys is as scary as Murray or Gary Harris, who was traded earlier this season.
Nikola Jokic, C - With Murray gone, the fate of Denver’s season rests on the pale shoulders of Nikola Jokic, who is an absolutely awesome basketball player and this years runaway MVP. He is possibly the best passer playing, impossibly crafty around the hoop, a better mid-range shooter than C.J. McCollum, and deceptively athletic. Jokic is one-of-a-kind—his Chimera combo is prime Dirk Nowitzki + USSR-era Arvydas Sabonis—and he’s now chiseled and ready to lead Denver to new heights. This will take a Herculean effort, yet Nikola Jokic is well-suited for such work and I would be cheering his odyssey if I weren’t bonded in blood as a Rip Citizen.
So how will all of this end?! Have you some prediction for us, soothsayer?
Granted, my lenses are rosy, but with the Blazers hitting a high gear over the month of May, Portland is where I’d place my bets.
Without Murray, Denver lacks the offense to keep up with Portland’s shooters. I expect Jokic to play mightily, and Gordon and Porter, Jr. to emerge as supporting stars, but Nurkic, Powell, and Covington are the right disruptors to neutralize Denver’s rhythm, and Denver’s backcourt stands little chance of stopping Dame and C.J. over a whole series. So: Portland in 6.
Of course, a first-round exit is always a possible outcome, and I hope my heart won’t be too horribly crushed. For now, I’m optimistic. Game 1 tips off at 7:30 PST in Denver, with the Nuggets favored by a point. The series winner will face either the despised Los Angeles Lakers or the less-despised Phoenix Suns. Both teams would be tough matchups for Portland. Denver’s the first mountain to climb, though. I’ll be watching the steps.
Go Blazers!