at the verrrrryyyyy end (4:10 mark) of the video 2 posts down you can see the 24 second clock shaking. the safety chains are doing the soulja boy dance.

I’m beginning to see the career of LMA go the way of Joe Smith

I hope he proves me wrong. PLEASE. Prove me wrong. I want to be wrong.

Watching on t.v., I thought fatigue, poor officiating (Delaney may even have a bias against the Blazers), and Golden State’s exceptionally high shooting percentage from the foul line and 3-point-range were the difference. But once this Blazers team has been together awhile, they should win games like this regardless of what the opponent or the refs do. We need to remember that the Blazers are integrating three rookies (four tonight!).

Also, as you said, GO isn’t in condition yet. We can expect to see a lot more from him as he rounds into game shape and develops more chemistry with his new teammates.

this was just a rerun of the utah and suns game … blazers have to play the refs harder than the other team

I had some fun with pictures and words (mainly from the first half) on what was not a very fun result in the end…

Blazers @ Warriors (in pictures)

We need a return of LaMarcus…and I’m sure we will get one.

and will just add my own thoughts, player by player. I’m no expert so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

The Blazers would have been better served if LMA had missed the team flight down or had been sick. I was happy when he fouled out and wish it had happened sooner. He needed to find a way to exploit his height advantage over Maggette and he failed miserably.

Not too much to say about Oden other than he’s a big dude and dunks hard. His footwork needs a lot of work and so does his conditioning (I didn’t see him jump much). He was really doggin’ it there at the end and Biedrins took advantage for an easy layup. He also looked lost on offense most of the time. He hung around the paint, but would be late in setting picks or late in establishing position. It got better towards the end of the game, but it’s something he needs to work on. He does have a nice free throw stroke so he’ll be able to make teams pay for hacking him. If he develops just one credible offensive move then he can score 30 ppg no problem.

I don’t care about how many points he had, but Roy didn’t play that well. He never found his rhythm and I don’t understand why he’s a bad free throw shooter.

Rudy did foul the dude at the end. I saw him grab the elbow. He has a nice shot and my date explained why he’s popular with the ladies though she prefers Steve Blake.

Rodriguez played really well. He was able to beat the press/trap and never really dribbled out of control. His defense was credible and I didn’t see too many "ole"s out there either.

Bayless looked like a rookie and should’ve stayed nailed to the bench.

Frye is just filler and doesn’t provide much. I’m betting that his minutes decrease as the season goes on unless someone gets hurt.

Outlaw is…crazy. He can outjump everyone in the gym. I saw him get a rebound over Oden. However, every time he had the ball, I whispered to myself, “Please don’t shoot. Please don’t shoot.” His shot is wicked ugly with this strange sidespin so you can’t tell when he lets it go if it has a chance or not. He played great defense since he’s quick and long. I think he needs a little more discipline on offense since he doesn’t pass much once he gets the ball.

Przy was efficient and deserves to start while Oden gets in shape. He has little offensive game, but he can clean up around the rim and sets good picks.

Blake shot well early on, but then became more of a distributor later in the game. He’s solid, just like, Pryz, and should make a good backup PG in the next few years.

Most of the Warriors’ fans couldn’t believe the W’s almost threw the game away, but I think they deserved to win simply because they out-coached Portland. Nelson found the matchups he wanted and exploited them. Portland is a long team, but not a particularly fast team.

lets see if an ego pokes it’s head out on that call!?!

seriously though, are brandons turnovers getting…..complacent? (forgive the spelling)

see ya’ll at lunch.

That’s what happened. Overconfident. Lazy. Whatever the case getting down 9-0 before you even start to sweat is terrible and is indicative of one team being serious and one team not being serious. Guess which was which. The rest of the game was more of the same. GS wanted to win, so they did.

Thank God at least this thread isn’t overwhelmed by whining about the refs already. Most of the other threads about last night’s game look like the ESPN fan forums. Ugh.

Henry notes that, despite Oden’s strong showing, he doesn’t make the Blazers better right now. Indeed, Oden had the worst plus/minus rating in last night’s game… Joel tied two Warriors for the best rating, at +10.

I haven’t read the True Hoop piece yet. But I did feel that, despite the nice numbers last night, GO played better vs the Wolves. But here’s the thing: the fault is at least as much with Greg’s teammates and the Blazers’ coaching staff as it is with GO. In particular, some guys look like they’ve never thrown an entry pass in their lives!

Not to worry. As rusty and out of shape as GO still is, it now should be clear to one and all that he has the tools to help this team get to the next level. They just need to develop chemistry playing together. And in the end, that’s what this season is about—working in GO and the other new players. Hopefully, they’ll start to gell in time to make the playoffs. If they do come together in time to accomplish that, NO ONE—and I include the Lakers—is going to want to face this loaded Blazers line-up.

Appreciate the comment that the W’s earned the victory despite the foul calls, mighty big of you.

Here’s my point though re: uncalled fouls on GO – The W’s Andris Biedrens has FINALLY started getting respect and love from the Zebras and it’s his 3rd year playing. Give it time and GO will be getting all those ticky tacky calls that the refs would not whistle last night.

I used to represent Blazerdom down there at Sac and GS games when I lived and worked in the Bay Area. Brought back some memories!

Tough loss for us – hopefully we take it out on da’bulls.