A Few Observations From Tonight's Game

I just got back from the game, and I have a few observations, about both this team and Miami.

Blazers

1) Rudy and Batum both fit the definition of hungry. There was one point in the fourth quarter, we were up big, and Channing nails a corner three. Rudy comes running in from just beyond the three point line and off a bit to the other side from Frye’s shot, and he is the closest player to the ball after it goes through the net. Many other other players would have already been jogging back, or maybe hang around the perimeter after the shot went up, knowing it didn’t really matter what happened. Batum fouling a guy going after an offensive rebound with 2.7 seconds left to play in a 38 point blowout told me once again that he is going to be something in this league. I don’t know what yet, but he is going to be very, very, good.

2) Sergio looked really, really, good tonight. He was always moving around, and making beautiful passes. I didn’t really see any points where he was making stupid decisions, or forcing anything. He looked really natural, and really smooth. He could very well be very good.

3) Oden, on the other hand, just doesn’t look like he is really enjoying himself out there. Fortunately, I think his biggest problem will be fixed, where he holds the ball. The Heat threw men on him every time he touched the ball tonight, and he didn’t get too frustrated. And listening to the post-game interview waiting in the Rose Garden parking lot, he sounded like the saddest man in the world. I think it is because he shaved the beard.

4) This is really going to tweak Hollinger’s ratings again, and once this game doesn’t count (because later in the season he stops counting the beginning of the season) we’ll drop back down to probably roughly where we belong. But it is fun to think we are in the top 5 best teams in the NBA. Improbable, but fun.

The HEAT (Most foolish name ever...All capital letters? Ridiculous)

5) First thing I noticed from the Heat tonight was how foolish their uniforms look. Basically, my big issue is the way it deals with the nameplates. Mario Chalmers, which is not a long name by most stretches of the imagination, looks horrid. His name looks way too big for his back.

6) The longer Beasley was in the game, the less I liked him. I’ll admit, I was already kind of ready to dislike him after what happened in the Rookie Transition Program. But after seeing him pop 3-Pointers early in the game, when you still have D-Wade out on the floor, and then watching him nonchalantly jog back down the floor? No thanks. I recall one sequence where a loose ball rolled near him, and he didn’t pick it up. Sergio (I think) picked it up, and started running down the floor. Beasley just jogs next to him, and makes no attempt to disrupt Sergio running down the floor. I was disgusted. Rose on TV looks like a way better pick-up than Beasley, and I don’t know why Chicago was even pretending to think about Beasley. Also, after picking up his quick two fouls, he made to slowest walk back to the bench I have ever seen. I wish he had of at least jogged back to the bench, to show he still wanted to hustle.

7) Erik Spolestra is a crazy animated coach. It was interesting to see the contrast between him and Nate, who’s HUGE pant-legs moved more than his upper body. It seemed like every time that the Heat were bringing the ball up the floor he was calling a play. Even on an inbounds from the side he was making hand signals and yelling at his players. I don’t know if that is the sign of a micromanaging coach, or a coach who doesn’t trust his players. Either way, I’m not sure I would enjoy it if I were a player on the Heat. It seems to me that him showing hand-signals every time the Heat do something is a great way for them to lose games, merely because teams with a halfway decent film department and at least one game against the Heat can figure out what the plays are going to be based on his hand signals. Hand signals worked well in my high school YMCA league, not sure how well they are going to work every night in the NBA.

General Atmosphere

9) I have to say, we as a fanbase really, really want to love Oden. Every time he did anything that made it to the stat sheet, or even sat down, he got a huge cheer, even though Joel is really playing out of his mind, and looks like he has the mindset of “If I want to block a shot, I’m gonna block that shot. No questions.” And I have no idea how come everyone in attendance was standing and yelling and screaming for a full minute in a timeout with a forty point lead at the end of the game. I would really like to know what other fanbase would do that. It was ridiculous. I felt like I was back at college watching a basketball game, where you stand just because you can. It was legit.