Game 59 Recap: Blazers 102, Nets 93
by Dave on Feb 23, 2010 7:44 PM PST
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PrintLong Story Short: The Blazers pull ahead early then ease up on defense enough to make it interesting. In the end monster nights from LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy seal the deal for Portland. Now acclimatized to the Blazer culture, Marcus Camby sprains his ankle 5 minutes into the game and doesn't return.
The Game
We begin with a disclaimer. DirectTV had a snafu and didn't broadcast the first quarter of the game so I was not able to see Portland leap out to a 32-22 lead. Nor did I see Marcus Camby sprain his ankle, though Ben reports the Portland TV crew saying x-rays were negative and his status for tomorrow's game is unknown.
Portland also cruised through the second period, which I assume was a repeat of the first. Portland's defensive intensity was fairly high. The Nets were shooting from the perimeter, definitely not a specialty. When the ball went the other way, well...they say a team often takes on the personality of its coach. If so, Kiki Vandeweghe has had a remarkable and immediate effect on this squad. They play defense just like he did. All of them play defense just like he did. I don't know a better way to put it other than to say they look like a team that has just given up on that end of the floor. For the most part the Blazers got anything they wanted off of LaMarcus Aldridge posts or any given wing penetrating. LMA was in the paint repeatedly, scoring at will against Brook Lopez or anybody else. Miller, Roy, even Webster scored off of penetration. When Aldridge is getting within four feet and Webster is taking you off the dribble you have problems. On the rare occasions New Jersey did put up a fight one pass was all that was necessary to find an open jump shooter. The Blazers ran on the Nets. They passed in the midst of the Nets. They gave up only 3 turnovers in the game to the Nets. It was easy as pie. Portland led 56-37 at the half.
Portland loosened up defensively in the second half. Courtney Lee found a hot hand and gave New Jersey confidence. Did I say confidence? I meant a sense of imperviousness offensively. With only a couple minutes left to go in the game they were clocked shooting over 92% in the half. That allowed them to cut the lead to 5 on a few occasions. Unfortunately they were still quite pervious on the defensive end. Yes, the Blazers' offense stalled but mostly that's because they just started shooting any old thing. Once the game got serious they fed Roy and he butchered New Jersey single-handedly. When the game got down to the final minutes Portland turned up the defense again. The Nets ended up missing 7 of their last 9 shots. And that was that. Thank goodness.
Kudos to Portland not just for shooting over 54% for the game (how could you not?) but also for knowing how to get decent shots for most of the evening. The Blazers attempted only 12 three-pointers tonight, which was perfect. Why in the world would you want to shoot threes against this team? But that's not stopped Portland before. In a major reversal of fortune Portland also scored 42 points in the paint to New Jersey's 26.
Those odd, odd stats should automatically tell you that any individual observations tonight need to be taken with a grain of salt. If you go to trade a guy and say, "Hey, he shot 68% and scored 20 in the paint against New Jersey!" the opposing GM is going to laugh in your face. But I will mention a few interesting tidbits and standout performances.
LaMarcus Aldridge was Mr. Energy tonight, particularly on the offensive end. We don't usually see that many sweeping hooks from him in a week. The Blazers fed him too, except they ignored him late as usual. Maybe somebody needs to do something about that if he's hot. 13-20, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 27 points.
How long has it been since we've seen Roy and Aldridge go off in the same game? It happened tonight and it was good to see. (I know...New Jersey.) Brandon was cutting more freely than we've seen and his plant for his jumper was pretty solid. Maybe he's feeling better? He took over late and the Nets couldn't do diddly. 9-14 from the field, 10-13 from the line, 28 points.
Andre Miller scored 20 on 7-10 shooting because New Jersey couldn't stop him from penetrating. He also had 7 assists.
Nicolas Batum got the start and put up Martell Webster-like numbers: 2 points, 1 rebound in 23 minutes. He did have 3 blocks.
What has happened to Rudy Fernandez' three-point shot? He barely hit the rim with it tonight when he was wide open. I guess he did hit 1 of 3 but those others just looked wrong. Whatever else we want or don't want out of Rudy is all predicated on him being that deadeye shooter. If he loses that he loses most of his value to us. It's like trying to decorate a cake with icing and finding the cake has disappeared. At this point I'm willing to have Rudy forget everything else and just hit those shots. I'd be happy.
Check out the general numbness to losses at NetsDaily. If anyone else gets the #1 overall pick it's a travesty.
Peep your Jersey Contest scores here and enter tomorrow's game over here.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
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Ok, everyone at once.. ssssssiiiiiiiiiiggggghhhh of relief that we didn’t lose that one.
"Put God first in all you do and your dreams [of making money off people's misfortune] will come true."
- Q
The Nets didn't win so all I got was this crappy recap.
In Bayless I trust.
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you too, Dave???
Martell’s averaging 10.8 ppg this year. He’s scored 28 points twice. Streaky? Sure. But 2 points is not a “Martell Webster-like game.”
He has scored 2 points 9 times this year
Its a pretty common occurance. Certainly more Martell-like than his 28 point games.
This season,
Martell scores 2 points: 9/59 games= 16% of time
Nic scores 2 points 3/14 games = 21%
Martell has also scored 10 or more 25 times this year= 42%
Nic has scored 10 or more 5/14= 35%
I swear, Martell would have to singlehandedly rescue your whole family from a burning building for some of you to decide he doesn’t suck.
by Section323 on Feb 23, 2010 8:08 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
hmmm...
Scoring 2 points in a game 16% of the time isn’t really compelling evidence that he doesn’t suck as a starting Small Forward. That being said, I do like him to start and like the prospects for spreading the floor with his three point shot. I just don’t think at this point Batum is any more consistent. In my opinion its still up in the air who should be awarded more minutes.
I agree
Nic is just as inconsistent as Martell or if you prefer just as consistent. Our offense is structured for them to be that way. Sometimes they will get shots and sometimes they won’t.
#52
by blazermaniac32 on Feb 23, 2010 8:27 PM PST up reply actions
Agreed
I think most of the inconsistencies in our offense (and players confidence) can be attributed to Nates offensive schemes or lack thereof. Getting the Ball dumped in your hands with 3 seconds on the shot clock does not foster a good shot.
by netking on Feb 23, 2010 8:31 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
+1
kinda hard to expect our players to produce consistently when their roles change from game to game.
I'm going on a Dave boycott until AK1984 is brought back.
"Did they really expect me to bow down to Jesus?!?" ~Sophia
"At first glance, I saw a fairly unremarkable penis." ~Sophia on Greg Oden
by Philthyanimal on Feb 23, 2010 10:11 PM PST up reply actions
in the long run that's what make great role players great
guys like Robert Horry. They can go for a whole game and play a little, then consistently produce when called upon. For the Blazers to become a finals-caliber team, they’ll need to “discover” a few of these flexible role players. Not everyone can get 25-30 mpg and always be guaranteed 10+ shots. The guys who can make the sacrifice and adjust to “whatever” role they’re needed for in a given game (or playoff series) will ultimately be more valuable than the more-talented kids who have to score to feel like they’re part of the game
Might as well find out, now
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Feb 23, 2010 10:42 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
I like being able to rec you.
Clarence, It's better to have a gun and not need it, then need a gun and not have it.
ah, I see
when I mention things like “I’m not sure if Travis, Martell, Rudy, etc will ever develop into this kind of playoff-caliber role player” that’s when things get dicey. Fair enough
It’s a process, and no one knows how things will eventually shake out. But until KP and Nate pass judgment on a player (like when Outlaw was traded, etc) then all we fans can do is watch, take notes, and speculate
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I think one of the biggest things I've disagreed with you on ...
… was the consolidation trade concept. I thought that was more fantasy league realistic than NBA realistic.
But lo and behold, Pritchard pulled off a consolidation trade. I have to recognize when I’m off target and someone else is not.
Clarence, It's better to have a gun and not need it, then need a gun and not have it.
I'm backing away from the trade machine, for awhile
Nice win tonight against Toronto. Rudy looked good, and the team played at a brisk pace. There’s sunlight peeking out from those clouds after “Hammygate” and the Utah meltdown. There will be plenty of time after the season to talk about roster management, for now, this is the team we’ve got and we’ll see how far they can go
Now, about that 15th man… You see? It never really goes away. Well, maybe after March 1st all the front office decision-making will be over and all that will be left to “complain about” is the coaching and the refs
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
That wasn't primarily a consolidation trade, though
It was a “fill a need” trade.
The fact that it was also a consolidation trade was a bonus. Usually, you pay a price for quantity for quality trades, but we got to do it without paying a significant talent premium. That’s because we were trading with the Clips, so we paid a cash premium instead.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
You probably picked at your scabs as a kid ...
… so the would continue to bleed.
Clarence, It's better to have a gun and not need it, then need a gun and not have it.
It would be nice if fans were as understanding as we want these role players to be
too many times players are called out – when it fact shot selection is a matter of design, rather than choice.
Rudy passing up open shots early in his return is one exception, but even Miller’s 5/18 the other night was by design – it was just the wrong design for the player.
by blacknoiseNW on Feb 24, 2010 9:22 AM PST up reply actions
I don't think Miller was intended
to be taking some of those shots. Sorry, that wasn’t by design.
Nate finally sat him down.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
That is exactly the way I see it.
To compare Marty and Batman offensively is to ask which one can stay awake the longest. Batman can play D at this moment better then Marty and that IMO is why Batum is starting.
Also in my way of thinking, Nate is wasting a lot of talent by not involving them in offensive plays. When Marty gets his shots he is also very active on D. when he doesn’t he becomes a dead head. Batum is a defensive specialist and only shoots because the coach makes him. He gets most of his points off defensive plays.
My biggest complaint is Nate brags about not having to call plays for his SF or his Centers. I wouldn’t brag about that. I would be concerned about wasting talent.
hg
It's not Nate's fault
that his players only play good D when they play good offense. You absolutely can’t blame Nate for that. Not everyone will get shots, plain and simple. All the great teams had the majority of the shots distributed amongst 2-sometimes-3 guys (Jordan and Pippen, Shaq and Kobe, Kobe and Pau, Duncan and Robinson, Duncan and Ginobili and Parker, and so forth). It’s how team basketball works.
Sure they are other guys that CAN hit shots, but they aren’t the guys you call plays for. The point that Marty plays better D when he gets plays called for him on O shows me his expendable, because as long as Roy and Aldridge exist he won’t get many shots per game and he NEEDS to focus on defense and rebounding INSTEAD of offense, not only when he has offense.
I see your point
That is why I say Nic is better at the 3 then Marty. Regardless of what you say, if you keep the players head in the game on offense, he will give you more energy on defense. It wouldn’t matter if it was one or two plays a game, or a back door cut or a little jumper off a curl. Even pick and roll. But to have them stand behind the ark as said, with a bail out 3 with few seconds on the shot clock isn’t wise.
We used Travis as a third scorer much more then we do Marty and Nic. that surely didn’t hurt our team.
I do blame Nate because he doesn’t use his talent. Giving BRoy the ball on every play for the last four minutes of the ball game isn’t showing trust for his other players true you give it to your best player, but if the shot isn’t there then in a desperation last few seconds dish out to the SF that hasn’t touched the ball the whole second half and expect him to win the game, to me that is not smart coaching. Then repeatedly saying they have to knock down those shots.
I am not a Nate hater nor am I against what he brings, I am just saying he should be a little more creative then go isolation with BRoy for four minutes with the opponent’s putting 3 defenders on BRoy and one in the passing lane for the 3 point dish out and we can’t score. I am not a BB whiz, and I know BRoy is mostly unstoppable but it does not hurt to involve some of your other resources from time to time throughout the game.
hg
Nate's system is so slow and star-focused
It really kills the complementary players. As does his insistence on playing 10 guys. Most good teams have a tighter rotation so guys like Marty and Batum would get more shots when the big guns went out. But with Nate’s platoon approach, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th starters are rarely on the floor when Roy and LA aren’t.
"...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena." - Dave
Yep. It is incrediably stupid of Nate ...
… to insist that the team not shoot until there are less than 6 seconds on the clock. How many times have we heard him yelling from the sidelines “Hold the ball!” “Don’t shoot. It’s too early!”. Seems like almost every possession.
Clarence, It's better to have a gun and not need it, then need a gun and not have it.
sarcastic yes - but these guys play like they're coached
by blacknoiseNW on Feb 24, 2010 9:24 AM PST up reply actions
And that is ...?
I can honestly say I don’t know how Nate coaches. I haven’t ever attended one of his practices (assuming of course that I could learn everything I need to know from attending one practice).
To the best of my knowledge, all the media gets is to see the last 15 – 20 minutes of a practice, so even the people closest to the team can’t say for certainty what Nate teaches and what he covers.
If you know this, can you share it with the rest of us?
Clarence, It's better to have a gun and not need it, then need a gun and not have it.
same old tired response
when you can’t respond with any real insight (and your sarcasm is simply a cover for “no response possible”), you revert back to your standard logical fallacy and attack the person – rather than the argument. What could I possibly know since I’m not an NBA coach, player or privy to practices? Plenty.
First – all teams play like they are coached. As my coach told me – practice makes permanent – not perfect. If you hadn’t noticed (and by your response, you hadn’t?), the Blazers like to start the offense with an iso, wait for the double team, and then find an open shooter, cutter (rare), or score at the iso if not doubled. This is the offense they are running when the shot clock winds down. The team is waiting for an anticipated response from the defense.
The problem is that defenses know where the ball is going, and they can anticipate the rotation. A lot of times that ends up in an offense reset, which leads to no shot clock, which leads to a player trying to make a move in isolation or someone finally putting up a shot with little time on the clock.
For those of you who believe you can only be an authority if you happen to be a practicing professional – you are missing a very important point: pattern recognition is not discipline-specific. Copping out with “you’re not an expert” won’t win any arguments, because, well – you are simply wrong. You don’t have to be an expert to observe.
by blacknoiseNW on Feb 24, 2010 9:37 AM PST up reply actions
Your pattern recognition is sound
What is not proven is whether these are player execution breakdowns or by coaching design, or a combination of the two.
The fact that at times the offense flows much more smoothly, and the clock doesn’t run down, and Nate seems happier with those times, would perhaps indicate the former cause is a bigger factor in the problem. However, this is not conclusive, because it is also possible that Nate coaches an entirely different approach for the fourth quarter. But it is also possible that he doesn’t advocate a different approach, but that players just defer to Brandon.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
Perhaps if you provide something to respond to beyond
a sentence fragment.
Now that you’ve actually posted something I can respond to, here goes.
I agree with your observation on how the Blazers run their half court offense. Where I part ways is the blanket statement that the defense knows where the ball is going. Maybe, maybe not. And even if they do, as John Wooden once (or perhaps it was a few thousand times) said, the ball moves faster than the players. Theoretically, there is nothing inherently flawed with the concept. It is not much different than Vince Lombardi running the sweep. Sure, his opponent knew it was coming, but Lombardi knew that if executed correctly, he was going to gain yards almost every time. And that is my problem with many of the critics. They say it is all on Nate. That if we had a different coach who ran a different offense, things would be better. The problem with that line of reasoning is it ignores execution.
Now, if you want to argue that your average basketball player is not well suited to thinking and plays much better when all he has to do is react, then a running, fast pace offense ala Golden State or Phoenix makes sense. I would still point out that it doesn’t seem to work particularly well for GS when it comes to results and in Phoenix it takes a two time MVP PG to work effectively.
Believe it or not, but I’ve always been pretty good at pattern recognition. It’s one of the reasons people thought I was supposedly a near genuis in grade school, because I tested so well. I realized it had far more to do with the nature of the tests – i.e. they were heavily dependent on being able to recognize patterns. It was also a reason I was able to be a component reliability engineer with a history degree. I’ll let jscot explain why pattern recognition alone is not sufficient to base a judgement on.
Clarence, It's better to have a gun and not need it, then need a gun and not have it.
Another lesson to be learned from Lombardi's sweep
Execution at the highest level requires both understanding the technique and having the physical talent to apply that technique. Put a team of college players on the field, even the very best college players, and they will fail to execute the sweep against professionals 100 times out of 100.
In the NBA, execution at the highest level is possible because the technique is simple enough for any athlete with the requisite skill to make it happen – with the caveat that finishing the shot is different from creating an open look.
Too often, the Blazers execute to a stalemate. Different from Vince Lombardi’s sweep, getting an open look is only part of the equation. The right player has to get the open look, and as we saw against Boston, Miller getting the open J is not a satisfactory outcome for a set, unless he happens to buck the trend and score.
That is a prime example of where McMillan gets out-coached. If the result of the set is a shot that cannot be executed, then the execution of the set to get that open shot also fails.
by blacknoiseNW on Feb 24, 2010 1:41 PM PST up reply actions
the bench needs scoring
the starters need perimeter defense
Batum should start. He started “between” Roy and LMA last year and the team did pretty well (do I need to play the “54 win” card?) Nic can score a little and stil contribute a lot. Martell will either be hot or cold, and if he’s hot he can get more “looks” coming in off the bench. But If Webster’s not shooting well, Nate can bring #88 back in and let Nic go with the flow
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
There are two things I don't like about Marty's game
1.) His hands seem like they are drenched with crisco cooking grease – The guy cannot seem to hang on to the ball (especially on a fast break)
and
2.) His inability to be a defensive prescence.
I don’t worry about either of these things with Batum. I guess I would have to say I’m more comfortable with him in the game.
come on, now
Webster’s defense is much-improved; he defended K*be very well, earlier this year. Marty is just overshadowed defensively by Batum (as any Blazer SF in team history would be, with the possible exception of a young Cliff Robinson)
But I agree about the comfort level re: #88. If Nic’s out of the game for more than 5 minutes, I’m wondering why (Is he hurt again? Foul trouble? Nate…?)
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Bob Gross was known for his defensive play.
I was a kid back then, but he might rank up there.
Gross was a tireless runner and a smart team defender
but I’ve never seen a Blazer forward move his feet and completely shut down a great offensive player one-on-one like Uncle Cliffy could earlier in his career, and Nic is now in that same category. Robinson could guard centers, Batum can guard PGs, so the main difference is their size but #88 still has some “filling out” to do
Pippen was past his prime (athletically) by the time he came to Portland, but obviously Scottie had great NBA experience and BBIQ
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
earlier this year there was a fanpost that asked "name your all-time Blazer starting 5"
Since Portland has never had an all-star SF, I put Robinson in-between Porter-Drexler and Lucas-Walton for this very reason. Every great lineup needs a player who’s committed to defense. Here’s hoping Nic will be considered the #1 Blazer SF by the time his career is done
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I'm not disagreeing with you ...
… where would you rate Stacy Augmon? I was always a fan of the plastic man.
Clarence, It's better to have a gun and not need it, then need a gun and not have it.
he was a good defensive role player as well
I was pretty excited when the deal was made to acquire Augmon, but of course he fell prey to the Whitsitt chemistry experiment and Dunleavy’s rotation roulette
But sure, Stacey deserves to be in the “best Blazer wing defender” conversation alongside Robinson and Batum, more so than Gross or Kersey
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Bobby Gross played great D and got more back-door dunks than any Blazer I can remember. He wasn’t a offensive specialist, but Bill W used him more then he did Luke.
hg
the thing I remember about Bobby
were his sneaky offensive rebounds. He’d run a “banana route” out of bounds under the basket and come out with inside position and get his hand up and tip the ball in before the big guys could grab it
Everyone gave Gross credit for the defensive job he did on Dr. J in the finals, but if you look at Erving’s numbers, he was still getting his. Bobby score a lot, too, and he “kept Julius busy” by running around on offense. That’s a form of defense, I suppose, but it doesn’t put him in the same category of Robinson/Batum as a superior wing/post defender any more than Jerome Kersey deserves to be in the conversation for his crazy hustle plays
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Dr. J was getting his
but he was working a lot harder to get them. And in the Finals, if a superstar doesn’t increase his production on you, when everyone is looking for him to do so, and his team is counting on him to destroy you, you’ve done a good job.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
then Lucas did a great job on McGinnis
but Geroge would probably say that Luke had little to do with his shooting slump in that series
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Lucas did play good defense
but they eyeballs (as opposed to the box score) said the Bobby’s D on the Dr was superb.
The box score says that even superb D won’t stop a superstar, only perhaps slow him down.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
I don't think he sucks
I just think he scores 2 points alot.
Would rather have the other things Batum brings to the game rather than the potential offense and solid defense Martell provides.
Thats all.
that's cool
among some posters here, there seems to be a “if my guy is good, your guy must suck” attitude.
Rather than, hey isn’t it cool that both Batum and Martell are capable of great games (and some bad ones, too).
by Section323 on Feb 23, 2010 9:27 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
that is well said.
My biggest complain also is you have to make one look bad to make the other look good.
That was my gripe about Dre and Steve, Steve was bad at times and Dre was bad at times, but it was clear that Dre could play PG better, but Steve could play with BRoy better and then the fight continued, degrading one or the other when in reality they both brought good things to the table. The same with Batman and Marty Since neither is used much in Nate’s schemes of things Batman’s D is better and BRoy took Batum under his wings last year and depends on him to bail him out on Defense. OK, the bail out was uncalled for LOL.
hg
I wonder
500 pregame threes is his new thing…. Does he have tennis elbow from this???? I am kidding BTW
by Hermistonmelons on Feb 23, 2010 8:20 PM PST up reply actions
"The Blazers fed him (LMA) too, except they ignored him late as usual. Maybe somebody needs to do something about that if he's hot."
Maybe its because LMA cant take the pressure of shooting with confidence in the 4th quarter… Please tell me I’m not the only one who has noticed that you can’t count on him late in games
LMA got the ball up top with 3 seconds left on the shot clock
and had a brain cramp…3rd turnover…some guys either think too much when the pressure is on, or perhaps their mind is focused on the “wrong” detail
I don’t want to say it, but…BBIQ: is it a learned behavior or do some guys just “have it”?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
You are correct - I see that he passes up open jump shots in the crunch time that he takes earlier in the game
"The one thing we said about this team right away is they mirror what their coach's personality is and that's to be hard-nosed and play extremely hard and play with intensity." - Alvin Gentry
He also misses shots he normally makes
just not a good clutch player. VERY good in the first 3 quarters though.
I have wondered that
But, they don’t use him enough to let him get over choking. Of course he doesn’t seem to want the ball either. In one of the Blazer high-lights by Casey Holdahl it shows BRoy taking a difficult shot while being dbl teams when LMA was wide open on the weakside. That is not cool.
hg
What was LA's actual performance?
I recall early in the 4th seeing him shooting 10 of 14. He ended the game 13 of 20. Hitting 3 of 6 is not exactly what I call disappearing or non-clutch, let alone choking.
I think it is fair to say, as Dave has posited, that it appears LaMarcus isn’t really comfortable with contact. He doesn’t invite it as some players do. And if true, then it is also fair to say that this places some limits on how he can be utiliized in the 4th, where you want either a bucket or a foul when you get the ball in low. Unfortunately, some folks only seem to see Aldridge’s faults or limitations and not the things he can do.
Clarence, It's better to have a gun and not need it, then need a gun and not have it.
So, no hint of what the alternative recap would have been? :)
Though I have to admit, I’d be ok if you never have to write it.
were still quite pervious on the defensive end
Are you saying they played like “Never Nervious” Pervious Ellison?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Wasn't that Pervis?
Pervious is the opposite of impervious by the way.
"We Believe" - Rudy Fernandez
thanks for the Latin lesson
mea culpa
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
You know what I noticed about this game?
Less shooting from Andre. More passing from Andre. This is a goooood thing.
Also, welcome back to the starting lineup where you’ve belonged for the past three games now Mr. Batum.
"Put God first in all you do and your dreams [of making money off people's misfortune] will come true."
- Q
Now let's hope he gets starter minutes
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
I agree that Andre was much more the point guard tonight and not the SG
"The one thing we said about this team right away is they mirror what their coach's personality is and that's to be hard-nosed and play extremely hard and play with intensity." - Alvin Gentry
Welcome back Roy
You showed it tonight.
"Good evening Blazer fans, wherever you may be!"-Bill Schonely
I have a feeling we won't be getting any "why is Roy playing on that bad hammy?" responses tonight
much less any apologies to the Blazer’s training staff or unsolicited medical advice
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
by two4larue on Feb 23, 2010 8:41 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
funny
it really is funny that so many people were concerned about winning this game.
by socalblzrfan on Feb 23, 2010 8:42 PM PST up reply actions
Perhaps you didn't notice
that they started hitting everything they threw up in the second half, and got it down to four points. There is a reason people were concerned, there are legitimate NBA players on that team, and almost any NBA player is a great player who can come up with a huge game and hurt you badly.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
that was the same reason
I wasn’t that worried we would lose, despite losing the majority of the lead. NJ’s comeback was mostly long jumpers, and those tend to dry up eventually. Whereas Utah had mostly dunks/layins, which indicates a much bigger problem on D. I thought our D was still ok, who knew Courtney Lee would catch fire? On the one hand, its always possible, but on the other hand I don’t think anyone assumed he would put up 28 points, all jumpers.
by Billy Hoyle on Feb 24, 2010 11:35 AM PST up reply actions
Yeah, I was pretty sure we'd hold on
I was worried we could lose this one before the game, because Brook Lopez can also go off on you, and if he did that and someone’s jumpers started going….
That game provided evidence that there are dangerous players on any team, and no game is a given. But once we built the lead, I figured we’d hold it.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
I got the whole game on direct tv
Seeing Roy look like Roy has lowered my stress level
by southern oregon on Feb 23, 2010 8:43 PM PST reply actions
Is Direct TV not blacking out the games??????
I have Dish, maybe I should switch. but I don’t have the NBA package anymore. Has Comcast lifted their restraint on Blazers games?
hg
didn't watch the game
did lamarcus box out? if so he played a perfect game
Awesomeness (ô'səm-nes)
1. n. Something that inspires awe
2. n. Nicolas Batum
there was no one to box out, really
except for the former-Jazz (Humphries) no Net was crashing
Humphries was schooling Dante re: “how to draw fouls in the post without ever touching the ball” (or even being a threat to touch the ball)
Getting over on over-aggressive (gullible) rookies is how talent-challenged veterans manage to stay in the league so long. Pendergraph is a foul machine for the same reason. They’ll learn
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Yeah
He was way outside on Harris after a switch, and came back hard for it when it looked like a 50-50 rebound at best. Huge play, pretty much iced the game for us.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
Boy, almost crapped our pants again tonight.
This team REALLY needs to learn to play with a lead. At one point the Nets were shooting 92.3% for the second half. Not good.
"These are dreams that we have." --Rudolfo Fernandez
Blazer's nearly gave
it back tonight because they’re too deferential to Roy. LMA missed Camby and Howard because he didn’t check the floor first before getting to Roy. This is a real problem because opponents can anticipate more knowing that LMA won’t bother to check under the basket for easy scores. Teams would rather live with LMA taking jumpers than having Roy go to the basket and if LMA doesn’t make teams pay then Roy’s attempt at scoring is made more difficult. I think Andre missed Batum once under the basket as well. Teams will pick up on this and use this deficiency against the Blazers.
Nets made their most significant run when Roy was on the bench.
"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."
Yep
The main issue was the Nets literally hit just about every shot they took in the second half. It’s actually rather miraculous we were able to hold the lead at all. Sometimes teams just get hot. Of course, in this situation there should have been more pressing, or zone, or SOMETHING but NBA teams can just get hot and there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it sometimes.
Agreed
I was wondering why the Blazers put Camby on the high post and LMA on the low, then I saw the reason, Camby checks under the basket before taking a harder shot. He found LMA for an uncontested dunk before he got injured. As stated above BRoy doesn’t do that
hg
Camby was averaging 3 assists per game with the Clips
that’s huge for a 7-footer. Hopefully he’ll match those numbers with Portland once he gets used to his teammates and the offense
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
missed the game
Roy has a decent line. how’d the hammy look?
K.P.‘s best trade deadline option which was not made? Trading Patty Mills and a stack of Paul Allen’s money to cyberdyne systems for a set of Brandon Roy bionic legs.
Roy looked much more like his old self
At one point, the NJN announcers seemed to groan a little when he drove around four Nets players and layed it in.
Still looks slightly slow at times
but much better.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
So glad to see Roy back. LMA was great on offense.
Unfortunately LMA and everyone else was terrible on D in the 2nd half. Anyone notice how Batum shut Harris down at the end? I wish Nate would have put him in on Courtney Lee when Lee was draining everything earlier in the 3rd.
Sigh of relief, but I wish we could just honestly win a game start to finish without a terrible lapse at one point or another.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
Defensive stopper
Anyone notice how Batum shut Harris down at the end? I wish Nate would have put him in on Courtney Lee when Lee was draining everything earlier in the 3rd
I think Nate tries to keep Batum “fresh” for the 4th quarter so he can stick #88 on the other team’s best perimeter player. It was interesting how Nate initially put Batum on Harris on one late-game possession but then NJ rubbed Lee off on a screen (similar to Terry-Dirk, in the Dallas game) so Nic wound up playing cat-and-mouse with Courtney on that wing jumper and forced Lee to change the release angle or risk getting it blocked. Batum is like a coiled snake (or praying mantis) out on the perimeter. Like Barrett or Rice said, Nic can back off the offensive player and still “uncoil” and contest the jumper with his length. Nice weapon to have
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
This team needs a consistent third scorer
will Batum, Webster or Rudy ever step up?
Playoff push, oh yeah!
How many teams have a consistent third scorer?
Not the Lakers (you can NOT count on Ron-Ron), not the Cavs (Lebron-Jamison-…help me…not Shaq anymore, not Mo Williams this year…), not most teams in the NBA.
Artest was 1-9 yesterday
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
His name is Andre Miller...
He’s not a consistent shooter but he gets his via FTs if he’s not hitting shots and lay-ins.
We'll miss you #2 & #25!
I wouldn't call him consistent, though
Since he can up and go 5-18 on you without advance notice. Sure, he got some points when he did that, but ugh.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
I will too
but we were talking about consistency.
His 52 points gifted us a win we’d have never had otherwise, but it rather skews his average, doesn’t it? Am I complaining about that? No.
Personally, I think consistency of role players is overrated when you have a lot of players who might step up on any given night. Sure, if they aren’t consistent, you’ll lose some games when everyone is off, but you’ll also win some no one thought you could win, too. That’s ok by me.
Ideally, you have a couple scorers who are consistent, but beyond that, I’m not sure it matters. What matters more is how often they come up big.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
One of the reasons I try not to put too much credence in what I notice ...
… watching games is that last night I thought Andre was hurting the team. He seemed like a liability on defense and it always seemed as if he was standing around dribbling, running out the clock.
But then I looked at his stat line and saw he had a pretty decent game. I’ve come to the conclusion that just as you can’t go just by a boxscore, neither can you always trust your eyes.
Clarence, It's better to have a gun and not need it, then need a gun and not have it.
After watching a game
I never comment until having looked at the box score, at least. The box score only tells a part of the story, but it’s a part that matters.
I thought Andre got torched on defense in the second half, but played a solid offensive game, and made some big plays for us. How he actually missed that one drive when he was on the side and all of a sudden he was wide open, I don’t know.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
You can't deny the fact that he is the most consistent scorer behind Roy and LMA...
and I preferenced my statement that "he’s not a consistent shooter’ which is much different than a consistent scorer…
We'll miss you #2 & #25!
I would like to add...
that he carried this team (along with LMA) when Roy was out when nobody else would step up and be that other ‘scoring’ option. I know it is a team game but nobody else was filling that role as ‘consistently’ as Miller.
We'll miss you #2 & #25!
Is a guy a consistent scorer
if he takes 18 shots to get his points one game, and 8 shots another game? Or is that just a guy who starts gunning when his shot isn’t dropping?
I know what Andre has meant for this team, especially when Brandon was out. I’m not bashing on him to say he’s not really been very consistent. As far as I’m concerned, you have the elite PGs, and Andre is right at the top of the next tier of PGs after the elites, offensively. His defense is at times pretty good and at other times pretty poor.
But that doesn’t mean he’s consistent. He’s just not. He’s had 19 games where he hasn’t hit double figures. In one key stretch, while Brandon was out, he did the following (points followed by shooting numbers with FT shooting in parentheses):
6, 1-8 (4-6)
7, 2-11 (3-3)
2, 1-6 (0-0)
52, 22-31 (7-8)
8, 4-6 (0-0)
9, 3-13 (3-3)
11, 5-14 (1-4)
That’s not consistent.
He’s mostly been very good since the start of January, and has put together a fairly nice run here the last six games, but that hardly makes him a consistent scorer.
What he does bring is he’s always a threat to go on a scoring run against you, and that’s valuable even if he isn’t scoring in that particular game. The defense has to respect his threat.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
I agree about his shot selection sometimes...
but in the context of this team, he is more consistent scorer than Rudy, Webster, Batum, Bayless which would be the next likely candidates for our other 3rd options behind Roy and LMA.
You cherry picked the poorest stretch. Since the beginning of January (about the the time of the Nate/Miller debacle), he has scored in double digits 21 out of 26 games. averaged 17.2 pts per game, and shot the ball at .484. And if you like Ben’s Shake Charts, he was 3rd on the Blazer’s at .448 (a far cry above the next best of .55 by Webster). That is both with and without Roy in the lineup and is pretty darn good for a 3rd option. I think we can agree his first couple months this season were an aberration from his norm over his career, one which he was often the 1st or 2nd option on his team.
We'll miss you #2 & #25!
Three points
1) His first couple months weren’t an aberration in that he always starts slow.
2) I agree he’s more consistent than those other guys. That’s like saying Mussolini is more popular than Hitler. I’ll concede the point, but what does it mean? The point was made that we need a third consistent scorer, and you said Andre IS the guy. But he isn’t consistent.
3) Sure, I cherry picked the poorest stretch. The whole point of consistency is the difference between poor and good. And I don’t think much of Ben’s “shake” stats….
I like Andre’s game, I don’t think we’d even be close to a playoff spot without him, but I’m not going to call him consistent.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#10 #52 -- #5 #7 & #88 are back!
We can agree to disagree...
Our current roster doesn’t have 3rd consistent option to your standards. Feel free to look around the league, but I don’t think there are very many 3rd options that put up the scoring numbers that Miller does, especially that are available (or will be available this summer). And regardless, I wouldn’t trade everything else Miller brings for one of those other 3rd options.
Early in the season, I started working on a fanpost about Miller’s alleged ‘slow’ starts. I never completed it but I wasn’t really seeing a slow start. Some seasons he slowly increased his stats over the season, some seasons he started very hot and rollercoastered, some seasons he started average and maintained…I should finish it some day. Anyway, the ‘aberration’ at the beginning of the season should have been clarified as revolving around his role on the team and coming off the bench…
We'll miss you #2 & #25!
One of the biggest plays of the game was Batum's block that got Andre Miller that fast break lay up.
Batum’s impact on this game was so crucial. He also got Lee to miss that jump shot when he had made like 10 in a row.
Martell frustrates me...
I think that of all of the players on this roster – he underachieves more than any other player. He seems so gifted. I’m a pretty big fan of his. Frustrating.
Treat people well because Karma can hit you at any second.
Martell made three really big plays
He drove to the hoop when Harris was on him, then pulled up for the layup instead of going hard all the way, and Harris ran into him for his fourth foul. That was immense, and if we’d have attacked Harris at the start of the third, this probably would have been a much different game.
He made a nice feed to LMA on the break for a dunk.
At the start of the fourth, when we looked like we were struggling to score and they were making everything they threw up, he nailed a really big 3 pointer, which put the lead back up to ten and made them respect the outside shot rather than collapsing on Aldridge/Roy and clogging the paint.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
Those were three pretty large plays
If batum had made those plays coming off the bench everyone would be celebrating like crazy. I choose to celebrate them both.
#52
by blazermaniac32 on Feb 24, 2010 4:51 AM PST up reply actions
Wheels and 'Tone remarked at how active Webster was...
I didn’t see the game (yet) but they were praising him for his hustle and ‘all around play’…
We'll miss you #2 & #25!
Whew!
"The one thing we said about this team right away is they mirror what their coach's personality is and that's to be hard-nosed and play extremely hard and play with intensity." - Alvin Gentry
I missed a good chunk of the second half
how the deuce did new jersey score 33 in the third quarter?!
That’s almost as unacceptable as blowing a 25 point lead.
Skadoosh
Is this shot chart really accurate?
Did NJ seriously only miss 3 shots in the third quarter?
Skadoosh
It was absolutely true.
5ish minutes left in the 4th, the Nets were shooting 92%(!!!) for the half. And although the defense wasn’t exactly stellar, let me say that the Nets were just stroking from outside. I mean, many of these shots were at least sorta contested, and everything that C.Lee was throwing up would go in. It was a testament that the Blazers clamped down in the last 5.
by samuelleejackson on Feb 23, 2010 10:38 PM PST up reply actions
good grief.
well at least the blazers must have clamped down on D, the 4th Q shot chart looks much more respectable. NJ shooting their way to a win would have been unbearable beyond belief.
Skadoosh
It wasn't really the blazers D
I guess they could have been closer, but most were contested jumpers.
That's accurate
We weren’t playing great D, but we weren’t horrible, either. You can see it’s almost all jumpshots.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
Had 'em all the way
if it was a good team I would’ve been more concerned, but this was the Nets and you had to figure the law of averages would catch up with them and/or they’d find a way to mess it up
That, and Nate had Batum to throw out there down the stretch. I wish KP could find “another Nic” to add to this roster. Easier said than done
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
yes, he has
during summer league Joe Prunty said that he didn’t think that Dante was prepared to defend quick SFs out on the perimeter, but Cunningham has learned a lot about defending in space as well as team defense during his rookie year. Still, the kind of defender I was thinking about was a slightly-smaller version of Batum, someone who can harrass PGs and still make open jumpers. Put someone like that alongside Nic and you’d have something, even if they both weren’t starters.
Bayless is OK, but he’s got those short arms…
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Short arms in a PG aren't a liability
Long arms are a plus, but the main things are positioning, foot movement, anticipation, quickness.
Give Blake the MLE in 2010!
Farewell to #2 and #25, good luck to you!
#7 #10 #52 -- #5 & #88 are back!
Nategate
Tonight’s game was a gold mine for fast breaks, but Nate continues to mine lead? Can anyone deny that a play off team can not be last in fast breaks? Give me a GD break. We have Andre who dishes fast breaks as well as anyone, Bayless who is faster than anyone, and Nic who streaks and receives like a split end. If Camby plays, he knocks the ball out to Andre. Then we play the Nets who allow the most FB points, and do we capitalize on this? I rarely saw a Blazer even look down court (except Dre) after a D rebound, or rarely anyone even try a quick in bound. No wonder opposing teams get more second looks because their guards can hang in their half court longer when there is no threat down court. Mix it up, Nate, especially when the other team sets up in the third quarter to counter your offense. Even my wife could see that.
by thebigoutdoors on Feb 24, 2010 12:50 AM PST reply actions
If we fast-breaked in this game we would have been toast
The Nets were hitting literally everything and running a fast break woulda given them more possessions.
20 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 0 turnovers on 70% fg shooting from your pg.
I’d include that line up with the “monster” games from LA and Roy.
It was a great game offensively for LMA...
It’s just a shame that he doesn’t pull those moves all of the time. Maybe the coaches don’t want LMA going in hard to the basket because they don’t want him getting injured, it would make sense because we need him to guard the bigs if Camby is down.
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