Game 1 Preview: Rockets vs. Blazers
by Dave on Oct 26, 2009 11:45 PM PDT
in News
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PrintGame Time: 7:00 p.m. Pacific TV: KGWHD
It's a game. A real...live...game! The start of the season is upon us!!! Pull out your remotes, brush off those season tickets, order that extra-large hot wings appetizer, or whatever it is that you do when the Blazers hit the floor. It's go time.
A Look at the Rockets
You probably remember the Rockets from the last time we played them which was, well, the last game we played. Who can forget Portland's first return to the playoffs since the Wallace years? Who did not tremble at the coming of Yao Ming, the behemoth who owned the...what? Yao is out with another foot injury? How many feet does this guy have? Is he an octopus or something? OK, then I'm sure we all remember the way Ron Artest pushed the Blazers around and scored at wil...huh? With the L*kers? Fine, fine. But you still can't take the Rockets lightly with Tracy McGrady around. He may be getting older but he's still tall, fairly agile, and can hit shots that mere mortals wouldn't dare to appro...o...ohhhh what NOW? Why are you tittering behind your hands? Let me guess. Tracy McGrady went to get a chili dog at an all night stand and as he was paying he dropped the a quarter which rolled towards a sewer grate and when he bent over to pick it up he was rudely assaulted by a vicious yo-yo gang who left dents and bruises on tender parts of his anatomy and he won't be in service for another six months.
Will somebody please tell me who IS actually available for the Rockets?
I see. Aaron Brooks. He's speedy. Trevor Ariza. The most overrated acquisition of the off-season. Shane Battier. An older, but better, Ariza. Scola, Hayes, and Landry. Isn't that the firm that represented Ben in his latest round of contract negotiations? And that's it? Oh...excuse me. How could I forget Kyle Lowry, Chase Budinger, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu?
Look, there are some good players there. They're great complementary players even. But this is just...ouch. Somebody's going to score in that lineup, but he's not going to be anyone's first choice. Brooks' speed and the rebounding and jump-shooting of the three forwards tied the Blazers in knots last spring but all of them keyed off the threat of Yao and Artest. Without those two breaking ground the Blazers should be able to handle the threat the rest of this lineup poses, both individually and combined. They'll still rebound. They'll still defend well. They'll still manufacture some points. But every single shot is going to be harder without those stars. Every single miss will be more crucial. And every single Blazer is going to be harder to handle.
There's not much you can say about this 0-0 version of the Rockets except that they're going to try really hard but the game will be a struggle for them every single night. It's like going to a potluck at the nursing home. Maybe, just maybe, you'll find some hidden gems on that table. But most of it you're just going to want to avoid.
Keys to the Game
1. Greg Oden...SMASH!!!
2. Greg Oden...SMASH MORE!!!
3. Just contest every shot. Mid-range jumpers are no threat if you have a hand in the shooter's face. Since you don't have to commit to stopping Yao in the post your hand should be in their face approximately 100% of the time. Similarly Aaron Brooks is going to get past our guards but he should meet some nifty and only slightly-stressed help defense on the way to the bucket. If you do any kind of reasonable job on defense there's no way they should be able to manufacture enough points to win.
4. Don't let the defense of Battier and Ariza frustrate you. Just work around them. Score from other positions first and then when they run to help set your shooting guards and small forwards loose. The one danger in this game is that you simply try to butt heads with the Rockets, grinding out a one-on-one offense that's not likely to score any more points than theirs does. Move the ball, make them chase it and deal with mismatches elsewhere, then once they're scrambling take them out.
5. They're not deep, so pound, run, scratch, and move them around. They'll get rebounds but make sure they're hard-fought. Push the ball up and make them run with you even if you don't have a fast break. Substitute enough to keep you fresh while they tire. Watch the fun commence as the second half progresses.
6. Greg Oden ANGRY NOW! SMASH EVERYONE GOOOOOD!!!!!!!
Final Thoughts
Since we're going with the semi-serious preview for Game 1 anyway we might as well open up the joviality in the comments. In addition to speculating about tonight's game share with us your favorite pre-game, in-game, or beginning-of-season superstitions and rituals. What do you do to bring the Blazers good mojo? What kind of welcome do you have planned for the season? Where, how, and with what bells and whistles will you be viewing the game tonight?
Be extra sure to check out the always-excellent TheDreamShake. Seriously, these guys put up one of my favorite sites ever. It has literally everything: analysis, emotion, goofiness, and sometimes flat-out jaw-dropping cantankerousness. Plus they're going to be angry about that nursing home potluck reference. "Who lost their partial in the mashed potatoes? Mr. Kamenski, that is NOT a serving spoon! Yes Mrs. Peters, I'll try your special recipe bean casserole. But you didn't have any beans or seasoning? You improvised? Oh...and that's not cream of mushroom soup either? Oy veh."
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
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let the games begin
Summer is over and the season has arrived.
Prediction
Thorough and complete stomping of the Rockets. 20 pt blowup with Jerryd Bayless and Juwan Howard playing garbage minutes in the 4th.
Utter domination.
"No disrespect to Jeff Blake"
by Eat Politicians on Oct 27, 2009 12:02 AM PDT reply actions
ack!
you might be right. I have a feeling that a couple of blazers cough*B-Roy*cough might be a little keen on stomping the Rockets in the ground due to last seasons playoffs. Call me wacky, but I think we will see a very motivated team…
"No disrespect to Jeff Blake"
by Eat Politicians on Oct 27, 2009 12:06 AM PDT up reply actions
yeah
probably right.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
Sounds like a first game of the season to me. Nothing to add, really.
by DribbleHooper on Oct 27, 2009 4:20 PM PDT up reply actions
A flight instructor once told me the definition of a good landing.
It’s one that you can walk away from. A great landing is one that leaves the plane in a reusable condition.
Furthermore, recalling lessons learned in “Karate Kid, Part III”:
A man can’t stand, he can’t fight.
A man can’t breathe, he can’t fight.
A man can’t see, he can’t fight.
In light of all of this, I will be happy if no more serious injuries afflict the Blazers and ecstatic if they win.
1st post ever
Figured the first game was a good time to post my first….um…post.
I agree with Dave, ugly weird first half, then we figure it out and pull off a solid win.
Go Blazers!
by NNN on Oct 27, 2009 12:07 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Welcome aboard
It’s not much of a welcome to say it, but I hope you’re wrong. :)
I would like to see a blowout from the start. Not much to ask, really, IMO.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
Welcome
I oticed you are kid of bogartig a certai letter
"you rock, sir" -prezofdeath
"You can add me to the list of those who think you rock" -Mortimer
"you rock
see above" -Zaron5551
"you still rock, sir." -Zaron5551
"dear sir: you rock" -austinpwnz
by Sarbonis on Oct 27, 2009 12:23 AM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
This should've been a fanpost
One thing to keep in mind is that some people around here are big jokers, or at least they think they are. So, have fun and try not to take things too seriously.
Thanks all for the warm welcome!
I’ve read this site everyday for the last 2 years so I know the quality of peeps is top notch! Wouldn’t expect anything less!
by NNN on Oct 27, 2009 4:18 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Nice writeup, Dave
I especially like your #5. That should be the rule for the entire season, because what you said applies to almost every team in the league.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
Dave, you were wrong about Ariza when you were talking about how much you wanted the Blazers to offer him
and you are wrong about him now. He’s not overrated— if anything he’s underrated.
You also fail to mention that despite his small stature, Chuck Hayes is a fantastic defender that is likely to make things tough on Oden. Oden should still get the ball, but it won’t be easy. Also, we know that Luis Scola has gotten into Aldridge’s head before.
You didn’t mention how Houston is looking to run much more this season, as they demonstrated in the preseason. This Houston team defends to well and this is too good an organization to miss the playoffs. This is a 44-46 win team and you made them sound like a bottom feeder.
I have to say, I do not think this is one of your better efforts. Your previews are usually dead on, but this one is not. It Misses the mark on a few key points and leaves out some important things.
Scola!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NNNnnnoooooooo!!!!
uh-hum. Yeah, I think the Scola issue had to do with double teams on Yao not his ability to get into LMA’s head. Although I do agree that Chuck is an excellent defender.
Ariza? Hmm…I can’t figure that guy out, he kind of reminds me of outlaw as far as consistency. One night he is amazing and the next night it’s like he covered his fingers in butter before he got on the court…I had him on my NBA stock exchange team but I had to sell him because I bought him low and his price went too high. It kind says everything right there.
"No disrespect to Jeff Blake"
by Eat Politicians on Oct 27, 2009 12:21 AM PDT up reply actions
I read this morning that Scola is out (ankle).
That made me feel relieved. I could see this as a trap game, where the Blazers think they can mail it in, only to find Brooks running them off the court, getting G.O. in foul trouble while dishing to Scola who seems to always be in the right place at the right time.
With Scola out that whole scenario falls apart. If they keep Brooks even a little under control they’ll win by double digits.
scola is going to be a disapointment this year for houston fans
the ONLY reason he played as well as he did was because power forwards had to help with yao
"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting"
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there"
Charles Bukowski
I don't think so, unless Houston fans are expecting him to put up 21 and 12
Scola has game. He averaged 15 point and 10 rebounds a game when Yao was out last season.
BTW...
Where did you see that? The stories I saw listed Scola as questionable or probable. For example, http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6685893.html
with that said, I think this is a win for Portland, but an ugly, tight game
and if the Blazers take Houston lightly, they will get drilled.
I absolutely agree
I think the Blazers win a relatively low scoring affair. Based upon Nate’s comments, he still isn’t going to commit to pounding the ball inside to Oden, or to getting out on the floor and running.
I also suspect this will be a real sloppy game. It seemed at times during the preseason the Blazers were kind of going through the motions, and it took Nate up until the last game to decide on a starting rotation. I think he should have defined a role for Webster & Miller sooner, so they and the rest of the team could get used to the line-ups.
what r u?
a Blazers fan or rockets fan? ur supposed 2 diss the opponent. lakers r the worst team in the league. see, its not that hard.
I prefer factual analysis myself.
The Lakers are not the worst team in the league. They just suck.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
by ratbastird on Oct 27, 2009 7:20 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I think it's possible
to overthink these things. One can analyze the intricate features of any system but sometimes when you step back you still have to say, “This is just not going to work.” With Houston this year I think this is just not going to work. Even with the running. Even with Hayes and Scola. And I’m pretty confident that on the whole the latter two aren’t going to look nearly as impressive without the A-List guys. It’s sort of like Jerome Kersey and Buck Williams without Clyde and Terry. Still good players. You can throw a Chris Dudley in there too and they look more impressive. But at the end of the day it’s just not the same team.
—Dave
That said
the Blazers do tend to lose when I do semi-comical previews. But if they want to become a deep playoff team they’re going to have to overcome that tendency. No time like the present to start.
—Dave
by Dave on Oct 27, 2009 1:09 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I think the Rockets under Darryl Morey have shown enough ability to find underrated defensive gems
and Rick Adelman is a good enough offensive coach, that this team deserved a more extensive preview that “get the ball to Greg and we’ll dominate.”
That's pretty much it
If they can keep the ball away from Greg in the low post, they have a chance. If not, everything is likely to break down.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
I'd get the ball to Aldridge
I’m skeptical of Oden being an offensive force in the first game of the season. Even with the improvements we have seen, I expect him to be a bit nervous in the first game of the season… Allow Aldridge to go to work against a gimpy Luis Scola, force some double teams, and allow Greg to get the ball himself off of offensive rebounds. That would be my game plan.
by PoliSam on Oct 27, 2009 6:29 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
agreed - after the first game of the playoff series
Aldridge seemed confident against Scola on offense (and effective!). Defense was another matter, but a lot of his problems were helping on Yao and leaving Scola open. I hope we win this matchup tonight. Hayes clogging the middle against LaMarcus doesn’t have the same resonance as the Great Wall
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
by Honka Playboy on Oct 27, 2009 6:33 AM PDT up reply actions
Yeah... and the Lakers
Were much more effective in taking advantage of the Yao-less Rockets in going through Gasol, rather than dumping it into Bynum.
Flag for pretending "to be fair" on the Internet
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
by jscot on Oct 27, 2009 2:23 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Rec'd for arrogance of thinking you know whether I flagged or not
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
It's hard to preview the first game
and it’s hard to preview a team missing it’s two best players. What can anyone really say about the Rockets in this circumstance?
a lot
- They will be one of, if not the, most fascinating team to watch this year— how will a group of efficient, but low usage players mesh on the offensive end?
- Has GM Daryl Morey’s computer unearthed a breakout star in Ariza or yet another hidden gem in David Andersen or Chase Budinger?
- Can they be an elite defensive team without Yao?
- Was their inspired play against LA after losing Yao a fluke or a preview of things to come?
There are so many interesting things about this Rockets team. They will be a team to watch closely for those that are really interested in the game of basketball.
that's a rocket team preview
not really a game preview
by Magnum on Oct 27, 2009 1:32 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
ad homer ad homer ad homer!!!
respect jksnake99 :) giggle
LEAVE DAVE ALONE!!! he’s been in the same boat as us and well, he’s gonna play his way into shape.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
not necessarily
- fascination is relative to your interest. Dave’s seen this sort of thing play out.
- Maybe, but then we also have their previous reputation of not being totally awesome to go on. Not everyone has as much confidence in Morey as you. He’s not playing and including him would make it a narrative about the rockets, not a game preview
- Again, this is a narrative about the rockets
- Don’t forget to mention most of inspiration came from a nut case that’s gone now.
You may find the Rockets fascinating, but Dave’s read isn’t totally off here. Most of what you’re talking about are issues that will play out over a season and not in one game with the Blazers. Like Magnum said, you’re thinking of a team preview, not a game preview. As far as I know, that’s not what Dave was going for here.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
he had a section called "A Look at the Rockets"
In my book, that “Look at the Rockets” missed the mark rather badly.
What does "it's not going to work" mean?
"This is just not going to work." With Houston this year I think this is just not going to work. Even with the running. Even with Hayes and Scola. And I’m pretty confident that on the whole the latter two aren’t going to look nearly as impressive without the A-List guys. It’s sort of like Jerome Kersey and Buck Williams without Clyde and Terry. Still good players. You can throw a Chris Dudley in there too and they look more impressive. But at the end of the day it’s just not the same team.
If working means making a deep run in the playoffs, then, yeah, it’s not going to work.
If working means winning 40 or so game and making opposing team’s fans frustrated, then Houston may work well as a basketball team. Scola and Brooks can create their own shots. Ariza and Battier will continue to complementary offensive options, but solid ones. Lowry is a player that will cause a lot of teams trouble.
Very valid points
except that Scola is still lingering from some injury issues right?
I say Brooks is the x-factor…he has the green light to pretty much light us up if he gets rolling
Brooks may be the x-factor, but I'm the X-man!
X-man > X-factor
Blazers win!
by The X-man on Oct 27, 2009 2:13 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
The Rockets are going to tank thew season
and end up with the 1st pick in the draft, kinda like the Spurs did that year the Admiral was out.
"BEER IS LIVING PROOF THAT GOD LOVES US"
- Benjamin Franklin-
I don't know about Ariza
he’s going to have a much larger role in Houston and he’s no longer playing along side Kobe and Pau. I wonder how much of Ariza’s production came from being neglected by the other team because they are focused on Kobe and Pau.
Look at his numbers in Orlando-- they are excellent
The idea that he was a product of the triangle amazes me. He was playing great ball before he ever got to LA.
I didn't say he was a product of the triangle
I said Ariza benefited from the attention commanded by Kobe and Pau. And I’m going to hold off judgement on Ariza being a primary guy until I see it.
You both made good points.
Trevor Ariza is a supremely talented player; yet, I’ll be interested to see how his efficiency is affected by higher usage — which he hasn’t had to worry about since high school — with my guess being that he’ll have a few rough patches at first, but will ultimately get the hang of it.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
Ariza is both underrated and overrated in my book
His three point shooting in the playoffs was way higher than his career stats. He made 40 of 84, which was a huge contribution to the Lakers success. But his career percentage is .299. That’s not good. It was .319 last season. I expect him to fall back to earth in that regard. Which is also a part of why Artest won’t be worse than him in the triangle for the Lakers: He just is the better mid- to long-range shooter, not to speak about being more physical. I also expect his turnovers to increase with a bigger role, from close to 11% back to the 16+ he had in Orlando.
What is still a bit underrated is his defense. He is very smart playing the passing lanes, and I dread any critical situation where Blake inbounds the ball (in pre-season it didn’t look like he had finally become good at this) and Ariza steals it. And he is a very capable 1 on 1 defender.
But slowly things happen that they cannot help and the Blazers Fellowship of the Ring begins to break apart
With the Lakers, I noticed that Ariza was money when left wide open
Which position he often found himself in thanks to Kobe et al. But when defenders were able to close on Ariza, his shot got really ugly. I mean, he’d practically break the backboard. And if he tried to put the ball on the floor & create his own shot, that was even uglier.
So, yes: Ariza is ultra-athletic—a long, active defender with an accurate wide-open 3-point shot and the ability to run the floor. But unless he’s really grown over the off-season, Ariza is a limited player. Away from the Lakers, I expect him to disappoint.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
I suspect he will display the ability to penetrate and finish this year
something he never had the chance to show in LA. To me, his numbers in Orlando show that he’s an excellent player that was good before he got all kinds of open looks. Norsk is right that he’s probably not the 3 point shooter he appeared to be in the playoffs, but he’s still a very good 2 way player.
I agree w/ some of this, but not all
I agree that a mention of their new fastbreaking ways in preseason could have been mentioned, but let’s not give this incarnation of the Rockets THAT much credit.
If most other teams virtually lost their best three (Yao, Artest, Tmac) and another key player was gimpy (Scola), a team with our aspirations better feel pretty good about our chances. Would we give Orlando that kind of credit if they lost Howard for the season, Jameer was out again ala Tmac, Lewis was gimpy, and instead of adding Vince for the Hedo loss, they added Ariza?
Sure you might want to keep an eye on the Rockets as the season goes on, but when you’re dealing with this many low usage players as the new starters, my feeling is they’re gonna have to prove they’re a 45-win team before I’ll make that kind of assumption.
I beg to differ.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/fc/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=scolalu01&p2=aldrila01
Seems to me that Aldridge has faired decently against Scola just about every time they’ve gone head to head. Not to mention Alridge averaged 19.5 and 7.5 on 49% shooting in the playoffs.
"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."
Aldridge has gotten points agaisnt him, but quite inefficiently
For a guy like Aldridge who rarely gets to the FT line or shoots 3s, you really need a much better FG% than 45%(his career % against Scola) in order to be considered efficient.
I think the 45% has more to do with Chuck Hayes.
Hayes was the one who always gave Aldridge problems IIRC. Scola was just a decent defender IMO.
Hayes is certainly a better defender than Scola
Aldridge has had moments where he’s been able to score very effectively against Scola, but they have been inconsistent. I don’t recall any such moments of effectiveness against Hayes.
second quarter of Game 2, LMA dominated Hayes. He guarded him for his whole scoring spree.
I really hope the games start streaming on Blazers.com soon.
If I had to term the present situation, it would have to be a series of unfortunate events.
Yeah, Chuck Hayes loses his effectiveness when being drawn away from the hoop.
For Houston, Luis Scola should get the call on LaMarcus Aldridge. Scola is deceptively athletic and definitely disruptive on defense, which’ll cause Aldridge fits along the high-post.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
the problem is that LMA’s turnaround, while somewhat inefficient, isn’t affected by the quite stubby Hayes. Ellie Mae hit about five turnarounds on him in a row.
He started to pick it up against them in Game 5 with the post moves. His personality strikes me as someone that has to do something a bunch of times to gain confidence in doing it. It’s why he defaults to two moves in the post when he’s shown quite a few more.
I really hope the games start streaming on Blazers.com soon.
If I had to term the present situation, it would have to be a series of unfortunate events.
Game time is 10am Wednesday in Hong Kong
Got the day off work (hooray!).
I will be in head-to-toe Blazer gear with my laptop tuned to whatever audio or video feed I can get.
Can’t say what I will eat or drink, but I know the dog better not expect much attention until the game is over.
Any Hong Kong-based BEdgers wanna get together and watch a game this season?
"Quid, Me Anxius Sum?"
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/Year5000
I'd forgotten how much I missed these game day previews...
It’s been a long off-season – Go Blazers!
I'm gonna be at the Rose Garden
at my first season opener EVER. Me and Hossticles gonna do it up right, even if we’re several rows apart. Rip Friggin City.
"you rock, sir" -prezofdeath
"You can add me to the list of those who think you rock" -Mortimer
"you rock
see above" -Zaron5551
"you still rock, sir." -Zaron5551
"dear sir: you rock" -austinpwnz
I'll be there too.... where ya sitting?
This will be my third opener, and each of the previous two have been exciting. 2002-03 vs. The L*kers, and last season vs. The Spurs. You’re in for a treat.
And, for the record, I’ll be in 315 row L
Blazers win!
by The X-man on Oct 27, 2009 1:58 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
me too
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 9:14 AM PDT up reply actions
"WHERE IS YAO!"
Those of you going to the game… Start the chant… It’s payback time!
great idea
Let’s have fun at the expense of another team’s injured Center. We love it when other teams do that to Portland.
Plus it doesn't work
“Where is YA-AO” is the closest you could get. If you wanted to be classless about an injured center, chant, "Where’s Mo-Tum-Bo
Tony Bennett reports that Minnesota and Portland are swapping draft picks -- Roy to Portland, Foye to Minnesota. That's it? That's the trade? None of the ESPN guys seem remotely fazed. I knew Kevin McHale couldn't just pick the best guy in the draft without somehow screwing it up. I would have bet my Ndudi Ebi rookie cards on it.
by Salem Stephen on Oct 27, 2009 12:38 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
rec
"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting"
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there"
Charles Bukowski
for the mutombo comment that is....
"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting"
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there"
Charles Bukowski
how does it not work?
just say yao how its supposed 2 be…one syllable. chants dont have 2 be a certain amount of syllables to work.
ur a downer bro.
who cares if they do it about Oden. hes gonna get revenge by dominating the rest of the league. dont b so negative and proper.
Then the state of CA is about to implode
for all the bad things they’ve done recently. Now, if CA exists by game time, I’m not going to believe in MOJO.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
Wait a minute!
Haven’t you heard? California is two states, not one. Having been born & raised in the Bay Area, I speak about this with authority.
When God punishes LA for the Lakers and other offenses, he will spare everything from San Jose northward.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
by hurryup09 on Oct 27, 2009 12:38 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Does Barry Bonds still live in the Bay Area?
Just wondering how this “spare everything” is going to work out….
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
It's classless
"We believe" -Rudy Fernandez
by twiggs on Oct 27, 2009 7:32 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Watching it on the brand new HDTV
How do I bring the Blazers good luck? Spirit fingers at the free throw line (turn the spirit fingers into two thumbs up right when they release the ball.) It is incredibly embarrassing, but it’s my one superstition when at the game.
Tony Bennett reports that Minnesota and Portland are swapping draft picks -- Roy to Portland, Foye to Minnesota. That's it? That's the trade? None of the ESPN guys seem remotely fazed. I knew Kevin McHale couldn't just pick the best guy in the draft without somehow screwing it up. I would have bet my Ndudi Ebi rookie cards on it.
I am not sure this appropriate for a "family site"
but i smoke a “J” before every game….. its good luck, I swear!
"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting"
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there"
Charles Bukowski
It's appropriate
as long as your whole family smokes one.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
Offensive fouls - ugly subject but they will draw them all night
The refs are back and will want to be noticed early. Also there is a tendency to pick on Goliath when the Davids have no swords. I do hope this is not a prophesy and the team is aware that no one can guard them except by drawing offensive fouls.
(just feeling down about Nic and dreading the next shoe to fall – sigh)
"Either way we have two phenomenal units. I'm excited to play with either one." - Martell Webster
Agreed
They’re going to throw the kitchen sink at Oden in the opening quarter to get him in foul trouble, and then run and gun the rest of the game to capitalize on the Blazer’s problem on transition defense.
My team went to the playoffs in my first year.
Yeah, I can see Chuck Hayes licking his chops in his desire to draw a charge or two on Greg Oden.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
I guess I was thinking more about Brooks driving the lane, but i replied here because the subject of fouls came up.
My team went to the playoffs in my first year.
Yeah, Greg Oden could pick up a foul or two on defense if Aaron Brooks blows by his man.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
I bet Bayles gets playing time in this game
"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting"
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there"
Charles Bukowski
that reminds me of the Pete Pranica days!
“Game on! Blazers and are next!”
I wish MB would do that.
Blazers win!
by The X-man on Oct 27, 2009 2:15 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Pranica was annoying
He would always say “he was looking for a foul there but none forthcoming” and instead of “(player x) will shoot 2,” it was always “he’ll shoot one plus the penalty.” Every time.
You do know where "one plus the penalty" comes from?
It used to be one free throw for a non-shooting foul until you got into the penalty, then “one plus the penalty” after that. Some people kept saying “one plus the penalty” out of habit after the rule changed.
It also used to be that when you got fouled while shooting, you would get “three to make two”. If you made the first two free throws, you didn’t shoot the third, but if you missed on either or both of the first two, you’d get another. That way, the penalty had an impact even on shooting fouls.
This post brought to you by the “I am old and actually remember this stuff foundation”.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
For those who haven't seen it, KP2 wrote a very interesting piece on the expierement of sorts...
… that will happen in Memphis and Houston this year— what happens when you put a whole team of high usage players together and what happens when you put a team of low usage players together? We’ll find out.
Really interesting stuff, and it all started with the Battier for Gay draft day trade a few years ago.
by jksnake99 on Oct 27, 2009 1:17 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
But Dave, what if they come at us with Von Wafer?
He ran circles around the Blazers in the playoffs, as I’m sure you . . . wait, what do you mean they aren’t even going to come at us with Von Wafer?
Ah, Houston doesn't need Von Wafer.
Why’s that? Well, sir, let me show you.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
He died of a heroin overdose
He won’t be a factor tonight.
M—
by Mortimer on Oct 27, 2009 1:39 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Ah, but black gives way to blue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwogsJl4RwQ
Chase Budinger will be at the Rose Garden tonight, so no worries—except he’ll look like the love child of Jimi Hendrix and Lenny Kravitz.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
I like Chase Budinger for superficial reasons, yes.
I, however, also realize that Budinger wouldn’t be a good fit on the Portland Trail Blazers — particularly with Rudy Fernandez already in town doing his thing — yet, even as a rookie, "No Excuses" himself will serve a vital purpose for the Houston Rockets as a scorer off the bench. You can take that straight to the bank or, perhaps, place a few bets on it. Whichever floats your boat, y’know.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
I predict he'll be the white Adam Morrison
by Mortimer on Oct 27, 2009 2:04 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Chase Budinger is athletic and has handles, so he's got Adam Morrison's ...
number in those aspects. Due to Budinger’s advantages there, he’ll be able to create his own shot easier and do so much more efficiently in the process. His good handles will allow him to defer way more effectively to his teammates, too.
Now, defense will be an issue with Budinger — which is due to both his small wingspan and laziness on that end — yet, with him likely to be paired with either Shane Battier or Trevor Ariza at most times when he’s out there, that deficiency will be masked somewhat.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
I was mostly playing of course
His length and quickness will separate him from Morrison, I bet.
I like how Budinger moves, which is always important to my early analysis of a dude, but he never uses his body on defense, seems very easily pushed around and manhandled and soft, has some of the shortest arms around, BUT most of those things don’t really matter as he’ll be used as a shooter running off of screens and shooting, which he can do all day.
I think he’ll put up points and have the sporadic big game.
M—
To me, Chase Budinger is akin to a more skilled Matt Carroll. The ...
coming off of screens to hit open jumpers is a similar quality between the two guys, although Budinger has better handles — such as that of, oh, Mike Dunleavy, Jr. — and can take it to the basket when necessary.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
He is white
I think
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions
He is a white Martell at best
But slowly things happen that they cannot help and the Blazers Fellowship of the Ring begins to break apart
Despite being ginger, Budinger is more African American than Carroll and Morrison to me :)
He might be the Joe Alexander of jump shooters, but I don’t want to box him into a stereotype by just comparing him to people with a winner’s mentality, wink, wink.
But slowly things happen that they cannot help and the Blazers Fellowship of the Ring begins to break apart
Joe Alexander is such an odd case, because all he brings to ...
the table is athleticism. That’s it. In my honest opinion, Alexander at West Virginia was a non-headcase version of Doug Wrenn.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskies/2009332764_wrenn13.html
Other than that less than uplifting update, an interesting tidbit about Wrenn is that he posted a sizzling 41" vertical at the NBA Draft Combine in 2003.
On a final note, here’s Wrenn’s stats during his two years at the University of Washington.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/teams/stats?teamId=264&year=2003
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/teams/stats?teamId=264&year=2002
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
Martell Webster's problems on defense are due to him being slow, ...
while Chase Budinger’s issues on defense are due to him being weak and not lengthy. On offense, Budinger is much more apt at coming off screens — and that’s good since Houston has a coach who’s fond of the flex motion and has ties to the Princeton offense, which is the total opposite of Portland — while Webster is more of a stationary shooter.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
Oh, and with regards to Martell Webster and Caucasian players, I'd ...
say the closest comparison for him would be a prime Wally Szczerbiak.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
What are these
books you speak of?
Dude, what are you doing, man? Why you gotta be holding a corn dog when I go for a high-five??
That's kind of true, although I liked Chase Budinger throughout his college career at Arizona.
Yet, I’m realistic with my expectations, for Budinger could flame out of the NBA like Luke Jackson. Still, I expect Budinger will carve out a decade long NBA career as a niche role player who brings instant offense off of the bench.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
Yeah I could see that
Chase has a better midrange game then Jackson & is much more explosive going to the hoop.
"BEER IS LIVING PROOF THAT GOD LOVES US"
- Benjamin Franklin-
Here's hoping
Oden will get his 20/10 and let the all star talk begin!
by willmc on Oct 27, 2009 1:19 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
20/14 please
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
I think he means 10 years for 20 million as his next contract
But slowly things happen that they cannot help and the Blazers Fellowship of the Ring begins to break apart
Ah, those were the days when Danny Ferry and Eric Montross inked 10-year contracts.
All kidding aside, the next NBA labor negotiations should see maximum contract lengths drop from 6 years to 5 years for free agents with Bird rights and from 5 years to 4 years for other free agents.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
So?
I mean 20 offensive boards, 14 blocks (if you block the shot, it renders defensive rebounds unnecessary).
I wish you’d get a grip, Mort. You think you know so much, and I’m 14 steps ahead of you.
On my bad days.
Which are bad days because, if you get ahead of Morty, you’re going to run into trouble.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
+92
steps
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 9:32 AM PDT up reply actions
You're 92 steps ahead of Morty?
COME BACK! QUICK! BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
Well then...
Just moved to Portland (from New York home of that Dev. League team that wears the orange and blue the NBA team used to wear…), jumping on the bandwagon of my new adopted city, thankful for the opportunity to watch a great team, etc., etc., etc..
by LikeATimeBomb on Oct 27, 2009 1:30 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
You mean...
you moved before the Lebron show came to town?
"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting"
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there"
Charles Bukowski
Well, New York gets Lebron, Portland gets me. Fair trade I’d say, right? right…?
by LikeATimeBomb on Oct 27, 2009 1:47 AM PDT up reply actions
for sure!
"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting"
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there"
Charles Bukowski
Best Bukowski quote to go by for living your life?
“Sometimes you just have to pee in the sink.”
by LikeATimeBomb on Oct 27, 2009 1:55 AM PDT up reply actions
I do like that one..
he has so many good quotes
"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting"
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there"
Charles Bukowski
Absolutely a fair trade
The other way, the minutes crunch would be back. I know you, though. You’d gladly sit on the bench in coat and tie, taking one for the team that way, for a few hundred thousand a year.
Lebron would never do that. Jerk.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
almost as selfish as roy
"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting"
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there"
Charles Bukowski
You & "knickfan" will hit it off
He lives in NY, I believe, but has adopted the Blazers as his second team. Astute poster.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
actually, I don't think he lives in NY anymore
He’s from NY, lived in Portland for a bit and now lives somewhere else entirely if I recall correctly.
I think he moved to LA
Rarely seen around here anymore.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
proof reading service:
“But you still can’t take the Rockets likely…” I think you meant “lightly.”
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
he likely meant likely like it is not
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 9:33 AM PDT up reply actions
I agree with Jake that the Rockets won't be anyone's doorstop
If you do not take them seriously, their mix of hustle and defense will kill you, I bet.
BUT, I’d really need to see them running effectively in regular season games before I worry about their running attack. Brooks is not a real PG, Scola is the best offensive player, and Ariza is very athletic but not a point forward who can lead the attack on his own. They should clearly suffer from having no one who can be a true playmaker.
HOWEVER, their defense should be stifling most nights, and their guys should play all out.
THAT SAID, as long as we take them seriously and come out hardcore and straight street, we should vanquish the Rockettes back to the land of dry brown air.
Mortimer
The Greg Oden of your game preview reminds me of Mongo in Blazing Saddles
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
Gad, he must have felt exactly like that last season
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
Candygram for Mr. Oden
Oden like candy
Blazers win!
by The X-man on Oct 27, 2009 2:18 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I don't want any Rockettes fans complaining about injuries
No McGrady and Yao = no Batum.
In fact I think we’re hurt more by it.
So it’s all even, really.
Mortimer
by Mortimer on Oct 27, 2009 1:49 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Batum isn't playing?
Then who’s starting, Martell? He hasn’t exactly shot the lights out yet. Well, we’ll see what happens. If Rudy was back to the Rudy of last season we could count on him, but…. this business of the young Europeans playing all year round without it taking a toll on their bodies does not look too good.
ignacio
Martell should get the start
Sorry Batum fans, looks like Martell beat him out for the starting spot!
All you doubters now gotta eat a heaping bowl of CROW.
Morty
Crow is served on a plate
cold ……with cocktail sauce
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 9:35 AM PDT up reply actions
Re/ game-watching superstitions...
I truly believe I can cause the opponent to miss free throws. No matter that I usually watch games delayed on my DVR. My psychic emanations go back in time to afflict the shooters.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
I dunno--I hope they keep sitting him for a game or two
One out-of-action Euro is bad enough.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
Well my hopes is based around him being healthy enough to play
I would much rather he rests and gets healthy-er this early in the season, to avoid this lasting all season… if possible.
—m
I predict he will play
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 9:36 AM PDT up reply actions
Boy have I missed game previews that actually MEAN something!
My game rituals: When attending a game, like tonight, I don a red t-shirt, and throw my custom red #19 jersey over the top of it.
Usually I would be wearing jeans, but now that I finally found a pair of red game shorts, that will be the lower portion of the ensemble.
I complete the outfit with my white and red adidas basketball shoes, only worn (so far) on game day.
In years past I might also do any of the following for good luck:
-eat Monsta O’s for breakfast on game day
-wear a white hat for home games or a black hat for away
-wear a headband
-high five people randomly
Let’s stomp us some Rockets tonight! Hoo-rah!
Blazers win!
by The X-man on Oct 27, 2009 2:10 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
I wear my game shorts during the game
And my headband. I don’t need a red shirt, but I try to wear a Portland related shirt. A Powells Books shirt, for example.
I also have a red and black THE INCREDIBLES t-shirt, which is what the Blazers are.
Mo
OK, Dave I now understand we see it the same:
I will forgive you for all those things and I hope you will do the same for me. In it together. In it to win it. Red & Black. Never go back. AS ONE WE SUCCEED. You are the blogger. I am the bloggee. Peace and Success to All.
"I won't back down." -- Tom Petty
"History is important. If you don't know history it is as if you were born yesterday. And, if you were born yesterday, anybody up there in a position of power can tell you anything, and you have no way of checking up on it." -- Howard Zinn
To be honest, Chuck Hayes will probably stop Greg Oden in 1 on 1 situations. However, Oden should be able to dominate the glass.
Good luck Blazers fans. Last playoffs were fun
Come on: GO is a year older & wiser now--not to mention in better shape
Hayes is strong and crafty, but face it: at 6-5 or so he’s practically a midget. Matched up 1 on 1 vs Oden, his only defense is the flop. And I expect GO to be watching for that this time around.
Your Rockets gave the Blazers the best playoff initiation they could have asked for last season. But the student is ready to become the teacher. Or so I hope!
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
He probably hasn't seen Greg this preseason
so we’ll forgive him.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
OK, now I'm updated about Nicholas Batum having shoulder surgery.
This changes everything. Martell really didn’t show much in preseason as far as I could tell. He’s not in the same ballpark defensively and on offense…. well, he has nice form on his shot but the idea that “Martell is a great shooter” has yet to be proven in actual games.
We may be in for another big dose of Travis Outlaw in the 4th. Let the “hating” begin.
ignacio
4th quarter lineup
Miller/Roy/Rudy/LMA/GO
book it!!!!
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 9:38 AM PDT up reply actions
Link
Hasn’t anyone checked out the dream shake
, that lead bit is tres Fu nny, poor Rick.
by doomsdaymachine on Oct 27, 2009 4:10 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Let tonight be the beginning of the end of the Daryl Morey is a great GM myth
He inherited a team with Yao and McGrady. All he’s done drafted Aaron Brook, and traded for Luis Scola. The Von Wafer signing wasn’t a big deal. Everything Morey has done can be summed up by, “Big woop.”
After they Rockets finish the season at around .500 no one will be saying Morey is genius, instead they’ll be upset that he didn’t get more back up bangers since Yao is out.
Regarding "bangers," Pops Mensah-Bonsu is an unheralded guy who may make a big impact tonight.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
Yeah, he's got six fouls to spend
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu will have more rebounds than fouls tonight.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
Has he established himself in their rotation?
seems like there might be a line in front of him for minutes
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
by Honka Playboy on Oct 27, 2009 7:12 AM PDT up reply actions
He should be in Houston's four-man frontline rotation over Joey Dorsey and Brian Cook.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
Whe you say "should," do you mean you think that, or that it's likely?
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
I mean I think he should be in it.
I, however, forgot about David Andersen, who’ll certainly get his fair share of playing time up front. Either way, though, Pops Mensah-Bonsu will most likely see the floor at some point tonight. Yet, I could end up being totally wrong here.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
He had a good pre-season. I'm watching him, but his problem was weak foul shooting and not that much consistency.
If he gets that in check, he could be better than Chuck Hayes.
But slowly things happen that they cannot help and the Blazers Fellowship of the Ring begins to break apart
I've never understood Pops.
He always puts up nice numbers…and then gets cut in a few weeks. The Spurs tried Pops before and discarded him pretty soon. I wouldn’t be shocked if he finally makes a team though.
I think you have to take into account
the moves he didn’t make as well. Morey could have mortgaged the future to try and snag the 8th seed this season, but he didn’t. He made moves that added athleticism which will suit the team in the short term, but will allow the Rockets to make moves in the future should the opportunities present themselves.
The Rockets have done an almost complete roster turnover from three years ago to today, save TMac and Yao. Landry, Scola, Lowry, Brooks, are all Morey moves. He wasn’t the GM when Battier was acquired, but he was the driving force behind that draft day trade.
Getting Budinger, Taylor in the draft in second round this past draft may turn out to be good moves as well. Maybe not, but they were low risk.
Andre Miller, re signing a “B+” player like LMA to a huge deal…those are fairly high risk moves. Drafting Greg Oden over an already top 10 player like Durant? High risk…
by Evan Hochschild on Oct 27, 2009 7:07 AM PDT up reply actions
All told, I was with you until the last sentence.
1. Kevin Durant isn’t a top-10 player whatsoever.
2. Drafting a stud two-way pivotman who could anchor a championship team is always the right move over drafting a high-volume scoring wing whose game is one-dimensional. In sum, Oden > Durant.
Okay, I got that off my chest. That aside, though, you made salient points standing up for Daryl Morey.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
by AK1984 on Oct 27, 2009 7:23 AM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Another factor
Durant might have been a different player if he’d come into a team that already had Brandon and LMA, and a coach like Nate who has very definite things he expects from his players. I think Durant might have been molded into much more than a high-volume scorer if his team was looking for him to play off the ball more, pass more, etc.
As he is, you are right. But I think he was young enough that he would have learned to be more than that with the right kind of coaching. And I suspect Nate would have been the right kind of coach to do that.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
Um, Nate McMillan would've used Kevin Durant in Portland like he used Rashard Lewis ...
in Seattle. In essence, Durant would’ve just been a weakside cornerman who shot spot-up three-pointers, baseline jumpers, and occasionally beat his man off the dribble driving down the baseline. Durant, however, doesn’t have the ability to back down smaller 3s like Lewis did in Seattle — although he’s just as bad at passing out of double teams — so it’s very doubtful we’d’ve seen that out of him here.
Anyway, regarding McMillan, he’s a predictable coach who’s simple-minded when it comes to the tactical stuff. Apropos of Durant, there’s no way that McMillan would’ve made an impact on Durant’s lack of desire to facilitate on offense by deferring more often to his teammates. That’s just not a part of Durant’s game, as well as a facet that McMillan doesn’t exactly ask much out of from guys who play the 3 for him.
I’m not too sure where you’re coming from with your unfounded optimism of McMillan’s tactical abilities — especially since that’s his biggest weakness as a coach — but that’s your deal.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
It's not tactics I'm talking about
It’s man management and getting Durant to buy into the need to do more than gun it up. And the fact we have some really good teaching assistants.
I don’t see that anyone’s basketball style is set in stone at the age of 19.
Moot point, he didn’t come here.
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
Agreed
Players like Durant—e.g., George Gervin & Tracy McGrady—win scoring titles and make all-star teams. But they flat don’t win championships. They don’t even win playoff series.
Are they fun to watch? You bet. But so are guys like Greg Oden, once you acquire the taste.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
Durant:
will be a 27.5 pts a game, 8 rebound, 3 assist, 50% FG/40% 3PT/90% FT guy at season’s end, and will lead his team to a surprisingly strong (for the Thunder) season.
I understand the reasoning for drafting Oden over Durant. I do. Great big men are hard to find, and it’s rare when a wing player leads a team to the promised land….that being said: there is a high risk/reward wth drafting centers #1. Esp. one like Oden, who is going to have to rely on mobility, tenacity, shot blocking, and rebounding to be a force…i.e. be Bill Russell-lite for the Blazers. True, he is young, and young guys have a better probability of coming back from major injuries than do older players. After two seasons though, I don’t think you can honestly tell me that Kevin Durant hasn’t been extremely impressive, and that Oden has done nothing (yes, I understand he’s been hurt, but facts are facts).
I guess I won’t sell Oden short, if y’all won’t sell Durant short. They’re guys who can barely smoke cigarettes. Perhaps I was too dismissive of Oden, but he really needs to grab 12-14 rebounds a night and be an intimidator essentially on every defensive possession to counteract everything that Kevin Durant can do. Just my .02 cents.
by Evan Hochschild on Oct 27, 2009 1:20 PM PDT up reply actions
There are these silly things called wins & losses
GO, if he stays healthy (as he’s likely to do) will help his team win games. KD, for all his firepower, likely won’t. (Truehoop recently ran a series of statistic-based articles on the latter subject.) Quiet as it’s kept, basketball is a team game. Gunners are impressive and fun to watch, but they generally don’t make their teammates more effective.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
Taken from Bill Simmons' twitter page:
Can someone make a poster of Greg Oden squinting up at the Jumbotron to see how many fouls he has? I want one.
Carmelo Anthony doesn’t really make his teammates better and he beat y’all last night…Durant will be better than Carmelo. Greg has a long, long ways to go. I’ll have to read the TrueHoop Articles, but Durant’s game is going to expand a great deal from here on out. Oden’s…..not so sure. He’s much more limited in his skill set. As I said earlier, Oden has to focus on a few areas: rebounding, interior defense. Odds are good that he will never develop into even a good offensive center. Dwight Howard hasn’t developed into a good offensive center and he’s a much better athlete than GO.
Bottom line: you have who you have, and things could be worse. Sure, you missed on a once a decade talent for an oft injured, offensively limited, 40 year old but hey…we all make mistakes.
by Evan Hochschild on Oct 30, 2009 6:15 AM PDT up reply actions
I still don't think he's done anything
I think a lot of Blazers fans think the Blazers lost the first round of last years playoffs instead of the Rockets beating the Blazers.
Basically all he did was get lucky that his team matched up with the Blazers. Even if I give him credit, and I will not, all he did was get his team to get out of the first round. He hasn’t accomplished anything but create a bunch of fanboys because he’s a stat-geek.
It sort of sounds like you're being sarcastic
I don’t see how you could call him a bad GM, or a great GM. Just because he came into a situation with good players, doesn’t mean he hasn’t done anything good. He tried to surround his good players with other good players. He succeeded, but it’s not like he can keep Yao healthy or inspire McGrady into actually playing.
I hear you that it’s impossible to call him a great GM right now, but by the same lack of evidence it’s probably unfair to say he’s not. The fact is, we just don’t know. That said, I think the fanboys are a little over the top in love with the guy right now. If senor snake is right, and they make the playoffs and get close to 50 wins, I think we gotta say there’s something there.
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
I just gon't get the hype
I just don’t think he’s accomplished anything, yet I keep reading people say that he’s one of the better GM’s in the NBA because he like stats. People heralded his signing of Von Wafer as some sort of genius move. Is he now a genius for letting Von Wafer go to Greece? Morey let Wafer go for the same reason every other GM let him go.
Last year was a fluke for the Rockets. They overachieved after Yao went down and there is no way they can sustain it over 82 games.
by tominhawaii on Oct 27, 2009 12:02 PM PDT up reply actions
I don't think we've even seen what Morey can do yet.
He inherited the team’s stars. He’s only dealt with the role players. I think he’s done a nice job with the role players, but that only says so much. It will be interesting what he does once he actually has cap space to get a star (or if he trades for a star).
In an odd way, Daryl Morey is like the antithesis of Kevin Prtichard.
Pritchard has done a really nice job of setting up the core, but has shown chinks in the armor when it comes to bringing in well-suited role players; conversely, Morey has put out a yeoman effort dealing with the turnover of fungible role players, but has yet to get his groove on with regards to setting up a long-term core by replacing Tracy McGrady.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
Chuck Hayes
Carl Landry
Shane Battier
Ron Artest
Trevor Ariza
He has a history of finding players who are undervalued because they haven’t put up huge numbers, but still have a major effect on the game defensively.
He traded Rudy Gay for Battier (along with Swift who the Griz then swapped for cash and Collins). I'm not sure he wouldn't like him back now.
But slowly things happen that they cannot help and the Blazers Fellowship of the Ring begins to break apart
I still suppose Houston would be better with him this year. They have enough defensive players, not enough firepower.
But slowly things happen that they cannot help and the Blazers Fellowship of the Ring begins to break apart
Rudy Gay is a black hole, even though you're right that the Houston Rockets do need ...
another high-powered wing scorer. It’s got to be someone who’s efficient, though, which certainly isn’t Gay.
Dear Paul Allen:
Waive Patty Mills & sign Ime Udoka.
Sincerely,
AK1984
You know what I'm gonna miss this season?
Michael – tell ’em what they won!
A three-pointer is not a "triple." A triple is a hit in baseball.
A three-pointer is not a "trey." A trey is either an ESPN sportscaster or something that bad spellers eat cafeteria food on. - Dave on Mar 20, 2009 10:00 PM PDT
A trey is actually a playing card or die or domino having three pips. - pipgras on July 31, 2009 9:22 PM PDT
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally…..what a long friggin summer
I am an oasis of Blazer fandom in a bleak desert of Laker fans.
Go Blazers...
10 pm start back here… No more breakfast meetings till June
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
I have been training for this day
Been trying to get by on five hours of sleep. No hibernating for this Southeastern Bear!
"I saw him in the face" Sergio's quote on the latest alley-oop to Rudy.
by blazermaniac32 on Oct 27, 2009 6:40 AM PDT up reply actions
I've scheduled a nap from 5-7 (the joy of a private office!)
and gave my assistant a print out of the season schedule. Plus I’ll bribe her with long lunch breaks
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
by Honka Playboy on Oct 27, 2009 7:22 AM PDT up reply actions
Predictions
First off, basketball is finally upon us. FINALLY. Lets get down to business.
Brandon scores 30, LMA adds 200 of his own. Oden leads all players in rebounding and blocks 4 shots (2 of Scola’s., thus making him cry like a girl). Rudy will sink 4/6 from deep.
Ok? ok good.
GO BLAZERS
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
"Greg Oden SMASH!!"
As far as I’m concerned, this should be the #1 key to all of our games this season.
I can't believe
my tickets haven’t sold yet.
Apparently the competition isn’t good enough or something even on opening day.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
I'll be there.
I’m soooo excited, it seems like this day would never come and here we are!
"We believe" -Rudy Fernandez
I am worried about this game
Obviously Portland has all the talent over Houston. But talent alone never wins in Basketball.
Blazers have a new starting lineup with two relatively inexperienced players. Martell started two years ago but the Blazers weren’t that good then, and he is real rusty, and he was always inconsistent anyways. Greg has shown he can struggle when the pressure is on, and his first start on the first game of the season is pressure. Add in the factor that Portland is heavily favored, meaning Houston is the team with something to prove and Portland could take them lightly. This Portland team needs to play it like they have everything to prove, because they do. They haven’t done anything yet this season.
I predict an ugly game where Houston jumps out to an early lead. A deflated Rose Garden crowd will be taken out of the game. Portland will come back (due to Nate’s hard-nosed coaching style) and they will be in it at the end. Probably Aldridge will go off in the late 3rd or early 4th and the rest of the team will follow suit. However, its not going to be a pretty win.
"But talent alone never wins in Basketball."
never?
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 9:41 AM PDT up reply actions
Exiled in Houston
Seeing as how Grandma says we’re living close to the grandchildren, OR ELSE, I have to watch the game on the Houston station tonight. That wouldn’t be so bad except Clyde Drexler is their color analyst. He’s one of my All-Time favorite Blazers but the worst homer I’ve ever seen or heard except for maybe Tommy Heinsohn. Absolutely terrible during the playoffs last season. Thanks for letting me rant. Actually I’m very thankful and happy that I have the League Pass and can watch every game. I feel for those of you that can’t get or don’t want Comcast. Go Blazers!
by Original Blazer Fan on Oct 27, 2009 8:00 AM PDT reply actions
I feel for those of you that can’t get or don’t want Comcast.
like me :-( I’m not gonna get a chance to watch it period. Sometimes I really really hate you, Ohio
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
by BLAZER_FAN_199 on Oct 27, 2009 8:10 AM PDT up reply actions
Its on free TV tonight do you not get channel 8?
"BEER IS LIVING PROOF THAT GOD LOVES US"
- Benjamin Franklin-
Yeah the whole distance thing kinda prevents any basketball fun for me.
Columbus til I die, Columbus til I die. I know I am, I swear I am, Columbus til I die!
by BLAZER_FAN_199 on Oct 27, 2009 2:43 PM PDT up reply actions
I think free TV games stream on the net this year
At least some of them not sure about tonights
"BEER IS LIVING PROOF THAT GOD LOVES US"
- Benjamin Franklin-
First Official Post
I’ve posted here a few times in the past, I’ve never introduced myself.
So…. um…. Hi!
I hope to be more regular this season. I’ve been a BE reader/fanatic for years, but after trying to post over at OLive a long time ago, I think I just got scared off posting in general. But I’ve always loved the BE community, and since I moved with my wife to Brooklyn, it’s been the thing that’s kept me most connected to home state.
I’ve got a friend coming over tonight who is a Rockets fan. He will pay dearly for his smug “politeness” during last year’s pl*y*ffs…
my only slight concern is that Aaron Brooks will test the middle early and blow by Blakey or Miller, drawing a foul on GO on the first play..
I can’t shake that image from my brain…. AAAAAHHHHH! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!
pleeeeease be wrong.
Anyway… Hi everyone. Glad to be joining you!
Go Blazers!!!
I'd still honk once!
Make him pay
I'm a really really ridiculously good looking orange mocha frappaccino drinking manhammer sandwich
Greetings from a fellow lurker in NYC. Here’s hoping we’re up by 25 at halftime—I have to work tomorrow.
by apatosaurusrex on Oct 27, 2009 11:37 AM PDT up reply actions
hi!
ya, ive got an audition for a commercial tomorrow morning at 9:30. i dont think ill be as sprightly as the execs would normally want someone on the medication-in-question to show… :)
what part of NYC are you in?
I'd still honk once!
96th and Lex. Looks like there’s a meetup group in the city:
http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/10/23/1098649/new-york-bedgers-meet-up-for
by apatosaurusrex on Oct 27, 2009 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions
no we're not! hoowah!
last year i watched a bunch of games on 5th ave and Sackett in Park Slope. a good number of Portlanders showed. was fun.
I'd still honk once!
o crap!
i dont think i can go……..
that would be great tho. where on BE did you find that. id love to hook up with some blazermaniacs here in gotham some time.
thanks for the tip!
I'd still honk once!
Question
Is there a jersey contest or anything of the sort this year?
I go to law school. Therefore, I have no life.
by andrewgolfsalot on Oct 27, 2009 8:39 AM PDT reply actions
I'm seeing that now. Might as well start preparing with this game.
Portland score: 98
Houston score: 91
Player to score the last Blazer points of the first half: B-Roy
Combined points + rebounds + assists for Oden: 26
Which team will have more steals: Blazers
Who will lead the blazers in 2nd Half scoring: B-Roy
I go to law school. Therefore, I have no life.
by andrewgolfsalot on Oct 27, 2009 8:51 AM PDT up reply actions
I can see have practice for the October games
But I think there would be confusion and it’s not a big enough sample size with just a few games.
Oh, I was just kidding.
I go to law school. Therefore, I have no life.
by andrewgolfsalot on Oct 27, 2009 9:55 AM PDT up reply actions
Sorry
I just saw people ask that like 3 times in the thread where Dave said wait until November. I wasn’t hating on your predictions, you could probably make a FanPost of it and get a ton of comments.
by tominhawaii on Oct 27, 2009 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions
Woot! Let the domination begin!
This is my first post after lurking this site for several years. I am pumped for the season and to be a part of the BE Nation. I’ll be watching the game at a brewpub, Portland style.
First blowout of the year!
I really can’t believe people think the Blazers will “overlook” the team that took them out of the title hunt in the last meaningful game we played… Really? Do you think the players have memories that are that short? Do you think Nate is really that bad of a coach that he won’t use revenge as a motivator? Do you really think the home crowd isn’t going to be going CRAZY, and thus DEMAND high energy performances from our guys?
Not only that, but after Denver Thurs -we play the Rockets AGAIN, in Houston! For THEIR home opener. Nate wants the club to send a dominating message to the Rockettes as it may mean TWO victories this week…
The BIG THREE will shine tonight. BRoy with 30, Oden with his first of > 50 double-doubles. I’m thinking of a 17/13/3 night for Oden, and he sits out the fourth (blowout). Aldridge will kick Scola’s butt out the door. Bayless, Miller, and hopefully Rudy run like crazy in the blowout fourth. Bayless with > 10 tonight…
My game day rituals? Set the upstairs Hi-def DVR, and then the downstairs DVR for one hour over, in case of OT… Oh, and I need two in case the boss wants to watch something on the HD DVR while the game is still on.. Don’t talk to anybody, or read any blog posting, or answer the phone while I’m catching up. Start the game about an hour later, blow by all free throws and timeouts, and finish up on time (love to save time).
I can ditto jpaulson’s ritual, and am not sure what I’ll do now that the Tony Luftmann drinking game is no longer feasible… Guess I’ll just drink for every awesome play… better go buy more beer…
GO BLAZERS!
I got my roy shirt on
in class reading up before the big game tonight. so glad to have basketball back, cavs celtics will be a ggod warm up. I wear as much red and black today as I can, and some viewing os youtube blazer clips will be in order, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ0QwxWgA9E, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-RH4dl2pC0,
and this for kicks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMVXnJDBtnI&feature=PlayList&p=5B8E9E903380D1F2&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=35
I am never sure what gear to wear during games...ya know...luck wise
but I am currently wearing a sedate white polo with small discrete Blazer logo (along with black slacks and loafers). I will add Blazer jacket before game time and will of course get the Opening night cap at the garden
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions
my cousin's birthday is today
and since i didn’t have enough money to give him a real gift… i decided to give him the opening of the nba season and a 20+ point blowout against the rockets tonight.
Cheers!
Top 5 songs near and dear to my ears:
The Mars Volta - L'via L'viaquez
Regina Spektor - Back of a Truck
Death Cab for Cutie - Little Bribes
Joanna Newsom - Monkey & Bear
Devendra Banhart - Long Haired Child
Gameday Clothes - A Superstition
I feel like whenever I wear my jersey during or on the day of a game the Blazers lose…!!
Despite these superstitions, I’m sporting a Roy jersey and Blazers cap today. Just testing out the basketball gods.
If Portland loses, blame me.
--
by CaptainSexyJacob on Oct 27, 2009 10:47 AM PDT reply actions
I blame you ....
…already
"And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make." -The Beatles
by 92wastheyear on Oct 27, 2009 10:52 AM PDT up reply actions
so stoked
could be rough for ROY to get his points because of ariza and battier, but it will be nice to not watch aaron brooks run laps around steve blake for 35 minutes. miller will do a much better job on him. also, oden should have close to a double double against this team with no yao. well, i guess he should have close to a double double against most teams if stays on the court. sucks losing batum, but to me that ensures that juwan becomes the back PF and trout gets rotation minutes as the SF. makes the playtime decisions easier on nate.
cash rules everything around me CREAM get tha money dolla dolla bill yaaaaallll
by staceyaugmon4HOF on Oct 27, 2009 10:50 AM PDT reply actions
So does anybody know if the quality of the blazers stream for the KGW games
will be good enough quality to hook my laptop to my lcd and watch it on there?. Or is it going to be grainy if I go to full screen with it?
Anybody else think that we are going to be like a
football team in the regard that we have 2 of the best Cs in the game? Wheels mentioned during the 2nd Phx game that AMare looked gassed after battling both Greg and Joel, and I feel that we may be able to have similar results against many other C tandems in the league. I mean how many other teams have 2 7 footers that can play as well as ours?
Let GregZilla loose and punish the opposing frontcourt and they will fall in the 4th, much like a football D after being pounded by a 6’3 250lb bruiser of a RB.
Free layups and dunks for all
My game watching superstition...
If things aren’t going our way I will turn the game off eliminating my negative influence which almost always makes the Blazers play better… (or not)… then I check back a few minutes later to see if it worked.
Houston is dangerous in the way that any underdog is dangerous… they have nothing to lose becasue nobody expects anything from them. Kind of like when only 4 guys show up on your city league team.
That said we are better at 4 starting positions and the bench then the Rockets. What I see is a slow burn tonight. We win each quarter by 4-8 points and by the end it’s a big win. I don’t see any problem with motivation for the guys tonight and the crowd will be wild…
GO BLAZERS!!! (for real this time)
My gameday rituals
I wear my lucky red underwear and my lucky red socks, and sometimes my Lucky jeans.
Also, I’m one of those people who cooks to relax, so last year I started making a meal that relates to the game somehow. Playing with knives really helps with the pre-game jitters. Tonight’s meal: Spicy Tequila Shrimp; Texmati rice; Romaine, Rocket, and Avocado salad. I’m looking forward to lighting the shrimp on fire (to burn off the alcohol) — you could say I’m a little fired up.
DAVE
I appreciate your keen analysis of upcoming games. So much so, that I would appreciate a score prediction to add substance to my gambling research.
Thanks
~Z
"Rudy’s flashy passes had the place whispering to each other like we were in junior high" ~BlazermaniacAndy
by courtsideerrandboy on Oct 27, 2009 2:35 PM PDT reply actions
ive lost some respect from blazersedge because
1. i hope all of those insults to us are sarcastic (i doubt they are) because it doesnt matter who we have to play. we have one of the best coaches in the last decade.
2. calling ariza the most overrated acquisition is somewhat agreeable. from what you saw LAST year. this year he had his good and bad moments in the pre-season. he was just trying to fit into the role of being a scorer now.
sadly, my prediction will be 104 -97 blazers ONLY because you have lamarcus aldridge.
one more thing, please dont say, but we have brandon roy!!!
we have shane battier, the best perimeter defender in the past decade and he may be old but still good.
watch out for scola, landry, and maybe mensah-bonsou.
remember von wafer was crap when he was with yall. look what adelman did to him. adelman can accelerate anyone’s game.
"We don't need refs, but i guess white guys need something to do."- Charles Barkley
i remember having a bad team. my condolences.
i realllllllllllllllly hate your sig :(
n o offense
-BlazerFan1
Dave said in a later comment it was a "light-hearted" preview
I can tell you how to make an Excel spreadsheet that proves Portland wins 62 games this year.
Been too long since I've posted here
…as in last playoff season! Heya gang, you guys were awesome in our series last year. Cordial and logical. Unlike those Laker guys. I just couldn’t stand them.
I believe the Blazers will be looking to send a message tonight. While I don’t think it will be the blowout some of you think it will be, I still think the Blazers will take the game. My wishing for the Rockets to win probably won’t be enough.
Though, maybe I should egg on the overconfidence some of you seem to have. Keep on underestimating the non-superstars of the team. We took the Lakers to 7 games without McGrady, Yao and Artest (offensively any way, except for those wild random jumpers he’d always miss) so don’t count your eggs before they hatch!
GO ROCKETS!
IT’S BASKETBALL TIME AGAIN!!
Oden will dominate
With Yao out and no back up to really match up to Oden size and power, Oden should be able to stand under the basket and collect dimes from Andre Miller, which will lead to thunderous and numerous BOOOM SHAKKKA LAKKKKAAS. Man was that a run on or what. Game !of a great season to be underway.
Rockets always beat the Blazers
I’m trying to think of who Greg Oden reminds me of. Oh yea, Ralph Sampson. Also Darko Milicik. And this year that guy Thabeet who Memphis drafted. Big tall centers who are highly overrated coming in and never quite make the grade.
The Rockets will win tonight. They always beat the Blazers.
Yeah, we're much too smart to respond to something lame like that
Er…oops.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
For those looking for tickets
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/tix/1440580062.html
They unfortunately did not sell on the blazer site.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
"I told Pau the Lakers never win here in Portland; I think it's great." -- Rudy Fernandez
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