This is only going to be a quick, incomplete, and only semi-coherent reveiew because:
A. I had company last night so I didn't get to watch as intensely as I usually do.
B. We shut the game off with about 6:00 to go in the fourth because it became obvious there would be no real contest. I never do this but it was in deference to my company.
C. I've been up all night without sleep as I type this.
and...
D. That game should be forgotten and never spoken of again.
It was obvious from the jump that we were toast. That first quarter defense was french-kissing-your-sister bad. Just gross. Even Joel was pretty much checking out of plays on defense and when that happens we're in trouble. We tightened up in the second quarter (or New Orleans eased up) but the third was just as bad. By the time we got to the fourth period it just didn't matter. At no time were we really in the game and it seldom looked like basketball from our end.
--Brandon Roy eventually came on to have a great game but from what I saw he's having major problems with his elevation and it's just killing him. Maybe he looked livelier after I quit watching? I don't know. I just know he looks really tentative with his vertical leap and if that doesn't change his scoring will get exponentially harder.
--I liked Martell's first half a lot. Still strong.
--This was a game that really showed what Sergio can do for us. The stats don't necessarily reflect it but the tempo and energy went way up when he was in there.
--This was also a game that showcased Frye and Jones a little. You could see some second-unit offensive potential there.
--As I said above this was a disappointing game for Joel in almost every aspect.
--Lamarcus got 9 rebounds but only scored 8 points. He has to put the two together.
--I thought Jack had another pretty flat game. Blake was unimpressive also.
--Despite ending the game with 48% shooting I pretty much hated our overall offensive game tonight. It looked kind of pretty because a lot of shots fell for Jones and Roy but it was way too much one-on-one and WAY too much perimeter shooting. New Orleans was exploitable on defense and we made it easy for them.
Game Summary in One Sentence:
I'm not sure we could have won with a better effort but it shouldn't have been that ugly.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)