20. Struggle Bunnies: The View from Miami

I spent my Monday night giving my undivided attention to football for the first time since the NBA season started. It was an evening well spent.

I've never felt like football teams (or hockey teams, for that matter) are organizations to which you give lifetime support. Baseball? I started rooting for the Baltimore Orioles when I was about 8 (my dad being a lifetime Yankee fan and that being the best way at the time to break the vicious downward cycle of nauseating, disgusting, ummmm.........yankeeness). Nearly 40 years later, I was still pulling for the O's — although I had added other MLB rooting interests in the interim.

I haven't watched a baseball game for 2 years now, but you get the point.

Basketball? I grew up on the North Coast of California (which is more like Oregon than Oregon is, so don't give me any grief) and pulled for THAT TEAM as a kid, although it was mostly baseball and football for me. My family moved to Oregon in 1977 when I was 16. You may remember that significance of that year from Blazer lore — it was a time when Blazermania was full blown. I thought the Blazer Cult was really obnoxious and the way everyone in my new high school were dronelike in wearing Nike waffle trainers was really strange. It left me cold. The Blazer Cult eventually ate my brain some years later, but that's another story. I still root for the Lakers, all these years later.

Football? Hey, that's more flexible. I consistently root for teams with fun offenses and those teams evolve and change. My boyhood team was the Baltimore Colts (see above re: Orioles) so there has been a sort of cosmic convergence there, as the (now Indianapolis) Colts have had that Peyton Manning fellow. You may be familiar with his work.

I've rooted for the Chargers for nearly a decade also, quarterbacked first by Drew Brees and later, when they had to make a decision between the two, by the big Texan, Philip Rivers. They start slow and finish strong every season and are pretty fun to watch when they're clicking.

And what is pro sports without an enemy? Everybody needs somebody to hate... Well, for me these days it's Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. I don't care how proficient that team's offense is (although I must confess that I do like to watch Tom Brady work when he's on a roll), Belichick's an arrogant jackass and if he and his silver-clad minions and their bozo fans were on the big screen every week against quality opposition, I'd be there rooting for them to get their blocks knocked off without fail.

Anyway, this week on MNF ex-Charger stud Drew Brees and his 10-0 Saints were at home against the not-quite-ready-for-primetime Patriots. That was Can't Miss Viewing for me — the kind of game that had me screaming at the TV and scaring the cat.

Well, in case you missed the game, it went like this. Saints took a quick lead, settling for a field goal, Patriots came back and scored, and thereafter Brees really went to town. They beat the hell out of the so-called Patriots (I say so-called because 6 of 11 starters on their so-called defense are new faces and the other 5 aren't very good).

It was akin to a world-class shooting exhibition by a traps champion, whacking clay pigeons at every angle and in multiples. BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!!! Every throw by Brees was on the money — he really missed just one big throw all night. The Patriots blew coverages. Silver-clad defenders were adeptly looked off the ball like they were Pop Warner kids. It was a butt-whipping that had Belichick running his tighty whiteys up the flagpole with nearly 5 minutes still on the clock, something that simplye does not happen in the NFL. Terrific stuff!!!

After the game, Brees' line was this: 18-for-23, 371 yards, 5 TD passes, 0 picks.

ESPN voice Stuart Scott was excited.

"That's a perfect quarterback rating!" he gushed, setting up his inevitable question for his colleagues, "Was that a perfect game?"

Now I don't have this Tivo'd so you're going to have to settle for the gist of the answer here.

A quarterback rating is just a number, ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame QB Steve Young replied. The important thing is what we saw. Every throw was precise, where it needed to be, on the money. The passing attack picked apart the coverage of the Patriots. A whole arsenal of different types of passes were thrown, each flawlessly. It was a beautiful thing to watch.

ESPN analyst Matt Millen was particularly enthralled with the first play from scrimmage, a sideline go route that travelled 35 yards in the air into a window about 1 foot square square between two Patriot defenders.

Nevermind the fact that any statistical metric in which one can throw 5 incompletions and still arrive at a "perfect" rating of 158.3 (!!!) has serious and glaringly obvious deficiencies (not to mention those less obvious, such as the overrating of short possession-type TD throws, the failure to discount "hail mary" picks, etc.)... No, the important thing is that Young and Millen were wowed not by the achievement of a maximum number of some crap statistic, but by the artistic mastery on the field which they had just witnessed.

So, too with the NBA. 

We're dealing with art here, people. Use your eyes. Stop trying to reduce everything you see to a crap statistic.

NFL Passer Rating

(not to be confused with NCAA or Arena Football passer ratings!)

a = (((Comp/Att) * 100) -30) / 20
b = ((TDs/Att) * 100) / 5
c = (9.5 - ((Int/Att) * 100)) / 4
d = ((Yards/Att) - 3) / 4

a, b, c and d can not be greater than 2.375 or less than zero.

QB Rating = (a + b + c + d) / .06

Timbo's NFL Passer Rating System

Nice passes as part of a creative offense, making use of skillful down-and-distance and clock management, results in wins that are fun to watch. The quarterbacks able to achieve these regularly are good. Those able to perform at such a level over an extended number of seasons are great.

I wanted to give you the clip of George Karl going off on his team after their loss to the Timberwolves, but it doesn't seem to be up on YouTube yet. Here's George Carlin instead...

Whelp, it's the 1st of the month, time to revisit

Timbo's Western Conference Power Rankings

Version 2.0, December 1, 2009.

1. Los Angeles Lakers (13-3).

Former Rank: 2

Key November Wins: at Atlanta; at Houston; home v. Phoenix.

All November Losses: at Denver; home v. Houston.

Comments: Pau Gasol is back and that has made all the difference in the world. No longer "one of the boys" in the Western Conference, the Lakers are now clearly head-and-shoulders above Denver and all others, headed once again for the post-season. The cotton-bunny-baby-bottom-soft opening schedule, skewed towards home games and including long rest intervals, will soon be coming to a close, so expect a little clump of losses before too much longer. Still, it's difficult to envision how anything short of an injury to Kobe or Pau is going to derail the Lakers this season. The one team that actually matches up with them physically, Portland, is playing like crap...

2. Denver Nuggets (12-5).

Former Rank: 1

Key November Wins: home v. Lakers.

All November Losses: at Miami; at Atlanta; at Milwaukee; at L.A. Clippers; home v. Minnesota.

Comments: It's not that Denver has gotten worse, it's just that the Lakers have become that much better. Embarrassing loss at home to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves notwithstanding, the Nuggs remain the clear #2 team in the conference, powered by emerging superstar Carmelo Anthony, adeptly lead by floor general Chauncey Billups, and featuring the tough and talented 1-2 punch of Nené and Kenyon Martin down low. A fun team to root against, for sure.

3. Phoenix Suns (14-3).

Former Rank: 3

Key November Wins: at Miami; at Boston; at Houston.

All November Losses: at Orlando; at L.A. Lakers; at New Orleans.

Comments: It may be smoke and mirrors, but there's lots of smoke and really tricky mirrors being used in Phoenix, as the impressive start of the Suns continues unabated. Seventy-three-year old PG Steve Nash is the man who makes the magic happen, and so far he hasn't tipped any of his tricks. Phoenix has played a massive number of road games, so theoretically they're gonna be able to maintain something like this winning pace this season unless and until other teams figure out how to shut down the track race. There is not a better team in the league at running out on made shots, which is pretty demoralizing. They're short in the Low Post Banger Department, but the list of teams in the West with those kind of guys who are still able to run is a short one: 1. Lakers; 2. Nuggets; 3. Blazers. And one of those three teams has a coach who thinks that matching up small ball-for-small ball is a terrific idea...

4. Dallas Mavericks (13-5).

Former Rank: 5

Key November Wins: home v. Utah; home v. Houston; home v. San Antonio; at Houston.

All November Losses: at New Orleans; at San Antonio; home v. Golden State; at Cleveland.

Comments: The Large German Man and his North Texas buddies are the chief beneficiaries of the fizzling Blazers. They're now eyeballing home court advantage in the playoffs if they can continue to get the job done on the road. Dirk has been The Guy and the assistant to The Guy — scoring 27.2 points per game this season while pulling down an average of 8.5 rebounds. Why is he not in the MVP discussion, I ask? He's a freak of nature, an unguardable Universal Mismatch. Dallas has had a hard time keeping a full complement of players on the court this season, but they've got sufficient depth to compete at the top level even with Josh Howard dressing for success. Jason Terry is their energy guy off the bench and J.J. Barea has proven once again that bigger isn't always better.

5. Utah Jazz (10-7).

Former Rank: 8

Key November Wins: home v. San Antonio; at San Antonio; home v. Portland.

All November Losses: home v. Houston; at Dallas; home v. Sacramento; at Boston; at Cleveland; home v. Oklahoma City.

Comments: Elevator going up! After a rough start reminiscent of last year's ugly finish, complete with a home court FAIL against the lowly Sacramento Kings, the Jazz have rediscovered the formula that had made them a perennial playoff competitor — the talented inside and midrange game of Carlos Boozer combined with the penetrating ability and clutch shooting of All-Star Deron Williams. The Jazz are once again looking tough to beat at home, and while they are capable of going sour on any given night, venerable if not venerated Head Coach Jerry Sloan has his team playing good ball again at last.

6. Portland Trail Blazers (12-7).

Former Rank: 4

Key November Wins: at Oklahoma City; home v. San Antonio.

All November Losses: home v. Atlanta; at Atlanta; at Golden State; home v. Memphis; at Utah.

Comments: Elevator going down! Blazers need to get their stuff together, and fast. Fundamental team weakness has been hidden by a soft schedule. Now things are coming into focus: the Blazers are clearly slumping and seem unable to right the ship. Brandon Roy is still getting his stats (Z-bo would approve), but he's often looking forced and dare I say selfish doing so. Teams that understand he's a pure isolation guy are shutting him down effectively. The rest of the jumpshooting Blazers can look like world-beaters one quarter and carpet-beaters the next. Aldridge has somehow gotten softer while he has needed to get tougher; Marty Webster is erratic. The PG position remains a mess: Steve "Binky" Blake is Coach Nate's beloved for reasons inexplicable to most rational fans, many nights Rex still can't shoot a lick from the perimeter, a skill which Andre Miller never had and never will have. The bright spots have been the play of Greg Oden, a defensive beast in his foul-prone 25 minutes a night, and newbie Dante "The Inferno" Cunningham, who still has that yummy fresh good rookie smell. All the parts are there, it's time for superstar Brandon to get some broad shoulders and start carrying this team like a superstar instead of half-assing defensively and whining and offering lame excuses after the inevitable defeat.

7. San Antonio Spurs (9-6).

Former Rank: 6

Key November Wins: home v. Dallas; at Houston.

All November Losses: at Utah; at Portland; home v. Oklahoma City; at Dallas; home v. Utah.

Comments: The people who think the Spurs are a legit contender this season are into Nostalgia or infatuated with Richard Jefferson, neither of which is gonna change the fact that this team isn't. Still, they closed the month running up 5 straight Ws, and those of us who looking forward to piddling on their grave may well have to wait one more season. Tony "Cockroach" Parker is back from the bing he suffered against the Blazers, DeJuan Blair has been a serviceable big who isn't, and Grandpa Bankshot still hasn't broken down yet. You add Manu Ginobili to the list and you're up to a thoroughly mediocre low-level playoff team. One and doners, unless the battered and bashed Parker goes down, in which case an outcome of none and done will be more likely.

8. Oklahoma City Thunder (9-8).

Former Rank: 9

Key November Wins: home v. Orlando; at San Antonio; at Miami; at Utah.

All November Losses: home v. Portland; home v. L.A. Lakers; at Houston; at Sacramento; home v. L.A. Clippers; at Orlando; at L.A. Lakers; at Houston.

Comments: I really like the Thunder, who have built their team according to the Portland Model ("develop young talent"). They're still short a big feller or two, but Durant and Green and Westbrook make for a fine starting point for future construction. Look at those four big wins listed above and then tell me that OKC can't play ball with the big kids... Still, every time these guys start to look like they're over the hump and a legit playoff team, they go and do something stupid — like choking away a lead and losing to arch rivals Houston at home. Still, they've had a very difficult schedule thus far and I'll give them the nod over the Rockets even at this early juncture, since they've got the go-to scorers that Houston does not. Whether they can hold it together for a full season is another question, and a good one.

The Rest of the West:

9. Houston Rockets (9-8). Yeah, so they beat the Thunder on the road. Still too small with no go-to scoring threat.

10. Golden State Warriors (6-10). Monta Ellis is emerging as a legitimate star. Very dangerous running team.

11. Los Angeles Clippers (8-10). Clips really need Blake G. back fast to have any shot at the post-season.

12. Memphis Grizzlies (6-12). An amalgam of crude talents with no discipline or theme. Losing A.I. for Tinsley does help.

13. New Orleans Hornets (7-10). Falling fast. They could wind up in the cellar if they don't watch out.

14. Sacramento Kings (8-8). Plucky overachievers, fun to watch, still sitting at .500. Go get 'em, guys...

15. Minnesota Timberwolves (2-15). They really love their potential draft position. Huge upset win at Denver!

Channel Surfing.

Sunday, Nov. 29.

New Jersey Nets (0-16) at Los Angeles Lakers (12-3).

I am disappointed in the New Jersey Nets. I am not disappointed because they have lost so many games, which was more or less inevitable when something like 7 rotation players went down to injury while at the same time being forced to open the season with 11 of their first 17 games on the road. No, I am disappointed in the New Jersey Nets because they stopped believing in themselves and quit.

After playing the Blazers so tough on Wednesday, eventually falling to a superior team on its home floor to go 0-15, I was convinced, positive, absolutely certain that  they were going to explode in a 125-point rage on the foreheads of the Sacramento Kings on Friday. They did not.

Sure, the Nets may well have the ugliest team website in all of professional sports, but with Devan Harris carrying the ball and the remarkably fluid Brook Lopez finishing at the rim, this is not a particularly ugly team on he floor. You want ugly? Watch the Timberwolves. They suck.

The Nets knew they had to win against the Kings, a very beatable Western Conference club, to avoid, shall we say, a very dire situation. Instead they got themselves stomped and went to 0-16. It was so bad that their hard working supremo, Lawrence Frank, was put out of his misery one game ahead of schedule... The Nets didn't say they fired Frank, mind you, instead announcing that he had been "relieved of his coaching duties" — a surprisingly apt euphemism.

So after their biggest gut check turned into an epic belly flop, now the NBA's consensus 30 seed got to visit the home floor of the NBA's consensus 1 seed to try to avert matching the league's all-time worst opening record, 0-17. Oh, goody...

Wow, what did YOU think was gonna happen?!?!?

You were right. Congratulations.

The Lakers had runs of 22-2 in the 1st Quarter and 19-7 in the 2nd, maxxing the carnage with a 34 point lead midway through the 3rd frame. PJ lit the victory cigar with 2:27 left in the 3rd, inserting Adam Morrison, The Worst Player in the NBA.™® Morrison finished with 0 points on 0-for-3 shooting and Minus-7 in the +/-. Not that anyone is counting.

The Nets get to face the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday to see if they can avoid setting a new NBA record for season-opening futility. Good luck with that. Lakers 106, Nets 87 — and not actually that close.

Minnesota Timberwolves (1-15) at Denver Nuggets (12-4).

Gosh, Nets at Lakers, T-wolves at Nuggets — the NBA sure knows how to pick 'em some nights!

'Cept this one didn't end the way that 100.0000% of NBA fans predicted that it would. Kurt Rambis's discount priced generic basketball team pulled off what Denver's TV color commentator called "the worst loss for the Nuggets in two years," beating the #2 team in the Western Conference on its home floor. The lowly T-wolves thus became the first visiting team this year to win in Denver.

How the hell did that happen?

I saw the finale on League Pass Broad Band and was inspired by the outcome to go back and watch the game again, trying to figure out how what is truly the worst team in the NBA managed to pull off this biggest of all upsets.

Some observations:

• This game was the tale of two halves. In the 1st Half, Denver had 'em kronked — putting the Timberwolves 17 points in the pit and more or less keeping them there.
• The T-wolves came out 14-0 to open the second half, and we had ourselves a ballgame. The Nuggets' bad defense, turnovers, and lazy propensity for jumpshots were critical components in the comeback. It was a "sluggish start," in the words of the Denver play-by-play dude Chris Marlowe. "Denver turned the lights off at half time and they're trying to find that switch," color analyst Scott Hastings later added.
• The T-wolves were hot, the Nuggs were not... Denver was outshot 51% to 42% — just the 4th time all year that Minnesota managed to hit at a higher rate than its opponent. The Nuggets were also outrebounded, 46 to 43.
• Denver's superstar, Carmelo Anthony, went cold. He had 19 points in the 1st quarter, but nothing again until the 1:50 mark of the 3rd — a huge interval during which the game turned. Minnesota was making a point of putting a body on him on defense — hard. Melo was anything but and he got whistled for a technical over what he felt was an uncalled foul.
• Birdbrain got hit in the mouth and wandered around in a self-absorbed haze for several minutes, apparently wiggling a loose tooth. It wasn't instrumental in the outcome of the game but it has to be regarded as noteworthy for haters of hair-gel-encrusted hype machines such as myself.
• Chauncey Billups was a pretty terrible chucker, shooting just 2-for-13 for the night, finishing with 14 points. Minnesota, on the other hand, got the ball in the paint when it was needed.

Takeaways: 1. Halftime starts a new game so never give up; 2. Consistent aggression on both defense and offense can make up for physical mismatches (Call this the "Houston Rockets Principle"); 3. It sure helps when opposing stars miss their shots; 4. It's funny when Chris Andersen gets hit in the mouth. Timberwolves 106, Nuggets 100.

Tuesday, Dec. 1.

Phoenix Suns (14-3) at New York Knicks (3-14).

The battle of the run-and-gunners, D'Antoni's Knicks against the D'Antoni's Disciple's Suns, promised to be a poorly defended, high scoring affair. Sure enough, it was — but it was the lowly New York Knicks putting up a season-high 39 points in the 1st Quarter rather than the highly touted Pacific Division-leading visitors.

New York led by 11 at the end of the first frame and somehow averted the inevitable collapse — pushing the lead to near-blowout proportions. D'Antoni had a lovely little smirk on his mug all night. Danilo Gallinari, averaging 13.1 points per game for the season, had 20 on the board at halftime. He made somebody look pretty smart for drafting him, finishing with 27, one of 6 Knicks in double figures.

Humor value was provided by the Phoenix announcers, who announced the results of a poll of their viewers — 87% of whom opined that Steve Nash was the leader thus far in the race for the NBA MVP award, topping Kobe Bryant (6%), Carmelo Anthony (4%), and LeBron James (4%).

Not tonight: Knicks 126, Suns 99.

Miami Heat (9-7) at Portland Trail Blazers (12-7).

This was the battle of two struggling teams. The Heat, they of the great D-Wade and the emerging Michael Beasley, came in having won just 3 of their last 9 contests, still smarting from their 92-85 home loss to the loathsome Boston Celtics on Sunday. The Blazers, as we are well aware, had problems of their own — back to back humiliations at the hands of the Memphis Grizz and the Utah Jazz, in which they were outscored in the 1st Quarter by a combined score of 61-32.

LMA was down with a knee bruise, so it was Dante "The Inferno" Cunningham getting the nod at starting Power Forward, with Grandpa Juwon getting serious time off the bench in a reserve role. Both acquitted themselves well.

Once again, try as they might, the Blazers came out flat and went down fast. After just 2:55, Greg Oden already had his 2 first half fouls, Nate had a T, and the Blazers were sitting in an 11-3 hole, from which they never emerged. The game was over in the 3rd Quarter and there were lots of empty seats at the end.

Since I watched this game with only my left eye, while my right eye watched the Lakers dismantling the New Orleans Hornets, I decided to burn the midnight oil watching the whole game again — a little gift from me to you.

You're welcome.

In watching the game again I sought to resolve a big question that I had: Were the 10 fouls called on Oden and Przybilla by the referee crew of Scott Foster, Kevin Fehr, and David Gutherie legitimate or bogus? Watching in real time, I thought several of them were dubious — and that their impact was decisive.

Ready for what I learned?

Foul Calls on the Centers: 

First Quarter:

Oden 1: Illegal Pick — GO hip-checked Dwayne Wade as he was sliding by, well away from the ball, a needless hit which hurt Wade a bit. Good call.

Oden 2: Hard fight for position underneath between Jermaine O'Neal and Oden ending in a wild square dance move in which they both went flying. I watched the play five times and still can't assign blame. It's a coin toss. Rice made the case for a no call in the telecast which would have been one just result. My opinion is that it was a double foul, with O'Neal wrongly escaping punishment. But a good call on Oden though, if you follow me... It seems impossible for that much violence to go unpunished.

Nate's T: After Oden Foul 2, Nate screams "That's just (barnyard epithet)!!! It is! That's (obscene emphatic) wrong!" at Scott Foster. Good call.

Pryz 1: Illegal Pick — Pryzzy came up behind Chalmers and blindsided him from behind, a cheap shot which sent him flying. Absolutely a good call. MB claimed in his commentary that both Centers were whistled for the same infraction "in the exact same spot," which is false.

Second Quarter:

Pryz 2: Late whistle shooting foul on Carlos Arroyo. Terrible call, pure flop by the shooter with absolutely no contact on the shooter while shooting made by Pryz. Rice (tenatively): "I guess my eyes are going on me because I didn't see any contact — did you?" MB: "I saw a little contact blah blah blah. Nice job by Arroyo to sell the call." The League Office has these two Trail Blazer employees under some sort of instruction to lay off the officials — I guarantee it. Pure flop. Horrible call.

Pryz 3: Shooting foul on Dwayne Wade. Wade drove straight into a retreating Przybilla going to the rack. That's what he does. Good call, in that that's the way this sort of contact is called by NBA officials every night.

Uncalled Nate Technical: 5.3 seconds in the half: Beasley runs down Marty, who is called for the block. I offer no opinion on the rightness or wrongness of the call. Nate screams: "(Obscene interjection)!!!" at the refs. It wasn't even gramatical use of the word, which is probably what saved the immediate hook — if he tossed in a direct object he would have been gone. Naughty Nate. Assistant Coach Monty Williams saves his bacon by herding him back to the bench.

Third Quarter:

Pryz 4: Loose Ball Foul — Called on Pryz by Scott Foster, fighting for position in the key with a rebound up for grabs. Foster, who actually seems to have been screened on the play, thought Pryz was over Anthony's back. Bad call. MB: "That's the fourth foul on Przybilla. He's played 12 minutes, and every one is similar to this, where it is kind of a scrum and he comes out of there looking surprised that he is the guilty party." This is completely inaccurate. This was a bad call on ordinary rebounding action — previous calls on Pryz were a blindside pick, a flop by Arroyo, and a that's-the-way-it-goes shooting foul against D-Wade.

Pryz 5: Loose Ball Foul — just seconds after call 4. Another terrible call. Again, the referee, partially screened by the body of the Heat player, thinks that Pryzbilla delivered a push in ordinary rebounding action. Very close to a "standing flop," with Anthony flailing his arms as he moved backwards, Pryz in superior (defensive) rebounding position. Bad call.

Oden 3: Intentional foul at the 1:11 mark.

Oden 4: Intentional foul at the 0:32 mark.

Oden 5: Intentional foul at the 0:21 mark.

I reckon Pryz got jobbed a bit, Oden didn't. So it goes.

I didn't see any obvious lack of effort or gross defensive failings by the Blazers. A few slow closes on shots behind the arc and D-Wade burned 'em a few times, but that's par for the course for any team in the NBA.

Brandon scored 25, sure, but he did it very inefficiently, taking 25 shots from the floor. The lack of LMA hurt defensively, as both Miami forwards scored over 20 points — but it struck me as one of those nights when their stuff was just falling. These things happen. The Blazers were not run out of the gym.

Recall these words of a great American:

Here’s my one suggestion…

Play hard. Play with pride. Play for the city of Portland. 

That’s all we ask. 

If you guys suck, but you played hard, no one’s going to hold it against you. You know what I mean? That’s been a trait of the Blazers going back 40 years — if you’re a hard-working player you will get your name up like Lloyd Neal, you’ll get your name raised in the rafters with your jersey retired. All you have to do is wreck your knee from playing hard and you will be an all-time legend here as a Blazer. But people do not EVER put up with players loafing.

The Blazers’ fans were booing last week, they were booing the team’s effort — you heard it during the Memphis game. * * *

The one thing that needs to happen, from the top down, Brandon Roy included — YOU NEED TO BRING SOLID EFFORT. Getting booed off your home court in November is not a good look. Blazer fans do not stand for that.

It seems to me the Blazers brought solid effort against the Heat... They played hard. They cared.

Miami's shots fell. Portland's shots did not. The Blazers needed to run. The Blazers were unable to run. They lost. Deal with it, friends.

Now let's have a look-see at our Basketball powertool, the Popcorn Machine GAME FLOW SUMMARY. Please give that link a clicky-clicky, if you would be so kind...

Observation 1: After the 3rd Przybilla foul, with 3:30 left in the 1st half, Nate pulled his goalie, inserting Dante Cunningham and moving Juwon Howard to Center, with Oden on the bench with 2 fouls. The small ball Blazer unit went Minus-4 up to the half.

Observation 2: Nate returned to the "3 guard lineup" for the last 7:45, with Marty used at "Power Forward" and Oden at Center. This squad went Plus-8, but Miami was never really threatened.

Observation 3: Greg Oden played 30 minutes, including all but 3:17 of the 2nd Half. He accumulated 12  10 rebounds in the final quarter but only scored 3 points.

Enough sorrow.

Now it's time for us to once again pay a visit to our favorite friends, J.E. Skeets and Tas Melas, as they enthrall us with the latest installment of THE GREATEST THING IN THE WORLD. They're taking Wednesday off, so here's the episode put up on Tuesday...

Aii-yii-yiiii, and just in case you missed it, here was Monday's episode...

Okay, that's enough video. Let's get to the real point of this bloated dead cow of a column, shall we? Here are some snippets and links to the analysis of Miami's bloggers and newspaper folk...

(1)

Beasley, Wade Lead Miami Heat Over Blazers on the Road

by Israel Guttierez, Miami Herald

* * *
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, coaching for the second time in his hometown, saw this coming.

"After the Washington game, we had a great, productive, heartfelt day on Saturday," Spoelstra said. "There was a little bit of a change in focus and commitment to what we're doing. I thought we played extremely well against Boston — just couldn't put some shots down at the end — but that started the process. I think everybody in that locker room, all 15 guys and the coaches, were looking forward to coming out west." * * *

Beasley continued what has been the best stretch of his career, scoring 27 points on 8 of 15 shooting with eight rebounds. * * *

(2)

Postgame Breakdown: Heat 107, Blazers 100

by Michael Wallace, Miami Herald On the Beat blog

* * *
In perhaps its most impressive performance of the season, the Heat cruised to a 107-100 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden on Tuesday. Dwyane Wade notched his first double-double of the season, while Michael Beasley and Quentin Richardson both turned in season-high scoring efforts to snap a four-game losing streak against the Blazers. * * *

WINNING EDGE: Balance. Neither of Miami's first two scorers to reach 20 points were named Dwyane Wade. Beasley got there early in the third quarter and Richardson, who had 20 points and nine rebounds, followed midway through the fourth. This clearly was the Heat's most complete and promising game of the season. The roster lived up to its fullest potential, considering the circumstances and rotation limitations. There was movement in the offensive sets. Wade got off the ball, swinging it frequently to the weak side, where shooters made shots in key moments. Beasley was a beast in the lane again and didn't settle for jumpers. Every bit of Tuesday's offense will be needed Thursday in Denver, which scored 135 points in a win Tuesday. * * *

(3)

Heat Gets Trip Off to a Blazing Start with 107-100 Romp in Portland

by Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

* * *
Erik Spoelstra's first trip back to his hometown as Miami Heat coach resulted in a 38-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers last year.

Tuesday night, Spoelstra was back in the city where his father had served as a Blazers executive. And this time, the kid was all right. * * *

Almost a year to the date that he was relegated to the bench for the majority of his rookie season after that blowout loss to the Blazers, Beasley erupted for 27 points, one shy of his career high, taking an aggressive stance that led to an 11-of-12 performance on foul shots. His previous career high for points from the line had been 10.

"Some of the best plays Michael made were when he had patience," Spoelstra said. "It shows you how far he's come. He was terrific tonight."

Beasley said he felt he could get the best of the Blazers' overwhelming size with his quickness. * * *

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A Year Later, Beasley Confident of Role in Starting Lineup

by Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

PORTLAND, Ore. - A year ago, this is where life as a rookie starter essentially ended for Michael Beasley. * * *

To Beasley, the sting of last season's benching still resonates, to have someone tell him that he wasn't good enough to remain an NBA starter, after one of the best statistical college seasons ever, at Kansas State.

"It is still vivid," he said as he watched teammates warm up Tuesday. "I think it's something I need to think about, because we were 15 games in last year, we're 16 in now. It's around the same exact time, almost. It's something I'm not dwelling on. I just don't want it to happen again." * * *

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Heat 107, Trail Blazers 100

by Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun-Sentinel Heat blog

Observations from Tuesday's 107-100 victory over the Trail Blazers at the Rose Garden:

* * *

• Quentin Richardson was back in the Heat starting lineup at small forward. While Erik Spoelstra said it was to get back "to a more familiar rotation," James Jones' limitations had become apparent during his 2-3 run as a starter amid Richardson's back spasms.
• Spoelstra further tweaked the rotation by shifting Wade to point guard early, when Jones entered for Mario Chalmers. When Chalmers was called for his third foul with 3:46 to play in the first half, Wade again was shifted to point guard. * * *
• The Heat caught a break with Portland power forward LaMarcus Aldridge sidelined by a bruised right knee. That left Dante Cunningham, a second-round pick out of Villanova, with his first NBA start. * * *

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Heat Kick Off Road Trip with Redeeming Win in Portland

by DolPhanDave, Pennisula is Mightier (SBN)

After the embarrassing loss in Portland last season, the Heat bounced back in a big way, leading the game from start to finish and beating the Blazers in convincing fashion. The Heat shot 53% from the field while holding Portland to just 39%, which moved the Heat to 5-0 when holding their opponent to under 40% shooting.

The Heat hit their first three shots and jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, the best start to a game for Miami his season. Just 3 minutes into the game, Greg Oden was called for his second foul, which ignited Blazers coach Nate McMillen and he was T-ed up. The Heat kept their collective foot on the gas pedal and extended their lead to 11-3. * * *

The Heat better rest up tomorrow because they have a nasty back-to-back on Thursday and Friday against Denver and the Lakers. * * *

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Beasley Proves People Wrong

posted by "Game Time 3" to Real GM Miami Heat message board

Beasley is proving people wrong every game.

People said he couldn't be a rebounder in this league, well if you play him @ PF, you will see him rebound.

People said he wasn't a power player, well he is leading the Heat in dunks this year.

People said that he will never take the game too serious, well this year its been a business approach on the court(He still acts like a clown off the court but who cares)....Beasley is the future!

(8)

Beasley Damned Impressive!

posted by "Cool D" to Real GM Miami Heat message board

My internet died for a little while last night. So am a bit late with the assessment.

But damn Beasley was impressive, am not talking just raw stats, that any player could get in a hot night. It was how Beasley played, everytime he had the ball, he simply attacked his opponent in many ways. Everytime he saw Oden, he just simply attacked him, same with Howard.

Also the impressive part that I hardly ever seen Beasley do, is be able to pass out of double teams, he was patient enough to access the defense, and made the correct pass.
He move without the ball. Even the fastbreak, he simply didn't force it, he gave it to Wade, and then Wade gave back to him, for the sweet dunk.

Even a couple times saw him great moving without the ball, that is something I think Beasley has lacked, but last night he was moving great with out it. * * *

There were no available game summaries from Hot Hot Hoops (True Hoop), Leaving It All on the Court (MVN), or Miami Heat Beat (Fanball) as of noon Eastern Time.

The Bottom Line:

1. This was a sweet win for the Heat — a turning point.

2. What do you think of our Beasley now? A little better than last year, huh?

3. We really needed this one, because we're doing Nuggets and Lakers back-to-back coming up next.