Every single player that saw the court tonight had at least 1 foul called against them. The constant whistles, good, bad and otherwise, completely ruined the flow of the game.

I don’t recall a prior technical foul against Batum in the past.

The flagrant foul against Joel was bizarre.

Way too many offensive fouls on both sides of the court.

All that being said, seeing the 12-point comeback win in the 4th quarter was by far the most fun preseason experience ever!

That was the most ridiculous game I have ever attended. It took 3 HOURS to play a pre-season game.

58 fouls, I swear to God half were bad calls.

For me the telling statistic was that for all the offensive fouls both ways, the stats said the Blazers had drawn 1 charge and the Nugs ZERO.

Oden is a beast, period, and Miller is good too. That’s my view from tonight.

they called foul. Looked good to me.

90 Free Throws. 58 fouls. Two of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in my life (the moving pick on BRoy and the phantom 6th foul on Greg).

All of that and the two head coaches managed not to have comments to draw fines when it was all said and done! They both deserve Nobel Peace Prizes!

But what a 4th quarter by the good guys! GO was a monster! BRoy was actually looking like, well, BRoy! Great leadership from Miller and Howard. I think there is no way that Greg recovers from those first three quarters last year, to see him perform and react like a kid was worth the price of admission all by itself!

My post-game recap from section 312
The Good:
-The 4th quarter squad of Miller, Roy, Webster, Howard, and Oden looked AMAZING. Obviously we’d have Aldridge instead of Howard under normal circumstances. Roy and MIller looked really good together. Miller knew when to let Roy takeover, but also showed the ability to take and charge and make the tough decision when necessary. Miller continued to make Steve Blake look second rate. My wife now thinks Miller is better than Roy, cuz each preseason game we’ve been to, Miller looks great.

-ODEN! Despite the ticky tack positioning fouls early in the game, Oden came through in the 4th, complete with blocks, spin moves, offensive rebounds, etc… He could not have done this a year ago following 3 quarters of foul trouble.

-Bayless: He may only be good at one thing, but he does it well. Should KP move Steve at some point, having Bayless as your number two doesn’t look so bad after a night like tonight.

Juwan Howard: I’d love to hear the argument stating that Travis Outlaw is better than Juwan Howard right now. Because he isn’t showing it in the games. Howard is a pro, seems to take personal responsibility for making Oden look good, and has a wide skill set that is perfect for the backup 4 role.

The Bad:
-Outlaw: Once again, Brick City was in full force. Travis made ONE field goal tonight, and it was a dunk off a sweet set up from Miller. The crowd usually turns on Travis but the end of games, but the time it takes for this to happen is getting much shorter. Nate didn’t even think about putting him in when it mattered in the fourth, going with Batum and Howard.

-The Refs: 3 calls tonight were the kind of thing youtube videos are all about. First, Roy is pivoting with the ball at the top of the arc, looking for someone to pass to when a Denver player runs him over FROM BEHIND. Roy couldn’t even see the guy coming, and they call an offensive foul on Roy. Second, Przybilla gives a completely run of the mill hip check to a cutting defender, and they call him for a flagrant. In. the. second. quarter. Who does that? Third, Oden’s final foul. At the top of the key, looking for an open man, turns with the ball over his head, Martin is playing close D, Oden’s arms slowly go across Martin’s face, Martin shoves Oden, offensive foul called on Greg to foul him out. Absolutely incredible the crap these refs are capable of.

Overall, a great game. the feel of the preseason is over for sure. The crowd was probably 95% to capacity, and loud as hell. I’m pumped for the games when we’re playing our best players their normal minutes. Teams should be scared of us.

In the fourth quarter Oden was all that everyone not found on a Blazer site said he would never be. He was dominant against Nene, KMart and Birdman; not exactly the leagues worst collection of front men. Portland loses without Oden’s play in the fourth.

The refs in the game I saw against Sacramento were bad, but tonight they were laughably bad. More than once I laughed at the comedy of these calls. In the first quarter Joel gets hacked across the arm going up for a layup; no call. Denver then rebounds and pushes the ball upcourt to (if my memory serves) Billups who goes in untouched save for some wind from Blake’s flailing arms; called for the and 1. Oden travels, gets the layup; Outlaw jump-stops, gets the travel call. Martell seriously got the Mark Bryant treatment today. Not to mention the mystery flagrant, magic techincal, and the offensive foul of a Denver players hand with Roy’s back.

Outlaw’s handles have improved, but where is he going to be able to use them if his jumper wont fall?

Bayless needs to see the floor. I like him on the floor with both of the other point guards. I don’t know how that is going to happen unless Rudy stays injured.

It was really nice in the fourth quarter having Miller and Roy to get the ball to. A nice change from only having one ball handling closer.

I was under the impression this summer that Juwan Howard couldn’t play any more. Why was I not informed of this fallacy?

All in all a nice game and great 4th quarter. The NBA has made a great case to get people to quit whining about the real officials. Well done, NBA, well done.

But doing this will against one of the best trio of tough defensive bigs in the league is very, very good news for Oden.

Only better news is dominating an allstar or legend, like if he did this to Shaq or Dwight or sumthin’.

K-Mart is tough and physical, Nene a very good defender, and Birdman as well. Very damn good news.

Morty

“eerr, travis outlaw is not a powerfoward”

yus! you made my day! REEeecccCCCCedzzz