The Portland Trail Blazers' inside game overwhelms Ulm's 3-point barrage

The Portland Trail Blazers' season opener against German club Ratiopharm Ulm on Wednesday night at the Moda Center was a battle of contrasting styles.

Underdog Ulm played like a No. 14 seed trying to shut down a blue blood in March Madness, unleashing an avalanche of 3-pointers. The Blazers, the bigger and stronger NBA team, relentlessly attacked the rim with drives and lob attempts. Despite some difficulties in the second half, the strong Blazers team won 111-100.

“That was one of our focuses in this game – just attacking,” Portland head coach Chauncey Billups said after the win. “Attack, attack, attack.”

Led by the downhill sluggishness of Scoot Henderson and Deni Avdija, the Blazers posted a record of 39-60 on 2-pointers and 18-25 from the free throw line, compared to Ulm's numbers of 14-37 on 2-pointers and 12-13 from the line. With sharpshooters Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant out of the lineup, Portland needed the power play. The Blazers shot just 5-for-24 from the 3-point line, a deficit compounded by Ulm's 20-for-46 from 3-point lines.

“Either we get layups, or it opens up free throws for us, or we get to the free throw line,” Billups said of the plan of attack. “We’ll take them all.”

Henderson scored a game-high 23 points, six assists, five rebounds and no turnovers while shooting 10-14 from the field. When Scoot lowered his head, the Ulm defense couldn't do much as his strength opened up easy angles to score. Henderson provided some of the game's best highlights: an alley-oop lob to Toumani Camara at the end of the first half, another to freshman Donovan Clingan later and a poster dunk in the face of the Ulm guard and potential 2025 lottery pick, Ben Saraf on a quick break.

After struggling in the pre-season opener in Portland last Friday, Henderson looked much more relaxed for the second game in a row, albeit against lesser competition.

“Scoot controlled the game. I thought he was really good,” Billups said. “No ball losses in the game, that was big for him. That’s always important for any point guard.”

After a quiet Blazers debut on Sunday, Avdija also played the ball against Ulm. In 23 minutes, the 1.90 meter tall forward scored 18 points, three assists, two steals and one rebound while shooting 6:9 from the field. He rammed defenders hard in the chest on most of his touches with the ball, but still kept his eyes open and looked for open teammates. The end result was usually free throws (he went 6-6), a basket, or both; Avdija converted two and one against Ulm. My first guess is that Portland fans will fall in love with the physicality and hustle of Avdija's game.

“Deni is really good at movement,” Billups said. “We're trying to get him moving with his strong hand… He can score with it. He is able to make something out of it. And he’s always looking for (the praise).”

Henderson and Avdija headlined against Ulm, but players across the squad followed the initiative and attacked. Camara continued to be Portland's preseason favorite. He scored 15 points and 10 rebounds and posted a number of impressive finishes. Rayan Rupert continued to show a skill and feel to his game that was not present last season. He scored 11 points and got to the free throw line for five attempts. Dalano Banton managed 11 points with Euro steps. Kris Murray produced 14.

The inside game slowly increased Portland's lead until it reached 68-48 at 9:10 of the third period. That's when things got interesting in Ulm. The German club's 3-point barrage included nine three-pointers in the third period, cutting Portland's lead to just nine by the final frame. With nine minutes left, the Blazers' one-possession lead was 87-84. Despite the difficulties, Billups viewed the 3-point attack as a great lesson in defensive communication.

“It was a big challenge for us because I always try to get us to talk more about defense,” Billups said. “If you don’t talk against teams like that, they spin you like a top, and that’s exactly what they did to us.”

Even after all these threes, Ulm never got closer than 87:84. Ayton didn't play in the second half and Avdija didn't play in the fourth quarter, but the younger Blazers still finished. With 13 points from Henderson in the fourth quarter, Portland made enough plays to get the lead back to double digits and close the door.

More game notes

Ulm plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, Germany's highest professional basketball league. The team traveled 8,601 kilometers to get to Portland for Wednesday's game. Before the tip, I spoke to Ulm fan Simon Eigenmüller, 24, who came to the Moda Center especially from Frankfurt. Eigenmüller made the trip with his mother and his girlfriend. The trio was part of a small but proud Ulm cheering group of about a dozen people.

“It’s a unique opportunity to go to an NBA game and watch your favorite team at the same time,” Eigenmüller said. “…It's expensive, but as I said, a unique experience.”

• With Ulm as her opponent, Portland singer Amanda Hoffman-Smith competed twice on Wednesday evening. Before the opening, she sang the national anthems for Germany and the USA.
• Rookie center Donovan Clingan had a quiet game and some difficulty finishing at the rim. The 7-foot-2 center scored four points and 11 rebounds while shooting 2-7 from the field.
• Two-way minutes: Returning two-way forward Justin Minaya played 15 minutes and was held scoreless at 0-3; Two-way forward Bryce McGowens only played four minutes but managed to get on the board with two points on a backdoor layup; Two-way guard Taze' Moore recorded no statistics in three minutes of play.
• Portland guard Devonte' Graham was flagged for a DNP – coach's decision – in the penalty box.