All-Time Los Angeles Lakers vs. All-Time Portland Trail Blazers

Our next matchup, the All-Time Los Angeles Lakers vs. All-Time Portland Trail Blazers, features two annual Western Conference contenders who have engaged in a fairly one-sided rivalry over the past 45 seasons. Things started off promising for Portland in their magical 1977 season, when they swept the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals on their way to the only championship in franchise history. Since then, however, they’ve lost nine of 10 playoff series to L.A., including two brutal Western Conference Finals losses in 1991 (when they had the best record in the league) and 2000 (when they blew a 16 point lead in game seven and launched the Shaq-Kobe mini-dynasty). Will things be any different in our tournament? Here’s how the franchises match up.

Lakers vs. Blazers

Key Matchups

L.A.’s wings vs. Portland’s power forwards: The Lakers have one natural power forward on the roster, Vern Mikkelsen, and two other players who can play at the four (James Worthy and Elgin Baylor). Portland features a deep collection of power forwards (LaMarcus Aldridge, Rasheed Wallace, Maurice Lucas, and Sidney Wicks), who will all earn minutes alongside their pair of centers (Bill Walton and Arvydas Sabonis). The Lakers will experiment with certain Twin Towers lineups, but will generally have one big on the floor with their collection of wings. Can Portland exploit the Lakers when they play small? Magic Johnson, the Lakers’ jack-of-all trades, will help to minimize any size disadvantage that Baylor or Worthy have against Portland’s power forwards.

Walton and Sabonis vs. L.A.’s Hall-of-Fame big men: The Blazers feature the best passing big man duo in the tournament. Bill Walton, their great but oft-injured center, was also an elite defender, and Sabonis was one of the bigger players in NBA history. They’re going to have their hands full with the greatest collection of centers ever assembled. The Lakers feature legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Mikan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Wilt Chamberlain, who will all share minutes and provide different looks for the opposition. Walton will have to avoid foul trouble for Portland to have any realistic chance of competing.

Biggest Mismatches

L.A.’s star power vs. Portland’s star power:  The Lakers feature eight of the greatest players in NBA history. Their other four roster spots belong to four run-of-the-mill Hall of Fame players. The Blazers feature the Hall-of-Fame duo of Clyde Drexler and Bill Walton, surrounded by a mix of all-star players, but they’re outmatched by L.A.’s dominant legends.

X-Factor

How will the Lakers’ high-scoring stars co-exist with one another? The Lakers have many players who are used to having the ball in their hands, particularly in their starting lineup. Coach Pat Riley has a unique challenge getting them to blend their talents together. Who will willingly take on a supporting role? Will Kobe Bryant, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor complement each other, or will their minutes have to be staggered to maximize their effectiveness?

Results

After getting a bye in the first round, Los Angeles uses this round to work out the kinks and settle their rotation. The Magic Man leads them to an expected victory.

Magic Johnson is ready for all challengers Copyright © Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com
Magic Johnson is ready for all challengers
Copyright © Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com

Lakers sweep, four games to none.

Next Round

Los Angeles plays the winner of the All-Time 76ers vs. All-Time Knicks.

All-Time Portland Trail Blazers Team

All-Time Portland Trail Blazers Team Infographic

Our next franchise may be the NBA’s unluckiest. Their history includes a who’s who of basketball’s tragic figures. Bill Walton. Sam Bowie. Greg Oden. Brandon Roy. If these players were not beset by career-ending injuries, we may be talking about one of the NBA’s glamour teams. Instead, we have a very good franchise that should have achieved greater success than it has. The All-Time Portland Trail Blazers team is solid, and not spectacular, which reflects this unlucky history.

Two-time all-star Terry Porter is the team’s starting point guard. Porter was a reliable play maker who regularly raised his level of play at the most crucial moments; during his Blazers career, his playoff averages were 18.2 PPG, 6.3 ASG, .484 FG%, .390 3FG%, 18.4 PER, and .164 WS/48. Another two-time all-star, Jim Paxson, joins him in the backcourt. Paxson had great size for his position (he stood at 6’6”), and was very accurate, shooting over .500 for his Blazers career, and leading the league in playoff field goal percentage in 1983. Off the bench, Rod Strickland was a very good play maker who is one of the better players in league history to have never made an all-star game. Brandon Roy was able to make three all-star games and two All-NBA teams before his body gave out; he’ll play both guard positions in reserve.

Hall-of-Famer Clyde Drexler, who stood at 6’7”, will start at small forward. Drexler had the best career in team history, spearheading two NBA Finals runs, and ranking first in franchise history in games played, field goals, free throws, offensive rebounds, steals, and points. LaMarcus Aldridge barely beat out three other qualified candidates for the starting spot at the team’s deepest position, power forward. Aldridge became a stud in the latter half of his Blazers career, with a deadly mid-range jumper and great size (6’11” 240lb) for his position. They’re backed up by Kiki Vandeweghe, a prolific scorer who came close to achieving the shooter’s holy grail (50% field goal percentage, 40% three point field goal percentage, 90% free throw percentage) for his Blazers career. The aforementioned power forwards are Rasheed Wallace, Maurice Lucas, and Sidney Wicks. Wallace was a versatile and talented player who was solid in all aspects of the game. While he wasn’t a go-to guy, his unselfish nature and versatility were ideally suited for a team that didn’t need to rely on him to be its best player. Lucas was an excellent defender who was the second best player in the team’s lone championship run. Wicks played on losing teams every year he was with the franchise, and was known for battling with teammates as well. However, he has the second highest points per game in team history, and is the only career 20-10 man in franchise history.

For a two year stretch, Bill Walton was one of the greatest centers in NBA history. He was one of the greatest passing centers the league has ever seen. He was a dominant defender, leading the league in blocked shots per game in 1977. He was a prolific rebounder, leading the league in boards per game the same year. He was an easy choice for 1977 Finals MVP, then won the 1978 regular season MVP, despite playing only 58 games. Before his body gave out on him, he was a transcendent superstar, and carried the team to a title in the first playoff appearance in franchise history. He’s backed up by another “what if?” player, Arvydas Sabonis. The 7’3” Sabonis didn’t make it to Portland until he was 31, and already had irreversible wear and tear from a legendary career overseas. While he couldn’t run well or play much on Portland (averaging 24.2 minutes per game in his career), he was still a very effective player, who will combine with Walton to give them the best passing center duo in our tournament.

Coach: Jack Ramsay

All-Time Franchise Winning Percentage (through 2014-15): .535