Andre 1, Nash 0

by Blazin' on Apr 19, 2010 11:47 AM PDT

Well, I just had to jump in on this one. Because that is the most steely steel I've seen yet from a Pritchard era Blazers' team.

And I've got no great statistical analysis here. Or tactical insight. Just some love for this Portland Trailblazers team.

Yes, we've seen some amazing heroics and fight these past 3 years, often from our brilliant All Star. But what the Blazers brought last night was of a different genus. There was a resolve on the floor last night, and it wasn't of the "Time for our stopper to step up" variety. Nor of the "watch us claw and scrape our way back in to it" variety.

It was of the "We are going to go in to your house, take everything you've got to throw at us, parry and fend, body blow, bend and twist, never wavering, until finally, we put you down." variety. Yes, Portland!

Do you not feel the power of our starting five? It gives chills!

True, we are not deep. With combinations of 5-6-7-8 on the floor that yearling feel can reemerge. But the bench endures, buoyed by the knowledge that the mantle is borne. Until the gravity of the Camby-Miller-Aldridge-Batum quorum returns to the floor to carry it. And with them, that sense of exalted yet ego-less purpose that is suddenly the aura of this team. An aura that one sees in, dare I say it, a champion.

Finally, after three years of following this team and posting/commenting on this blog, I will say it: These are men, not boys. And I am pretty damn excited about that!

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Wonderful Words

Yeah, the feeling is there. Our starting five tightened down the screws and put it to their starting five.Starting 4 is more like it, and with no designated sixth man, we have a bench by committee. When Bayless stepped up at the end of the 3rd and in the 4th, everything I saw told me that my team was the better team.

I got to say that Nate did a superb job game-planning against Nash and in bench coaching that game. Outside of keeping Amare away from offensive boards, dish me up again.

"I'm passing it down," Howard said. "Showing the guys that, hey, here's an example of a guy who played 16 years. If you don't want to listen and get the valuable, free information from him - soak it up like a sponge - then you've got to be a damn fool."

by LaoTzu on Apr 19, 2010 12:16 PM PDT reply actions

:)

Blazers power!

"The only 'Advanced Metric' that matters is what you see with your eyes." -Timbo, Nov., 2009.

by Blazin' on Apr 19, 2010 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions

Starting 4 is right.

If/when Rudy shows up in this series, we’ll be even better.

"These are dreams that we have." --Rudolfo Fernandez

by bfan on Apr 19, 2010 3:05 PM PDT up reply actions

So true.

If we don’t make it out of this round, I’ve been encouraged in what I’ve seen. To use the overly used letting the cake bake analogy, we’ve seen that having savvy veterans on board has really accelerated the growth curve. Just look at Aldridge for example. I’ve noticed a tangible improvement in his game since Camby signed on board. And wow, Batum is poised for some greatness!

by Stryder9 on Apr 19, 2010 2:05 PM PDT reply actions

Gosh, you and I sure think alike!

Here is a copy of my post in the Marcus Camby extension comments:

Im stoaked because:

Cambys veteran skills have elevated and changed our Blazers style of play for the better. He changed our rebounding habits and once he gets to show GO a thang or 2 then GO will be a much better player for it. I have totaiil noticed how much better LMA has played just from being able to bang with an exp vet like Camby in practice. We use to never slapback rebounds back out to our perimeter, Camby is a master at it, even when he gets like 15 rebs a game, he has probably 5 slapbacks to teammates everygame as well. Ive noticed how much his game is now reflected in LMA—LMA gets a few slapback rebs to teammates per game now, where as never really much before. Plus everyone-LMA especially though is playing way better "D" and blocking ways more shots which I feel is because of things that Camby has shown him.

Camby changes our future chances not only for when he plays here but for any long term player he teaches who will be with us long after Camby retires. I cant wait, what a great mentor to show GO a trick or 2!

And the same can be said for Miller and Howard as well. Miller more than Howard, but Camby is to LMA and GO what Miller is to Bayless and what Howard is to the whole team.

The Dude: Hey, careful, man, there's a beverage here!

by cavejunctionblazer on Apr 19, 2010 3:08 PM PDT up reply actions