The Portland Trail Blazers have kept their undefeated start to the season intact with a big win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the season. The Blazers looked destined to lose as it was a close game, with the Lakers keeping the advantage on their side toward the second half. However, a team effort by the Blazers, led by Damian Lillard scoring 31 points, meant that the team would come back and win the game off a Jerami Grant winner.
Westbrook had a tough game and has been criticized plenty by fans. Coach Chauncey Billups revealed that Westbrook played a part in his late-game strategy and how he employed Jusuf Nurkic to make sure the Blazers can pull out the win.
Blazers coach Chauncey Billups on matching up center Jusuf Nurkic with Lakers guard Russell Westbrook late: “Putting him on Russ, we were just going to kind of play off of Russ.” pic.twitter.com/XSPpejrCgz
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) October 23, 2022
“I wanted to keep Nurk out there for rebounding purposes and offensively as well. He came up with a big layup in a big part of the game. But putting him on Russ, having him just play off of Russ at that moment and if they come together, you know, we just go over the screen.”
Coach Billups found the mismatch between Nurk and Russ and exploited it pretty effectively. Russ has made improvements as a defender this season, but it is never easy for a guard to try and play around a 7-footer.
Can The Blazers Hold On To Their Hot Start?
The Portland Trail Blazers made moves to get better in the offseason, but that didn’t get a lot of respect from fans. Adding someone like Jerami Grant has drastically improved the floor of the team and it looks like Damian Lillard has a solid supporting cast around him.
Their 3-0 start will be great news internally as the Blazers have proven that they will be in the race for a playoff spot from the get-go. Hopefully, injury luck stays on the Blazers’ side and they can push toward a title to reward Lillard for his incredible loyalty to the franchise.
