Lakers-Trail Blazers Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Oct 31 2012 2:43AM

The Portland Trail Blazers suffered three straight first-round playoff losses before their failure to qualify for the postseason in 2011-12 resulted in major changes for the franchise.

The Los Angeles Lakers' famous newcomers, meanwhile, didn't produce a victory in their much-anticipated opener.

The Trail Blazers begin their season at home Wednesday night against a Lakers team seeking to avoid a second straight 0-2 start.

Portland went 28-38 last season after averaging 50.7 wins over its previous three seasons when it appeared to be a team on the rise. Coach Nate McMillan was dismissed during last year's campaign and the roster has been overhauled along with a new general manager in Neil Olshey and new coach in Terry Stotts.

All-Star big man LaMarcus Aldridge, forward Nicolas Batum and guard Wesley Matthews are the mainstays with new blood brought in that includes first-round picks Damian Lillard and Meyers Leonard.

"Like everybody, I'm going to judge this team by the way it competes," Stotts said. "That's one of the things that players, coaches, fans and anybody who follows the NBA (will see), the team is going to compete every night. If you're showing improvement, if you show that the team is going in the direction, it's playing a style of play that fans enjoy, that the players enjoy, that takes care of itself."

While Portland's new faces are unproven, the same cannot be said for those with Los Angeles. With Dwight Howard and Steve Nash on board, the Lakers are among the favorites as they seek the franchise's 17th championship.

Los Angeles, however, opened with a surprising 99-91 home loss to Dallas on Tuesday, and neither Howard nor Nash excelled in their club debuts.

Howard had 19 points and 10 rebounds while missing 11 of 14 free throws before fouling out with 2:02 to play. Nash managed just seven points and four assists with seemingly little to do in the Lakers' new offensive scheme.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 23 points and 13 rebounds while Kobe Bryant scored 22 while playing on an injured right foot.

"It's not the way we wanted it to go," Gasol said. "We know it's not going to happen for us right away, but we've just got to stick with it."

Howard could face another difficult night since his 16.5 scoring average against Portland is his lowest against any Western Conference club.

Any success down the road for the Blazers, meanwhile, could be contingent on the development of their rookies. The 7-foot-1 Leonard will likely match up with Howard in his NBA debut after being selected out of Illinois at No. 11 - five spots after Lillard was taken out of Weber State.

Lillard was second in the nation in scoring at 24.5 points per game last season and has shown flashes of his talent in the preseason.

"He's a confident, poised young man. He'll have some bumps along the way but he's going to have the ball in his hands a lot," Stotts said. "My expectation is that he's going to be very good opening night and he's going to continue to get better."

The Blazers have won three straight season openers since a 96-76 road loss to the Lakers in 2008.

Lakers drop 2nd straight, fall to Blazers 116-106

By ANNE M. PETERSON
Posted Nov 01 2012 2:54AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) This was not the start the Los Angeles Lakers envisioned.

The talent-laden Lakers have dropped two straight to open the season - their opener at home against the Dallas Mavericks followed by a 116-106 thumping by the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

To make matters worse, two-time MVP Steve Nash, brought in by the Lakers in the offseason along with six-time All-Star Dwight Howard, was injured late in the first half against Portland.

"We've got to learn how to play together," said Howard, who had 33 points and 14 rebounds in the loss to Portland. "You've got to be good before you can be great."

The Lakers' stockpile of stars lacked a sense of urgency against the Blazers, who led by as many as 19 points. Nicolas Batum had 26 points and Damian Lillard, the sixth overall pick in the June draft, had 22 points and 11 assists in his NBA debut.

Kobe Bryant had 30 points and Howard's output Wednesday night was a vast improvement over his debut the night before against the Mavs, when he had 19 points and 10 rebounds but made just three of 14 free throws before fouling out. The Lakers lost that one 99-91.

But it was apparent for the second night in a row that the Lakers were still getting used to each other. The starters rarely played together during an 0-8 preseason.

"We didn't expect to just come together and be awesome," Howard said. "It's always a process. We've got to stick with it so that at the end of the year we can have a trophy."

Nash collided with Lillard and limped to the locker room. Although the team initially reported he was fine, Nash struggled when he returned for the second half and left the game for good a short time later.

The team said he had a bruised left leg. He said after the game he hopes to play Friday when the Lakers host the Clippers.

"We're not sharp," Nash said. "I think the guys are trying, we just didn't live up to what we're trying to do."

The Blazers, who finished 28-38 last season and out of the playoffs, opened their season with eight newcomers on the roster after an offseason rebuilding effort around All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Batum.

"People probably didn't expect us to come out and beat that type of team, but we've been competing very hard in practice, and we did that same thing tonight," Lillard said. "We were flying around, lots of energy. I think our activity kind of wore on them."

Portland pulled out to a 30-26 lead late in the first quarter after Matthews' 3-pointer. Lillard extended the lead to 35-26 with a running bank shot in traffic.

J.J. Hickson's jumper made it 41-34 for Portland, but Bryant answered for the Lakers with a 3-pointer. Batum's fast-break jam gave the Blazers a 46-40 lead and Portland went into halftime with a 62-57 lead.

Portland took its momentum into the second half, going up 72-64 on another dunk by Batum. Sasha Pavlovic's 3-pointer gave the Blazers an 88-76 lead just before Howard was called for his fourth foul.

Matthews' jumper made it 102-83 in the fourth quarter. Batum had a 3-pointer to make it 108-94 as the game slipped out of reach for the Lakers.

Batum's opener comes after an uncertain offseason as a restricted free agent. The Blazers got into a poker match with the Timberwolves over the 23-year-old Frenchman, eventually matching Minnesota's four-year offer sheet worth more than $45 million.

Batum, like the rest of the Blazers, was trying to keep the victory low-key.

"This was just one game, just one game," he said. "It was a really good win, but we've got to focus on the next game on the road."

Portland visits Oklahoma City on Friday night.

The Blazers wore new red uniforms for the opener and encouraged fans to wear red, but the crowd was nonetheless sprinkled with plenty of Lakers gold. Among them was a fan that lifted a sign reading, "I love Steve Nash."

"The morale is fine, but nobody wants to lose," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "We've just got to focus on what it will take for us to get a win. That's defense, first, and then, obviously, we've got to take care of the basketball."

NOTES: The Blazers declined team options for next season on guards Elliott Williams and Nolan Smith, and forward Luke Babbitt, to maintain salary cap flexibility. All three will become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, but the Blazers will retain their Bird rights. ... Portland added 10 players to the roster of the team's NBA D-League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede, including training camp participants Coby Karl, Justin Holiday and Dallas Lauderdale.

Notebook: Blazers 116, Lakers 106

Kerry Eggers, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Nov 01, 2012 2:55 AM - Updated Thu Nov 01, 2012 8:39 AM

THE FACTS: Nicolas Batum scored 26 points and got plenty of help from his teammates as Portland bounced Los Angeles in the Trail Blazers' season opener Wednesday night at the Rose Garden. It was the second loss in as many nights for the Lakers, who fell 99-91 at Dallas on Tuesday night in their opener. Dwight Howard collected 33 points, 14 rebounds and five assists and Kobe Bryant bombed in 30 points for the losers.

QUOTABLE: "We want to be a surprise team. We want to do something this year. It was a good first win. Eighty-one (games) remaining. It's a long season. We put it behind us now." --Blazers forward Nicolas Batum

THE STAT: Rookie point guard Damian Lillard scored 23 points and dished out 11 assists in his NBA debut. He is only the third player in NBA history (Oscar Robertson in 1960 and Isiah Thomas in 1981) to score at least 20 points and dish out at least 10 assists in his first NBA game.

TURNING POINT: Portland led 79-76 late in the third quarter when reserve forward Sasha Pavlovic keyed a 13-0 run with seven straight points, giving the Blazers a 92-76 lead going into the final period.

QUOTABLE II: "We're trying to figure out how to pick each other up out there on the floor. We're not the quickest team in the world. A lot of teams have very quick point guards and quick wings. We just have to work on supporting each other and keeping the ball out of the paint and (opponents) away from the rim." --Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, on the Laker defensive inefficiencies in the first two games

HOT: Portland shooting guard Wesley Matthews was 7-for-11, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range.

NOT: The Lakers got very little from their bench. Steve Blake → who played with the starters through most of the second half → was 3-for-4. The rest of L.A.'s reserves combined to shoot 2-for-11.

GOOD MOVE: It was sound strategy for Portland's big men to foul Howard whenever he got the ball in good post position. Howard → 3-for-14 from the line in the Dallas game → was 15-for-19 shots at the line Wednesday night, but didn't get free for many dunks or layups.

BAD MOVE: The Lakers were loose with the ball at times, a factor in their 25 turnovers. Bryant had seven and Metta World Peace had six giveaways.

NOTABLE: Steve Nash left the game early in the third quarter with a left leg contusion and didn't return. Said the veteran Laker point guard: "I got kicked in the lower leg and got a nasty little contusion. I thought it would be OK, but I couldn't push off or decelerate laterally."

UP NEXT: For the Lakers, Friday vs. the L.A. Clippers, Sunday vs. Detroit, Wednesday @ Utah. For the Trail Blazers, Friday @ Oklahoma City, Saturday @ Houston, Monday @ Dallas.

• Lakers: Clark, Johnson-Odom
• Trail Blazers: Price, Williams

• Lakers: Bryant
• Trail Blazers: --

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #73 Tre Maddox, #40 Leon Wood
• Attendance: 20401
• Duration: 2:23