More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy, right, exacts revenge on behalf of PETA on San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, from Argentina, during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. Roy scored 24 points as they beat the Spurs 96-84. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

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Before the game started, the gameplan was labeled a "gimmick" and derided as "desperate," the idea met with scoffs and outright laughter.  Miller and Blake in the starting lineup together?  Really?

In the countless starting lineup polls that we've run here over the past few months, not once did Miller/Roy/Blake/Aldridge/Oden appear as an option.  The idea of going small -- that small -- to start off a game was so unconventional and so risky given the Spurs' height at the 2 and 3 positions (both Michael Finley and Richard Jefferson are 6'7") that it even caught Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, master tactician, off guard.  

Popovich scrambled to inform his guards of the switch shortly before the game and then watched the Blazers run out to a 8-0 advantage in just over 2 minutes of game time, despite spending a 20 second timeout less than a minute into the game to get his defense right.  

The quick start was keyed by Steve Blake's energy -- he was playing like he knew his job was on the line -- and Brandon Roy, who had 7 first quarter points and finished with 24 on an efficient 9-15 shooting. The team's ball movement was the best of the season (9 Blazers scored in the first quarter) and yet the ball control was also solid (just 2 turnovers in the first 12 minutes).  It was by far the Blazers' best overall first quarter this season: the team scored a season-high 29 points and maintained a season-high 15 point lead after the first quarter.  

From there, an ankle sprain that knocked Tony Parker from the game made life pretty easy. The Blazers executed just enough down the stretch to maintain a firm grasp on a game they led the entire way.  The final margin of victory -- 96 to 84 -- was both comfortable and comforting: a return to normalcy for a Blazers team used to winning handily on its home floor.

Asked about his downsized starting lineup after the game, Nate McMillan said that he had already eyed the upcoming schedule and plans to stick with that Miller/Roy/Blake over the next couple of weeks.  The big question mark with this grouping is on the defensive end: a large, potent backcourt trio could present serious mismatch problems for the undersized Miller/Roy/Blake.

Yet surveying the team's upcoming opponents it's easy to see why McMillan might feel fully confident with this lineup for at least the next five games, if not longer.  

• Minnesota Timberwolves: one of the weakest teams in the league features rookie Jonny Flynn (nice potential, not there yet), Corey Brewer (barely an NBA player), Ryan Gomes (nothing to write home about), and Ramon Sessions (not physically imposing).
• Memphis Grizzlies:  Undersized starting guards Mike Conley and OJ Mayo plus the Charmin soft Rudy Gay.
• Minnesota again.
• New Orleans Hornets: a little bigger with Chris Paul (All-World), Mo Peterson (Meh) and Julian Wright (Still waiting for this guy to develop...) but they're off to a terribly slow start and have been reduced to a one-man show.
• Charlotte Bobcats: Not exactly an overpowering offensive juggernaut (held to 59 points... for an entire game... by Boston) with Raymond Felton (hit or miss), Raja Bell (aging defensive specialist) and Gerald Wallace (nice player, not going to carry a team).

After that, it's Atlanta, Detroit, Golden State and the Timberwolves again.  At this point, Atlanta (with good sized wings in Marvin Williams and Joe Johnson plus explosive scoring from Jamal Crawford off the bench) seems like the worst matchup for Miller/Roy/Blake. Detroit has been juggling lineups (starting rookie Jonas Jerebko at the 3!), the Warriors are basically the Oakland Raiders of the NBA and the Timberwolves were covered above.  

So with the exception of that game in Atlanta on November 16, which could give Nate McMillan some pause, there's a chance McMillan talks himself into this starting lineup for the next 9 games.  

Who would have thought we'd be here?  

It's not clear whether anyone did, outside of McMillan.

Asked after the game what he thought about the new starting lineup, Brandon Roy said, "I'm fine with it. Whatever we go with, my thing is to continue to be aggressive. Defensively we can't have a drop off."

That's the spirit!  Roll with it. If you're going to go with something new, might as well embrace it with open arms and an open mind. It's different, it's weird, it probably won't win a playoff series but it's something.  This team -- lackluster through five games -- needed something, and tonight it got it. 

Just a few notes late on a Friday night...

Rudy Fernandez

The biggest loser with this new lineup juggling? Rudy.  He played just 11 minutes (less than 2 minutes during the fourth quarter) and despite attacking the bucket a little bit more than he has in the past, and throwing an absolutely spectacular backdoor pass to LaMarcus Aldridge for a dunk, he was a shell of the Rudy Fernandez that electrified the Rose Garden last year.

If and when he returns to form, it will be game-changing.  Because right now, he's giving McMillan as close to nothing as possible.

Jerryd Bayless 

Rex got some run!  Interesting that his first playing time of the season would come against San Antonio and George Hill, a team and player he dominated during Las Vegas Summer League.  In perhaps his best performance of last summer, Jerryd hung 19 and 5 (and, yes, 7 turnovers) on Hill and locked him down pretty well on the other end, holding Hill to 6 and 3.  

Tonight Bayless did what we've seen him do before -- attack the basket, draw fouls -- and didn't do what we haven't seen him do before -- truly run an offense, make his teammates better.  It's clear that a Bayless/Fernandez backcourt is not the best pairing to maximize the strengths of both players.  

Nevertheless, you can't help but be happy to see Bayless in the rotation rather than rotting on the bench.  Bayless even has the potential for steady first-half minutes as long as McMillan continues to start both Miller and Blake. How quickly fortunes change.

Greg Oden

You guys thought I was lying through the preseason, didn't you?  Greg Oden making shots?  Playing calmly?  Dribbling the ball without travelling?  It all sounded preposterous, didn't it?  Well tonight a television audience finally saw the offensive flashes that Oden treated the Rose Garden crowd to during the preseason.  He drew oohs and ahhs during the game and big-time post-game kudos from Nate McMillan (not to mention a number of writers) for how he stood toe to toe with Tim Duncan, getting the best of Duncan physically on a number of occasions down the stretch.  

Both Duncan and Oden finished with 14 and 8.  McMillan will surely take those numbers 100 times out of 100 this season.  And I didn't even mention the four blocks, 3 of which came during the fourth quarter.

Nate's Post-Game Comments

Do you feel like a genius?

No, I'm happy to see the movement. That felt more like a flow, more like a rhythm on both ends of the floor. What we wanted to see I thought we saw. I thought Dre, we got more from him. He got everybody involved. A lot of communication, just looking in sync, even though that team hasn't played a lot together. I thought we got the ball movement, we were attacking. When we stopped attacking, and started back isolating and going one on one, they were able to get back into the game.

When you started to sputter in the 4th quarter did you intentionally put the ball back in Brandon's hands?

Yeah because we were in the penalty. So we were going to drive the ball and we went with the power set to drop the ball low, ended up getting a 3. I think Blake hit a big 3 off of that. For the most part, having that lead with Tim being in the game, basically we were going to spread the floor. I went with Travis, Blake...

But before that, when you had five straight possessions where you didn't score. Andre was bringing it up and then Brandon was bringing it up, did you make that call?

I did. I did.

They adjusted after the early energy. Late in the game you pounded it into Oden. What are you seeing from him offensively?

What I was hoping for was with Miller in that game, he would be able to get Greg the ball. A lot of the calls tonight, Dre called those sets. He did a nice job of mixing it up. He got Blake involved. He got Greg involved, deep post position. He called the right sets. Greg had deep post position, they were playing him straight up, a couple of times he got himself in trouble trying to beat him with speed as opposed to just taking his time and going over the top. I thought he was, for the most part, patient and did a nice job establishing himself down there.

Does that give you another option?

That is an option. We want to take advantage of that option. We don't want to be stagnant and just pound, pound, pound. I thought we had movement, with pin downs and pick and rolls that led to the post ups as opposed to coming down and just pound it. Sometimes the best way to get into the post is starting with the pick and roll to get some movement to get it there, then that defense is not set. Normally when we try to pound it, they trap us, they're set defensively and they take it out of the posts' hands.

What does this win mean?

It's a good win for us. We're trying to find our rhythm. I felt like we haven't played well. Even though we have two wins. Tonight I felt like we had a good rhythm. The offensive execution, the movement was better. We got the tempo we wanted. Defensively we did all the things we wanted to do. It was a game we needed. At home, against a very good team. This game, games like this, you want to take and build off of it. It should give us some confidence that if we do those things again, against any team, play together, move the ball, play defense, you can win ballgames. It's something to build off.

Will you go back to the three guard lineup again to start?

I looked at the schedule. The schedule that we're playing here in the next week or two, we can stay with that. I'm going to look at that lineup. I'm going to stay with that for awhile and we'll see. I thought it was good. It was what I was hoping for. Some movement with those guards being in there. We were able to get the ball to the bigs when they were open. It was a good unit tonight. 

What happened during the 4th quarter dry spell?

We stopped moving. We stopped reversing the ball and getting into our pick and rolls. We became stagnant, trying to play just an option. It was a lot of dribbling, holding the ball, and not that quick swing, run out into a pick and roll. That team is too good and most teams are to just go isolation, raise up. Pretty much the way we were beat the other night against Atlanta. You gotta have hot shooting to do that. We got a little stagnant, we were able to knock down some shots and get a little more movement and eventually put it away.

Greg's defense.

I thought he did a nice job. I thought he did a real nice job of being big and getting him off the block and for the most part we played him straight up. Andre was quarterbacking that defense and doing some things that we don't normally do. With his communication we double-teamed a couple of times and got out of those rotations and was able to cover the perimeter. We did some nice things. It started with Greg, just getting him off and being big.

Rudy.

He hasn't knocked down... his shooting is off right now. He has to keep shooting the ball, getting some movement, attacking the basket, getting something easy would be good for him.

Bayless.

Bayless I wanted to try to get him somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes and see how he went. They cut into that lead going into the fourth quarter and I wanted to get the first group back out there. We'll keep doing this. The guys, they go out there and make some things happen, we'll keep them on the floor.

Scoring balance.

Yeah, I was hoping to get that, more movement with that group. It's been one or two guys scoring. Brandon and LaMarcus, or Brandon or Travis. Tonight we had four guys in double figures, a guy with 9 and a guy with 8, we do have some balanced scoring, and more guys putting the ball in the basket.

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

The Old Lion beats on the Young Lion...and gets a whistle for his trouble. Oden made the free throws too.

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Ladies and gentlemen, before tonight's game begins we would like to announce that the part of the Portland Trail Blazers will be played by the San Antonio Spurs.  Please enjoy the show!

Portland didn't play a flawless game but they played better tonight than they have the last couple games.  San Antonio, on the other hand, adopted most of Portland's nasty early-season habits.  They didn't get back in transition, they turned the ball over, they got outhustled, they settled for jumpers and one-on-one moves, they fouled rather than defend.  It was like looking in the mirror for the Blazers...and having Ruth Buzzi's face stare back.  Fortunately the Blazers made more like Goldie Hawn.  And there you go.

The game started with a surprise twist.  Coach McMillan stuck Andre Miller into the starting lineup as he had been hinting at all day.  That wasn't the twist though.  Miller replaced Martell Webster with Brandon Roy sliding to small forward and Steve Blake playing off-guard.  Miller had primary responsibility for setting the offense, Roy took his share of plays, and Blake played the facilitator on the wing, getting the ball to attackers and being available for the kickback three.  Along with the smaller lineup came an emphasis on foot movement on defense and vertical speed on offense.  Against a plodding Spurs effort it worked wonders in the first quarter.  The Blazers played the passing lanes, close-guarded dribblers, shut down the interior with their big men, rebounded the ball, and ran.  San Antonio couldn't keep up with the early offense.  Portland was still jumper-heavy but they worked for shots off of the pass and spiced up the attack with some drives.  Caught flat-footed the Spurs spotted the Blazers a 29-14 lead after the first quarter.  The only thing that marred the period was Greg Oden getting two fouls in the first four minutes, stopping what was looking to be a dominant night.

Portland's second unit tried to keep the parade going in the second quarter.  They got some decent looks for Travis Outlaw but they couldn't stop Richard Jefferson on the other end.  Drifting along with an offense that was slowly drifting farther outside, the reserves started losing ground.  The starters rotated back into the game as the period progressed and Aldridge, Miller, and Oden provided some make-good points.  But the Spurs outscored the Blazers by 4 in the quarter.  The most significant development of the period was Tony Parker twisting his ankle and leaving the game at the 2:35 mark.  He would not return, which make a Spurs comeback highly unlikely.

The third period was an offensive nightmare for both teams.  The Blazers had a two-minute stretch of attacking basketball around the 8 minute mark.  Other than that the Blazers started holding the ball, dribbling in place, walking up the court, going one-on-one, and shooting jumpers...the tragic litany that has brought so much offensive woe this season.  Fortunately for Portland the Spurs were no better.  Like chicks everywhere they seemed to fall in love with the long ball.  Though they were open for most of the attempts, they whiffed worse than a tee ball team facing Mariano Rivera, missing 7 shots of 20 feet or longer in the quarter.  Their unbridled optimism kept their point total for the period at 18...a significant relief to the Blazers who scored only 17 themselves.

The Blazers were treading water offensively for much of the fourth while the Spurs re-discovered the rim.  The tattered remains of Portland's lead shrunk like a sweater in the dryer, fading to just three points with 5:37 remaining following two Spurs layups and four Spurs free throws.  You could hear the Rose Garden muttering and Johnsonville Brats being flung at high-def screens everywhere.  (Note for future self:  that cheese filling is really hard to scrape off of tiny pixels.)  That's about the time Brandon Roy said, "Huh-uh."  And the Spurs said, "Whaaat?"  Then Brandon hit a tough 20-footer followed by a 50% conversion at the free throw line the next possession.  And San Antonio was all like, "You best step back!"  And Brandon was all, "Maybe I will!"  But instead of dropping back for the three he drove the lane and when the Spurs swarmed him he lofted it to Greg Oden for an easy layup.  And the Spurs said, "Oh no you didn't!"   And Brandon was like, "Heck yeah I did!  I did it, I filmed it, I got it on America's Funniest Home Videos, I won the $10,000, I took a trip to Jamaica, I got me a souvenir, I came back, washed my clothes, hung ‘em out to dry, put them back on, shined my shoes, walked back here, got all up in your face, and I did it again!"  Meanwhile as they were having this dialogue Steve Blake hit an open three to put the Blazers up by 6 again with 2:38 left.  At that point, with the Blazers keeping their late-game heads screwed on straight, it was all over but the catch-up foul shooting.

Despite the regression late in the game after the hot start the Blazers did several things well in this game.  They hit the boards hard and didn't concede misses to the Spurs.  They defended the interior strongly for almost all of the game, particularly when Oden was in.  They matched the Spurs free throw for free throw, shooting them better to end up +7 on the night from the stripe.  They eschewed the three in favor of working for better shots.  Only 17 of 74 attempts came from distance...about 22% as opposed to the near 33% we've seen in some of their games.   Overall they held the Spurs to 38% by taking away most of their easy looks.  As we said, Portland pushed the tempo for a sustained stretch of the first period, the first time we've really seen that this year.  Most of all the spacing was better at both ends of the floor tonight than we've seen it all season.  That alone made the team look at least 50% better.

The question will arise, "Is this version of the three-guard lineup the answer?"  Tonight it was, but this was a good opponent against whom to employ it.  I don't foresee Miller-Blake-Roy being a permanent starting lineup.  Even though the defense looked better and everyone was devoting more energy we still saw Miller and Blake get beat a bunch.  It didn't lead to points because of the combination of Blazer interior defense and the Spurs packing a couple of non-scoring guards, but it was there.  When the Blazers run up against teams that field shooting guards more dangerous than Keith Bogans--which is pretty close to everybody in the league--that lineup isn't going to hold.  Whoever guards the point will get broken down and whoever guards the shooting guard will get run over.  Even tonight that lineup didn't last long when Manu Ginobili entered the game.  It's a decent situational look but not more.

On the other hand the smaller, centerless lineup did a much better defensive job tonight than we saw in the last couple of games.  They packed the middle and dared the Spurs to shoot deep.  That's pretty much what you want.

Those who complain about Nate being controlling and never wanting the team to run will be happy to know that ESPN put a microphone on the huddles tonight...microphones which clearly caught him imploring the team to keep the flow going and the tempo up.  The network also interviewed Nate after the third period and he was discouraged that the team had resumed, as he put it, "pounding the ball".  This isn't the first time that the huddle cam has caught him asking the guys to move more either. 

Good effort and victory aside, it doesn't feel like the Blazers are out of the woods yet.  Key players had sub-standard games.  Portland couldn't retain the lead or its energy.  The offense fell apart as quickly as it had come together and Brandon Roy had to bail us out again.  The win is what matters, of course, but the team hasn't arrived yet.  A lesson to take from the Spurs' performance is that they, too, are struggling integrating new players.  If the consummate veteran, system-oriented, clockwork team looks choppy in that situation you can perhaps understand the Blazers appearing likewise.  These are going to be spring teams more than fall teams.  It happens.

Individual Notes

Greg Oden had his best game of the season, scoring 14 on 6 of 9 shooting, hitting hooks and spin moves, hustling for rebounds, blocking 4 shots, shutting down the interior, and making Tim Duncan look small and somewhat slow.  Best of all he played 25 minutes and only drew his 5^th foul late.  The ESPN announcers couldn't say enough about him.  Great job.

LaMarcus Aldridge didn't seem to be able to take smaller defenders, posting infrequently even when Oden was out of the game.  His turn-around jumper wasn't falling and he shot 3-10 for 8 points and 5 rebounds in 34 minutes.  You don't mind LaMarcus feeling his way against the league's elite, but when he has a 6'7" guy on his back you want him to score.

Brandon Roy shot well, going 9-15 for 24 points with 5 rebounds.  He looked more confident in his teammates and more relaxed in his own offense as well.  The Spurs couldn't stop him any more than they could stop Oden.  He's too gifted and they don't have that kind of perimeter defender anymore.  Good, solid Brandon game.

Andre Miller responded to his starting role with zest and assurance.  He was barking at some teammates, directing traffic, and spreading the ball around.  He got a couple of steals but don't let that fool you about his overall defense.  Had the interior guys not been so stalwart tonight the San Antonio guards would have lit us up.  Contrast this to the defense the San Antonio guards played on our guards, especially in the first half, and you'll see the difference between defense and offensive point guards.  On the other hand Andre's 4 assists don't tell the story of what he did for the offense.  He really engineered the Portland energy out there tonight, which was something the Spurs guards couldn't match.  Miller shot 2-9.  That was only a concern once the Spurs caught on to the fact that in a Blake-Miller-Roy-Big Guy lineup for Portland they want Blake or Miller attempting the shot.   That didn't happen until the second half and by then it was too late.  Overall it was a great performance by Andre...the kind of thing the Blazers were looking for with this signing.

Steve Blake shot 3-5 from the three-point arc and finished with 15 overall plus 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal of his own.  He looked completely comfortable in his shooting guard role...maybe more so than as the initiator.  He was great as the next-to-the-last man in the setup cycle.  His job was to make a pass and then set up for the return if it came.  Those tasks are solidly within the parameters his résumé.   Copy and paste what we said about Miller's defense into Blake's category, but then the Blazers weren't looking to ratchet up the defense with this lineup.  A nice game from Blake.

Joel Przybilla did what he was supposed to:  spell Oden, collect 13 rebounds in 18 minutes, guard the interior.  OK...that 13 rebounds in 18 minutes was above and beyond the call.  Joel brought nice energy tonight too.  It seemed like he knew the team needed a lift and he was one of the cadre of players who brought it.  Applause all around.

Travis Outlaw played 24 minutes, played some suspect defense, but stayed within himself with 4-9 shots (and the misses were mostly good attempts) for 9 points.  I liked his offensive game tonight better than some games where he's scored 15.  He was mostly compact and aggressive, which is good Travis.

Martell Webster only got 13 minutes tonight and looked somewhat lost except for the bright, shining moment when he rammed home a Rudy Fernandez missed three at the end of the first quarter.  It was a beautiful dunking put-back that would make Jerome Kersey proud and the timing was everything you envision while counting down to yourself at your backyard hoop.  Let's hope Martell doesn't wander too far into the wilderness.

If Martell looks lost, perhaps it's because he's setting out to find what happened to Rudy Fernandez.  Rudy couldn't get any farther lost if he jumped onboard a moon base after a freak nuclear explosion sent it hurtling from orbit and out into space to meet a bunch of mind-messing aliens who always appear in small, dark rooms with horrific makeup.  Rudy was 1-5 tonight with 1 glorious assist and a block but no continuity at either end.  He only got 12 minutes.  Come back, Rudy!  Come back!

Jerryd Bayless got 5 minutes tonight straddling the first and second quarter line.  There were a couple of impressive hues to his game.  For one, he was actually able to stay in front of the offensive player he was assigned to most of the time.  Second he was aggressive on offense and drew some foul shots, moving quickly and decisively without over-thinking his moves.  However he still didn't evidence much point-guardedness, making a couple of glaring mistakes in his short tenure.  He may be a partial answer to the Blazers' difficulties but he can't be the only point guard out there, which seriously hampers his potential for us right now.  Still learning though.

Juwan Howard got the infamous quintillion stat line tonight.  1 minute followed by 15 zeros. 

Final Thoughts

The most important thing about this win is not the victory itself (though that was important enough) but the chance the victory gives to do something really nice on Sunday against Minnesota.  With a two-game winning streak in hand the Blazers are free to go 3-2 on the upcoming road trip while still winning 5 of their last 7.  4-1 would be even more special and would certainly herald a pronounced upswing of the kind we are seeking.  Follow this up and everything's good.  Minnesota's a team against which you can use some funky backcourt lineups as well...

Oh, and those retro "Rip City" unis look pretty cool.

Boxscore

Be sure and check out the San Antonio recap at PoundingtheRock.com

You can find the current Jersey Contest standings here.  You can access the results from an individual game from the pull-down menu at the bottom of the scoreboard page.

Enter Sunday's Jersey Contest form right here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

 Game Time:  7:30 p.m. Pacific  TV:  Local--KGW, National--ESPN

So...the Blazers sit at 2-3 and are in the midst of soul-searching and lineup-fiddling when--joy and wonder!--the Spurs roll into town.  I can pretty much guarantee that the ESPN storyline on this one will be the Old Lion versus the Young Lion.  Except that right now the Young Lion has da sniffles.  Hopefully a little hanky-blowing and some warm tea will be all the Blazers need to regain some of their roar.

A Look at the Spurs

As it turns out, the Old Lion could use a little checkup as well.  The Spurs have won 2 games this year, both times scoring 113 on their hapless opponents.  On the other hand they have also lost 2, showing a definite lack of hap on the road against  Chicago and Utah, topping the century mark neither time en route to double-digit losses.  They've either crushed (at home) or been crushed (on the road).  Obviously the Blazers hope that story continues tonight.

Normally you'd like the aging Spurs on the second night of a back-to-back against tough opponents, but the Old Lion King, Greg Popovich, is sticking to an interesting strategy to start the season.  Every Spur in the legitimate rotation plays between 20 and 29 minutes per game from Tony Parker at the high end to George Hill down low.  Last night 10 Spurs were in the 17-30 minute range.  Channeling Hubie Brown lets Pops keep his troops fresh and probably mitigates the fatigue factor tonight.

In general the Spurs have done an excellent job shooting the ball, particularly from beyond the arc.  They've averaged 6 more three-point attempts than their opponents, making 2.3 more, and shooting better.  They're a full 5 percentage points above their opponents in overall field goal percentage.  As usual they keep the turnovers down and the defensive rebounds up.  You have to beat them the old-fashioned way.  They're not going to give it away.

Keeping with another Spurs tradition they trail handily in offensive rebounds.  They've also given away 5 more free throws per game to the opponent though it hasn't crippled them because opponents have shot horribly from the stripe.

Long story short San Antonio doesn't take shots they can't make, they don't have to clean up after themselves much, and they're not looking for you or the refs to bail them out or lift them up.  They come to do a job.  If they're not as accomplished at getting that job done every night as they once were at least they're not going to bungle it foolishly.  This isn't a team looking to find itself.  This is a team that found itself long ago and is banking you haven't.  When they run up against teams just as assured who execute well they get into trouble.  Sometimes they'll also get burned by youthful enthusiasm and energy.  But on the balance they're going to win more than they lose because they're just better at what they do than the opponent is and you'll not easily force the out of what they want to do.

Tim Duncan is off to a fine start this year, averaging a strong double-double, amounting to 15 points and 13 rebounds before last night's game.  If the point total seems low, remember what we said about limited minutes.  He was playing 26 per game at that point.  He was also shooting over 62% so the Spurs are finding him where they need to.  Tony Parker was shooting over 55% before the Jazz game and averaging over 16 with 5 assists.  Manu Ginobili is lofting and missing a lot of threes but also drawing a relatively large number of fouls.  Richard Jefferson is duplicating that scheme almost exactly.  In relatively small minutes Michael Finley has begun to make an impact again, shooting 60% from the floor and 50% from the arc off of open shots that his teammates create by drawing attention.  Not every big name is clicking for them but they're doing enough...at least on the offensive end.

Of the lesser-known names reserve point guard George Hill is feast or famine, scoring when he's not guarded well and having difficulties when he is.  Center Matt Bonner is snack or famine, hitting his twos but missing his threes.  Energy scorer Roger Mason Jr. is having a hard time finding enough minutes to get comfortable.  Both he and Bonner have been Blazer killers in the past though.  The new kid on the block, backing up Duncan, is DeJuan Blair.  He's shooting an incredible 70% from the field.  It's just a matter of how many looks he's getting on a given night.  More importantly he's giving the Spurs heaps of rebounds in limited minutes.

As we just alluded to, the question with the Spurs right now is whether their secondary and tertiary players can defend well enough game-to-game.  Duncan is good enough even though he's slower than he used to be.  Parker is quick enough to be bothersome...sometimes.  Ginobili can get scrappy...sometimes.   Jefferson's impact seems to ride on how much attention he is paying which also varies from night to night.  After that it gets pretty shaky.  You're not really scared of even these guys, let alone your Finleys and Bonners.  Gone are the days when Duncan could singlehandedly bail out his team on that end.  They either bring it as a team or they don't.  When they don't, they don't win.

Pivotal Points

Let's assume the Blazers play more or less as they have...that there will be no great Renaissance tonight or burst of all-encompassing energy that allows them to bowl over the Spurs.  If that's true and if this becomes an ugly fight there's really only one key.  They have to deal with Tony Parker somehow.  Given what Portland has shown so far, I don't know how they do it but they'd better find a way.  Hold Parker to his average and even with San Antonio's other scorers the Blazers have a chance...more than a chance really as many of their easy buckets key off of him.  But if Parker is fast breaking, free-wheeling down the lane, and hitting jumpers that the Blazers are late in getting to Portland is in serious trouble.  Swarming him to shut him down leaves the Blazers ultra-vulnerable.  He's too quick, smart, and passes too well.  San Antonio can score from a lot of places and it's unlikely the Blazers could recover off of him in time to stop the Spurs from getting their shot.  That's when they score in the 110 range.  Slow Parker down, make him work, don't let him lead the break, make him shoot tons of shots for his points and you have a good chance.

Other than that the Blazers have to keep rebounding.  Portland could feast on second-chance points tonight.  They also have to make their second unit tell.  The Spurs' bench is pretty good and Portland needs to at least match.  Not every Blazer starter will get past San Antonio's defense but whoever manages to do so--be that Roy, Aldridge or even one of the secondary options--the Blazers should keep riding the hot hand.  Take your scores anywhere you can get them regardless of the hand they come from.  Also do not count the Spurs out even if you get ahead.  They've been here before.  If you get up, stomp on them.

Final Thoughts

Tonight you'll see two teams in similar situations for different reasons and on different ends of their life cycles.  Whichever team puts it together first in this game will have a huge advantage.  If both remain shaky, flip a coin.  It's probably a more important game for the confidence of the Blazers than the Spurs.  Let's hope that adds a little energy to the proceedings.

Check out the San Antonio point of view at PoundingtheRock.com.

There's a glitch in the Jersey Contest game form for this game that will hopefully be fixed this morning.  You can keep checking here and fill it out when it's back up.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)  

If Nate McMillan's message Tuesday night was his team's lack of effort, his message Thursday was something like: we're going to practice and run until you're doubled-over with exhaustion.  

By the time the media was let in -- more than two hours after practice began -- the guys were still lined up shooting free throws and running sprints. Almost the entire team was doubled over, hands on knees, sucking wind.  More than one Blazer yelled out an audible profanity after missing a free throw during the session, as that meant more running.  

Gone were the laughs, giggles and most of the smiles that we saw through much of training camp; both players and coaching staff were quite serious and straightforward during their interactions with the media.  

I'm not sure the feeling in the gym was a sense of urgency and it definitely didn't feel like panic.  But it did feel like hatches had been buttoned down. One characteristic that I've long admired about this group is their disdain for losing.  Nate McMillan obviously hates to lose, Roy takes losses to heart and most everyone falls in line behind that.  Good to see that hasn't changed this season.

Post-Practice Drills

We saw a few interesting post-practice drills that I can't remember seeing so far this year.

First, we saw Roy, Miller and Blake working on lob passes to both Aldridge and Oden under McMillan's personal instruction.  The big men were being fronted and were instructed to spin and seal their defender away from the basket.  The pass was then thrown right next to the rim, designed to be caught for an alley oop or quick catch and power-up move.  I can't say these passes found their mark with much regularity.  But at least the focus is on developing that wing/post relationship and it was good to see Roy included in this group.

Who wasn't included in the group?  Jerryd Bayless. Rex was getting a ton of shots up with assistant coach Caleb Canales, working on pull up jumpers from various spots and also his catch-and-shoot jumpers.  Bayless was in full scowl mode.  His five straight DNP-CDs have certainly not affected his work ethic, which remains exceptional.

The Blazers wings -- Webster, Outlaw and Fernandez -- worked on rotating the ball around the perimeter and sticking their shots off the swing pass.  All three shot the ball quite well and Fernandez drew particular praise from assistant coach Monty Williams for his quick, accurate passing.  At one point, Outlaw attempted to swing the ball with left-handed bounce passes which drew raised eyebrows and a "what was that?" look from Martell Webster, the pass's recipient.  The ball was travelling at roughly 1/3 the speed it would need to travel during a game and Williams stepped in to ask Outlaw to throw a simple chest pass.  

The wings also worked on receiving kick-out passes from the post with Williams' emphasis being on sliding into space to get the best shot possible. For instance, if Greg Oden was on the left block and double-teamed and Outlaw was on the top of the key, Williams instructed the wings to take full advantage of the space around the top of the key rather than setting up outside the three point line.  In practice, this involved Outlaw shuffling towards the ball side for a few steps, receiving the kick-out pass on the move towards the hoop rather than with his feet still.  The end result: a 17-18 foot rhythm jumper with some momentum (or, alternatively, the potential to put the ball on the deck and go to the rim if the defense was slow to rotate) rather than a stand still 3 pointer.  Loved watching the potential for this to play out with all three wings. Both Webster and Fernandez especially need to add that attacking, aggressive element to their game.

Roy's Thoughts on 4th Quarter Execution

A quick follow-up on some recent discussion. As I wrote Tuesday, Brandon Roy was a little bit confused down the stretch about why he struggled offensively during the fourth quarter.  As I charted yesterday, it was clear that Roy definitely had the ball in his hands and that Atlanta did a good job of playing team defense.  The Hawks didn't foul him yet still managed to prevent him from scoring in close to the basket.  

On Tuesday, Roy had promised to look at the tape to see what happened and we talked today about what he saw on tape.

Blazersedge: What did you see on the tape and what adjustments do you think are needed?  

The biggest thing is I just gotta be more of a playmaker down the stretch of games.

Me and Coach talked about maybe to look to get guys to knock down shots and that will open up the floor for me. Don't feel the pressure that you have to try to take every shot. You've got to get back to getting my teammates involved. I thought that was right.

My biggest thing is to continue to make plays, get that floor spread out, so that way I'm able to make some shots and get some easier baskets.

Blazersedge: It seems like you were able to get by Joe Johnson without too much trouble but the rest of the Atlanta defense was helping and paying you a lot of attention.

Yeah, I feel like I've matured enough to where I can get around that first guy. Now the biggest thing is making good reads when I get to the paint. I made some but there were others that maybe I forced it.

The biggest thing is to take the play they give you every time. 

Blazersedge: When you made passes in the paint, were guys ready for those passes?

Um... a couple of them I think there were some loose balls. That's going to happen. If I keep passing, they'll be ready. 

Roy's line that McMillan instructed him not to force shots or feel the pressure is interesting given that Roy attempted only 3 field goals in nearly 11 minutes of fourth quarter action.  Despite the lack of shots, Roy was definitely pressing and turnovers/wasted possessions (blocked shots, carrying, some deflected passes) were the result.  

A fundamental question that arises: are the high screens helping Roy or complicating things for him?  Given how often the Blazers go to those high screen and rolls, and Roy's tendency to eschew the picks or not pass to the player that's rolling, are they accomplishing what they are supposed to?  Do you lose anything if you turn some of those possessions into isolations for Aldridge or simply allow Roy to work his man one-on-one with no screen?

Or, perhaps, do you find ways to increase Miller's involvement in the late-game offense, turning over more of the ball-handling to him and perhaps running Roy off more screens off the ball to get him looks that way? 

Living and dying by Roy's reads, in the end, isn't a bad strategy at all.  He has delivered consistently enough in the past -- and he is adept at drawing enough contact and getting calls -- that it is a great default strategy, especially if things are bogging down.  But that doesn't mean slightly more variety is a bad thing.  More Aldridge, More Miller, More Oden when he's comfortable, would all accomplish what Brandon identified as the problem -- getting the floor spread out.

Here is your Trailblazers.com podcast for the week.  In it we discuss the slow start, Roy, Miller, Nate, the upcoming schedule, new names, and a bunch of other stuff.

You can download the .mp3 here or stream it at the Center Court blog.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

As the afternoon progressed today I saw pairs of antelope, giraffes, zebras, hippos, muskrats, possibly-evil ducks and all manner of creatures filing past my mailbox as it became flooded with inquiries regarding the Blazers 2-3 start and its various permutations.  Once I shooed the beasts away I distilled the questions down to three which seemed to represent most people's concerns.

1.  How serious is the slow start?

That depends on how you define terms.

Compared to what is this start "slow"?  Frankly, this was the kind of start I expected last year when the opening schedule was so brutal.  We didn't get it then.  (Though we did start the season 2-3 we then went on to win 12 of the next 15 games which seems like a longshot for this year's club.)  The extra boost we got from winning some of those early tough games kept the Blazers high enough in the standings that, despite some so-so middle months, the incredible late-season run really created something special.  That led to a 54-win season and a corresponding raising of expectations.  Did I expect the Blazers to start by losing 3 of 5 this year?  No.  Am I aghast?  Also no.  Those heightened expectations shouldn't entirely mask that this is a start we accepted last season and could have been delighted with in seasons prior.  That doesn't mean we should like it or even be fine with it.  It does mean we need to realize that we're defining "slow" based on what we assume could be, not what is.   A rocky start was always a possibility with this team, particularly given the pre-season roster turmoil.  We're seeing exactly that...no more, no less. 

If you were expecting the team to win 60 and challenge for the #1 seed then yes, this is a slow start.  But what we're seeing is only partly a problem with the Blazers.  It's just as much a problem with forecasting improvement.  We always assume everything good that happened last year will repeat itself and more will be added because of progress.  That repetition doesn't always happen (e.g. coming out of the gate strong and always winning at home).  If everything that went right last year doesn't happen exactly that way again then the improvement due to growth gets tempered.

However if you're expecting the Blazers to be competitive in the conference and challenge for a decent playoff seed then this start isn't that bad.  The Nuggets have rocketed to a 5-0 record and we're 3 games behind them.  We'd be in the hunt at 3 games behind were this mid-March.  It's barely November.  In real terms we've barely started, let alone started slow.

Also what is the time frame for defining "serious"?  In the short term the team is facing some serious issues.  The San Antonio game won't be easy.  The Blazers embark on a five-game road swing next week and two of those games are penciled in as probable losses right now.  If the team doesn't find some continuity, energy, and execution we're looking at going 4-3 at best in the next seven games, leading to a 6-6 overall record.  That's still not a disaster but it's hardly healing.  In addition we're not looking at clear and simple fixes here.  The rotation probably needs to be shaken up and then streamlined.  The Blazers need to emphasize getting in the lane on offense and taking as much individual defensive responsibility as possible, particularly in the backcourt.  But beyond that we're really talking about trust, confidence, and experience together.  Those take time.  If there's going to be a revival soon it's almost going to have to come by going 4-1 on that road trip.  Failing that it'll be the end of November before the schedule allows us sustained potential wins.  But then again December gets harder and January's not that much better.  The Blazers' issues aren't going to be absolved automatically nor can they be swept under the rug.  In that sense they're serious.

However this start isn't serious at all over the long haul...at least not yet.  It's tempting to jump all over the first five games of the year as wholly indicative but truly in two months nobody will remember them.  Cleveland is 3-2 right now.  Miami and Phoenix are 4-1, both division leaders.  I wouldn't bet that those trends will continue.  The Blazers really will go on streaks this year that will make you think they're world-beaters.  This start doesn't change that nor does it cripple the team in any way.  No five games anywhere in the season could do that, save perhaps the final five depending on the standings.

2.  How much of this is Nate's fault?

Not as much as people are currently claiming, but more than he's ever had to deal with before as Portland's coach.

Let's look at the situation for a second, starting from training camp.  Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez didn't play much of the pre-season because they played internationally over the summer.  Batum ended up getting injured and won't be back for months.  Martell Webster just came back from a year off, in essence never having played with this incarnation of the team.  Greg Oden is getting a do-over of his rookie season, trying to expand his role while operating on limited experience.  At the same time he's trying to stay healthy and out of foul trouble so he can actually play and get that experience.  Andre Miller is brand new to the team and is unexpectedly (for him anyway) coming off the bench.  Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge just signed HUGE contracts and, like it or not, that affects how you interpret the game and your role in it, adjusting to which takes time.  Travis Outlaw is in a contract year and has his own agenda and things to prove.  Steve Blake and Joel Przybilla are dealing with the possibility of lesser roles as each has a player fighting for their position who wasn't there last year.  Coincidentally each looks a little lost and is having a rough start.  Did we miss anyone in the main rotation?

When you look at the sum of all of that and then you hear that the team is having early continuity problems the response is, "Gee, really?  Ya think?"  The Blazers are dealing with issues that teams like the Nuggets and L*kers aren't in the same way.

That said, every team has these issues from time to time.  It's the coach's responsibility to focus the team in spite of the obstacles, the better to overcome them.  The Blazers do have a couple of glaring shortcomings that look like they could become chronic.  If they do become so, no amount of coaching will fix them.  It becomes a roster issue.  Other than that, though, Nate himself is describing the situation much as I have laid it out:  effort, trust, continuity, execution, focus, desire. 

Here's the thing.  You get to highlight those issues as a coach but you don't get to highlight them for long.  This is the first time in the Roy-Aldridge era that we've heard them brought up in a serious manner.  Fair enough.  But if we're still talking about them three months from now you start to wonder how much this is a player issue and how much it is a coaching issue.  It's never 100% either way, of course.  It's always a combination.  But you do start asking if this combination is going to work.  The moment Coach uttered the word "effort" his clock started ticking.  He and the players do deserve that time to make it work together as they have done so well in the past.  But the hounds will be let loose in mid-January if things haven't improved and the end of the season will see some serious soul-searching if the Blazers fall short of their goals.

In other words, we don't know how much of this rests on Nate's account...yet.  This is partially because we don't know exactly what's going on yet.  But the ledger book that has been solidly and rightfully closed during Nate's tenure here just opened.  This season will bring an accounting one way or the other.

3.  What's the fix?

The Blazers aren't necessarily running bad sets.  They're running decent sets poorly, with horrible spacing, seemingly in confusion.  How many times have you seen two big men trying to set an identical screen?  How many times have you seen open players missed?  How many times have you seen two defenders follow the same guy leaving somebody else wide open?  How many times have you seen players running, or worse standing, in no-man's land defensively, covering nobody effectively, able neither to stop penetration nor to jump out on shooters, the only recourse being a clumsy foul?   The fix to these things is more teaching, more effort, more attention to detail, and more time.

If you want to jump-start the offensive growth my initial inclination is to hand the ball to Andre Miller in most situations.  He penetrates.  He runs.  He knows what he's doing and he knows what the Blazers need to do.  Him being comfortable and in charge would go a long way towards bringing this offense the continuity it needs.  The fly in the ointment is whether Brandon Roy is comfortable with that idea.  Brandon trumps everything else on this team.  Without him the Blazers don't contend, period.  As much as you can, though, let Miller do his thing.  Watch and see if you don't get fewer awkward jumpers and more inspired play.

Defensively the Blazers have problems.  They probably need to zone more, run harder, and cover for each other better.  But the backcourt situation, particularly at point guard, isn't going away.  You know how in every Star Trek space battle the ship loses its rear left deflector so the helmsman can say, "If we take another direct hit on that side we're done"?  That's exactly how the point guard defense feels right now.  Zoning and rotating are attempts to turn the ship so the enemy's weapons hit a stronger shield.  But how much of that can you do when multiple Birds of Prey come knocking?  The lack of containment, the lack of ability to prevent penetration and still cover the outside shot...these are leading to too many easy buckets, too many fouls on the big men, and too many defensive stands that leave the Blazers staring at each other instead of pushing the ball down the court to score themselves. 

I'm pretty sure that every opposing team in the universe is circling the Blazer backcourt in red and saying, "Take it right at them."   I'm not sure a permanent fix is available right now.  Besides the trick defenses my guess is the Blazers will simply have to depend on scoring more to make up the difference.  Right now they're not demonstrating the ability to do that either but that may be the easier learning curve for them.

As we discussed on last week's podcast, if any ball-handler appeared that would let Rudy and Roy play together without a third guard it might be worth a try simply to see the scoring permutations increase.  Nobody could guard the opposing point guard still but the opposing point guard would have to take Rudy, Roy, or a small forward on the other end.  But alas, based on the dribbling demonstrations we've seen so far that eventuality doesn't appear to be on the horizon either.  Thus Miller is likely the best option for now.

I think that addresses most of what people were asking.  In the end these shortcomings, even should they endure, won't turn Portland into a bad team.  They'll make it difficult for the Blazers to stay with the league's elite teams though.  Here's hoping they're able to grow out of them.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

As mentioned in last night's Media Row Report, the Blazers -- and Brandon Roy in particular -- were flummoxed by their inability to execute on the offensive end down the stretch last night.  As I noted, the only Blazer to make a field goal in the game's final six minutes was Travis Outlaw, who had 9 points.  Andre Miller chipped in 2 free throws and that was it.

To get a better idea of exactly what happened, I charted every Blazers offensive possession from the 10:35 mark in the fourth quarter (when Brandon Roy checked into the game) through the end of the game.  On each possession, I noted the team's lineup, who initiated the play, where was Roy at the end of the play, what happened on the play, and whether the play resulted in points. 

Here's a link to the full-size chart.  It's pretty interesting. I recommend skimming it at the very least.

In the two previous charting posts -- Greg Oden's Touches and Martell Webster's defense -- there were some fairly definitive, simple results: Greg Oden was not involved in the offense and Martell Webster really took care of business on defense.  In this case, the results aren't exactly as black and white.  

First, let's take a look at the numbers.  During Brandon Roy's final stretch in the fourth quarter...

• The Blazers had 23 possessions.
• The Blazers scored points on just 8 possessions. Their points came from 5 players and were converted, in order: Aldridge dunk, Rudy 3, Roy jumper, Travis jumper, Travis 3 pointer, Travis jumper, Miller free throws, Travis layup.
• The Blazers scored 0 second-chance points. 
• Miller initiated 12 plays, Roy initiated 6 times, Blake initiated 3 times and Webster initiated the final 2 possessions. Note: many of the plays that Miller initiated involved simply turning the ball over to Roy early in the possession on the wing.
• Points by lineup: Miller/Roy/Fernandez/Outlaw/Aldridge (7 points on 8 possessions)... Miller/Roy/Fernandez/Outlaw/Oden (5 points on 3 possessions)... Blake/Roy/Outlaw/Webster/Aldridge (0 points on 3 possessions)... Blake/Roy/Outlaw/Aldridge/Oden (0 points on 1 possession)... Miller/Roy/Outlaw/Aldridge/Oden (4 points on 4 possessions)... Blake/Roy/Fernandez/Outlaw/Aldridge (2 points on 2 possessions)... Roy/Fernandez/Webster/Aldridge/Oden (0 points on 2 possessions)
• The Blazers ran 7 pick and rolls with Brandon Roy as the ballhandler. That's a Roy pick and roll on nearly 1 in 3 possessions.  
• Aldridge had 1 iso opportunity. Oden had the ball dumped into him in the post 1 time.
• Roy was generally single-covered throughout the fourth quater by Joe Johnson (Josh Smith and Marvin Williams each took brief turns).  Double-teams are noted in the chart.

OK, now that you've got the numbers for some perspective, let's take a look at what worked and what didn't work.

What Worked

• The lineup with the best ball movement, the most diverse scoring options and the most points was Miller/Roy/Fernandez/Outlaw/Aldridge.  This is obviously a smallish lineup with 3 guards and no true center. If ever there was a true flow on offense during this stretch of the game, it was with this five.  It felt less grinding and a little bit looser.   There was a good balance between Roy attacking the defense with other guys impacting play as well.
• Travis Outlaw was a little bit inconsistent in his court spacing throughout the fourth quarter but did an excellent job of knocking down shots when the ball was swung to him and also taking his man off the dribble when isolated one-on-one. He got stuck with the ball one time at the end of a busted play that led to a 24 second shot clock violation but that wasn't really on him.  If there was a star down the stretch offensively, it was Outlaw (as mentioned last night).
• Roy was able to break his man down defensively regardless of who he played with, getting to the hoop and drawing a lot of attention from various Hawks defenders.  His decision-making was perhaps a little bit below his usual standard in terms of finding guys but he did move the ball nicely on multiple occasions: finding Outlaw for his 3 and finding Aldridge off of a pick and roll. His consistent ability to draw attention was the Blazers' single best offensive weapon and it happened virtually at will.  It's important to note that this was not a case of the sky falling, it's not like Roy isn't the same Roy as last year.  Instead, there were some bad breaks -- a careless turnover, no foul on a hard drive -- that happen from time to time.

• The transition from Miller to Blake produced the choppiest stretch of play and the offense became pretty formulaic: Roy would run a pick and roll from various spots with either Aldridge or Oden.  These possessions were by no means ugly and were very reminiscent of last year:  Roy picked up a foul off the dribble and set up Aldridge for a wide open baseline jumper.  The problem?  The Hawks were not in the penalty at the time so Roy couldn't get free points at the line.  Aldridge missed a clean look that he normally knocks down.
• Overall, Aldridge was a non-factor. He looked ill-prepared for a pass in the paint from a driving Brandon Roy, he struggled to convert from the offensive glass down the stretch, he missed a baseline jumper as mentioned and he didn't make himself a threatening target on the pick and rolls with Roy.  Over the summer, I wrote how Aldridge would need to more aggressively command the ball in those situations, cutting sharply or fading to the proper spot to give Roy reasons to pass him the ball.  Time after time, he was a passive target easily covered by the defense and easily ignored by Roy.
• On that same note, though, it's clear Roy is still familiarizing himself with the dynamics of the pick and roll offense. As smart as he is with the dribble, Roy found himself in some tight situations down the stretch, both because of his own doing and because of some excellent team defense by Atlanta.  At various points, Roy: ignored screens all together, didn't rub his defender close enough to the pick-setter, and dribbled hard off the screen into a no-man's-land near the baseline.  In live play, he was relying on his excellent instincts.  On tape, he will probably be shaking his head at some of those decisions, as Atlanta seemed to have schemed him quite well, with post defenders offering help quickly and without fouling.
• Although this might anger many who desire that the Blazers push the tempo, the results when the pace picked up weren't great.  Miller had two shots blocked in transition that went back the other way before the Blazers defense could recover.
• Oden's foul trouble complicated matters, stepping on any offensive flow the team hoped to create.  McMillan had been saving Oden for the stretch when he had four fouls.  Once inserted into the game, though, Oden lasted just 3 possessions before picking up his 5th.  By the time McMillan got Oden back in the game for the final minutes, the Hawks' lead demanded that McMillan pull him back out so that he could load up his lineup with shooters.  It was the worst of both worlds for Oden: not much playing time and adversely impacting the flow when he was on the court.
• There was no "inside-out" game to speak of.  Roughly 90 percent of plays during this stretch occurred outside-in.  In other words, guards were attacking a solid Hawks defense that was succeeding in harassing ball handlers into turnovers and doing a good job of surrounding Roy in particular, forcing him to pass through traffic.  While this strategy led to some open shots for Travis, who dutifully knocked them down, it also saw the Blazers unable to get Aldridge or Oden going offensively and unable to make any real impact on the offensive boards.  It also quite often found Portland's perimeter players (Rudy, Blake, and Miller)  taken out of plays completely when off the ball.  Take a look at this shot or this shot.  Mike Woodson is giggling as he surveys those. 
• As the charting indicates, Roy, too, found himself off the ball on the perimeter many more times than the Blazers would like to see.

It's very important to remember this analysis covers less than 11 minutes of play in one game.  Nevertheless, I think there are some takeaways.

• The Miller/Roy/Fernandez trio has some serious potential offensively and is likely the best option for kick-starting things when the Blazers are struggling to score, especially when paired with either Outlaw/Aldridge or (ideally) Aldridge/Oden.
• Going back and forth between Miller and Blake down the stretch can create more problems than it solves.
• Whether through locating pick and rolls differently (i.e. on the side instead of up top) or by isolating him on more occasions, the Blazers can do a much better job of involving Aldridge down the stretch.  This will need to be a point of emphasis.
• Consider having Roy dump passes in to either Aldridge or Oden to allow more offensive flexibility on the ball side.  When Miller dumps the pass in, his man can collapse because he's not a shooting threat.  When Blake dumps the pass in, defenders collapse because they feel they can close out on him quickly and need not worry about him pump-faking to attack the rim.  Roy's man must play more honestly, respecting both Roy's jumper and his driving abilities. This allows more room for Aldridge to work and a lethal safety valve should he encounter trouble.
• Oden setting high picks late in games serves no purpose unless 1) he becomes a target after the pick and 2) Roy looks for him.  1 will absolutely have to happen before 2 does. Neither happened Tuesday night.

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Blazers head coach Nate McMillan lurks with an itchy trigger finger. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

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Asked  for his thoughts about his team's still-developing playing rotations after tonight's 97-91 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Rose Garden, Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy seemed to admit some confusion. "It's hard to watch [the rotations] because I'm playing," Roy said. "I can't really get a feel."  

Rule #298,765 of the NBA: when your star 2 guard isn't completely comfortable with the players surrounding him during crucial stretches of a close game against a playoff team, that's a bad sign.  

Why would Roy -- one of the league's most erudite players -- be confused?  Let's check the play by play...

During the last six minutes of tonight's game, these were the Blazers lineups that were on the floor, in order.

• Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, LaMarcus Aldridge
• Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, Greg Oden
• Steve Blake, Brandon Roy, Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw, LaMarcus Aldridge
• Steve Blake, Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden
• Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden
• Steve Blake, Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, LaMarcus Aldridge
• Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez, Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw, LaMarcus Aldridge

That's more than a lineup per minute down the stretch and more than a substitution per minute as well.  Indeed, in just those final six minutes, Nate McMillan made a total of 9 substitutions. He used LaMarcus Aldridge at both the 4 and the 5. He used Travis Outlaw at both the 3 and the 4.  He went with a small trio of guards and a big trio of guards.

So how did all the mixing and matching and micromanaging play out?  With six minutes to go, the Hawks were leading by 6 points: 86 to 80.  When the final horn sounded?  The Hawks were leading by 6 points: 97 to 91. 

It wouldn't have even been a late-game stalemate if not for an unexpected flurry from Travis Outlaw, who personally accounted for 9 of the Blazers' final 11 points on his way to 19 points for the game.  Crush Travis Outlaw all you want but tonight, in a big game, he did what none of his teammates could do down the stretch: make a field goal.

While the offensive rhythm and execution were obviously lacking, it was the Blazers' defensive effort that cost them this game, their second home loss of the season in three tries.  (Note: The Blazers didn't lose their second home game of last season until December 12. Today was November 3.)  They simply had no answer for Hawks guard Jamal Crawford, who put on one of the most memorable offensive displays in recent Rose Garden history, finishing with 27 points and 7 assists, highlighted by a spectacular behind-the-back pass in transition that led to a wide open Al Horford dunk. Hawks guard Joe Johnson chipped in 19 points and 8 rebounds, including two baskets in the final 2 minutes to help ice it.

But Crawford was the difference-maker, beating his man off the dribble, sinking jumpers, making all nine of his free throws. The Seattle-area product zigged, zagged, dominated.  As McMillan summarized post-game, "Crawford went crazy."  Yeah, pretty much.

Crawford's explosion wiped out a fast start for the Blazers, who sank more than 55 percent of their shots during the first quarter and held a commanding 25-15 lead after one period.  What happened after that?  Well, the Blazers started taking more difficult shots -- lots of three pointers... way, way too many three pointers (21 in total) -- and the Hawks started to break the Blazers down off the dribble, setting up easy buckets at the rim.  As the game wore on, both trends continued in exactly opposite directions: the Blazers took more difficult shots and missed them, the Hawks took easier shots and made them.  This chart shows the Blazers' field goal percentage free fall as the game went on and the Hawks' steady climb through crunch time.  

Like the confusing rotations, the home loss and lack of execution on both ends left Brandon Roy scratching his head.  Asked if the team had entered the season taking things for granted, Roy responded, "No, I don't think so. What we didn't expect is that we were going to have to do it all over again. I think we thought we were going to pick it up where we left off and that's not the NBA. It's new to me, I'm sure it's new to a lot of guys in here... A lot of things changed and I don't think we've fully grasped that fact."

Obviously adjustments are in store for the Blazers, who are now 2-3 on the season, already 2.5 games behind of Division-leading Denver.  Hopefully those adjustments start at the end: crystallizing a late-game philosophy that doesn't resemble a lacrosse match with mass substitutions conducted on the fly.  

One of Nate McMillan's favorite phrases is: "We know what he can do."  McMillan uses this phrase to describe nearly every player on his roster, an acknowledgment of their individual skills and his understanding of the player's fit within the team dynamic.  

With the possible exception of Andre Miller, Nate McMillan knows what the 9 guys in his rotation can do.  Yes, it's early.  But it's time to let those guys do what he knows they can do.  And that's not checking into and out of games. 

A few brief thoughts...

Rudy Fernandez

With the exception of a few nice steals that turned in to baskets on the other end for his teammates, Rudy Fernandez continued to struggle mightily.  Every shot attempt was a 3 pointer and he connected on just one of five.  Although Fernandez was more aggressive in attacking the defense off the dribble, he looked to pass out to shooters rather than take a mid-range or closer shot of his own, almost without exception.  Self-confidence problem?  A strategy from the coaches?  Lingering back spasm issues? All of the above? None of the above? Anyone?

If there's a single player that seems put off by the roster juggling it is Rudy Fernandez. In theory, he should be one of the most consistent contributors.  In practice, through five games, he's been anything but.

LaMarcus Aldridge  

Not a dominating performance (20 points/14 rebounds) but a very promising one: he didn't seem to show any ill effects from his knee contusion before the game during his warm-ups or during the game.  He played hard, he played heavy minutes, he ran the floor and he hit the glass.  Hopefully the soreness is manageable and he brings his A+ game on Friday.  It will be needed.

Brandon Roy

Credit the Hawks for doing an excellent job taking away Roy down the stretch. Although Travis Outlaw stepped up fairly admirably, the entire offense looked disjointed without Roy's ability to break a defense down and get to the free throw line to stop the clock.  Perhaps the topic of a future charting.  Roy admitted that he himself would have to watch tape of tonight's game to get a full sense for why his shots were limited in the fourth quarter.  Roy was just 1-3 in the game's final 12 minutes.

Nate's Post-Game Comments

Disappointed you most?

The two things you've got to do to give yourself a chance to win games. One: you've got to shoot the ball. You've got to knock down shots when you get shots. Second thing, we've got to play defense. Perimeter, isolation. We've had in our games, every game we've played other than Oklahoma City, a wing, one of these wings have had big nights. Tonight it was Crawford coming in with 17 points at the half. He ends up with 27 for the game. Basically you're out there by yourself and you've got to guard. We broke down and they were able to get in the paint. Score over the top, get in the paint, get layups with our bigs stepping in to get help. 

Did you get outworked tonight?

I mentioned that. I feel like our level of play has gotta go up. To win we're not playing as hard as we need to, to win ball games. I did feel that. 

Hot start, slow finish

It did. You've got to play defense. That's something that we've talked about. We've got to get it out on the court. We've got to make shots. We're not making shots tonight. Then defensively they had that 32 point second quarter and got that momentum. The zone disrupted them for a little bit and they were able to get on a read on that. It comes down to the two things: you've got to make shots and we've got to defend.

Surprising to be outworked at home?

Regardless of where you are you've got to work. I've really felt that our level of intensity needed to be better. But pretty much all the games, I thought in Houston they out-scrapped us. They were quicker. We did some good things in Oklahoma City. Tonight we played but to win games in this league you've got to work. That's not something I've had to say to this group in the last couple of years.

How surprising is it that effort is an issue?

Again, I haven't had to say that to this group in the last couple of years. My first year here, my first year or two, we talked about effort. But you know this team... that was just a known. That we were going to get that.

What do you attribute that to?

Whatever it is, we've got to get it. We've got to get out there and we've got to play together and we've got to scrap and we've got to battle. Last year is gone. It's a new year. Not that teams are going to lay down or anything like that. It's just the NBA, it's gotten better, teams have gotten better. We've got to be hungry. You've got to want it.

Why start Joel for the second half instead of Greg?

Because Greg was getting.... I wanted to stretch out that game, not get him in foul trouble. Get Joel in and get Greg in down the stretch. We were able to do that for a few minutes and then he picked up his 4th foul. I was trying to stretch out the game.

Hawks win points in the paint 50-34. Disappointing?

It's not in the sense that points in the paint comes from not just posting up but from penetration. When we talked about attacking the basket, it's not just post ups, it's from penetrating the ball. And right now we are settling for a lot of jumpshots as well as not going to the basket. They won the free throw line also. We only had 16 free throws tonight. We're a team that's averaged 24.

2nd unit

Crawford went crazy. He came in and he was that spark off the bench. We had no answer -- we could not stop him. That second, that first and second quarter, he had 17 in about 12 or 14 minutes. That gave them the momentum.

Change rotations or mix things up?

Regardless of when you go in the game, you've got to defend.

Settling for jumpers when possessing lead. How to stop that?

We've been a team that attacks the basket. We've got guys that can shoot the ball. We're not being aggressive getting to that basket. At times we're settling for the jumpshot. And pulling up. And not putting our head down and making strong moves to the basket.

-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter