Collapse, when used as a noun, is defined as “a sudden failure of an institution or undertaking”, and that sounds exactly like what I watched last night in Portland. The Pelicans, who led by 17 points with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter, gave up a 25-7 to Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers, and lost 125-124 in spectacular fashion after being given every opportunity to salt the game away.
In the waning seconds New Orleans would miss a pair of free throws, turn the ball over on a sideline out of bounds play and the commit a shooting foul up by a point on Lillard’s game-winning attempt. The mistakes were avoidable, the symptom of a young team, or a poorly coached one. Regardless, it should not have come as a surprise that the team with the 22nd-ranked net rating in clutch time (-8.6) folded under the relentless pressure of a veteran team like…
