Power of Caring
  presented by CIGNA

Powering Portland

Relentless Grant fuels Blazers' run through first round

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Friday May 14, 1999 09:54 AM

Alex English, an eight-time All-Star with the Denver Nuggets, correctly picked a sweep by the Portland Trail Blazers in their first-round NBA playoffs series with the Phoenix Suns. English takes a look at that series, and glances ahead to who the Blazers face next, in this week's edition of the English Lesson.

The thing that stood out about Portland's first-round sweep of Phoenix is Brian Grant, the Blazers' power forward. He is, in a word, relentless.

Grant was the key to the Blazers in all three of those wins. It didn't matter who the Suns put up against him. He's one of those guys who, when you play him, you feel like saying "Will you please stop? I'm sick of you." Just relentless.

You want numbers? Grant was a one-man demolition crew against the Suns, scoring 19.3 points and grabbing 9.3 rebounds a game. He also averaged 1.3 blocks a game.

And here's one more number for you: 72 percent (23-of-32) from the floor in the three-game sweep.

Did I say relentless?

Portland is so deep, they do so many things so well, that whomever the Blazers meet in the next round -- either the Utah Jazz or Sacramento Kings -- will be in big trouble. The next round is a best-of-seven, too, and that plays right into the Blazers' strengths.

Everyone on the floor for the Blazers can do some damage, and then that bench will come in and smack you around, too. Rasheed Wallace backs up Grant, then Kelvin Cato can come in, and then you have Walt Williams and Stacey Augmon and Jermaine O'Neal. You have a backcourt of Damon Stoudamire and J.R. Rider, with Jim Jackson and Greg Anthony backing them up.

Some team is in big trouble next round.

Let's examine the possible opponents for Portland in the Western Conference semifinals:

Blazers vs. Kings

The thing about Grant -- I'm not finished with this guy yet -- is you just don't take him out of the game. If he's missing one part of his game, he's the kind of player who will say, if he's not shooting well, "I'll concentrate on rebounding."

And, of course, he wasn't missing any part of his game against Phoenix. This guy is like Dennis Rodman with an all-around game.

If Damon Stoudamire and the starting unit can't cut it, the Blazers' bench has enough firepower to do the job. AP

Chris Webber, the Kings' power forward, will have to deal with Grant if Sacramento makes it past Utah in the first round. Webber is going to be more of a threat than anyone Grant saw against Phoenix. He can score, he can rebound -- he has a lot of game, too, and he also works hard.

The Kings also have Vlade Divac up front, who is a lot more mobile than Portland's big man, Arvydas Sabonis. That will be a serious matchup. And then, in the backcourt, you have Jason Williams, the Kings' flashy rookie point guard, against the flashy veteran Stoudamire.

The marquee matchup if these two teams meet, though, will be Grant against Webber.

Blazers vs. Jazz

If Utah pulls out its series against the Kings, another colossal power forward battle will take place between Grant and Karl Malone, maybe the leading candidate for the league's MVP.

As I said about Grant: You don't take him out of his game, which is something the cagey Malone does to a lot of players. If you're playing smart -- and Grant has been doing that -- I don't see any way to stop him. He'll always be there on defense, and he'll always be going after the rebounds, even if he's not scoring.

Malone will have to work his butt off against Grant. And, in a seven-game series, I don't know if he's going to be able to maintain that. Especially with Grant starting and then that deep Portland bench. Even if Grant gets into foul trouble, Malone gets Rasheed Wallace next, and he has a pretty darn good all-around game, too.

Again, in this possible series, the Grant-Malone banging of heads and bodies will be the best show on the floor.

Portland kind of slid into the playoffs on a down note, going 4-4 in its last eight games. But in that first game in the playoffs -- a 95-85 win in Portland -- the Blazers made a statement. And the statement was: "It's the playoffs now. It's time to get rolling."

No one better typifies that mindset than Grant. You can see the relentlessness, the competitive nature, in his face. His youth, his bravado, is the fuel that is making this team go.

Will it be Utah or Sacramento next for Portland?

The way these Blazers are playing, it may not matter.

Alex English is the NBA analyst for CNN/SI, the 24-hour sports news network from CNN and Sports Illustrated. Be sure to catch English on "This Week in the NBA" Sundays at 10:30 a.m., then replayed at 11:30 p.m. on CNN and CNN/SI.

His column, the English Lesson, appears every week exclusively on CNNSI.com.

 

Related information
Stories
1999 NBA Playoffs bracket, Western Conference 1999 NBA Playoffs coverage from CNN/SI English Lesson: First-round picks
Multimedia
Click here for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call 1-888-53-CNNSI.