FINAL: Utah Jazz 93, Portland Trail Blazers 89
by Timmay! on Jan 30, 2012 8:23 PM PST
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PrintThe Blazers blew a winnable game in Utah, coming up 4 points short in the fourth quarter. Even worse, Nicolas Batum went down with an apparent left knee injury late in the game, we'll update you when we have news. [See Ben's ongoing Batum injury post]
The Blazers were led by LaMarcus Aldridge and Batum. Nobody else was really relevant. This was one of those games where you wonder why you watched as it ended.
In the second quarter, the Blazers’ lead reached double digits, but Utah stormed back. Why? Offensive rebounds (Utah led 11-2, for a 19-5 point advantage)) and steals (4-1 Utah) were killers. But Portland’s 47% FG dominated Utah’s 30%, as did their spread-out scoring, with 9 players on the board in the first half alone.
LaMarcus opened the third quarter en fuego, scoring 14 points in 7 minutes to help push the lead back to 11. Then came another "Blazer lull" as they seemed to run out of energy at both ends, with turnovers and poor shot selection at one end, while giving up easy points at the other. The Jazz quickly went on a 13-2 run to pull into a tie. The third quarter ended with keystone cops music, and the Blazers clinging to a 1 point lead.
Speaking of keystone cops, the Blazers immediately gave away the opening pass of the fourth quarter to help Utah pull into a tie again. In return, Batum nailed three straight three pointers to keep the Blazers alive, while giving up layups and dunks at the other end. You know your defense is struggling when the Utah Jazz look like the Harlem Globetrotters. Meanwhile, Portland stopped hitting FG’s. Utah’s took the lead with 6:25 left on a lucky roll. This is where there "digusting" comments showed up in the GDT. Soon the deficit was seven, Wallace as T’d up, the Blazers look asleep, and the Jazz are dominating. As the clock runs down, Portland fights back, as a Batum three cuts the lead to three. As the Blazers try to tie, Nic Batum goes down with a leg injury of some kind, and Utah uses their rebounding advantage to hold on for the win.
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Inb4
Ray haters.
Formally known as: My_name_a_rudy
by Blaze_that_trail on Jan 30, 2012 8:28 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
That was the opposite
of scoring more points than the other team.
by Mister Hooligan on Jan 30, 2012 8:24 PM PST reply actions
AHHHHHH REBOUND THE BALL
I just about drop kicked my TV
Horrible
I thought he had hit the game winning three. I wasn’t watching the game but was getting score updates.
by neutroticblazerfan on Jan 30, 2012 8:26 PM PST up reply actions
What I meant was I saw Batum trending on Twitter
Then I thought he had hit the game winning three but then I sort through the tweets and find out it’s because of a serious knee injury. What a sucker punch.
by neutroticblazerfan on Jan 30, 2012 8:28 PM PST up reply actions
i don't even have any whisky and the liquor stores are closed.
don’t the blazers know this??
I don't always root for an NBA franchise, but when I do, I prefer the Portland Trail Blazers.
Why are grocery stores prohibited in Oregon?
Is this some type of post-prohibition hold over law?
I can’t think of any good reasons…
Illegal in oregon... have to buy from a liquor store...
WA just passed a law where in june grocery stores will start selling liquor
Oregon
Is supposed to close liquor stores and start at grocery stores soon
Formally known as: My_name_a_rudy
by Blaze_that_trail on Jan 30, 2012 8:38 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
All I want to know is what was the origin of segregating liquour and beer?
It doesn’t make much sense to me…
I'm guessing
but I think its because you are legally able to brew your own beer and wine. Though you cannot make your own hard alcohol.
Agreed, although the loss still hurts
But this was not so for Brandon Roy who listened to teammate Nicolas Batum, "You're an All-Star, a 3-time All-Star. Take the ball. They can't stop you. You just have to believe in yourself."
by speakers92blazers on Jan 30, 2012 8:29 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Were a lot farther than I thought we'd be
After losing Roy and Oden, becoming a possible powerhouse in the west, the glass in half full or empty at this point, but no reason to think we poured it all out, out of respect for a dead franchise. Keep your head up dpnim, we got this.
by TheloniousNerb on Jan 30, 2012 8:50 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
If Nic is done for the year
It is time to burn this thing to the ground.
!!!o o!!!
OMG I just jizzed in my France
OMGrandpa
Ill miss games too.
I just cant take the blazers losing so much yet again this season. Im starting to hate nate.for not putting in other guards from our bench to shoot the 3
Formally known as: My_name_a_rudy
by Blaze_that_trail on Jan 30, 2012 8:34 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
What happened?
I got out of my car for a minute, and when I got back in, Nic was on the ground ???
drove into the lane
knee buckled.
had to be helped off the floor. limped into the locker room on his own .
PHILLY!
When I started to watch him drive, I knew it was going to end badly...
but didn’t expect an injury to come out of it.
by FPS NorthWest on Jan 30, 2012 8:31 PM PST up reply actions
I agree
Nic never does that. You just figure that’s not our way to a W. And then Bad turns to WORSE!
by TheloniousNerb on Jan 30, 2012 8:52 PM PST up reply actions
Looks like a rolled ankle, which caused him to trip and slip
Then fell hard on his knee.
Being a Blazer fan is not exactly healthy.
didn't even hit his knee square on the ground
hyperextension.
Yeah the more I watch it...sigh
it looks like a hyperextension
Being a Blazer fan is not exactly healthy.
Fail fail fail
Choke choke choke
But this was not so for Brandon Roy who listened to teammate Nicolas Batum, "You're an All-Star, a 3-time All-Star. Take the ball. They can't stop you. You just have to believe in yourself."
by speakers92blazers on Jan 30, 2012 8:26 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Excuse for the players? Not a chance
They looked lazy and lethargic in the fourth while Utah had energy.
But it’s a reminder for us the fans to not lose perspective, that the NBA is weird all around this season.
I can agree with that
but I’m not one to over react because of a single loss.
jazz made some tough shots
I’m usually AOK with Earl Watson deciding a game. not tonight
scrappy
by Honka Playboy on Jan 30, 2012 8:30 PM PST up reply actions
So much hesitation in that last minute.
Why is everyone so scared? This isn’t a very inexperienced team like the past. Missing Brandon Roy…
Something needs to change.
Our guards keep shooting us out of the game and it’s getting super obvious. That was a stupid loss, we should of won by 10+. Lame.
Sometimes a player's greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.
-- Scottie Pippen
Those refs were
TERRIBLE!!!! Never called any of the jazz for holding, over the back or any fouls. None of the travels or carrys. And called anything they could with blazers. Same thing happened when we played against the suns for the first time and the clippers for the first time. Terrible terrible refs. i wish I could curse on this blog so much right now
Formally known as: My_name_a_rudy
by Blaze_that_trail on Jan 30, 2012 8:27 PM PST via mobile reply actions
That’s what happens when you’re not the aggressor. Refs are know to make calls on the “flow” of the game. If you want the calls take it to the hoop consistently.
by OfficerCosta on Jan 30, 2012 8:31 PM PST up reply actions
Exactly
And at one point we did that and thats why we had to pull camby AND wallace. For being too agressive
Formally known as: My_name_a_rudy
by Blaze_that_trail on Jan 30, 2012 8:35 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Yeah but when our guards drive to the basket (which is hardly ever in crunch time)...
they always twist and contort to AVOID contact, and end up throwing up a weak floater or turning it over…They never just go hard at the bucket and try power it in…thereby forcing the defense to foul then to stop them. You have to FORCE the D to foul you to get calls in crunch time.
Doesn't this team know that they need to start winning on the road? Late game execution looks horrid.
LMA is not leading this team. No players looking like they are fighting for the win. This team is putrid.
Being a Blazer fan is not exactly healthy.
It's been a while since I've ever said this about the blazers. This is really not a good sign.
Being a Blazer fan is not exactly healthy.
Yes if only we lived in a world where we were all cotton hill
"We gotta get this $#!^ together guys!" - Phil
We gave up 12 point lead, when there was no real adjustments made by the Jazz to throw us off.
Being a Blazer fan is not exactly healthy.
exactly, we had a lead even! that’s some mighty fine 3/4s of a night well done. and we only lost by 4. imagine if for a minute we didn’t suck so much. it could have been a win. so… not too shabby
Unfortunately, i don't see it like that.
We lost to an inferior team (maybe not so inferior now that we suck so bad), that’s young and was missing their leading scorer. We just don’t out forth the effort.
Being a Blazer fan is not exactly healthy.
I feel oddly indifferent about the Batum injury.
I mean of course I feel bad for him, but it just feels pretty standard by now.
Season came to an end to today
Gonna miss Nic the rest of the year. Who do we have for a backup SF? We are screwed.
Gerald Wallace cant score on the road, hit his weak 9 pt average.
Wesley cant hit a 3-pointer on the road, 0-5 today.
Crawful with huge turnovers, he sucks so bad. I couldnt believe when I actually wanted Felton to get back on the floor to control the ball. Thats how bad Crawful is.
The only guy we got in the offseason that i’m happy with is Craig Smith.
Sad day.
More than that
Wallace and Wes cant play on the road, now without Batum, we will start losing at home. It’s over.
Wallace actually played fine today.. was the best player in the 1st quarter
Nate over worked him though in the first half… 20 mins in a half is gonna burn anyone up
This is true
Sadly, he didnt do anything after the 1st !, and finished with 9 PTS (4-7), 9 REB, 4 AST in almost 40 MIN
Henne is the greatest and the Dolphins will go 14-2 this year and win the SB
so?
Doesn’t mean you conditioning improves cause of rest, just reduces fatigue.
Give me a break. You cant argue both sides of the fence
Wouldnt his conditioning be better if he was playing a ton of games in a short period of time then? Which is it, he is tired because of fatigue or conditioning?
pretty sure the season isn't even half over.
overreaction.
Looks like Aldridge blew his wad in the third.
I was hoping he would take over in the fourth but alas, no. And this team is not going to win many games decided by a difference of 5 pts. Maybe a 30 pt. difference is safe.
I caught the last 24 seconds of the game
saw Batum go down and saw our loss. I missed the rest. Was Ray any good tonite?or did he stink it up again?
by cavejunctionblazer on Jan 30, 2012 8:30 PM PST reply actions
He actually had a good game... don't listen to all the haters... he was the best player in the 1st quarter
and really helped carry us the whole firs thalf… didn’t do as much hte second half, but was dead tired to finish the game.
playing way too many mins
nate really needs to manage his PT better. he looks exhausted after the first quarter. played 40 tonight.
PHILLY!
he seemed sluggish to me from the end of the first quarter on
consistently getting beat in transition, slow rotations
scrappy
by Honka Playboy on Jan 30, 2012 8:35 PM PST up reply actions
sounds like Failton showed up
instead of Felton
by cavejunctionblazer on Jan 30, 2012 8:32 PM PST up reply actions
Felton
2-9, 8 PTS, 7 AST, 4 REB, 2 TO, 2 STL. He went 1-8 on jumpshots, all of which were completely wide open, often by 12 feet. That’s whats infuriating its not like he’s getting his shot guarded. He’s dead wait on offense. Most assists were on swing passes rarely did he drive close to the hoop and dish.
Henne is the greatest and the Dolphins will go 14-2 this year and win the SB
More salt in the wounds: Dres having a better all around season than Ray
and Dres not even starting and plays less minutes but puts up better #’s so far, even better in the 3pts dept. Thats harsh. Ray sucks.
by cavejunctionblazer on Jan 30, 2012 8:45 PM PST up reply actions
Who cares how Dre is doing
He is in a familiar system and on a different team in a different situation. He isn’t coming back, move on.
dude just shrinks
it’s a lot like KG or Dirk earlier in their careers. couldn’t do anything late in games. both got over once they hit age 30.
PHILLY!
yeah big men of that type take time to develop
he’s already doing really well
"Wide, girthy. Just like a Rhino. Sometimes my horns are visible."
he didnt shrink last year
I think it started out as a phsyical problem and is making its way toward more of a psychological problem now, his 4th qtr fg% is really bad
by Peteyhasnohead on Jan 30, 2012 8:39 PM PST up reply actions
The problem is LMA
Is turning into a jumpshooter. He’s not getting good feed passes inside the paint or just outside – he’s just taking long jumper after long jumper. Its hard to stay consistently hot doing that, and the jump goes astray as you tire out. Hence the FG% drop in the 4th.
Henne is the greatest and the Dolphins will go 14-2 this year and win the SB
He only had 2 FT attempts tonite
Henne is the greatest and the Dolphins will go 14-2 this year and win the SB
felton's shooting doesn't allow him to be a passer into the post
’cause teams just play off of him.
crawful doesn’t pass, so any discussion with him is moot.
the only two who should be making passes into him are nic and wes
PHILLY!
Crawford passes all the time some of you have have inflated the offense skills of every other Blazer besides LA
Only person Crawford should be deferring to at this point is LA and then batum because hes can make a shot . Everyone else at this point should be working to get those 3 guys looks and then getting there offense off the open looks that those guys create .
by Willie Beamon on Jan 30, 2012 8:58 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
he has been going into the post more during the first 3 quarters
then come the 4th he loses a lot of post position, I dont know if thats from the other team guarding him closer or tired legs or play calling or what. Besides that we go to the PnP a lot in the 4th quarter and those shots are open but not dropping like they do in the first 3 quarters
by Peteyhasnohead on Jan 30, 2012 8:44 PM PST up reply actions
because he's our only consistent jump shooter
besides Kurt. Our two best jump shooters are our elite PF and our backup center. That’s completely ridiculous.
Someone needs to spread the floor out or LMA can’t really post or work in the paint effectively.
This incarnation of the Blazers has some seriously bad mojo with the injury bug.
Blow it up? Start with a new slate? I don’t know what’s going on.
i thought it ended with the roy thing
thought we were due for some good karma after the beating we took on october 9th.
never mind that.
PHILLY!
I KNEW there would be a blow it up post
that was “serious”. Wouldn’t be a blazers loss without it.
What upsets me most about Nate
Is how he refuses to play and develop our young guys… Every other team we play against has Rookies or second year guys getting valuable mins… yet for some reason our teams so good we can’t develop guys? really? how are we supposed to get better in the future if we don’t develop any of our own.
totally agree... at least put EW and Smith or Johnson in for a 2-5 stretch mid game... if nothing else to rest some guys.
It won’t cost you the game…but might actually win it for you if they do well and your starters come back fresh for the 4th..
What are we gonna do with Ray "FAIL"ton?
by cavejunctionblazer on Jan 30, 2012 8:37 PM PST reply actions
If batum is okay it's time for him to start over Matthews.
At least with nic a three pointer has some semblance of a chance to go in. We are kinda stuck with Felton at this point.
#52
You have three guys who show up on the road at times. Nic, Aldridge and Crawford.
And Crawford is maddening. And Aldridge shrinks in the fourth.
#52
by blazermaniac32 on Jan 30, 2012 8:42 PM PST up reply actions
Aldridge does shrink.
It is painful to see. Brandon made it look like no big deal. Who’d think that pressure was so enormous?
I honestly don't know which is more painful:
the Blazers getting blown out from the opening tip or watching them squander an 11-point lead one boneheaded play at a time.
"I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I'm exciting."
- Jamal Crawford
I think it would be nice for Nick if his Mom and Siter were near by right now.
And Oden, once again, is a rookie, so non-stop fast break basketball is like fast-forwarding a song while he's trying to learn the lyrics.
We
Better make a move soon, as this team as coached is not getting out of first round. We need to package camby Wallace and Felton for 1 long term player, eat this year and draft high next. This gives us a solid long term foundation. Keeping this group together is going to lead to years of mediocrity. We can’t not get something out of these 1 year starters. They can walk, but we’re not going to get a quality free agent. Which I’m afraid Allen is going to try and do. Buy a championship.
What's with Jamal and Ray dribbling off of their foot all the time?
perhaps a we need a new box score stat?
wake me in 2012
they should play soccer
And Oden, once again, is a rookie, so non-stop fast break basketball is like fast-forwarding a song while he's trying to learn the lyrics.
I can't figure out what's more overwhelming.
Watching the teams lose like this so frequently or discussing/reading about it after the fact…
Being a Blazer fan is not exactly healthy.
harder to read cuz everyone thinks that their advice is most important here, and it gets conffusing at times
And Oden, once again, is a rookie, so non-stop fast break basketball is like fast-forwarding a song while he's trying to learn the lyrics.
He puts Pg Jonhson before Williams, I think.
And Oden, once again, is a rookie, so non-stop fast break basketball is like fast-forwarding a song while he's trying to learn the lyrics.
Armon hasn't suited for a game since his D League return
I doubt he will get minutes over EWill.
we have 3?
non expiring contracts. I think thats for a reason and I doubt we see much movement before this offseason, when we will likely see a lot.
Yeah but anyone that thinks we are getting one of the top Free agents is just kidding themselves
at best a player like Eric Gordon is our best hope
Those who are suggesting we blow the team up...
Look around the league a lot of teams are tired and struggling. We have a bunch of players trying to learn and play together for the first time and our vets are playing with new people and they are still feeling them out.
They have played only 20 games together on a bunch of back to backs with limited practices. Imagine if it wasn’t an shortened season then 20 games in things could be considered differently.
I am not an fair weather fan and faith my blazers Win or lose i will support them and they have my respect as well as my faith. Sad that most others jump ship so easily.
I honestly makes me sad to see so many fans of this great team we have, love and get the pleasure to rot for and watch, lose faith so fast ;(
by Dustin Petersen on Jan 30, 2012 8:47 PM PST reply actions
My comment about blow it up has nothing to do with what we have done lately, but with the players we have
We aren’t good neough. We have no young players coming through our system. We have gone 4 years with using 1 player out of our drafts. That is horrible. We need to draft better, trade better, and over all make better decisions. Of course having a GM with a vision might help
Wes$ is in his 3rd season
Nic is 23, LMA is 26.
why does it matter if we draft them
they are still young and still on our team. The draft outside of the lottery, and sometimes even inside of it, is a crap shoot.
What Im saying is we suck at drafting and using young talent
It may be a crap shoot but just about every team in the league uses rookie or 2nd year guys that they drafted.. yet we never bother putting them in the game… says something about our scouting.
Well all we draft is guards
and the only position that we would use a rookie is C or PG. I agree we should get Nolan some minutes but I will trust Nate’s decision not to.
Hopefully we can change something with our draft
and look outside the 1-2 positions. Guess only time will tell.
Your faith isn't going to make Felton shoot 50%.
Its all mathmatics. Is faith going to change the answer of 1+1 and equal it to 3?
by TheMaestro77727 on Jan 30, 2012 8:57 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
If its all about numbers
check out career stats.
Blow it up
No seriously, if we arent contending we should be rebuilding or looking to add that final piece of the puzzle, at the beginning of the season I thought we just needed a big to shore up the interior D and rebounding, but its become pretty apparent the guards are an issue too. Need to trade away for building blocks now, while we’ve still got some good pieces to trade off. Hell if I was LMA I’d be pulling a Bosh whenever the hell my contract expires…Drama Llama
Gotta give Utah fans some credit
Cant imagine how hard it must be to score in that atmosphere, knowing you have to keep your lead. I understand people being mad, but writing off the season is no way for a true fan to act.
I'm sure the Rose Garden is much the same in terms of hostile atmosphere for the other team.
"Shoot baskets, not people." -AK
i was mad until
i thought about how we have just as “passionate” fans, to put it nicely, and then i kind of respected the Utah fans for being so, need I say, loud and obnoxious. Think about how much of a joke the Laker or Heat fans are. No respect.
by TheloniousNerb on Jan 30, 2012 11:36 PM PST up reply actions
If blow it up means we trade to get better
im all for it. Its obvious to me that Ray is playing his best ball right now, look at his career numbers and they show not much difference than what hes giving us. So basically, he sucks, his numbers arent going to increase much more. We are also weak at center. Camby is great, but would make a studly bench guy. If Blowing It Up means making a trade that gets us a new pg or a new center, im all for it. At this point the only player im not for trading is LMA-everyone else is trade bait even ODEN. How long should we be happy to be mediocre? Im a fan of this team, I will always be a fan of this team. I just want them to be a better team. Make better decisions. Trade while value is high, work rookies into rotation so you develope youth, gets some better talent scouts working for your org so you are better prepared for the draft, get a GM for god sakes.
by cavejunctionblazer on Jan 30, 2012 9:22 PM PST reply actions
Felton was consistent, at least.
Crawford, however, regressed to the mean, tonight.
Law of Logical Argument
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
by blacknoiseNW on Jan 30, 2012 9:34 PM PST up reply actions
I wish we'd just lose by 10 or 15
Too many of these games where we have things under control and then choke it away with ridiculous turn overs or stupidity. We mailed that one in to the inferior team. Worse part is I saw it coming from the 3rd quarter on.
It’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
LMA needs to just shoot the ball when everyone else is afraid to shoot. He says he knows losses are on him but he’s still afraid to take credit for missing the shots that lose the game. We’re not looking for a leader skilled in the use of plausible dependability here. Shoot the ball and let your team live or die on your shot for once. Man up.
A fade away over two guys…I don’t mind that from LMA if the alternative is Felton/Crawford chucking a contested jumper or Nico probably tearing ACL/MCL trying to do too much.
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