Game 28 Recap: Blazers 89, Nuggets 97
by Dave on Dec 22, 2008 11:02 PM PST
Email
PrintGeneral Observations
There were a few simple reasons we lost this game.
1. We didn't defend the middle well enough. At the beginning of the game and again at the beginning of the second half the Nuggets seemed to have their way with us at the rim. J.R. Smith, Nene...granted it wasn't the whole game but even if it happens 5-6 times that's 10-12 points you gave up when 4 would have done. What's the margin of victory? Basically we failed in perimeter containment and then failed again in rotating to cover. We also failed to stop their post guys from getting to the hole.
2. We got obliterated on the boards. Rebounding advantage is a major key to this team's success. Allowing the Nuggets 12 offensive rebounds is unheard of.
3. We got destroyed at the foul line. It's not just 39 attempts to 19, nor the -13 margin in points scored at the line, it's the time Oden and Roy spent on the bench. I'm sure some will complain about the unfair reffing but before you do, see the next point.
4. The Nuggets just plain came out with more energy. We weren't exactly flat, we just didn't have fire in our eyes. This particularly showed on our offensive end. As the game wore on we devolved into more and more isolation plays with four other guys standing around waiting to see what would happen. It cost us the game in the fourth as we missed tough shots and Denver converted easier ones. This game wasn't taken from us, we just failed to take it. Sometimes after good wins we seem to play like we believe we're miraculous and anything we do will turn out well. Sometimes it takes a little hardship to remind us that winning is work.
5. We did a pretty good job containing Chauncey Billups' personal offense but we couldn't keep him from passing and we couldn't keep him off of the free throw line. The Blazers SO need some extra perimeter defenders.
We shot well from the three-point line tonight but all the three-point shooting in the world isn't going to overcome those obstacles.
Individual Observations
Brandon was bound to have a down night sometime. I didn't quibble with his shot selection tonight as much as his aggressiveness. He just didn't seem to look for his shot that much. He missed a couple layups early after amazing drives through the Denver defense. That was there for him all night. We never saw its return. He also got in foul trouble early, which is a rarity for him. Maybe that took him out of the game mentally. 3-11 shooting and 8 points but also 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 3 turnovers.
Lamarcus Aldridge did try to take over the game with his shot. The problem is unless you're obnoxiously on fire it's hard to dominate with jumpers. He kept the Blazers in the game and they were more than happy to feed him but it couldn't last all night long. 8-18 shooting and 20 points plus 2 blocks and some fine defensive moments on Nene describes the good stuff. 4 rebounds is a little short for 39 minutes, especially when the Denver starting bigs got 12 and 11 respectively.
Greg Oden got in major foul trouble tonight. Guarding quicker guys still gives him trouble. Nevertheless, he has a propensity to stretch 2 fouls into 5. Sometimes you have to let a bucket go to preserve the foul, especially when you've already collected 2 or 3 whistles. And whoever is putting him out on the perimeter on those switches should be spanked. I can't imagine the coaching staff is drawing up defensive schemes that leave him out on an island guarding a small forward on the drive. Whether it's the perimeter defender's decision or Greg's himself he needs to opt out of those situations. He's 7-feet tall and strong as an ox. You can't make him go out there. When he did play tonight Greg shot 4-5 for 10 points and had 2 blocks and 2 nice assists. However he only had 3 rebounds in 22 minutes which is really nice for a point guard but not so great for your huge center.
Steve Blake kept us afloat with his offense early but he, too seemed to get more tentative as the night progressed. Granted one of his main job descriptions is passing but not when somebody leaves him wide open at the three-point arc and we need points because we're down by 6. Blake was 4-6 from distance tonight and had 14 overall.
Nicolas Batum collected 3 fouls and 3 points in 13 minutes. I'm starting to hope he'll get some run against opposing benches soon, as opposed to opposing starters. He just seems to have faded as the season has progressed.
Travis Outlaw wasn't shy about shooting tonight. He was 6-13 and had 15 points in 32 minutes. He also had 2 assists and 2 blocks in a generally active game. The one-on-one isolation style is still his strongest suit. He won the battle a lot of the time tonight but we lost the war.
Rudy Fernandez scored 9 points in 18 minutes and had some beautiful passes. Unfortunately he also had some glaring defensive lapses and couldn't hit when he wasn't open for three. It wasn't one of his better outings.
Sergio Rodriguez also had some nice passes but had real trouble putting the ball in the hole when Denver pressured him to. He turned the ball over twice in 5 minutes (to go along with his 3 assists, we should say) and that split-personality outing got him benched for the second half in favor of Jerryd Bayless.
Speaking of...Jerryd Bayless tried to make a couple drives in his 3-minute appearance. He tried to make a couple passes in his 3-minute appearance. You have to credit him with aggressiveness. However nothing worked, which is probably why it was a 3-minute appearance.
Mirroring that point guard split, Ike Diogu got 9 minutes in the first half. He started out abysmally...just all the worst parts of Ike's game: slow-footed, missing shots around the rim, getting stripped, not defending that well. He started getting into it during the last couple of minutes and managed a couple of rebounds, a couple of points, and a blocked shot. However that wasn't enough to balance the turnovers and earlier poor play so his second half minutes went to Channing Frye.
Speaking of...Channing Frye missed a shot and collected a foul in 5 minutes. That's it.
If you're starting to get the idea that Nate was trying different lineups to create a spark tonight and it didn't work, you're getting the right idea.
Joel Przybilla did his usual blue-collar job with 7 points, 8 rebounds, and a block in 22 minutes spelling Oden.
Final Thoughts
Let's hope we see some more genuine fire tomorrow...or whenever this game is played if it gets snowed out.
Check out the Denver victory cigars being lit at PickaxeandRoll.
View this game's Jersey Contest results and enter tomorrow's form here.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
92 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
certainly nate's most, uh, creative use of the bench this year
in a reasonably close game he used 12 players. the backup pf spot has really become a problem at this point. we might as well see what shavlik randolph can do.
ignacio
I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say
That the worst part of the game tonight is when my brother texted me saying that the Blazers lost and it was all my fault, ruining the game for me because I have not actually been able to watch it because I had work to do (but never fear, I DVRd it).
Now, I have a brand new shiny Blazer game to watch, which I waited all day for, but now I am doomed to know we lose, so nothing in it is worthwhile. Everyone played like a turd donkey.
I can handle us losing, that’s fine. Denver is tough to play in just for the air alone, let alone having decent players. I just get really annoyed when I know FOR SURE we’re gonna lose because the game is ruined for me :-( Ruined my night, it did.
I’m sure we all agree that is the worst thing about tonight’s game.
Ok, I’m gonna watch it and see what Oden did wrong this time to earn 4 fouls and get 2 cheap stupid fouls. And what happened to the New Brandon Roy? I knew we shoulda’ traded high after his 52 point game!
We’ll win tonight, don’t a’ worry.
Mortimer
No, the worst thing
is that my stupid projections spreadsheet dropped us from 2nd to 4th all in one single night, even though we only dropped from 56 projected wins to 55.9.
The second worst thing is the game was ruined for Morty.
There ought to be a law or something.
It’s actually scary to think about Mort having a brother. To think that there is someone else out there with the same genetics? Shudder.
If you can't convince them, confuse them -- Harry Truman, U.S. President
Not only an older brother
Two younger sisters as well.
And I’m gonna make at least one baby with one lady of each major ethnicity (sorry Eskimos, I said MAJOR) and see which one has the best wingspan and thus is my favorite kid.
Lotsa Mortimer genetics runnin’ around!
Knowing the outcome of the game bugged me more than it shoulda’, but it isn’t my brother’s fault. I need to send a warning to everyone in my address book not to ruin the damn game for me every night, just in case I am recording it— and these days, it seems like watching a game live is the huge exception, so every night has been a risky run into the danger zone of game ruinage.
Mortimer, saddened by his loss of a new Blazer game to enjoy with the hopes of winning.
When you have a Spanish baby
Name him Rudyo. Thats got to be good luck.
by Sabonis4Ever on Dec 23, 2008 1:34 AM PST up reply actions
Ha Ha
I knew it was your fault.
"There is a difference between having two guys banging down low and having two guys who can bang down low." - Blazin'
Turn off your stupid cell phone (Blackberry or whatever)
Try it; you’ll find that you can actually live without it ….. really.
Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave
I hate hate hate the phone
I know I said my brobro texted me, but it was actually a instant message through Gmail, and I said text to make the story simpler :-)
I had my cell phone hidden away (just a basic, crappy, it hates me and I hate it cell phone) so no one could ruin my night there, and was just happily working on a project and then I realized I needed a file that I had saved in my email as an attachment. Earlier in the day I had been talking with my family via the chat feature in Gmail, and I was not logged off. I went and got my file I needed, and then BAM— “HEY (redacted slur on my masculinity) the Fail Blazers lost and it’s your fault! XMAS IS CANCELED”
It was all too fast to not read (I read too fast also) so I couldn’t not see what he said. The game was ruined, as was my night :-(
And I was just trying to be good! Working, instead of watching the game. Last time I’m that foolish, let me tell you.
I hate the phone. Hate talking on it, hate the sound of a phone ringing, hate being expected to pick it up when I am driving or whatever. If I get a Blackberry (everyone says I should, but I don’t want one) I’ll be even more expected to be gotten a hold of easily. Sox to that!
Your response is right, so I ain’t trying to say nuthin’ like that… just filling in a few of the blanks that I left out of my story for simplicity’s sake. I’ll never forget this night :-(
Mortimer
What did your brother say
when you finished beating the crap out of him?
"Brandon Roy, that man is unstoppable, it's like he's playing NBA Live." - Anthony Johnson
I'll ask him on Christmas
He’s a thousand miles away right now, but when/if I get up to Portland for X-Mas, he’ll suffer OH HE WILL SUFFER.
Or, I’ll have forgotten about it by then and remember he’s the older brother and I slink away to my bedroom :-(
Lil’ Morty pie
I hate talking on the phone too
My wife works five minutes from home and will call on her way home to “talk” and ask about dinner. I’ll say, “Can we talk about this in a few minutes when you get home?” Then she’ll get mad and wonder why I don’t want to talk to her. Women and cell phones are lame.
"There is a difference between having two guys banging down low and having two guys who can bang down low." - Blazin'
by tominhawaii on Dec 23, 2008 12:16 PM PST up reply actions
Watching that game live made my stomach hurt
But there were little moments of brightness mixed in with the castor oil. For one thing, GO’s game wasn’t all bad by any means. E.g., he made some very nice passes.
The team will be alright. They just needed a reality check, I think. Too much PTI exposure, etc. Everyone needs to forget about Roy being the new Kobe (yechh!!). I’m betting the guys look like their old selves on Wednesday night.
"If [Roy & Aldridge] walked around in fur coats, with a bunch of glamour & glitz, we'd have a bunch of guys wearing fur coats. But they don't. They're just good guys who want to win and know how to play the right way." --Kevin Pritchard
I liked seeing all the players out there. However, everyone needs some minutes to get in their groove as we saw with diogu and I still maintain is the reason Frye has been playing so poorly lately (how can you play well in 2-4 minutes a game!) Not that he was playing great earlier in the season when he had more time.
travis had a pretty good game (including a nice assist to oden) and
lamarcus hit a lot of jumpers, carrying us for a while. steve blake had his moments, but seemed to fade.
i’m really becoming curious about what’s going on in nate’s mind (and kp’s) about backup pf.
also, well… those games when roy scored over 30 — were almost all losses, evidence of real problems in the offense right now.
what is to be done?
ignacio
They need to
relax, trust each other, let Roy and Lamarcus do what they do without anybody getting jealous or discouraged, and everybody else stay active on offense, remain mobile, and be ready for the open shots the stars are going to create for them.
The Blazers cannot stand still and score well. They cannot be self-centered and score well either. They don’t have the experience and probably not quite the talent level yet either.
—Dave
You are a professional of the highest degree Dave
So you are pretty much required not to harp on the refereeing, but seriously, we all know you are thinking it.
They did out hustle us, but it is hard to get your hustle on when you are afraid to even touch the apposing players (or let them touch you in the case of Blake’s forehead and Billup’s elbow). And on top of that our two biggest threats (roy and oden) where taken out early with extremely ticky tack fouls.
But, whatev. home courts will have home cooking, such is the way of the NBA, we will get ours tomorrow for the W i would venture. And a split with Denver isn’t the end of the world.
The end is in the beginning and yet I go on....
-Beckett
I wouldnt say it was a ticky tack foul game
They really let them play. But that call on Blake when billups elbowed him was absurd. blatently absurd. Someone better get docked for that
Blazer fans tell me, where were you,
When our Brandon Roy dropped 52?
by GreatOden'sRaven on Dec 23, 2008 8:57 AM PST up reply actions
I am the first to jump on the refs
but they weren’t the problem last night. At all.
"Brandon Roy, that man is unstoppable, it's like he's playing NBA Live." - Anthony Johnson
Jamon has a ref fetish, jamon has a ref fetish
You dawg, you must hit on all the girls that work at Foot Locker.
"There is a difference between having two guys banging down low and having two guys who can bang down low." - Blazin'
by tominhawaii on Dec 23, 2008 12:17 PM PST up reply actions
oden can help himself on some of the fouls
and i suspect he will. as dave noted in his game summary, greg should not be switching out onto the perimeter to guard some wing-player. i feel confident this will be addressed by nate and his staff. it’s also true that he gets some of those touch-fouls rookies get sometimes. he’s looking better though, almost every game.
ignacio
Do we EVER win when we're on KGW?
I can’t remember the last time we won on KGW.
MAYBE it’s because they mostly just show road games, but that doesn’t make any sense. A “KGW Curse” is the only logical answer, when you analyse the evidence scientifically.
Some of you KGW homers will get angry at this idea, but face facts/grow a pair/get a life cause this is where we are now and the best thing we can do is deal with it and move on or GET OUT.
Mortimer
KGW homer .... LOL.
I guess I am one of them as they are about the only televised games I get to see.
I’m not one who is big on stats, but our record is 4 and 4 for KGW televised games this year.
Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave
4 and 4?
THAT IS THE WORST CURSE IMAGINEABLE.
Ok, so I guess we do pretty alright on KGW. And for everyone who doesn’t have access to the games because you live in Oregon (that sounds wierd to say), I won’t besmirch the good name of KGW any longer.
I just want them to show more home games on KGW, so we can get more wins on the TV box! We’re gonna sell out the Rose Garden regardless of whether the game is on TV or not these days, so might as well show the homey games to those who can’t get Comcast (the jerks).
DOWN WITH COINCAST! UP WITH KGW!
Mortimer
Road games against mostly good teams
A correlation between being on KGW and losing would not surprise me one bit.
by EngineerScotty on Dec 23, 2008 10:39 AM PST up reply actions
Who is getting annoyed with this whole
“call and pester DirecTV” campaign?
by EngineerScotty on Dec 23, 2008 11:15 AM PST up reply actions
Neeeeee do our work for us pleeeze neeeee
“Neeeeee” is me doing an annoying “nerd” voice while imitating Comcast’s ads telling us to do their dirty work for them.
M—
How about cutting the million dollar ads
and paying the $‘s to PA to negotiate
with Charter. I’ll be the 1st to sign up !
otherwise it’s RABBIT EARS & KGW !
DOWN WITH, well you know !
It's GO time !
Of course, Comcast Sportsnet doesn't want you to call Dish/DirecTV
Unless to cancel—they’d rather you switch to Comcast.
As I understand it correctly, CSN wants exorbitant fees for Dish/Direct to carry it.
What’s needed are some new rules from the FCC—if content providers can’t treat networks fairly; perhaps Comcast should be forced to divest itself from CSN.
by EngineerScotty on Dec 23, 2008 8:04 PM PST up reply actions
It's all about competition
So as far as Dish Net (who I asked the question to), they have a contract with FSN at a competitive price…so when Comcast negotiated a contract with the Blazers for bigger bucks, FSN could not compete and chose not to enter the bidding war for Blazer games(they are a low budget sports provider)..The Blazers wanted more money to carry their games and Comcast offered them a deal…So now it’s a matter of giving in to the monopoly of Comcast coverage……the cost to the consumer would only be $2.00 more a month. but having all customers pay and thus having all people support the addition, even though they may not have a sports package……So it is a economic thing for the major providers and they cannot allow Comcast to have control over their programming, with an apparently small demand by their customers for access to Blazer games….especially since the league blockout rules have not been clearly defined for area coverage….
It's all about defense......
We were out-hustled this game...
We couldn’t stop Hilario, Kleiza, Anderson or K. Martin -
It’s the same tune over and over… poor weakside help on the interior. LMA is always thinking, should I help or not? He rarely moves his feet over and we get dunked on. Same thing with Oden. Pryz is the only one who attempts to provide weakside help. Any team in the league can beat us if they penetrate – this is how Denver opened the game and got the early lead. It’s pretty simple, considering how easy it is to get GO in foul trouble.
The NBA Season Just Started.
After a stellar early season run in which the Blazers outperformed as the new players like Rudy and Batum brought some intensity and enthusiasm and Segio brought a better game, we’ve seen a lull in the last five or six games. The Blazers are a young team playing a long season, and we’re seeing this. The hustling, scrapping and hard work has declined. We shouldn’t need, after all, Brandon to score 30 – 50 points every night, and didn’t up until these last five or six games in order to win.
It’s increasingly obvious, for example, that we’re unsettled at the backup PF position as neither Frye nor Diogu seem to give us what we need there. It’s also clearly obvious that Batum is very young, and isn’t at all as consistent as he needs to be – which is why we needed Webster back three games ago – and still don’t have him. Whereas the bench was our secret weapon – it’s now become only average. It’s also clear that Oden has work to do to learn to control himself and stay out of foul trouble. Rudy, further, hasn’t had a truly good game in this stretch, as he’s also having to learn how to play 82 games a season – not just 30. And let’s face it, we’re already almost to 30.
So the college season is over and the NBA now begins.
Right now we’re living on our early season fast start, and barely playing .500 ball. As the man says, this is where the rubber hits the road.
This is a team game – and too many members of that team have had a let down. Webster needs to come back and Batum move to the second team. That’s obvious. And, as far as Frye and Diogu, they really have no excuses. Both have enough NBA time to be giving us more productive minutes, and, I agree with Dave on the lack of perimeter defense. It show’s.
Back to work.
by Eben Calder on Dec 23, 2008 5:21 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
The back-up PF is glaringly obvious...
I don’t know why KP doesn’t do something – Frye looks awful out there…. did you know we actually drafted L. Kleinza and traded him for Jarrett Jack? Maybe we should have just kept him.
by hotstuffdb22 on Dec 23, 2008 5:41 AM PST up reply actions
Maybe KP hasn't had a deal offered
that would give us anything better than what we have.
Or maybe the teams that have a power forward that we could get as a backup are insisting on players like Joel, and then we’d just need a backup center instead of a backup power forward.
Maybe KP isn’t going to be able to get anyone any better until the draft, or until we get a free agent in the summer. You can’t just wave a magic wand and instantly get better players. You have to find someone who has what you want, and is willing to trade that player, and isn’t going to insist on an outrageous price. Maybe there’s no one out there like that. Life can be like that sometimes.
If the guys we have don’t step up, something will be done, but it may not happen until the off-season. If so, we’ll get by, but we won’t be a great team. But we aren’t going to be great this season anyway. Good, yes, great, not.
If you can't convince them, confuse them -- Harry Truman, U.S. President
I'd rather
need a backup PF than a backup C, that’s for sure.
I haven’t given up on Frye, Diogu, or Randolph yet. I think one of them will step up. If not, then why not Outlaw as the full-time backup 4 when Webster comes back? So really, not a big deal.
"Brandon Roy, that man is unstoppable, it's like he's playing NBA Live." - Anthony Johnson
KP should just go to the NBA Walmart and pick up a new PF
"There is a difference between having two guys banging down low and having two guys who can bang down low." - Blazin'
by tominhawaii on Dec 23, 2008 12:19 PM PST up reply actions
Let's face it though
At the time, Jarrett looked like just as good a prospect as Kleiza.
And to be fair, JJ ain’t doing bad in Indiana either. If Denver badly needed a PG and had some other bigs to cover, a Kleiza-JJ swap wouldn’t actually be that far fetched.
I get frustrated with lots of the drafting moves from the Patterson administration. But this one only looks mediocre in retrospect. And at the time, we needed a more seasoned college PG to push Telfair and back him up.
Waiting for Webster
One reason KP may be watching – not acting, is that we need Webster back in the lineup. At that point, we’ll have Webster/Batum/Fernandez-Roy to sop up the SF minutes, leaving PF. Which takes us to Outlaw, and then to Frye/Diogu. With LMA on the first team, Outlaw becomes a floater if we have few minutes available at SF. Obviously, we don’t need Outlaw/Frye/Diogu to pick up 15 or so minutes a game. So, if Webster can handle the #1 SF, then after he’s back, that’s when KP may begin trying to do something.
He’s going to have to do it anyway, if only because we will either have to resign Frye and Diogu this year – or face cap holds. Personally, I can’t see that happening. Not if Webster works out and we decide to keep Outlaw and give him the #2 PF minutes. One problem we may have is that if Frye and Diogu continue with their current line of play – they won’t be worth much in a trade. After all – if they can’t give us decent #2 PF minutes – other teams won’t think they can help them very much. And that leaves Outlaw.
Can we count on Webster returning this year?
That 2nd foot injury was very mysterious. It was supposedly unrelated to the original injury??? It brings back bad memories of #32.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Dec 23, 2008 8:43 AM PST up reply actions
Webster was injured during the first game against Sacramento in preseason and didn´t tell anything until the game was over, probably making his injury worse..
I think he also returned to play too soon. He doesn´t seem to be very careful.
Sergio + Rudy = 16
Sergio + Bayless = 16
Batum 8+8=16
McGrady is “careful” and the Rocket fans all think he’s a wuss. :)
"Brandon Roy, that man is unstoppable, it's like he's playing NBA Live." - Anthony Johnson
Close
wuss=gosh darn=frick=shoots
I think a wussy is worse than a coward. They are like a wimpy crybaby coward.
"There is a difference between having two guys banging down low and having two guys who can bang down low." - Blazin'
by tominhawaii on Dec 23, 2008 12:23 PM PST up reply actions
If you are injured
And sit out because of your injury, most studies show that you actually have a vagina where your penis was assumed to be before.
Often in these situations, there is even sand in the vagina, and it makes the hurt player even more of a ‘wuss’.
Martell just needs to rub some dirt on his foot and PLAY BALL.
MORTIMER, INTERNET TOUGH GUY
Nate's Old Tricks With Sergio
Now, don’t get me wrong: Sergio made two bad plays in his stint, and yes it would have been nice if he made one of his two shots. BUT Sergio was one of the only players making plays on the floor. He had 3 assists in just over one minute and spurred a 8 point run to end the 1st quarter. His two turnover’s weren’t pretty: 1) Billups just straight-up stole the ball out on the point when Sergio was making a move to get by him (NOTE: he also did this to Brandon, TWICE), and 2) a very, very ill-advised interior alley-oop pass to Rudy, which got him yanked. I just call bogus on that benching. Sergio makes one, single, solitary bad choice and gets benched. Even though he just lead a mini-run less than two minutes before. Come on Nate, you gotta leave him in, we know this kid can play and create opportunities—give him a chance to make a mistake. At the 5 minute mark a PG is just getting warm and into the flow of the game and it’s entirely possible that he would have not turned it over again in another 5 minutes, and made his next two shots. But he never saw the floor again.
Speaking of his shots, both were exactly what were called for and needed: aggressive drives, one with a pull-up floater from a few feet that rimmed out, and one was an amazing drive that wormed through the defense and was almost finished with a slick reverse lay-up that sat on the rim a few second before dropping out. Those are the shots we want! Agressive, and attacking the rim. So, why take him out? Argh.
Anyone remember the Orlando game? Sergio came out slow in that one too, but by the end of his second stint, he had given the team a lead and had one of his best game’s ever. Nate just shows Sergio zero confidence, and that is not justified. There is no arguing that of players who get 15+ minutes plus a game, Sergio has the shortest leash, by far, and it’s just not right. With his playmaking abilities, he has to be allowed to make a mistake a couple times per game. Nate seems to understand this with Rudy who makes about 5 terrible, bone-headed, reckless passes to every one of that variety that Sergio commits, but Rudy, righty, is allowed to play through it. Sergio won’t develop further unless he is allowed to do so on the floor. Our team played very well with the Spanish tandem getting major minutes and I think it is no coincidence that this last stretch has seen that tandem with half the minutes on the floor together as previously.
"It's like, 'Urrrrrrgh!'" Rodriguez says, his cupped hands turning into fists. "It is a good feeling. Good feeling."
We were up by 4 points before Sergio came in,
and then we were down by 8… It wasn’t his turnovers, his couldn’t defend billups – the main reason Nate went to JB in the 2nd half.
by hotstuffdb22 on Dec 23, 2008 7:16 AM PST up reply actions
wrong facts
Sergio had a -6, not a -12. And you are right he couldn’t defend Billups, neither could Blake or Bayless.
"It's like, 'Urrrrrrgh!'" Rodriguez says, his cupped hands turning into fists. "It is a good feeling. Good feeling."
my bad
Sergio actually had a -4, which is a far far cry from the -12 you so easily credited him with before actually, you know, seeing it if had any connection to reality.
"It's like, 'Urrrrrrgh!'" Rodriguez says, his cupped hands turning into fists. "It is a good feeling. Good feeling."
really?
i thought it was at least -12… my bad… not sure why none of guards couldn’t defend billups
by hotstuffdb22 on Dec 23, 2008 8:19 AM PST up reply actions
That's an easy one
Billups is a well-traveled veteran who’s a former finals MVP. He knows the tricks of the trade. And he’ll get the benefit of the doubt if there’s any borderline situation. and he didn’t even need it this game.
He was hard to defend due to the simplest reason imaginable: He’s just a really good PG.
We’ve had some good luck recently when guarding high-profile guards. Billups just made us pay last night. It wasn’t even his scoring, just his all-around game, which is what he’s known for.
Agreed. Same old Nate.
It’s as though he looks for reasons not to play Sergio.
Brandon Roy just destroyed everything in his path. There's your rational analysis -- Dave
Yup. I see a trend here with Serio....
He needs longer stints. He is too young to be able to come in and heat right up. He needs a decent stint to find his rythym. As he continues to improve, it will become easier and easier to be effective right off of the bench, but for now he clearly needs the coach’s confidence and some decent run to get it going night in and night out. Short leash = less confidence.
I was really discouraged when Nate put Bayless in instead of Sergio. The offense was sputtering, and Sergio is the type of spark that can turn the tides. But Nate went with Bayless, who has not had a good game this season, heck, he hasn’t even had a decent game. The closest thing to it was 7 points, 1 assist, and 2 turnovers during 8 minutes of garbage time. He is shooting 37%(and he is supposed to be a scorer), and is averaging more turnovers than assists. He is not a point guard or anything close to it at this point. Giving him run in the 4th quarter of a winnable game is not a good decision. Especially when Bayless plays in front of a backup point that has proven he can energize the offense and help the team win games. I know it was only 3 minutes, but its a desperation move in a spot where there is no need to be desperate. Stick with the rotation and the guys that have proven something in the nba, please….
RUDY > MJ
SergioFTW
I agree with you mostly, man, but let’s not get super down on Nate about it. He was trying to make something happen (some people say he’s too "rigid") and it didn’t work. I think he’ll realize that Bayless just isn’t nearly at the level that Sergio is at (confidence-wise especially) and won’t try that again.
On my NBA 2k9 season I’ve kept the starters and rotation as close to reality as possible. It’s very difficult not to play Sergio more when he tears up the defense in limited minutes. Yeah, it’s just a video game, but we see it in real life too.
I think Sergio will get his chance. In fact, if it weren’t for Blake’s good play, Sergio would be starting right now and playing 26-30 minutes. We’ll see what happens.
"Brandon Roy, that man is unstoppable, it's like he's playing NBA Live." - Anthony Johnson
It's not a Bayless over Sergio argument
Billups was better than all 3 of the Blazers point guards, Blake was OK, Sergio was ineffective, so Nate tried Bayless, then realized that Blake was the best option.
Why are people getting on Nate for playing Bayless 3 minutes instead of for playing Blake 40?
"There is a difference between having two guys banging down low and having two guys who can bang down low." - Blazin'
by tominhawaii on Dec 23, 2008 12:28 PM PST up reply actions
I'm glad Ike sucks, his game reminds me of Brian Grant
Bring back Channing!
"There is a difference between having two guys banging down low and having two guys who can bang down low." - Blazin'
Oh Yeah
Let me clarify, I’d rather have Ike be great but since he was just a throw in to make a trade work, I didn’t think he was any good, and therefore his sucking makes me right.
"There is a difference between having two guys banging down low and having two guys who can bang down low." - Blazin'
How so?
Is that “reminds me of Grant” in “boy he sucks, I wish we had a healthy Brian Grant back!”
by EngineerScotty on Dec 23, 2008 10:41 AM PST up reply actions
I never liked Brian Grant's low post game
but then, I’m in about a 1% minority of Blazer fans that didn’t like him. So take that for what it’s worth.
"Brandon Roy, that man is unstoppable, it's like he's playing NBA Live." - Anthony Johnson
Grant's offensive game was never all that good
but the dude could board and play some decent D.
On a team with Sabonis, Pippen, Smith, and Damon (and Sheed off the bench)—that’ what you needed.
by EngineerScotty on Dec 23, 2008 11:18 AM PST up reply actions
I never liked Grant on the court, I love him off it though
I always joked with my friends that Grant thought dribbling was a stat and he tried to pad his stats by dribbling after getting a rebound. He would grab a rebound and instead of going right back at the basket, he would get low and do a few dribbles then get blocked.
That’s why Ike reminds me of Grant, they both get the ball then bring it down low instead of attacking the hoop to get a basket or a foul.
"There is a difference between having two guys banging down low and having two guys who can bang down low." - Blazin'
by tominhawaii on Dec 23, 2008 12:32 PM PST up reply actions
+1
Nothing wrong with Grant at all…Good hard nosed player…….Id’ take him over Ike, Frye, or Outlaw for that matter…..(all 3 put together)….You knew what you had night after night…wasn’t the best talent wise, but brought it every night….
It's all about defense......
A nice moment.
That was a sweet sequence of passes leading to one of Oden’s assists.
by ofred on Dec 23, 2008 8:07 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
I really wish J-Rex would stop pressing
It just seems like he is afraid out there. Afraid to make a mistake because he will get yanked. Remember sergio last year. I have seen Bayless play a LOT. He would never pass up open 3’s. He did twice last night. He wouldn’t try and make a shot around a guy at the rim. He did last night, instead of going body to body contact and trying to smash the ball in. I think Nate needs to get him in, say show me something, I wont pull you, and let the kid run the offense. We saw what a HUGE difference it has made with Sergio this year knowing that one turnover wont be a trip back to the bench. I just wish Nate would be that way with Rex so I could see what he can do.
Blazer fans tell me, where were you,
When our Brandon Roy dropped 52?
by GreatOden'sRaven on Dec 23, 2008 9:00 AM PST reply actions
Exactly.
Bayless should be a scorer this year. Tell him to score the ball when he can. The other parts of his game will develop. Right now we need scoring.
I also liked the job he did on Billups. Bodied him up, wouldn’t give him any room.
honor rasheed wallace
Rex's D was sweet though
He was able to guard Billups, far better than anyone else.
by EngineerScotty on Dec 23, 2008 10:42 AM PST up reply actions
"A" game
No one brings their “A” game night after night..the Blazers brought their “D” game but still manged to keep it close (I haven’t figured out how)…must have been Blake’s 3’s and Pyrz’s steadiness and add a dash of LA ,Roy,Rudy & Travis…..
A game to forget, but still some trendy concerns…..
1. Oden’s continued lackluster play and foul trouble
2. poor “D” in general, but extremely bad defense of the paint area (get to that spot in transition, men)
3. Continued lack of offensive flow and few points in the paint(Jump shots……and when are we going to get some motion in our offense?)
Got to get something going on defense….the Laker’s are having trouble right now because they quit playing defense……We could make our game so much easier with a defensive mindset….I realize it’s offense that makes people glow and is what many people measure their team by…but defense will always be the key to success and good defense makes your offense easier because you can get the easy transition hoops….
OK, I’ll shut up about defense (it’s in almost all of my comments)
It's all about defense......
Hey Dave, you'll be happy to know...
… that in the game thread, there was complaining about the refs, but nobody blamed the refs for this loss (you hinted you expected otherwise in your recap). It’s a rare situation where your recap matched the commenters’ reactions. :)
I think everyone and their mother knew after the game that this loss was squarely on the Blazers’ head for lack of energy and poor effort. I hope they got it out of their system.
I think people watching the game, in general, realized it was poor effort.
We were down five most of the game it seemed like, but I never got the feeling we could win. We just weren’t hustling around and getting the loose balls.
I hope we pound ’em tonight.
honor rasheed wallace
by Cablinasian on Dec 23, 2008 10:09 AM PST up reply actions
Yep
I never got the feeling we could win.
My feelings exactly. I just didn’t see a spark of anything, except in Travis’s play late, that made me think we could beat them. In fact, I was surprised we were hanging with them. It didn’t seem real.
"Brandon Roy, that man is unstoppable, it's like he's playing NBA Live." - Anthony Johnson
Game Review
Rebounding – Horrible effort to get loose balls. This team should never be outrebounded by Denver
The Bench – Just not bringing anything and making the starters work harder because they are usually giving up points. Part of this is Nate fiddling around, but most of the time it is just poor play and really crappy defense.
Offensive Movement – Wait. This team doesn’t have any because they don’t coach for it. Nate is such a control freak that too much ball movement make him nervous. Better to have a slow, steady, controlled set of plays so nobody ever makes a boo boo.
Travis Outlaw – Sorry to single out one guy with that effort last night, but the guy is just too lacking in the smarts department to be consistent. He constantly leaves guys open, never makes the easy play, and has virtually no court awareness. He had the worst over/under number from last night so, Travis, you get the goat of the game award.
They're excited to be no.27 in this week's power rankings.
honor rasheed wallace
by Cablinasian on Dec 23, 2008 10:24 AM PST up reply actions
That was us three years ago... remember?
OK, the 05-06 Blazers weren’t quite that awful, but they were pretty bad nonetheless.
I’d say, based on the number of 40-point whippings received, that that squad was the worst NBA team ever to manage at least 20 wins.
by EngineerScotty on Dec 23, 2008 10:30 AM PST up reply actions
That's my point.
Let’s all remember just how incredibly turrible we were a few years ago. Okay, we lost to a playoff team on the road. Big deal. We should take them tonight at the RG.
And yeah… they were horrible. I have no idea how Nate got 20 wins out of that team.
honor rasheed wallace
by Cablinasian on Dec 23, 2008 10:34 AM PST up reply actions
We lost to a playoff team
that could be occupying our spot….better bring it tonight…It’s quite possible we could end up at the # nine spot……these head to head match ups with the playoff teams are very important…a good measure of where we are at…..lackluster play is not a good sign…..
It's all about defense......
A few of questions I'd love to ask Nate
1. Why pull a player like Roy ( who never fouls out ) with 2 fouls, when the team needs his skill set on the floor.
2. Oden at the high post passing two 3 point shooters? Seems to me that he would keep the defence mor honest if he passed from the low post. And he may end up with more than 3 rebounds…
3. Do you ever set up plays just to draw fouls ? Once agian Oden in the post. Have the players watched any Carl Malone highlight reels?
2-4 the who
Nate
continues to puzzle me…..He also took Oden out with 6 min left in the game with 5 fouls…what are you preserving him for?…Leave him in there…. at least he may get a little more flow/rhythm in his game…whats the difference if he fouls out with 4 minutes remaining as opposed to 2 ?
I think we better get used to seeing this guy on the pines, with that solemn look on his face….He has such poor fundamentals of positioning, he can’t possible do anything but foul…The guy never needs to get more than 2’ away from the lower part of the paint…..who could he possibly guard on the perimeter?
A big man coach….(he needs)….get one Blazers, if you want your investment in this guy to pay some dividends….
It's all about defense......
The Refs
No, I’m not gonna issue a generic whine about the refs… but what think ye of the possibility that all the comments and plaudits and praise accorded to Brandon over the weekend—including numerous observations that he’s starting to get “superstar calls”—had some effect of how the game was officiated?
Brandon may himself have violated that First Rule of NBA Superstar Treatment: you do not talk about NBA Superstar Treatment. (Think about it—did MJ ever admit to getting the benefit of the doubt on calls while he was still playing?)
Think someone with a whistle was trying to make a point? :)
(Oden, OTOH, remains a hack machine. When he was on the floor, he was awesome. But that wasn’t much…)
by EngineerScotty on Dec 23, 2008 10:34 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Wow
You may be on to something. Seriously.
"Brandon Roy, that man is unstoppable, it's like he's playing NBA Live." - Anthony Johnson
Yeah, not a good move by Brandon.
He may pay for that for some time to come. He had already started complaining about almost every non-call this year, which isn’t a bad tactic as his status rises, but the ref’s hate it when you question their fairness in interviews/print. There are some refs that form bad opinions about certain players (remember Buck/Drexler vs Jake) and never let it go.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Dec 23, 2008 11:38 AM PST up reply actions
The dude from PickaxenRoll did not just say this
“I did not realize it until tonight, but that Brandon Roy is a nice guy. When he found out that Carmelo Anthony was going to miss the game tonight, apparently he decided to take the night off just like Melo did.”
"shaq and zach randolph have the same trainer... "
best one liner i ever heard.
There was a lack of effort,
but some of that appeared to be the result of not knowing what they should do with Roy in a funk. It shows how lost the rest of the team becomes when it lives and dies with the jump shot and its only effective penetrator has a bad game.
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Dec 23, 2008 11:47 AM PST reply actions
Sorry, but IMO that happens because the rest of the team does not get involved because of coaching decisions
Then, when other player has to do something, he has 0 confidence
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Days of NBA Lives: Wherein Roy Hibbert tap-dances to Maine
- Grizzlies Valentine’s Day cards are the key to love
- Kevin Love would like the NBA to take the MLB’s approach on All-Star games
- Kobe Bryant fires a few hilarious salvos at Jeremy Lin
- Brandon Jennings states the obvious regarding his 2014 free agency, everyone goes nuts
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
