Mike Richman here, the host of the daily Locked On Blazers podcast, with your daily Locked On Blazers newsletter. Each day we bring you the biggest stories about the Blazers and the NBA, including the hottest links to other stories you need to read. Plus, Josh Lloyd delivers daily fantasy notes to crush your league.
A Tale of Two Cities
Nov 29, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) drives to the basket during the second half against Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) at Moda Center. | Troy Wayrynen/Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
For my American readers, a question. What did you do over Thanksgiving weekend? Relax, eat a lot, watch a bunch of sports on TV? If you did end up binging hoops, you saw two vastly different Trail Blazers games.
Blazers vs. Kings: A Dominant Performance
The Blazers kicked off the weekend with a bang, taking on the Sacramento Kings, rolling their royal visitors 115-106 that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score suggests.
DeAndre Ayton was a force, putting up 26 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and adding a steal and a block to his stat line. This was probably his best game of the season. Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons also stepped up, contributing significantly to the team’s success. Avdija’s 11 points in the third quarter and Simons’ 12 in the fourth helped seal the deal. The Blazers’ defense was on point, holding the Kings to just 20 points in the second quarter and building a solid lead that they maintained throughout the game.
Portland won despite shooting 28.7% from 3. They absolutely dominated the Kings in the paint, scoring an absurd 64 points compared to just 34 paint points for Sacramento. In a game, the Blazers didn’t make jumpers they did their work at the rim.
Sunday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks was a different story.
The Mavs, led by All World whiner and bucket getter Luka Doncic, edged the Blazers 137-131, in a shootout where both teams made 18 three-pointers.
Simons was the star of the third quarter, going full Anferno with 24 points, making his first eight shots of the quarter and assists three others. He account for 11 of the Blazers 15 made field goals in the third. That Simons heater came on the heels of a first half in which he sat the final nine minutes in foul trouble. He then fouled with eight minutes left in the game after playing less than five seconds of the fourth quarter. It was a truly bizarre night.
Despite the setback, the Blazers showed resilience, with Deni Avdija stepping up in the final minutes to keep the game close. Avdija has 14 in the fourth quarter and Portland had chances in the final two minutes, only to be undone by a late goaltend call and a missed Jerami Grant layup.
On Friday the Blazers did it without making shots, on Sunday they came up short while barely missing. Weird weekend.
For more insights and a deeper dive into the Blazers’ weekend games, tune into the Locked On Blazers podcast for this and much more.
Other Topics in Today’s Locked On Blazers Podcast:
- Anfernee Simons’ explosive third quarter against the Mavericks
- DeAndre Ayton’s standout performance against the Kings
December 1, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates against the Sacramento Kings during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada/Kyle Terada-Imagn Images
You’d be forgiven if, a quarter of the way through the season (yes), you haven’t given the following teams that much attention. Maybe your main rooting interest has been struggling, and it’s taken all your psychic energy to will them through the slump. Better yet, maybe your team is thriving and you’ve been enjoying the ride. Maybe you’re still looking for a team to get behind, in which case, the following three franchises would make great options.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks being on this list has not alleviated my general wariness of the Hawks as a whole, but they’ve been playing through some of the things that make me doubt them. First, the Hawks love to play up. That is, they tend to excel against technically better and markedly more skilled teams; teams farther along the competitive timeline that I always get they feeling Atlanta would rather emulate than put the work in to be at the same level with.
This season, the Hawks are still playing up — they’ve beat the best in conference Cavaliers twice — but they’re recognizing what should be easy wins, like against the Charlotte Hornets. With Trae Young injured and in and out of the lineup, Atlanta’s bench has provided some of the most needed and entertaining offensive bursts in the league, with De’Andre Hunter back with a vengeance after being out for 10 games with a knee injury. Hunter’s regularly putting up 20-plus points per night, and hounding the glass.
Atlanta has a string of high-low games this week, facing the Pelicans, Bucks, Lakers and Nuggets, which should be an ample test to whether they can play and stay consistent.
Katie Heindl is a credentialed NBA and WNBA writer, her bylines have appeared with The New York Times Magazine, SLAM, The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Dime, Rolling Stone, among others. She writes the bestselling Substack, Basketball Feelings and is working on a book of the same name.
Home and Away
Opponent The Mavericks showcased their strength as Luka Dončić dominated the game, leading to a Trail Blazers’ defeat. Anfernee Simons put up a strong fight, but it wasn’t enough. (Blazer’s Edge)
Replay Luka Dončić's stellar performance was the highlight as the Mavericks overpowered the Trail Blazers, with the final score reflecting Dallas’ control. Dončić's dominance was unmatched. (Blazer’s Edge)
Milestone Jimmy Butler misses shot so Bam Adebayo can record a triple-double in Heat win (Bleacher Report)
Tuesday, Dec. 03 | 7:30 PM | Intuit Dome (Inglewood, CA) | Get Tickets
Jazz @ Trail Blazers
Friday, Dec. 06 | 7:00 PM | Moda Center (Portland, OR) | Get Tickets
TBD @ Trail Blazers
Saturday, Dec. 07 | 12:00 AM | Moda Center (Portland, OR) | Get Tickets
Locked On Blazers
3peat (ICYMI)
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Deni Avdija Is Finding His Rhythm But Trail Blazers Lose in Memphis The good news: Deni Avdija is finding his footing. The bad news: Pretty much everything else.
Anfernee Simons Delivers in the Clutch as Trail Blazers Get Bounce Back Win in Houston Anfernee Simons scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Trail Blazers avenged an ugly loss on Friday night with a clutch win over the same Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Can the Trail Blazers Follow The Houston Rockets Rebuild Path? | Game Preview with Locked On Rockets A crossover edition of the show with Jackson Gatlin of Locked On Rockets, previewing the Trail Blazers two games against the Rockets on Friday and Saturday.
