Clearly this is the low point of the Blazers' season so far.  Losing to Golden State in Oakland isn't the end of the world.  If it were the world would have ended multiple times before now.  But losing to Golden State when they have a depleted roster, field no live bodies above 6'6", are guarding you with the same two backcourt players all game, and when you jumped of the gate with 37 in the first quarter and then barely scored half of that in any quarter thereafter...that's bad.  Choking up 23 turnovers for 32 points and allowing the Warriors 36 fast break points when that's exactly what they depend on to get past you, that's worse.  Seriously, you might as well take a bath in Spam and then run through the Doberman Reform School.

The main message for tonight is not to let one bad loss turn into two.  You're at home and you're playing a team that's 1-11.  You've already beat them twice in the last two weeks so you know how to do it.  Losing this game would be worse than everything that happened last night combined.  You better go in angry, refocused, and taking no prisoners.

Having seen the 'Wolves so often in the recent future (they're like the salesmen in Secondhand Lions with the Blazers playing Michael Caine and Robert Duvall) you don't need a new preview.  In case you missed it the original one is here.  Just don't let Al Jefferson score 30 and you'll be OK.  Well, maybe you shouldn't settle for jumpers against their defense.  And you'd better not turn the ball over like you did last night.   And by the way, it would be easier for Greg Oden to do his thing inside if somebody could hit a three-point shot.  I know Rudy has been but the two of them aren't always in the game together.  Steve?  This is about half of your job description.  It wouldn't hurt for Brandon to sink a couple too.  I don't even know where Martell is.

Despite all of that, just about the only thing that can lose you this game is a craptacular effort.  We better not see that tonight.  That's it.

Enter the Jersey Contest form for this game here.  See the results so far, including those from last night's game, on the scoreboard.

Be nice to our friends at CanisHoopus.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

The Portland Trail Blazers' Greg Oden (52) is a mirage during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. His teammates reported him missing at halftime; his Coach hadn't noticed. He is currently on the side of a milk carton. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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The most frustrating losses are the ones that are the most predictable. Tonight's 108-94 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Oakland certainly qualifies as predictable.  

Every possible goal that would have been included in a game plan was not achieved. A brief list: limit turnovers, limit fast break points, pound the ball inside, exploit the Warriors' lack of depth, keep track of Golden State's shooters, play hard on the road, keep a level head during disagreements with the referees, remain open to the idea of strategic flexibility while playing against perhaps the most unconventional team in the NBA.

Of that list, the last one was perhaps the most difficult to watch, as Nate McMillan clung inflexibly to his "2 fouls and you're done for the half" rule, benching both Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge for the entire second quarter.   The players combined to finish with just 6 fouls for the entire game, and their significant size and skill advantages were forfeited not only during the time they were on the bench but also during much of the third quarter, when both players struggled to get themselves back in a rhythm after such a long rest.

As things fell apart on cue -- the Warriors outscored the Blazers by 12 in the second quarter, by 4 in the third quarter -- McMillan stood by clapping his hands, hoping to exhort effort from the rest of his players who seemed quite content not to respond.  On Wednesday night, Brandon Roy admitted to me he didn't know his role on this team.  Tonight he played like it.  And the rest of his Blazers teammates, except Rudy Fernandez, followed his lead.  When all was said and done, the Blazers laid a big, nasty, egg on the road, playing without heart, composure, effort, pride or much thought.  

Timeouts were spent ignoring their coach's instructions, offensive possessions were wasted with terrible decision-making, defensive possessions were spent halfheartedly rebounding and griping at the officials, and crunch time was spent with the starters on the bench and the game out of reach, an ultimate embarrassment against a Warriors team that gave minutes to a same-day call-up from the D-League signed just to meet the league's roster minimum and who allowed the Blazers to jump out with a season-high 37 points in the first quarter.

If Wednesday night's win over Detroit was a lesson in playing a full 48 minutes, then tonight's loss was a lesson in showing up for more than 12.   Nothing more needs to be written.  

Individual Observations

After reading back through these, they might be a little bit harsh.  Just pretend I'm one of the assistant coaches chewing the guys out.  Maybe drink half a fifth of Jack and then read them aloud while shouting at your monitor and throwing pillows.  Liven things up a little bit. Things will return to normal tomorrow but, tonight, a reality check isn't the worst thing in the world. 

Rudy Fernandez was the lone bright spot, the only Blazer that fulfilled his role and played with determination throughout his time on the court.  19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 4 turnovers in roughly 38 minutes.  He was slightly trigger happy, especially from distance, but his shot was falling and the Blazers needed that aggressiveness. 

Brandon Roy struggled from the field (just 6 of 17 overall, 1 for 5 from distance), had more turnovers than assists and got lit up by Monta Ellis when the two players matched up.  He spent more time arguing calls than rebounding, couldn't get easy buckets when his team faltered down the stretch, didn't help exploit interior mismatches after the first quarter and carried himself during the second half like he didn't expect his team to mount a comeback. Not an $80 million dollar performance for The Natural. 

LaMarcus Aldridge should replay tonight's game tape in his mind's eye any time he starts dreaming about this year's All Star game in Dallas. A refined, established offensive player with go-to moves, he should be the biggest beneficiary of the mismatches presented by Don Nelson's uber-small lineup.  Instead, he forced shots in traffic, committed dumb early fouls that limited his minutes, was a non-factor on the boards, watched plays develop around him as he wandered the perimeter and was neutralized by Corey Maggette. The fact that his coach doesn't trust him to play with two fouls -- and he seems OK with that -- are not good signs.  

Steve Blake is still missing shots as I type this. 2-9 from the field; 0-4 from three point line.  More difficult-to-watch defense against small, quick guards.  Now more than ever the Blazers need offense from Blake.

Andre Miller looked like a player who didn't particularly care whether his team won or lost. He played grumpy.  Like something was bothering him -- the refs, his ankle, the starting lineup, his role, who knows, whatever -- and he couldn't get his mind right long enough to concentrate on properly setting up his big men.  2 assists against 7 turnovers in a game against a team that cares as little about defense as the Warriors is unacceptable from a starting point guard on a playoff team. The coaches should be in his ear.  And, unlike during timeouts tonight, he should be listening.

Greg Oden played a fine first quarter and then disappeared for the middle two quarters, making a brief re-appearance in the final period. 16 points, 6 rebounds in 24 minutes. Too little, too early. His shooting was efficient (6-8) because he's pretty solid at making dunks and he was attacking the basket when given the ball in good position, which was not nearly enough. Whatever lesson McMillan is trying to impart by sitting him for extended stretches is not getting through. 

Joel Przybilla had one phenomenal defensive possession (back-to-back blocks before the Warriors finally cashed in on their 4th shot attempt of the possession) and hit the boards (9 rebounds in 20 minutes) but remains a shade of the all-around center that we saw last year.  He didn't hit a field goal, didn't look for the ball against smaller competition and essentially tried to stay out of the way on offense. Like Blake, he needs to provide something on offense if he's going to play 20 minutes with Travis Outlaw injured.  

Martell Webster is playing so poorly it's a wonder Nate McMillan can find 14 minutes for him. Don't be deceived by his +7, that came from garbage time buckets by his teammates that helped make the score look a little bit more respectable. No defense, no court sense, a missed corner three that the team expects -- needs -- him to knock down. His performance is likely as frustrating for him to live through as it is to watch.  Whatever the exact opposite of "seizing the opportunity" is, Martell Webster is doing that. Maybe we can call it "Letting opportunity run out into the middle of a highway and get run over by an 18 wheel truck."  Yeah, that has a ring to it.

Juwan Howard scored 0 points, had 5 rebounds and was -11 in 12 minutes of play. I'm not sure how much longer the Juwan Howard era can continue before his play becomes a Nate McMillan problem and not a Juwan Howard problem.   There are few situations where Howard's number gets called and your first reaction isn't "Oh dear, here we go."  Just play Cunningham. Let's see him play worse than Howard before Howard gets extended minutes again.

Jerryd Bayless brought some energy and it was jaw-dropping how long Nate McMillan waited to give him a chance, given how lackadaisical and out-of-sync the rest of the guards were playing.  6 points, 1 assist in 9 minutes. Adequate effort defensively. Nothing game-changing on offense but he played within the team framework alright. Deserved a shot to inject some life during the first half.

Dante Cunningham got 3 minutes of play in garbage time with his team losing by 20.  That's not how it's supposed to go down. 

Final Thoughts and Links

Boxscore

The Blazers fall to 9-5 but will enjoy the ultimate panacea tomorrow: a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Let's hope the plane ride home features some soul-searching, some player-to-player accoutability.  

Before you clock out for the night, be sure to celebrate unconventionality in every form over at Golden State of Mind.  A Grade-A website, period.

-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter

Welcome to a new, hopefully semi-regular end-of-week feature we're trying called "Around the League".  Things being what they are, I get so caught up in talking Blazers that I seldom have a chance to address things that go on beyond our confines.  In these posts we'll do exactly that, plus mop up some Blazer topics that we didn't have time to treat in earlier conversation.  My intention is not to play the expert here as much to share opinions which could lead to interesting discussion.  So away we go!

Get Well Paul Allen

The most important real-life news out of the league this week came from our own franchise, as Blazers owner Paul Allen was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.  There's nothing revolutionary we can say about this other than facing any kind of cancer makes for a tough fight but we know Paul Allen is a tough fighter.  However I'd like to add my personal well-wishes, however humble they may be compared to what is needed. 

Things like this transcend our normal relationships.  We know you because you're the owner of the Blazers, Mr. Allen.  We appreciate you because of what you've done for (and with) the team over the last two decades.  But even though a life is measured by one's accomplishments it cannot be wholly defined by them.  It's time to show support for Paul Allen the human being...not the billionaire, the final decision-maker, but the person.  No matter what happens with the team, the season, or anything basketball-related we support you, Mr. Allen.  We are with you, sending our hopes and prayers in your direction, and if ever you doubt that you need but ask.  I'm pretty sure thousands of pick-me-ups are at your fingertips anytime, day or night.  Thank you for being who you are.  Strength and peace be with you in this struggle.

Thoughts and prayers also go out to others in our Blazersedge and greater Blazers community who are also fighting this fight.

Click through for a bunch more topics.

Continue reading this post »

Game Time: 7:30 p.m.  TV:  KGW

The Warriors come into this game 3-8, tightly clutching the coveted "At Least We're Not the Worst Team in the League" award by virtue of home victories over (wait for it...)  the Timberwolves, Knicks, and Grizzlies.  This exactly like Vanilla Ice saying he's a better listening experience than Milli Vanilli, Vicki from the Love Boat, and driving a slotted spoon through your brain.  The take-away lesson here is not to be a no-defense-playing, messy-mismatched-talent-having doormat disaster of a franchise when you go to Oakland or they're going to drop a buck fiddy on you and send the fans home happy...or at least less unhappy than usual.  Any team with a fingernail's worth of claim to legitimacy in this league has handled the Warriors.  And the Kings have too.

(Note:  Low blow there.  Sacramento is actually 5-5.)

So what do the Warriors do?  What they've always done.  A brief explanation, to the tune of "Jingle Bells":

Run, run, run!  Score, score, score!

Run run, score score score!

Run run run run run run run

Score score score score sco…ore!

Run, run, run!  Score, score, score

Run run, score score score!

Run run run…the game is done

And we just lost one more!

So why does a team averaging 109.7 ppg (2^nd best in the league), 22.1 fast-break points per game (1^st), 47.8 points in the paint (3^rd), 48.7% shooting percentage (3^rd), and 38.9% from three (5^th) lose so many games?  A brief explanation, to the tune of "Silent Night":

Silent "D", Hole-y "D"

We score one, they score three

We can’t get the ball off the glass

Their rebounders are kicking our [*cough*]

Watch their score increa…ease!

Wa-atch their sc…awww, to heck with this!  Run, run, run!  Score, score score!

Run run, score score score…

(Note:  Had the holiday season not been nearing that would have been, "Why can't we de-fend?  Why can't we de-fend?")

In any case, the Warriors are scoring almost 110 per game but giving up more than 113.  They're losing the rebounding battle like Sally Jessie lost to Oprah.  And that's on both ends of the court.  They're shooting 49% and giving up 50.5%.  They're shooting 39% from distance and giving up 43%.  They're making 26 trips to the line per game and giving up 28.  They remind me of a guy trying to get over his financial crisis by charging everything to a credit card.  No matter how wisely and well he spends the debt somehow always gets bigger.  One wonders when the front office will simply file bankruptcy and attempt to start all over.

As if that weren't bad enough, Golden State is fielding fewer healthy players right now than you see in your average chess match.  They just traded Stephen Jackson for Raja Bell and his pre-existing wrist problem.  He's now having surgery on it.  (How badly did they want rid of Jackson?)  Andris Biedrins, Blazer-killer Kelenna Azubuike, Brandan Wright, C.J. Watson, Rony Turiaf, and Devean George are all out with various maladies and ailments.  Who's left?  Monta Ellis, Corey Magette, The Anthonys (Randolph and Morrow), Stephen Curry, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Mikki Moore.  5 out of 7 are 6'6" and under and all of them have the scoring mentality.  Radmanovic is a finesse player.  Mikki Moore is basically on an island out there.  But that's OK.  He and Vlad are suddenly getting 39 minutes per game which is like a week's worth of time for Radmanovic and a month's worth for Moore.

The one thing the Warriors do well outside of the run-score thing is turn you over.  They get an enormous amount of steals and should continue to do alright even after the trades and injuries.  You don't want to lose the ball to this group because they'll jump on it like a Doberman, race it down like a Greyhound, and then laugh at you like a hyena.

Also we'll reiterate what we always say when playing great offensive teams:  they always have a puncher's chance.  You're in the ring with a team that can knock you out even though their chin is made of glass and their guard is non-existent.  Despite the tongue-in-cheek preview the Blazers do have to pay attention tonight.  Give up your fundamentals, get loosey-goosy, and the Warriors will punch your ticket.

Pivotal Points to the Game

1.  This is a huge contrast in tempos and styles.  The Blazers aren't going to be able to stop the Warriors from running.  The Warriors won't be able to stop the Blazers in the halfcourt if Portland makes any kind of effort.  The in-between areas will determine the winner.  The Blazers should have a massive control advantage on the boards.  Aldridge and Oden should be able to offensive rebound to their hearts' content.  If the Blazers bother to break down the Warriors at all with penetration every miss should have a legit chance of being scooped up by the good guys.  The other side of that equation, though, is the guards and small forward getting the heck back.  Assuming one guy is penetrating and two bigs are crashing the boards (or at least hanging out near the middle) that means the other two smalls better head the other way as soon as the shot leaves somebody's fingertips.  Even if you're the coffin corner three guy you have got to get back and defend your goal tonight.

2.  OK...let's do the math.  Golden State has five guards, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Mikki Moore.  The Blazers can attack with LaMarcus Aldridge, who is bigger and stronger than Radmanovic, and Greg Oden, who is bigger and stronger than the entire other team combined.  Greg should be posting up about two inches from the rim tonight.  Catch, spin, dunk.  Catch, spin, dunk.  See how easy that is?  If you get stuck in the halfcourt, feed the bigs!  You can do it in the post.  You can do it by driving and trying to draw the big defenders for help and then flicking a pass through the lane.  However you do it, do it!  The stupidest, dumbest, most idiotic thing you can do is play into Golden State's hands by getting into that Happy-Fun-Jumper mode.  They're going to beg you to shoot over the top.  They don't care if you make it either.  You're setting the table for them every time you settle for the long ball.

3.  This is not to say the Blazers should never shoot a three.  In fact Golden State defends the arc so poorly than threes are one of the ways Portland can keep the score up against the track stars.  But the Blazers should not be shooting threes when anyone is within six feet of the shooter.  There's no need for that.  Drive it and then get a wide-open three later.  And for goodness' sake, HIT your wide-open shots!  All we need tonight is that weird, brain-sucking contagion that causes everyone to start missing shots they otherwise could hit in their sleep.

In short, just don't make this hard, OK?  Play your game, pass, execute, and walk away with a "W".

Among our oldest friends on the network are the folks at GoldenStateofMind.  Pay them a visit if you want.  It's an experience!

You can find tonight's Jersey Contest form here (fixed).  Don't forget that the form for tomorrow's game against the Timberwolves will be open as soon as this one is over.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)  

After letting go of studio host Tony Luftman and not televising a single pre-season game, Blazers Broadcasting has tightened its belt again, grounding sideline reporter Rebecca Haarlow for all road trips during the 2009-2010 regular season.

Haarlow was absent from the Blazers' recent five game trip; many assumed it was because she was continuing her college football broadcasting work with FSN.  This morning, the organization confirmed to Blazersedge.com that Blazers Broadcasting has decided to cut back to a two-person on-air broadcasting team during road games while continuing to use the full three-person team for Blazers home games. 

In Haarlow's absence, play-by-play man Mike Barrett has picked up post-game interview duties following road games.  Mike Rice continues in his role as color commentator. 

The team next hits the road tomorrow night for a visit to the Golden State Warriors.

-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Brandon Roy did enough to beat the Detroit Pistons Wednesday night but searched for answers after the game.

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When I last spoke to Brandon Roy, prior to last week's road trip, I asked him how he wanted to play down the stretch, how he envisioned his role on this new-look Blazers team.  His simple, confident, declarative answer: "playmaker."  With teams getting hip to the Blazers 1-4 fourth quarter offense, Roy's thinking was straightforward: get by his defender, read the help defense, make sound decisions (pass or shoot) and lead his team.

Since that conversation, the Blazers put away weak competition on the road, Travis Outlaw went down with a serious foot injury and the team collapsed down the stretch against a playoff quality team in Atlanta.  Roy logged the most minutes of any Blazer during the road trip, looked dead tired during overtime against the Hawks on Monday night, was held below 20 point per game for the trip despite the overall weak competition, and continued to adjust to guarding small forwards rather than off guards.  

The wins over the past week helped obscure some of these struggles and changes.  But tonight a new, less certain perspective from Roy was unmistakable.

During the Portland Trail Blazers' 87-81 home win over the Detroit Pistons, Roy provided the offensive spark that blew the game open during the third quarter and then watched as his team nearly blew a 20 point lead during the fourth quarter.  Rushed back into the game to put out the fire, Roy failed to score a point, notch an assist, grab a rebound and only took one field goal attempt in nearly five minutes of fourth quarter play.  The Pistons regularly ran a second defender at him to force the ball from his hands, then did a solid job of rotating defensively, necessitating extra passes. His shot-making taken away, his passing countered, Roy was as neutralized as I can remember seeing him down the stretch, a bystander as his teammates committed turnovers and struggled to break a scrambling Pistons trap.

The Pistons's wild fourth quarter comeback was surprising and confusing and, surely, frustrating for Roy who is now dealing with the dual prospects of playing without Travis Outlaw and playing out of position at small forward for the foreseeable future.  

So after the game I addressed the same topic that we had spoken about prior to the trip: how does Roy envision his role on this team right now?  Does he still see himself as a playmaker? "Nah," Roy admitted. "I wouldn't necessarily say playmaker," he said, pausing to think about it. "I don't know. That's a good question. How would you describe my role?"

It's generally not a good sign when your franchise player turns back to the inquiring writer for help answering this type of question.  It doesn't happen often with a player as cerebral as Roy who is coached by someone as discipline-minded as Nate McMillan.  Roles are generally established in late September, refined in October. It's now more than halfway through November.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "That's why I'm asking. It seems like you're thinking pass first some times. And then other times you're really looking to get your shot. It seems like it changes play to play, quarter to quarter." 

"Yeah," Roy nodded. "Maybe even game to game [too]. Some nights I think opportunities are there for me to be more aggressive. Other nights I'm maybe not as aggressive as people have seen me in the past. For me, it's just trying to do whatever it takes to help this team win games."

Through it all -- the double teams, the injuries, the juggled lineups, the mismatches -- Roy has remained impressively flexible, impressively ego-less.  Many doubted that he would last this long playing out of position in a three guard lineup without raising a fuss, either publicly or privately.  But it was clear tonight that Roy is in limbo, forced by recent circumstances into repeating a cycle of reading situations and making adjustments, reading and adjusting, reading and adjusting. "A lot of things have changed," Roy stated. "I'm just trying to make sure that everyone is keeping a rhythm. Now with Greg in the lineup and Dre, I'm trying to figure it out and make sure our offense continues to flow better." Less playmaker, perhaps, and more dance instructor.

But with only seven guys playing like they deserve real rotation minutes right now, the physical and mental burden on Roy will only increase.  And sooner or later, clarity will either emerge for Roy or it won't. 

Both for his sake and the success of his team, hopefully the next time we talk roles Roy won't need to turn to writers for help answering the question. 

Random Game Notes

• Austin Daye will be an NBA All Star before he retires. Watching his thorough, impressive warm-up routine, it was easy to see why, despite his slight frame, he was a darling of the scouts during the pre-draft process. His movements with the ball are crisp, precise and fluid, recalling a slightly less confident Kevin Durant. His footwork before and during catches was excellent, his shooting form consistent and his competitive desire was oozing, even two hours before the game. During the game, he disrupted Steve Blake during the fourth quarter by trapping 3/4 court and he knocked down a three.  His frame is a liability and will remain so for a few years -- not unlike Durant -- but the sky is the limit.  If I was Joe Dumars I would view Daye as my least tradeable asset, Stuckey and Gordon included.  
• Bill Simmons was spotted chatting up Kevin Pritchard before the game but was not shown on the Rose Garden's big screen. Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey, Jr., however, drew cheers when shown on the Jumbotron and drew autograph seekers to their courtside seats. Juwan Howard and Jerryd Bayless both made a point of getting/giving daps from/to Griffey Jr. during halftime warm-ups.
• The official box score seems to be in error tonight.  They charged Steve Blake with just 2 fourth quarter turnovers. In actuality, he had 1,378.  Hopefully the NBA will step in and correct this.
• A clash of generations occurred when 52 year old Juwan Howard posted up 13 year old Austin Daye. It was like slamming together a Discman and an iPod, only in human form.  
• Rudy threw a pass between Kwame Brown's legs to Greg Oden for a dunk. It was sweet but would have been sweeter if you didn't have the suspicious feeling that Rudy is looking to nutmeg someone on every possession. 
• Blazers Owner Paul Allen drew cheers when shown on the big screen and dropped in on the locker room after the game. Be sure to read Nate McMillan's heartfelt response to a question about Allen below.

Nate's Post-game Comments

It almost slipped away in the fourth quarter. Thoughts?

You play the game 48 minutes. I've often been criticized for not playing guys down the stretch, you don't play with the game. You don't ever. It was a good game for us. A good lesson. You play that game 48 minutes and you play it the right way and you don't relax because it's never over. I think a bad shot or a turnover can always give a team momentum. That's how I coach -- to win games. When we feel like we have that game under control we'll make substitutions. But we had our guys in there and we had to bring back that group that got us there. We stopped doing the things that we needed to do. Execute both ways. You start launching quick j's, turning that ball over, being loose, playing the scoreboard as opposed to playing the game the right way anything can happen.  I thought for 3 quarters we were good. Coming off the road we wanted to give a strong effort on both ends of the floor. Defensively as well as offensively. And we did that for 3 quarters.

Margin of error slimmed down due to injuries?

I think it's just that it's the margin for error is where it's at because of the group. It's a young group that is still trying to learn how to win and how to win big. We have a lot of work to do. We have one year where we won some games but we're not there yet. We have to play that game the right way for 48 minutes.

What caused the collapse?

The thing is, turnovers and I thought maybe we just relaxed. You turn the ball over, you don't execute offensively. You lose your rhythm. You lose a little bit of confidence. They get excited. And you know make some plays, get some momentum and you start to get a little tight. I know we had turnovers, I don't know how many. I thought some shots, we may have taken some quick shots. And all of a sudden it's a three point ballgame. It was a positive that we won that game. 

Blake's 3 at the end of the game

Well we needed it. We don't want him to hesitate. He had an open look. He can knock that shot down. As you mentioned, last game he had some similar shots that didn't fall. Big shot. Big free throws for Blake. And then those other guys down the stretch.

Brandon and LaMarcus offensively

Those are the guys. We gotta get them going. Tonight to see both of them score, we haven't seen that this season. We had a third guy with Blake, and Miller being able to score. So we were able to, I thought our assists were really good throughout the night for the most part. Turnovers were pretty good until that fourth quarter.

Andre missed his first four free throws. Were you nervous with him at the line at the end of the game?

Those are our best free throw shooters. Miller is an 85 or 86 percent career free throw shooter. Blake is shooting well. And Brandon. So you get up there and you have to knock them down. And he ended up doing that.

How did you address the team in the locker room?  Tough love?

It's a lesson. I've said this always to the team, you don't play the scoreboard. We said that at the start of the fourth quarter. This team was down 25 points last night to the Lakers and came back. And that's what we said to them. This team is not going to quit playing. And we don't play that scoreboard. You play this game the right way. You keep pushing the ball, get into their legs because their legs are tired, they're heavy. And defensively don't give them anything. Offensively keep executing because they've been down before and last night they were down. Now it's a lesson. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Lucky us that we were able to pull it out.

Martell

Well, he's getting good looks. Those are shots he can knock down. He's just got to keep shooting that when he gets them. Of course, don't hesitate.

Paul Allen's presence at the Rose Garden and his interaction with the players

We were surprised that he was here. I saw him and just hugged him. He's a strong man. He loves his Blazers. I think it showed the fact that he was getting medical attention just a couple of days ago and as soon as we come back he's here wanting to see us. I think the guys were probably surprised to see him and I didn't see it but I'm sure just like I did, I was happy to see him and we're praying for him. He's a strong man. That's the man. I'm sure they were happy to see him.

Anything unusual with their press or trap at the end that gave you trouble?

Nah, they were scrambling. And just trying to create some turnovers and we gave it to them a couple of times.

-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

I started this game with a full head of hair.

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Big Ben, Little Ben, what begins with Ben?

"Ben" puzzled how the Blazers let the Pistons within ten.

Tonight's game was an exercise in agony and ecstasy.  More precisely it was an exercise in ecstasy then agony.  But the Blazers won and that's the important thing.  A loss after getting up 20 in the second half would have been too depressing to contemplate.

The game started out quite well for Portland.  At first the Blazers controlled the tempo like Lawrence Welk but then they pushed it like Salt-N-Pepa.  The Pistons didn't have much of a defensive answer in the halfcourt and they had none at all when LaMarcus Aldridge and the Blazers started running.  Portland streaked out to a 17-9 lead and it appeared that Detroit's tired legs would prevent them from showing up tonight.  But then Andre Miller went out of the game at the 4:50 mark of the first and Portland tallied one field goal the rest of the way.  The Pistons closed the gap to 21-17 heading into the second.

Miller started the second period and all of a sudden the offense picked up.  Joel Przybilla scored twice right at the rim, once off of a pass from Rudy and once off of a pass from ‘Dre.  Miller and Fernandez combined for assists on three of the next four Blazer baskets and the lead was up to 9 in short order.  Then Andre Miller left the game and the offense went into a stall, allowing the Pistons to climb back to within 4 again.  The Blazers played some good defense to close the period while simultaneously deciding to go through Roy and Aldridge.  It was a good move, allowing them to stretch the lead to 10.

The third period was all Portland.  It was a textbook example of how to win a game.  The shots were layups or open jumpers off of passes.  The Blazers shut down the middle on the Pistons and Detroit responded by firing jumpers.  Portland allowed no offensive rebounds.  Portland resumed running whenever they were able.  It was basically a massacre throughout.  10 points became 20 and it looked like the Blazers had this in the bag.

Apparently the Blazers thought so too as their first four shots of the fourth period were three-point attempts, all misses.  They got further in after that but it was still mostly jumpers.  Meanwhile the Pistons went layup-free throws-layup to pull within 16.  No biggie.  They cut it to 14 soon after but Portland responded with a massive Oden dunk off of a Rudy pass and it looked like they were free and clear.  Then Andre Miller left the game.  Portland got a nice straight-away 18-footer from Juwan Howard right after but that was the only shot the Blazers hit with ‘Dre on the bench.  The litany read like this:  Rudy turnover, Blake miss, Blake turnover, Rudy missed three.  Then Andre Miller came back in the game.  But now the team was snakebit.

In succession we had an Oden turnover, a missed Roy jumper, a shot clock violation off of a Miller miss, two Aldridge free throw makes, two Miller free throw misses (!), a Blake turnover, and a Blake missed three.  Meanwhile it's Detroit layup, Detroit chip shot, Detroit free throws, Detroit threes, and those offensive rebounds that the Blazers had been denying all game were coming fast and furious.  Portland's up 4.  Up 3.  Up 2.  Where's my Tums?  Naw, forget those.  It looks like I'm going to need something prescription-strength after this one, if not downright medicinal.

In the end, though, the clock ran out on the Pistons.  22 seconds showed by the time they cut the lead to two, which required fouling.  Mercifully Blake and Miller hit all 6 of the free throws they took and Detroit couldn't connect with a three.  87-81, the Blazers it at 9-4.

It's tempting to rail at the team for almost letting this one slip away.  The one quibble I have with the strategy is Portland playing slow-down ball too early and continuing to play it even as the lead dwindled.  Yes you want to milk some clock on every possession when you're up huge in the fourth.  That's only smart.  But the Blazers weren't pushing anything when pushing was what got them there in the first place.  To brush off an old and terrible cliché, they started playing not to lose instead of playing to win.  Even when the lead hit the lower single digits they still played as if they were up 16.  There was no call for panic but it was certainly time to resurrect the aggression.  Maybe the strategy ended up being right as the clock foiled Detroit in the end.  Credit that, I suppose.  But this game got uncomfortably close without the Blazers showing much of a pulse.  One shot could have tipped it.  I think I'd prefer going hard through the fourth, planning on winning with the style that put you ahead in the first place.

You have to give the Detroit defense a ton of credit though.  They adopted a relatively simple strategy.  They trapped Roy and Fernandez every time they touched the ball in the halfcourt and doubled or tripled LaMarcus if he touched it in the post.  That left a lot of swings and shots going to Miller and Blake.  At that point the defense became easy.  Miller's jumper is legendary by now and needs no explanation.  I remember praising Steve Blake last year because he appeared to have developed some acceptable moves off of the dribble.  I don't know what's happened in the interim but he offends the heavens every time he puts the ball on the floor nowadays.  Seriously, tonight there was a choir of cherubim and seraphim up there charged with keeping the ceaseless round of praise singing:

Gloria in excelsis D...awwww, what the hell was that?!?     Ooops!  Our apologies, Big Guy! 

NO NEED.  WHOA! 

Detroit simply sagged off of Miller and forced Blake to drive.  By the time the ball had been to a primary scorer then been passed around to those two there wasn't time enough for another option.  So the Blazer offense became awkward shot central.  It isn't so much on either player.  They are what they are and they bring plenty of good things to the table too.  But this is one of the disadvantages to playing them together.  You have two guys you know how to guard.  Throw in Oden or Przybilla and that makes three.  When the pressure went up the Pistons knew how to exploit that.

Despite the fourth-quarter follies offensively the Blazers played a pretty solid game.  They held Detroit to 39% shooting and shot 47% themselves which was clearly the difference in the game, especially since the Pistons ended up with 10 more shot attempts than Portland did.  The Blazers got more free throw attempts and stayed relatively even on the boards overall despite allowing Detroit back in that battle by giving up those late offensive rebounds.  Portland also stayed even on points in the paint and were close in turnovers.  The Blazers almost doubled up the Pistons in assists which is indicative of the fractured nature of Detroit's roster right now, both because of new personnel and injuries.  Ben Gordon only got 12 shots and only made 4 of them which was huge for the Blazers.  It's going to be hard for Detroit to win any game right now where Gordon only scores 11.  Credit Blake, Roy, and helpers for making that happen.

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