I would.

I have never seen a team be that dominant over a 8 minute stretch (31-2 run) except for the Dream Team in 1992.

And yes, the refs were loose but they were equally loose. And yes we had lots of shots lip out, but we have to be able to overcome that.

When I looked up at the scoreboard at the half and saw we had four LESS assists than Memphis, that kind of told the tale.

Beat Utah.

 I’ve been a quiet Blake defender, not that I think he’s a better player than Miller

but I did think that Nate’s rationale for using them the way he has been made some kind of sense. But Blake’s play has been so abysmal. It’s as if he’s trying to show that he can do some of the things Miller can do, and it’s not going well. His constant pulling up when he could push the ball. The complete inability to hit Oden when Oden has good position and then passign him the ball a second or two later after Oden is back on the high post. Overdribbling. It makes me wish Bayless inspired more confidence,.

Aldridge was disappointed especially on the boards and on defense. Wow.

not when were gettin killed like this in points in the paint.

Yes, we are 12-6. But every game I feel like the blazers are fighting themselves almost as much as the opposition. We still play to the level of opposition. We don’t just play OUR game regardless of who we are playing. We will NEVER go far in the playoffs until we fix this problem of playing the team, instead of just executing our game.

We have too many players that are not playing to their level of talent.

 Roy can drive and score at will, but he is settling for jumpers this year.

Lamarcus has shown lately that he has a very nice inside post game, but often settles for jumpers.

Greg…well I like what Greg does a lot, but still he is not being used to his full potential.

Andre is going to the rack a lot, but is still shooting too many jumpers.

Steve Blake…ahhh…don’t even get me started…no wait…I’ll just accept it. I will just accept the fact that despite our primary PG being unable to stay in front of anyone, and despite him making stupid plays ( like picking up his dribble at the top of the key while getting double teamed when the shot clock is running down ), and bricking free throws this year…Blake is our point guard. He is going to play heavy minutes as long as he is here. We could have Andre Miller, Chris Paul, AND Kirk Hinrich, and Nate would still give Blake around 30 minutes a night. I just don’t get it. I truly believe we have 4 players at the guard position that deserve minutes more that Blake, and yet he still gets heavy minutes. I have a feeling Roy is mainly responsible for this.

Even Joel is not the same player. I think he has realized that he is no longer Portlands #1 center, and won’t be as long as Greg is healthy.

I don’t think the sky is falling. Obviously it’s not falling, we are still 12-6. But I think we have coasted A LOT this year. We can no longer coast. I think there is more parity this year than in a long time in the NBA. OKC, Memphis, the Clips, just a few examples of teams that are improved from last year. We needed a wake up that we are just not a great team right now.

I think we needed to get embarrassed to realize just how far we have to go to be mentioned as a title contender.

What do we need? A trade? A line-up change? A stern talking to from Nate? Something more drastic? I don’t know. I do feel strongly that a big change is coming. This team just feels like they are under performing every game.

More and more, Oden is proving he’s a more viable candidate for minutes at the pivot, yet Oden can’t seem to crack the 27-28 minute barrier. In fact, Greg has only played more than 28 minutes in a game ONCE the entire season – the overtime loss to Atlanta.

Even worse to me, it seems like all the opposing team’s runs start when Przybilla is brought in. It may just be a coincidence or me projecting, but one way or another, Greg needs to be in the game for 30 minutes a night. Foul trouble or not, he’s got to play. If he fouls out, he fouls out, so be it. I just don’t see the justification for continually yanking Oden so early.

Here is why, you said that you don’t blame the loss on the coach because he kept the rotations the same. But that IS the point! Nate refuses to improvise his rotations from game to game. Oden would have only 1 foul and yet Nate would sit him anyway. By the end of the night, Oden will have ended up playing 25 minutes and only 4 fouls. We have all seen the kind of impact that Greg already has on this team so why try and limit his minutes? His persistence on playing Blake MORE minutes than Miller confuses me, I can try and wrap my mind around the idea of bringing Miller off the bench to control the second unit but Blake should not have the freedom to make mistakes and still remain out on the floor. A couple of turnovers and I’d yank him out just like Nate does with Oden and his fouls. Miss a couple of WIDE-OPEN jumpshots and out he goes. Simple ain’t it!
Another issue I have with Nate is why he would play Roy so many minutes when he clearly couldn’t guard a donkey. He isn’t fittest guy around so what chance will he have when we play tomorrow @ Utah? Nate should have let the second unit try and get back in the game instead of making Roy and LMA play when in hind sight was a blow out loss.
Blake is so that I’d rather see Bayless start and Play the first 5 minutes then bring Miller on. This is what Dallas does with their rookie PG, Beaubois. <- A good player that I might consider trading Rudy for if we didn’t have a young and talented PG waiting on the bench.

This was one of the few games of the year I get to see live, (home for Thanksgiving) and this was basically my observation:

- The arena seemed pretty jacked up for a game against Memphis. My thoughts were “Wait, I didn’t know we were playing the lakers tonight?” Guessing appearance of Mr. Randolph had something to do with it. End of the game was greeted with a chorus of boos. Enough said.

- The team was having success going into Greg for the first 6 minutes, and then we completely went away from some reason. When we got down big on second while Greg was out, for some reason the team decided that Roy penetrating with the ball was the way to come back…why? More puzzling since good things happened when Greg got touches in the paint. True, he missed couple close hooks, but he also had couple good assists as well as couple scores early. Instead, he was cleared away for Roy and LA at the high post. It’s sickening how fast this team goes away from its low post threat as soon as Greg misses couple shots early. To me, Oden touching the ball in the paint is like giving good running back the ball. Just because it didn’t break for a big gain first couple tries, it doesn’t mean you go away from it! (Well, I’m an Eagles fan so in my case, we go immediately away from the run but whatever) The usual culprits for not passing to Greg (Roy and Blake) were responsible but Miller and Rudy weren’t looking tonight, either. Yet, Greg still went for a double-double in spite of our guards actively trying to limit his effectiveness.

- When Miller took a spill in the second, he was immediately substituted for Bayless. My immediate thought at the time was “uh oh, we are probably losing this game..” Miller stayed on the bench for some reason but not went to the back for treatment nor in the game…what happened there? Once again, Bayless = SG.

- At half time, I looked up at the scoreboard and saw Blake’s line: 0 1 0 0. The 1 was his fouls. Enough said.

- The main reason for the loss: No one besides Greg blocked out (looking at YOU, LA). My Dad said after the game, "How can Aldridge have 0 fouls? (he had 1 foul in actuality) He’s our POWER forward? (I should have answered “Nope, he’s our soft forward”) That should sum it up, right there. Both our starting forwards combined for 1 foul, so that pretty much immediately says something about how physical we were.

- The second reason for the loss: We, especially our guards, acted like we never saw a screen before on defense. Also, let’s just stop running the pick and roll with Roy since while he understands the pick part, he obviously does not understand the roll part. I’ve seen enough over 4 years to know that since he’ll never pass to the roller, it’ll just allow the other team to double-team Roy. When Tinsley hit a rolling Gasol perfectly on a roll for a layup in the 3rd quarter, my exact words were “Ah..so that’s how a pick and roll actually works…”

If Brandon Roy was on the floor instead of in that damn hallway during the Anthem we would have escaped with a W tonight.

The reason for that I can sum up in one word:

Complacency

You could smell it in the air, when the New Jersey game wound up so much closer than it should have been, some of these other recent wins where they had big lapses of concentration. “Ho, hum, another home game against a bad team, no problem.”

But bad teams get better sometimes, start to play with more confidence; when you come out flat and let them get on a roll, that confidence just builds. You can find yourself trying to come back against a team that’s suddenly red-hot – like the Blazers did in this game.

Hopefully this loss will shake them out of their complacency. You can’t take any team for granted in this league, if you do you’re liable to get burned.

(with apologies to the AP, as fine an organization as one will find)…

PORTLAND, Ore. (GPI)—The Memphis Grizzlies, after attending Professor Steven Nash’s lecture Wednesday night, applied the principles of ball movement and movement away from the ball, and defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 106-96 for their fifth victory in seven games.

Memphis (6-10) is still far down in the Western Conference, though it may not be long if the offensive-minded Grizzlies keep it up. Playing against the NBA’s best scoring defense, Memphis poured in a season-high 61 points during the first half. The Grizzlies topped 100 points for the fifth time in six games.

 "We opened up a can tonight," Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said.

The Grizzlies scored 21 unanswered points as part of a 31-2 run in the first half to break open the game.

The run started with Portland (12-6) leading 15-11 midway through the first quarter. By quarter’s end, Memphis ran off 18 consecutive points, with Randolph scoring six, to take a 29-15 lead.

The Grizzlies extended their run to 21-0 early in the second quarter before Portland’s Andre Miller made a layup to end the Blazers’ scoreless stretch of 8 1/2 minutes. But it wasn’t over for Memphis. After Miller’s basket, O.J. Mayo and Jamaal Tinsley hit consecutive 3-pointers and the Grizzlies scored 10 unanswered points to build their lead to 42-17.

"We played like our hair was on fire," said Mayo, who scored 19 points. "We knew going into the season that we were going to have some funk in our trunk offensively, but defensively, it takes a team effort, mental discipline and toughness to win.

Memphis maintained control throughout the first half, leading by as many as 29 points before settling for a 61-39 halftime lead. Portland shot only 36 percent (15 of 42) during the first half.

"It was Professor Nash’s lecture," Mayo said.

"It was a campaign of shock and awe from start to finish. They came in and were ready to ball. It was beautiful," Hollins said.

Aside from Randolph and Mayo, Marc "MVP" Gasol had 19 points and 15 rebounds for Memphis, while Tinsley had 16 points and Rudy Gay 14.

Portland, which had won its previous six home games by an average margin of 17.1 points, left coach Nate McMillan dazed and confused for so long it’s not true.

"We thought they were going to utilize the Iverson method of jacking up shots with no rhyme or reason." McMillan said. "But when they applied Nash’s principles of advanced ball movement, we knew we were in for a long night."

Notes: Memphis was observed using a touch pass last night.

I am so tired of Roy’s passive agressive excuses of Miller and roles and chemistry….the way I see it only Roy is having a problem….why would anyone else have a problem with Miller …he makes most of the team better…why would we ever think Brandon would accept another “star” player on this team if he won’t even accept and try to use and learn from an aging point guard just passing through…are you kidding me? That’s what you get when you tell someone constantly it is their team…Roy on more than one occassion last night stood on his end of the floor when he did not get a call and did not commit the energy to run down to the Griz end of the court to help defend…I love Brandon…blah blah blah but I don’t care what his box scores look like if he does that …and we have an “L” and not a “W” so who cares if he got his numbers….

By calling out both Roy and LA last night after the game, it is becoming clear to Nate that if these two can’t get their collective shirt together and start earning the check- he’s not going to be passive about it.

Let’s hope this is a wake-up call to our newest big money earners that they “don’t mean a thing if they ain’t got that swing”

Steve Blake, PG 24 0-3 0-2 0-2 0 2 2 2 0 0 2 1 0 0

24 min=no points 2 assits, rebounds, and turnovers

Greg is in foul “trouble” (i.e. 2 fouls, rarely 3) in the first half? Take him out, and don’t let him be seen again!

Greg is not in foul trouble in the first half? Take him out at the 6 minute mark of the first quarter, and bring him in about 10 to 12 minutes later. Sometimes not at all.

That way he achieves what the opposition only hoped to achieve: Limit Greg’s minutes on the floor. At the end of the game, thus he often ends up with 4 fouls and less than half the available minutes played.

I understand Nate wants to teach Greg the “right” way to handle the defense, not turn it over on offense, not make dumb reach-ins, etc. And in some games it seems to work, e.g. in all games against Al Jefferson Greg showed that he understands he can’t stop a good post player like Big Al every single time, so sometimes he just has to let him go and score 2 easy points, wipe his mouth, lick his fingers (which he does a lot), and continue the game because the Blazers will still need him the next 5 possessions when he might score, might get the rebound, might get the block. And often does.

But at some time he just needs to let him go and find his own rhythm, screw up a few games, score big in a few games. Otherwise it’s no wonder why his fellow young big men get more respect from refs, players, fans, and the media. Greg is very efficient, but without being out there on the floor longer he’ll never be dominant.

P.S.: Brandon, please stop memorializing Allen Iverson by slamming into the nearest pick with no effect at all on defense. AI was the master of that, gambling for steals (which you don’t), taking plays off (which you do, sometimes already not running back and instead arguing with a ref or a player), and looking like he scrambled hard on the next play without achieving anything (which you increasingly do). Play with your feet and your head, stop complaining and get back, give some more directed effort on that end. Stay in front of your man. And not at his side or somewhere in empty space “threatening” a double team. Thank you.

Last night it was extra-bad.

Roy whines fifty times as much as he did last year. His signature move is to fall down and not get back on defense because he’s whining about a foul. He did this four or five times last night which is about his season average. I don’t know if it’s the contract or what but dude isn’t playing like a max deal player – I don’t care what his stats say.

LMA is still afraid to go inside…against Zach Randolph and Thabeet???? Ugh. It’s probably time I come to terms with the fact that LMA is a 6’11" jump shooter. It’s probably time LMA himself comes to term with the fact he’s not gonna be an All Star.

Everyone else was equally bad with the exception of Webster who was ok. Whether it was Blake dribbling around aimlessly or Greg looking perplexed every time he touched the ball, that was an embarassing effort and 20k something fans got robbed last night.

Roy and Aldridge both look extrenely complacent this year. Its just my opinion but I am really bothered by Brandon and LA’s body language throughout games. Very little intensity…a lot of complaining…….just kind of sour moods….

Its too bad that this seems to be a common experience in the NBA….something abiut the achievement of these huge deals seems to transform players’ personalities (exceptions exists of course…..Kobe seems to never need any help wiht being inspired to dominate)

Roy and Aldridge are playing in a way that reminds me of Simmons’s article describing Oden after the microfracture surgery…that some guys look like they were born to play basketball and some play it because they are just really talented…… In a bizarre switch, Oden now looks like he thrives on the game and is having fun…..while Roy and Aldridge look like they wouold rather be ANYWHERE else but on the Portland Trailblazers.

This is a dumb fan’s opinion with not much to go on…just an observation from watching every game this year…but it bugs me….alot.

There were many plays in this game where LA watched as a rebound went over his head…bounced in front of him….he just looked like he didnt care…no fire or intensity…..
At least Roy seemed like his pride got involved…LA…not so much. What a shame that that kid has unlimited capability and talent and KG-like body…but doesnt have KG’s passion.

BTW…. I hate KG and Kobe. But I respect the way their competitiveness

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1. Oden and Pryzbilla combined had 14 rebounds. Marc Gasol had 15. Looking at the box score it’s easy to go “We only got outrebounded by 5 though!” Trouble is the guys we needed to rebound just didn’t get the job done. LaMarcus had 5 while Zach had 9 for example. Just a poor effort overall from our bigs. We needed more production from them.

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2. What the hell happened to our bench role players? Look at these lines.

• Rudy Fernandez: 18 minutes, 4 pts on 16% shooting.

• Joel Pryzbilla: 17 minutes, 0 pts, 0 assists, 4 rebounds.

• Andre Miller: 21 minutes, 13 pts, 2 assists (seriously 2?!), 1 rebound.

• Jerryd Bayless: Why in the hell didn’t I play more than 4 minutes in this game? Yes he was 0-2 but you gotta give him more of a shot than that. Especially with everyone else off the bench playing like garbage.

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3. Memphis finished with 54% from the field. We can call some of that poor defense but they just made shots too. We finished 40% from the field. Our basic liabilities being Rudy Fernandez and Steve Blake tonight. That’s it really.