The Portland Trail Blazers dared to deploy drop pick-and-roll coverage against Devin Booker on Wednesday night, a bet that paid off as the Phoenix Suns star scored 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Chris Paul fared much better in that comfort zone and overall, but still fell short of the table-setting dominance that could've propelled the Suns to a win over the Blazers all by itself.
Who caused the most problems for Portland in a 119-109 loss to Phoenix, its sixth consecutive road defeat to start the regular season? None other than Frank Kaminsky, pressed into extended action on Wednesday due to the absence of DeAndre Ayton. The journeyman big answered the call with perhaps the game he's ever played in the NBA, coming off the bench behind JaVale McGee to frustrate the Blazers en route to a career-high 31 points on 12-of-18 shooting.
Portland just had no answer for Kaminsky, even while toggling defensive coverages throughout the game.
He trailed the play for a center three-pointer when Jusuf Nurkic, stuck to the paint, left him alone beyond the arc. The consensus 2015 National College Player of the Year abused the Blazers when they switched a small onto him, harking back to his days at Wisconsin as low-post scoring and playmaking hub. After Portland amped up the pressure, reverting back to its more aggressive base defensive scheme, Kaminsky found space to score on the roll.
Damian Lillard didn't seem surprised by Kaminsky's outburst after the game. With the Blazers so focused on limiting Booker and Paul, the Suns' third-string center had ample opportunity to produce against a defense that made him an afterthought.
“You still gotta have respect for everybody on an NBA team, especially guys that are in the rotation,” Lillard said of Kaminsky. “You have to know that maybe their job isn't to dominate games and all those things, but they're there for a reason. They can play. When you look at guys like that you can't let them play to their strengths. You can't just disrespect them.”
Chauncey Billups went a step further. Calling Kaminsky “another one on the list” of role players recently going off on Portland, the rookie head coach admitted he wasn't a big part of the pre-game scouting report.
“I just felt like even when we switched, we would be okay guarding him down low. He proved me wrong,” Billups said. “He proved me wrong. Gotta give hime credit. He took advantage of the matchups down there.”
One career night from an opposing player on a minimum contract isn't cause for lasting concern all by itself. But the way Kaminsky exploited the various coverages the Blazers threw at him indeed speaks to a broader discussion about their defensive ceiling versus certain matchups, a problem exacerbated by the playoff microscope.
Amid a chaotic 5-7 start, though, the more pressing concern for Portland right now is being good enough to get to the postseason at all.
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