FINAL: Washington Wizards 124, Portland Trail Blazers 109
by Timmay! on Feb 14, 2012 9:24 PM PST
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PrintSay it with me: Ouch. LaMarcus Aldridge injured his ankle two minutes into the game, and the Blazers never recovered, losing a home game to the woeful Washington Wizards. The red-hot Wizards (helped by the unconscious Nick Young) scored the most points for a Blazer opponent this year, including overtime games. They shot over 50% from the field and three, and scored 34 points over their average. [See Ben's post for LaMarcus updates]
Nicolas Batum shined in his return to the starting lineup, scoring 33 points. He got support from Gerald Wallace (25 points, 8 assists), Marcus Camby (13 points, 12 rebounds), and Wesley Matthews (15 points and 5 rebounds off the bench).
Early in the first quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge rolled his ankle when landing on the foot of a Wizards player, and limped to the locker room. That's really all you need to know. After his departure, the shell-shocked Blazers fell apart. The Wizards were happy to take advantage, hitting three's like crazy, and working against the Blazers' reduced interior defense. By halftime, the Blazers were down by 12 point, and the Rose Garden was stunned.
The Blazers tried to make a run to start the second half, but ran into the problem: The Wizards. Specifically, Nick Young, who redefined "hot hand", hitting three after three after three, pushing the Wiz to a 15 point lead. The Blazers were hitting shots, but the Wiz would hit shots right back. Finally, with help from Nicolas (including a memorable and-1 dunk), the Blazers cut the lead to single digits. Soon, the Blazers made Nic a focal point on offense. A wild quarter ended with a 9 point Wizards lead.
With just over a minute gone in the 4th, the Wiz lead was already 15 again. Even McGee was hitting free throws. Every time the Blazers made a run, the Wizards punched right back, knocking the lead back to 15. With 6 minutes left, the Blazers embarked on one last-ditch run to get back into the game. They cut the lead to single-digits with 5 minutes left, but could not slow down the dominant (!) Wizards. Nick Young hit yet another three to put away the Blazers with two minutes left.
The box score is here. Don't look. This is unfortunately the first game in a back-breaking back-to-back-to-back, they're the court tomorrow night in Golden State. Yeah, I know. Hang in there. -- Tim
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31 rebounts...
When is the last time that happened?
by Oden Mad, Oden Smash! on Feb 14, 2012 9:25 PM PST reply actions
I HATE VALENTINES DAY
Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Vladimir Stepania, Ha(ha you suck) Seung Jin, Travis Diener and Erick Barkley
by blazethenugs on Feb 14, 2012 9:43 PM PST up reply actions
I know our defense was terrible
But the Wiz better keep that tape. They will never shoot that well again. Even the players themselves couldn’t believe they were all going in.
Yeah- I can't be angy about this loss.
Just marvel at their makes, hope LA is good to go relatively soon and move on
Aut disce, aut discede; manet sors tertia, caedi
by Occam's Blazer on Feb 14, 2012 9:27 PM PST up reply actions
My gut says hold him out till after the all-star break. 6 in 8 is rough!
Aut disce, aut discede; manet sors tertia, caedi
by Occam's Blazer on Feb 14, 2012 9:29 PM PST up reply actions
NOT
Camby always takes longer to come back from minor, nagging injuries than one should.
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
He doesn't play unless he's near 100%.
Bad for the short term / team needs per season, but likely a reason he’s still playing this many years into his career.
Most embarrassing loss since game 7 collapse
and that was over a decade ago
Get well Greg! Rip City is still behind you!
Our all-star gets hurt, 2 minutes into the game
and the other team shoots lights out and its the worst since game 7?!
Aut disce, aut discede; manet sors tertia, caedi
by Occam's Blazer on Feb 14, 2012 9:28 PM PST up reply actions
Disagree, but what ever
Aut disce, aut discede; manet sors tertia, caedi
by Occam's Blazer on Feb 14, 2012 9:31 PM PST up reply actions
Even though that was the playoffs, the Rockets are so much better than this Wizards team
Get well Greg! Rip City is still behind you!
Washington shot 60%!!! on the road
Felton and Crawford didnt show up yet again, and the interior defense is absolutely disgusting without LMA. Man, we’re screwed.
Henne is the greatest and the Dolphins will go 14-2 this year and win the SB
Every week this season we come upon a new "worse loss of the season"
Methinks the troops have tuned out sarge.
I think the problem is more simple: lack of talent.
We can talk about lots of factors, but at the end of the day, I think most of the players on the roster just aren’t very good. Only so much you can do to overcome that.
or lack of development...of any talent. Truly think Miller guided this team
way more than I realized…probably kept them focused and not all freaked out…etc..
the big deal is if LMA is out for an extended time
we’ll be dropping a lot more losses where that came from
"Wide, girthy. Just like a Rhino. Sometimes my horns are visible."
except they were good
this team loses to the wiz at home because they are very bad.
Hopefully LA is out a few games
I’d like to see Nate forced to try some different things. However, I wish it had more to do with changing up guards and wings, not post players. We don’t have much to change up there expect play Rhino and CJ.
It’s been my number one concern all year, but now it is front and center: no decent depth up front. Can’t count on Camby and Thomas as consistent performers if LA is out. And the team should have developed a better back-up plan for LA, even just for regular rotation minutes.
put a body on 'em
something thats good from this game is that Batum has some good moves
…he can be aggressive. Gerald should try playing the point…LA’s injury threw them off and they weren’t prepared for it…i think they will be better prepared for teh next two games…i think we will win the next two
41 mins against Dallas
and 42 tonight as a starter. He’s already getting more PT, lets not beat the horse anymore.
I couldn't watch the game...
Down by 12 at the half and 9 at the end of the third… Did we make a run in the 4th? I hope so otherwise someone explain why we played Nico and Wallace 42 and 43 minutes while Smith and Williams got 5 and 1?
We made a bit of a push.
Unfortunately, the Wiz were just on fire all game long, so a couple jumpers put an end to our hopes.
They were hot from outside
But stayed hot because we didnt have ANYBODY who could stop them from driving to the basket.
Henne is the greatest and the Dolphins will go 14-2 this year and win the SB
yeah this
even had to roll out the zone waaay too much just to try to stop them from dunking all night
We were down by about ten or more for most of last half of the 4th quarter
They pulled to within 7 (?) and turned it over. Then the Bullets closed it out.
put a body on 'em
on a positive note
Starting Batum was an undeniable winning move. I expect he earned a spot in the starting rotation even if LMA we’re to suit up tomorrow.
"Luke is our go-to Chalupa man," Matthews said. "Designated."
by Vorlauf on Feb 14, 2012 9:30 PM PST via iPhone app reply actions
yes agreed
Nic needs to start
Henne is the greatest and the Dolphins will go 14-2 this year and win the SB
Yeah, in place of Wes.
Of course, we didn’t really get to see Nic play alongside LMA, so it’s hard to say how effective he’ll be once LMA comes back.
played well on offense
his rebounding and defense were awful though he had lots of company.
this
hard to say for sure with LMA out though.
did the rebounding and defense have anything to do with playing a different position?
Does it make much of a difference? I dont know bball well enough to know..and didn’t SEE the game!!!
Didn't immediately look like it, Nic defends the win either way then crashes the boards normally
But I didn’t watch it closely, someone may have a better look.
Nate just said that "possibly Wesley back in the line up"....
who needs any kind of consistency. Nate wants consistency from Nick right? Well why doesn’t he ever give it back to Nick?
one can hopefully assume
he means a 2/3/4 lineup of wes/nic/gerald since LA is likely out tmorrow.
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
unless we want to start the 1999 Knicks frontline of Camby and Thomas
I think we sort of have to
"Wide, girthy. Just like a Rhino. Sometimes my horns are visible."
Nate doesn't seem like the kind of guy who likes things interesting
"Wide, girthy. Just like a Rhino. Sometimes my horns are visible."
We play Golden State tomorrow. It doesn't matter who starts,
who plays, or who finishes. The results are always the same there.
"You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man." - Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981)
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Feb 14, 2012 9:57 PM PST up reply actions
I actually think we have a chance tomorrow night
I don’t know why, just a feeling. It could be quashed within 10 minutes.
Hope you are right.
But I have a feeling we’d have a better record this week if we just forfeited the game tomorrow and stayed home and rested for the Clippers on Thursday.
"You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man." - Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981)
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Feb 14, 2012 10:43 PM PST up reply actions
maybe the Blazers are just saving their
energy for the Clippers game…practicing their shots…blowing off defense…
there was not much board crashing to talk about
the blazers did not box out at all and were slow to offensive rebounds. batum was as guilty as anyone and pretty much everyone was bad.
he did crash the offensive glass late in the game.
....So who's looking forward to the lottery?
….me…..
This team is a failed attempt to put something together for a run at the playoffs.
Step 1- get a GM
Step 2- make a trade for a real pg.
Step 3- let’s try not to screw up this draft…
by 01B5S4 on Feb 14, 2012 9:30 PM PST via mobile reply actions 3 recs
step 2 should be get a coach
PHILLY!
by CleBlazer on Feb 14, 2012 9:31 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
nate should now be a good coach cuz when ever we have an injured bunch, thats when we play the best and now with
injured LA, the team will play like the CROUCHING tigers and not the HIDDEN dragon
At this point I'm wondering if there will be wholesale changes
Everone below Larry Miller.
put a body on 'em
you know this how?
based on the character attacks routinely visited on him by ben golliver?
he’s not a basketball guy but a business guy. seems to me, he’s holding up his end of the bargain just fine.
I don't like to listen to his spin doctoring
and I don’t trust a word he says
he's actually been pretty good for the blazers $$ wise
the key is to keep him on that side and not let him interfere with bball ops.
PHILLY!
it's his job
I’d hope whatever guy we have there can spin a story
so essentially you admit there's no
substance to your saying “he sucks”. PR is essentially his job. calling him out for spin doctoring is misunderstanding the role of the team’s most public executive.
@#$%(&% CRAWFUL
"If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind."
by thankyouforblaze on Feb 14, 2012 9:30 PM PST reply actions
This is the kind of game that sucks every remaining ounce of hope out of you
totally brutal.
Get well Greg! Rip City is still behind you!
here's my shot of optimism for you
it’s one step closer to getting rid of nate.
PHILLY!
by CleBlazer on Feb 14, 2012 9:32 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Im on board with firing Nate at this point
I don’t like his rotations, and generally speaking, his ship has sailed in Portland. He’s looking more like a lame duck coach by the minute.
Henne is the greatest and the Dolphins will go 14-2 this year and win the SB
yeah "we" got that
Right. I’m sure Nate looks here for input all the time.
"Luke is our go-to Chalupa man," Matthews said. "Designated."
by Vorlauf on Feb 15, 2012 6:23 AM PST via iPhone app up reply actions
game #2 of the current losing streak
How many more losses till our team wins another game?
I’m guessing this will continue for at least the next 5 or 6 games
Win the day!
Coffee is for Closers!
Always Be Closing!
by Blzr fan on Feb 14, 2012 9:32 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Everybody chill out...
This game is an anomaly. The Wiz just hung 124 on us. We played stellar offense. On the bright side, Nic Batum is a star in the making. Wallace showed up and EWill showed me a little something. If we play this offense every night, we won’t ever lose. And anyone see Batum on McGee!!!
Batum Shakalaka
Whatever you are taking
i want some of it
Get well Greg! Rip City is still behind you!
by axel360 on Feb 14, 2012 9:33 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
there is a bright side to all of this..really...one and done? What good does that do?
I’d rather see the Blazers know they won’t make the playoffs and do something REAL to change things up.
I just hope we don't enter NBA limbo
Lottery team with a back-end lottery pick
by Jonathan Wright on Feb 14, 2012 9:40 PM PST up reply actions
Or back-end playoff team without a lottery pick
Fortunately, I think the Catholic Church officially deep-sixed limbo. So all is well in Blazaland!
Steve Goodman lives.
I'd rather be in the play-offs if I have to choose one of the two
by Jonathan Wright on Feb 14, 2012 9:44 PM PST up reply actions
Me too
But they’re both bending down real low to shimmy under a stick. (The other limbo!)
Steve Goodman lives.
Nate should institute a No Board? Waterboard policy.
Doers & Makers > Movers & Shakers
by Adam Randall on Feb 14, 2012 9:36 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Passing and shooting are bad too.
And dribbling.
And defense.
And focus. And confidence. And chemistry. And coaching.
And?
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain_4.html#ixzz1IE4sPu16
by Tyler Durrden on Feb 14, 2012 9:38 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
offense
against Wizards “defense”. Didn’t look all that great either.
I have to write a headline for this
Would you guys say you feel more “embarrassed” or “humiliated”?
"Valentine's day massacre"
“Heart-break Hotel”
“Love me not”
“The horror. The horror.”
“For Shame: A study in embarrassment”
Shot down
By the Bullets
Steve Goodman lives.
by twinsbrewer on Feb 14, 2012 10:00 PM PST up reply actions
Despite LA going down
With that unfortunate injury, I was somewhat happy with what I saw. Nic got his well deserved start and he played great. Just think when LA is healthy and Nic and Wallace are out there, we will be a force to be reckoned with. There’s not much you can do when a team shoots lights out like the Wiz.
by vanillagorrila on Feb 14, 2012 9:33 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Luke Babbitt and Chris Johnson must be asking themselves
“What’s it gotta take for us to get some minutes around here?” Getting humiliated by the Wizards and we still don’t play? $%#^%^
No doubt
Apparently Nate thinks he’s never out of a game. However, we never develop our guys.
put a body on 'em
no kidding...why did they not play?
We have two more games in a row, and Nate plays Nic and Gerald heavy minutes…
Why Nate?
by 01B5S4 on Feb 14, 2012 9:39 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
we have no shot tomorrow night
nate knows that. he took a chance at coming back tonight which was much more likely than winning in oakland without aldridge.
the blazers had a 10 – 0 (maybe 8 – 0 ) to get within distance but couldn’t pull it off. regardless our next shot at a win is definitely thursday.
Was thinking about going to March 1 Miami game
but after tonight i dont know how competitive that game will be
Get well Greg! Rip City is still behind you!
We don't play good team basketball
More a series of one on one plays separated by near turnovers. Now that our fundamental flaws are showing our confidence is even more of an issue too.
I say keep LA and Nic, see what you can get for the rest.
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain_4.html#ixzz1IE4sPu16
by Tyler Durrden on Feb 14, 2012 9:35 PM PST via mobile reply actions 2 recs
Yep
and I blame a lot of the lack of basic basketball teamwork on coaching. that is not a new issue with the Blazers.
put a body on 'em
so nic looked like he can be a go-to guy for some stretches, right?
i know it was against crappy d for the most part, but WAS was keying in on him all night and he still dropped 30. this is encouraging.
PHILLY!
Jason Quick agrees
@jwquick: Well, Nate, this is why I think Batum should be playing more: 31 points, 4 rebounds on 11-of-19 shooting with 5:21 left.
by Neama on Feb 14, 2012 9:38 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Vindicated
He is better than Nate…at being a tool.
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
He's technically only a columnist now, he gave up his beat I believe
He basically has the same role as Canzano now, and it’s showing.
Everything I heard was that there was no internal incidents, he just didn't want to do the beat
I was convinced it was because he lost his inside sources, but that’s just me speculating baselessly.
I don't believe so
He’s still on generally good terms with the team as far as I know. But I don’t have any inside info or anything.
It's probably a bit of a drag
You have to keep toeing the company line. On the other hand, columnists often seem too proud of themselves for “daring” to be controversial . . . so between homer and agitator, there’s the happy zone.
Steve Goodman lives.
did you hear how condescending nate was to quick in his interview?
check the fanshot.
reaction is well warranted.
PHILLY!
Dude, I'm commented in that fanshot, and not in favor of Nate!
That doesn’t change how unprofessional JQ sounds.
Well, compared to someone like Skip Bayless
Quick is a saint! Then again, there’s a reason those “journalists” made it to ESPN and its not for being shy and demure.
There's only so much Quick a guy can take
Not that I’m much of a Nate fan…
yeah
and it’s not like it’s some genius idea or anything. Many of us have been calling for Batum to start since a couple games in, and nearly everyone has been calling for him to at least play 30+ minutes a night and be treated like a veteran who no longer needs to be worried about getting benched for making a mistake.
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
I know, we all know Batum needs minutes, it's not like JQ had a revelation
And really, after ONE game? After Nic had a really great game off the bench, it’s not like he publicly told off JQ for wanting to start him.
4 rebounds isn't much to shout about
batum was great offensively tonight but his defensive rebounding and defense were not good. he should be starting but let’s hold off on the hall of fame bust.
he just had a good offensive night against one of the worst teams in basketball.
Nic was the only bright spot.
However he’s not enough to make up for the glaring hole where LA was.
Porous is not a modifier that adequately describes the holes in our defense.
Gaping is close.
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain_4.html#ixzz1IE4sPu16
by Tyler Durrden on Feb 14, 2012 9:40 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
What hole? We scored 109 points. LA doesn't defend their guards (which got 85 points).
85 Points from their 3 guards. Figure out who was supposed to be defending those guys. We lost this game because of our defense, not our offense. We shot 47% and got 109 points. We were even in offensive rebounds. This was all about NO defense.
"You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man." - Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981)
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Feb 14, 2012 10:15 PM PST up reply actions
Ummmm, LA wouldn't defend their guards
if we played strict man-to-man defense. But we don’t. The dude’s on the perimeter frequently, and usually winds up defending the ball-handler on pick and rolls.
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
Huh.
I’m going through the stats to update the post, and you could argue Crash had a better game than Nic.
He only became aggressive after we were down big
my only knock
Nic: 33 points (12-24 FG), 4 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 TO
Crash: 25 points (7-14 FG), 4 reb, 8 assists, 2 steals, 0 blocks, 2 TO
yeah thanks!
I thought it might have been more seeing as those two seemed most of what was happening for the team
Wallace was dishing to everybody.
Check the play-by-play…
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=320214022&period=0
Doers & Makers > Movers & Shakers
by Adam Randall on Feb 14, 2012 9:58 PM PST up reply actions
what position did Wallace play?
8 assists? Who was he passing to? I think Wallace does well in the full court game.
Nic did well…especially when he doesn’t usually play SG in the NBA right???
Didn’t watch the game. Heard it on the radio…so can’t really say!
nic was makign hard cuts all night
and he played SF, with Gerald at PF and wessy at 2 for the most part
PHILLY!
wallace and batum have played well together most of the season
the problem is we don’t see them on the court together nearly enough.
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
Nic is more of a finisher than a facilitator
not expecting too many assists from him
"Wide, girthy. Just like a Rhino. Sometimes my horns are visible."
But his handles and vision have always been really good
it’s just not often he gets used in that role.
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
Nash's remaining basketball years would be wasted on this team
Our window is not near. He might as well stay in Phoenix. The weather is better for his arthritis.
put a body on 'em
Pathetic.
Just pathetic.
A heartless loss suffered by a lottery team.
Come on, let's all hug it out.
by Hipster Olympic Team! on Feb 14, 2012 9:37 PM PST via mobile reply actions
I'd like to get some of Michael Holton's happy pills
Win the day!
Coffee is for Closers!
Always Be Closing!
by Blzr fan on Feb 14, 2012 9:38 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Mike Barrett must have been taking some of them
He was not nearly as dour as he normally would be in a game like this.
put a body on 'em
I suppose if you are on PA's payroll
You have to drink the company Kool-Aid
Win the day!
Coffee is for Closers!
Always Be Closing!
by Blzr fan on Feb 14, 2012 9:42 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Sense of resignation after a while.
Also, the game was on NBA TV, so the presence of a national audience might have affected his presentation.
On the bright side...
Houston and Utah lost too. Not that it will matter much if LMA isn’t 100% ASAP.
id rather be in the lottery
honestly, making the playoffs and being THIS close to getting out of the first round is fools’ gold – and it’s been a main reason we’ve refused to make any drastic changes the past two offseasons – everyone thinks this team is on the cusp of greatness and only needs a subtle tweak or two. Another late season surge and a 4-2 first round loss is just going to repeat the pattern, and we’ll continue to spin our wheels not going anywhere, wasting LA’s prime while we figure out nothing.
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
Sometimes I wonder if the organization doesn't still have hangovers from the Pritchard days
Or even earlier with Whitsitt, back when it seemed every so often they’d manage a miracle trade exchanging loose peanut shells for some fading All-Star. Not likely to happen now.
Steve Goodman lives.
I'm interested to see if we shake the roster up before the trade deadline
and if so it wouldn’t be a bad thing to be close to a playoff spot. We’re going to have a hard time getting a decent pick with LMA on the roster. The price of having a truly elite player.
Close your eyes
although if the blazers can get a win at Oracle tomorrow I’ll need to eat my words. Highly doubtful.
put a body on 'em
by RayBourque on Feb 14, 2012 9:41 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Craig Smith goes for 50 tomorrow.
Book it.
by Roy Wonder on Feb 14, 2012 9:42 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
first he'll go 10-10 for 20 pts in the first half
then get benched
That was just horrible.
I have nothing further to add. No bright spots here when you lose at home to the wizards.
#52
i feel sick on Valentine's Day
"whoever scores the most points is probably gonna win the game"
by kobestopper on Feb 14, 2012 9:42 PM PST via iPhone app reply actions 1 recs
I read this funny excerpt from USAToday's website:
Even the Los Angeles Lakers, who lost Friday to the Knicks and were at home preparing to play the Atlanta Hawks late Tuesday, erupted in their locker room after Lin’s shot. Reporters noted on Twitter that Lakers forward Ron Artest ran out of the locker room screaming “Linsanity!”
Who is this Ron Artest you speak of?
Seriously, though, that totally sounds like something Metta would do.
Nate said there was no defense.
And no pride. I agree. Seriously, can this get worse?
I hope that's the bottom
We’ll see. We’ll see about that.
It was a defense failure. We scored 109 points and shot 47%. We were even on offensive rebounds.
Nothing wrong with our offense. Their 3 guards scored 85 points and shot 66%. That is a total failure of our defense.
"You're not too smart, are you? I like that in a man." - Matty Walker in Body Heat (1981)
by BlazerFanSince1970 on Feb 14, 2012 10:20 PM PST up reply actions
The home team broke many hearts today on Valentine's Day of all days, with mine included!
I think I’m going to have to rethink my strategy in choosing which games I may want to attend. Instead of wanting to see the Lakers, Miami, Oklahoma, Bulls, etc. I’d rather see the bottom feeders of the league, like the Wizards for example. I want to leave the Rose Garden with the feelings of a win on the trek back home. I’m not sure exactly how I feel about Blazers this season.
I understand your frustration, but I'd also encourage you not to read too much into a game in which the Blazers lost their best player to injury.
Yes, the rest of the team is pretty subpar, but they’ve shown they’re capable of hanging with elite teams as long as LMA is on the floor. The games against OKC and the Lakers attest to that. I don’t necessarily disagree with your approach, but keep in mind the fact that this game isn’t really indicative of the way the full squad has performed against quality opposition this season.
Blazers losing their best player to injury...
Deja vu vu vu
Playoffs
It doesn’t matter if they don’t make the playoffs.
Well, in a weird way it does.
Teams often make significant money just by making the playoffs.
I don’t know if this matters to the front office though, since this was clearly meant as a transition season from the start.
which is the frustrating thing
I was totally accepting of a transition season. but then we sign Crawford and don’t seem to want to use our best trade assets – Wallace and Camby, while at the same time cutting the minutes of our most promising young player by 30% from last season, and refusing to see what guys like Williams and Smith have in them.
Instead of making it a USEFUL transition season, we want to sacrifice the future in a futile attempt to maximizes wins this season. So now we end up learning nothing, having nothing, and going nowhere. What a waste. Pick a route and go with it, trying to have your cake and eat it to is the worst possible idea.
"But if Ding Dongs and prime rib were the path to NBA pivot stardom we'd all be wearing the uniform." -Dave
by douglast on Feb 14, 2012 9:56 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
"Trying to have your cake and eat it too is the worst possible idea"
Are the Felton fat jokes over now? Do we have to go back to Barkley?
Steve Goodman lives.
Smith has played roughly one third
as minutes as Jeremy Lin played as a rookie. No chance he could ever be better than he is, though.
it's not a straight up thing
one thing affects another with team defense.
You're right. I was simply offering another opinion for JoeBlazer to consider.
I don’t know that the Blazers would have won this game even with LMA. However, they have proven capable of hanging with and beating elite teams as long as they have LaMarcus. So, games against the Lakers, Miami, etc. might still be worth attending, since the Blazers seem to rise to the level of the competition in those contests.
True true..
With LA leaving before the game actually began, that hurts. My choosing of games probably isn’t entirely true. I’ll go see anybody really. A few seasons back I had season tickets. Sometimes I’d ask a few co-workers if they’d like to go to a game. Their first response was generally asking who’s in town. Sometimes they’d pass because it wasn’t a premier team the Blazers were playing. I’d always tell ‘em that it shouldn’t matter who the visiting teams is, they should be going to see the Blazers play. I just wish they could bring the same intensity to any team in that regard.
If we don't plan on tanking the season, then we HAVE TO GET A NEW PG BY TRADE DEADLINE
Throw Crawful in there I can’t imagine EWill doing much worse with his touches
Don't worry guys
One of these days they’ll stop being scared to call each other out, and then all of our problems will be solved!
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain_4.html#ixzz1IE4sPu16
by Tyler Durrden on Feb 14, 2012 9:48 PM PST via mobile reply actions
well here you go
@Jay Allen 750TheGame @PDXjay
Nicolas Batum says the #Blazers have no pride. #ToughLoss
PHILLY!
himself i hope
he was dismal on defense tonight and showed no rebounding effort along with his teammates.
camby gets a bit of a pass as mcgee was a load for him but wallace, batum, matthews did not help out near enough.
You're right... scoring 31 means nothing
Point the finger at Failton and Crawful who were completely MIA tonight. otherwise pass whatever you’re smokin straight to me
Crawford played 20 minutes now its his fault ? When you play 30+ minutes its on you not guys playing minimal minutes lol
by Willie Beamon on Feb 14, 2012 9:58 PM PST up reply actions
Crawful would have gotten more minutes
but he was so absolutely terrible even Nate could see he had to yank him. That’s our highly touted “6th man, spark of offense off the bench” guy. He got heavily outplayed by the Wizard’s own J.Crawford (yeah I didn’t know who that was either). Felton meanwhile is playing like a 2nd or 3rd string PG, but i’m sure he has nothing to do with our losses
jordan crawford?
really, you don’t know him?
he’s the guy that dunked on lebron in a summer league game. the film of the dunk was later confiscated by nike.
PHILLY!
you're pretending
the the two guys who led the team in minutes had nothing to do with the lack of defensive effort even though they played more minutes than everyone else.
think about that for a minute.
wallace & batum were near brilliant on offense. heck i don’t think i’ve ever seen wallace pass so well. all that said both of them were slow & disinterested on the other end of the floor.
as for jordan crawford & nick young going off. those guys were guarded plenty by people other than crawford, including wallace & batum.
more like...
the player you like is given a free pass for an atrocious defensive effort that even his own center points out.
players you don’t like who played as many combined minutes as the guy you do like get all the blame.
Felton/Crawfords defensive prowess certainly would have changed the outcome
OH wait.. Both of them would have given much worse offensive output with about the same defensive output. At the very least I didn’t have to watch as many horrible turnovers with them getting less minutes
when did i argue that felton or crawford's defense
had a positive effect? my point was that the guy you refuse to criticize was dreadful on defense and you refuse to see that this contributed mightily to the blazers losing tonight.
I think losing the best player we have by a mile, the one Nate depends on night in and night out to win games
going out 2 minutes into this game was the mighty reason we lost to an uncharacteristically hot Wizards team. We threw out there our theoretically “best” defensive players and they couldn’t deliver on that end although they did do much more on the offensive end than the other options we had. So i guess the only end result was, did we want to lose this game by 15, or by 25, based on the personnel we have? lol
lol yes he was 1-4 and was terrible lol in 8 minutes ? really you think he wasnt played more because he was terrible or because nate wanted to give the fragile crybabies more minutes and shots ?
Wall,Jordan crawford and Young all played over 30 minutes and Crawford played 23 and didnt start but of course he was getting killed lol
Its amazing how many of you pick your scapegoats before the game even starts and try and match up your claims to how the game was played despite the facts right in front of you
by Willie Beamon on Feb 14, 2012 10:09 PM PST up reply actions
bingo
exactly what’s going on.
people like batum so we have to overlook his defensive effort and lavish praise on his great offensive night – 33 points, 50% shooting, 6 FT’s, great cuts to the basket, aggressive finishes, at least one and one play.
few people are talking about wallace despite his being similarly fantastic offensively tonight. 25 points, 8 assists on 50% shooting, drawing 12 FT’s is pretty outstanding. he was awful on D but really he’s just plain being ignored because he’s not as popular with the fanbase atm.
however with felton and crawford who have been dismal all season, we want to exaggerate the influence of both. they stunk, no question but they weren’t the guys watching the wizards shoot in the 2nd half.
the lack of pride tonight
was clearly on the defensive end. the blazers showed less than no interest in the 2nd half in doing anything other than hoping the wizards shots missed.
from there they kinda sorted rebounded if it happened to fall into their hands.
he played great on offense tonight as did wallace but both of them were atrocious on the other end of the floor.
exactly Colin as i said before getting excited over any of our players throwing up big offensive numbers at home is ridiculous
nice offensive game but when you give up 120+ to the wizards its nothing to smile about all
by Willie Beamon on Feb 14, 2012 10:02 PM PST up reply actions
not sure you wanna smoke that
makes you see bad things
by blazerblaze on Feb 14, 2012 10:03 PM PST up reply actions
Which is funny, cuz we came in as the 4th best D in the NBA
Phase 1: Collect underpants
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Profit!
This is very reminiscent of the 10-11 Jazz pre-Deron Williams trade/Sloan firing.
Anyone expecting some sort of major change before the deadline?
i dont wanto to fire nate
if it means having to watch bickerstaff go at it. even on an interim basis.
PHILLY!
I don't want nate fired now either
Thats like redoing the plumbing when your house is on fire
by Blake1984 on Feb 14, 2012 9:56 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
You have to admit
He has the perfect name for a team that keeps going through front-office personnel like wrapping paper at Xmas.
Steve Goodman lives.
really though
outside of quickly firing cho, it’s hard to say that FO personnel were burned through. pritchard was here for a solid length of time. given his performance I think canning him was defensible.
it feels like they are burning through guys because of how short-lived cho was but that’s really the only time allen has brought in a gm and canned them nearly immediately.
at least i can’t recall another time. i could be wrong.
Absolutely no idea
My best guess is the departure of Crash, but some creative changes wouldn’t shock me.
I honestly want people to start booing the team's effort.
I’m a hardcore fan, but we deserve better from the ENTIRE organization. Not just the players, but the shaky front office as well. Maybe the reason for their lack of effort is us. Since we always seem to cheer them on…
Blazer fans can be too much like soccer moms
For their own good, or for the team’s good.
Look for the RG sell-out string to end very very soon. 3 losses at home in a row, with more on the way. Going to be hard to take
Win the day!
Coffee is for Closers!
Always Be Closing!
by Blzr fan on Feb 14, 2012 10:39 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
As someone that wants this team rebooted, I am thinking we might be on the right path
Tonight you saw what we really have around LA, which isn’t much. Be better to get him some real talent that can be his supporting crew. Dump GW, MC, RF, and Jamal for picks and young talent. Re-sign Batum as a RFA.
!!!o o!!!
OMG I just jizzed in my France
OMGrandpa
LOL you play batum big minutes and let him blow his numbers up and then you send him + someone else for a second star like Dwill or something
by Willie Beamon on Feb 14, 2012 9:59 PM PST up reply actions
I suppose if you could get an all-star for Nic, you certainly do it. Would need to be around the same age as LA though
!!!o o!!!
OMG I just jizzed in my France
OMGrandpa
Promote Canales to head coach!!
The players would probably respect him more than those older washups
Headline for tomorrow's newspaper
Blazers ask Wiz why they didn’t get a kiss on Valentine’s Day, after the Wiz had their way with the home team
Win the day!
Coffee is for Closers!
Always Be Closing!
by Blzr fan on Feb 14, 2012 9:57 PM PST via mobile reply actions
ya, I know -- too many words
It would have been shorter if I could have used some foul language
Win the day!
Coffee is for Closers!
Always Be Closing!
by Blzr fan on Feb 14, 2012 10:01 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Well the Blazers blew it
I hope they dont get into a funk. I hope they have at least some pride and show up tomorrow and try to be competitive
Next week's power rankings
Will drop the Blazers at least 10 positions. Some @ the national media have over-rated our team. Say buh-bye to all that love.
Win the day!
Coffee is for Closers!
Always Be Closing!
by Blzr fan on Feb 14, 2012 10:19 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Proof Positive that without LMA
this team would be lottery bound. I wasn’t completely convinced that we lack THAT MUCH talent outside of LMA but I can’t ignore it any longer.
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