The Sunday matinee between the Portland Trail Blazers and Indiana Pacers was a duel between two of the NBA’s strongest tank jobs. The Pacers won the day in a lopsided 129-98 takedown of Portland, while the Blazers won in their mission to collect ping-pong balls for May’s NBA Draft Lottery.
Sometimes this young and inexperienced Blazers bunch swings above their weight class, appearing spirited and scrappy enough to give better teams a shot. Other times they look helpless and discombobulated, like chickens with their heads cut off. Today was certainly a case of the latter, as shooting woes and sloppy turnovers turned this game into a joyous romp for the win-deprived Pacers by halftime.