Focus and Meditation - 1st Quarter

I know that some of you will probably object to this on the grounds that it is too Phil Jacksonian, but hear me out anyway.

The largest problem I see in these games is that the team does not seem focused at the start of games, even often in the games that we win.  The feeling out process takes too long.

I think the team needs to seriously consider some sort of focusing-meditative practice before games start to visualize what they're trying to do out there.  You can tell that Nate repeatedly tells the team what they need to do, they work on it in practices, and then they don't execute it nearly as well as they do in practice.  To me, this is a problem of visualization.  The team as a whole, does not enter games with a vision in their mind of what they need to do to win.

I have noticed that in the first quarter particularly, despite moving at game speed that we often end up on the wrong end of broken plays and awkward rebounds.  That the Blazers just don't seem mentally in position to react to what is unfolding around them.  I think that the intensity level that Nate feels is lacking from the team is caused by a lack of focus before the game actually starts.

I would like the team to spend a few minutes before every game, closing their eyes, and visualizing running plays through the offense.  I'd like for them to visualize fighting through screens.  I'd like for them to visualize rotating at the first instant that they realize they need to move.

The mental fatigue aspect of the game, playing through 82 games night in and night out is toughest on the young teams.  What we've lost recently, and have been able to make up in our winning streak, is focus.

People can complain about individuals - like Oden picking up fouls, Brandon not being enough of a leader (come on... really?), Travis not getting out on 3-point shooters quickly enough, LaMarcus not rebounding enough on the defensive end, and Sergio making bad turnovers... but to me it just seems that overall the team doesn't have that razor's edge focus entering games.

Early in the season when we blasted the Bulls out of the water, you could see from the tip-off that we saw what we were going to do and followed that path.  I don't see that vision now, but after halftime I can tell that the team almost always has that vision they need that they should have had in the first quarter.  We almost always score more points in the second half than the other team - the only thing preventing us from doing it in the first half is focus.