vs Memphis: 33-4 back breaking run

by jukelike20 on Nov 28, 2009 8:48 AM PST

Some thoughts on Memphis' 33-4 run from the middle of the 1st quarter to the middle of the 2nd quarter

After re-watching the 33-4 run that took the game from 15-11 Portland to 44-19 Memphis I noticed a few things and looked up some relevant info.

Portland's shot "play-by-play" from nba.com:

Aldridge Turnaround Fade Away shot: Missed
Blake Turnover : Bad Pass
Roy 3pt Shot: Missed
Blake Turnover : Out of Bounds
Roy Turnover : Lost Ball
Roy Jump Shot: Missed
Fernandez 3pt Shot: Missed
Roy Pullup Jump shot: Missed Block: Gay
Miller Turnover : Bad Pass
Miller Jump Shot: Missed Block: Conley
Roy Driving Layup Shot: Missed Block: Thabeet
Fernandez Jump Shot: Missed
Aldridge Tip Shot: Missed
Fernandez Driving Layup Shot: Missed Block: Thabeet
Fernandez 3pt Shot: Missed
Aldridge Alley Oop Layup shot: Missed Block: Thabeet
Miller Jump Shot: Missed
Miller Jump Shot: Missed
Miller Driving Layup Shot: Made
Oden Jump Shot: Missed
Bayless Layup Shot: Missed Block: Tinsley
Cunningham Jump Shot: Missed
Roy Turnover : Traveling
Oden Layup Shot: Missed
Bayless Jump Shot: Missed
Roy Jump Shot: Made (7 PTS) Assist: Bayless

26 Possessions (I'm counting offensive rebounds as a new possession):

5 TO (2 Blake, 2 Roy, 1 Miller)
0/3 three pointers attempted (2 Rudy, 1 Roy)
1/11 jumpers
1/7 close baskets

- For the most part it seemed like Portland was forcing themselves to try and get closer shots, especially as the bad run continued. The reason this was probably not the correct strategy against Memphis is that Memphis has the worst opponent 3PT% in the league at .398. And when watching them play defense you can tell why: They squeeze themselves right around the perimeter of the paint and hope that they can run out on the 3pt shooters. To further complicate their lives, they seem to be ball-watching most of the time on defense so they can crowd and disrupt the post. This means that they probably desperately, at the last second, try to close out on 3pt shooters which allows for easy ball rotation around the perimeter which can then generate easy baskets. During the run it seemed more like we were trying to force our way into getting easy baskets close to the rim which allowed Thabeet to look like the next Mutumbo.

- You can't really blame Portland for unsuccessfully forcing themselves to try and get layups as the bad run continued. Conventional NBA wisdom says that when you're struggling you have to get easy baskets. Actually, now that I say that, I would unconventionally say that against a team like Memphis trying to generate easy looks around the 3pt line would be considered easy baskets given the way they play defense.

- I think against teams that play defense in this manner it would be nice to have a lineup that spread the floor better for Roy and Miller to penetrate and kick out. It seemed like Blake, Roy, and Miller didn't have enough room to operate during the run. Sometimes Aldridge and Pryzbilla look like they are crowding the paint.

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Pretty awsome.

my conclusion….

Roy Blake and Andre need to go camping. Seriously.

The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!

by faith on Nov 28, 2009 9:03 AM PST reply actions

9 of the 26 possessions..or better yet...

17 of the 26 posessions were squandered by either roy, blake or andre (k squandered may be harsh)

The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!

by faith on Nov 28, 2009 9:06 AM PST reply actions

Blake was only responsible for two of those.

That’s pretty surprising. Timbo pointed that out in his post.

7 for Roy. 5 for Miller. 4 for Rudy.

What’s worse: only 3 for aldridge and 2 for oden in 26 possession/shots. When you’re going inside on less than 20% of your shots, that spells trouble.

πάτερ, ἄφες αὐτοῖς, οὐ γὰρ οἴδασιν τί ποιοῦσιν.

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by T Darkstar on Nov 28, 2009 9:14 AM PST up reply actions

check his stat line out though, that kinda says he was part of the problem too, I think anyway.

He should be called out for not doing anything to help the fix the problem if the other two are being called out for trying and just stinking it up allllll night long.

The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!

by faith on Nov 28, 2009 9:48 AM PST up reply actions

No doubt he didn't do much to fix the problem.

But during that 31-2 run, Blake was on the bench for most of it. Blake can and should take the blame where he deserves to do so, but that run can hardly be blamed on him when he was on the bench.

πάτερ, ἄφες αὐτοῖς, οὐ γὰρ οἴδασιν τί ποιοῦσιν.

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by T Darkstar on Nov 28, 2009 10:00 AM PST up reply actions

i'ma get a bit snarky now...

………. he started it.

The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!

by faith on Nov 28, 2009 10:02 AM PST up reply actions