Blazersedge

Game 17 Preview: Nets vs. Blazers

2009-11-25T06:01:08Z

Game Time: 7:00 p.m. Pacific TV: Comcast

I'm going to list three names for you. You tell me what they have in common.

Chris Douglas-Roberts
Brook Lopez
Courtney Lee

If you said "The girls from the Channel 7 Eyewitness Reports Squad" you're wrong! They're actually NBA players. They play for the Nets, which means they've been playing like the girls from the Channel 7 Eyewitness Reports Squad. But that's another story.

The Nets come into Portland having not won a game this year. Period. 0-14. That's pretty sick, and not in the hip way. Except for managing a virtual tie in blocked shots and offensive rebounds they're getting beaten, usually handily, in every statistical category you can name. They're scoring 85 a night and averaging a double-digit loss. They're shooting 40 points lower than their opponents from the field, 65 points lower from three. Their offensive efficiency doesn't even register on the scale. The Blazers have played some woeful offensive teams lately. Chicago is 27^th in the league, Charlotte (remember how pitiful that offensive lineup was?) is 5 points below them, another point down is Minnesota, but New Jersey comes in almost 2 points behind the ‘Wolves. This isn't just an issue of slow pace creating low scores. They've really been that bad.

Despite that there are reasons to be cautious of this team right now. The aforementioned Courtney Lee and point guard Devin Harris have been injured for most of the season. Both are back now. That alone should give the Nets a shot in the arm, Harris offensively, Lee defensively. Chris Douglas-Roberts has flourished since the injuries gave him extra shots. Both he and center Brook Lopez have given the Blazers trouble in the past. Lopez is not your prototypical offensive center but he too has been striking gold with the extra looks, scoring 26 against the Pacers (off of 27 shots!) He's a good rebounder some nights. He's tough and mean every night.

The Nets' main mistake in the last couple of years has been banking on mediocre (or worse) acquisitions to bolster their top players. Witness Rafer Alston (an offensive guy shooting 33%), Yi Jianlian (not exactly setting the world on fire and now out with an injury), Trenton Hassell (a defensive specialist who's not as good at defending as he used to be), Bobby Simmons (another offensive marvel barely clearing 35%), Eduardo Najera (an energy guy who's out of energy), Sean Willams (what?!?), Josh Boone (who?!?), and Jarvis Hayes (blech, and also injured). It's the Island of Misfit Toys. Except I don't think even Rudolph and Herbie could find good homes for these guys. I'm guessing somebody in Nets management was a bad, bad boy, or at least wasn't vigilant in guarding the chimney. "I fell asleep! What did Santa bring me??? Oh Je...eepers. Did he leave the receipts?"

The basic strategy against the Nets is to not let anybody have a big night who really, really shouldn't. If their main guys score a little, so be it. Even between them they'll have a hard time getting to 100. It's happened once this year...against the Wizards. Hanging your hat on that is like boasting that you got a free meal at the Salvation Army. That's really nice for you, but psst...I have something to tell you. Meanwhile you need to respect their defense enough that you work for a good shot instead of just assuming you're going to beat them with whatever you throw up. They're fractured right now and they're just in the beginning stages of trying to put things back together. Make them make decisions as a team and depend on each other and you should see good results.

Pivotal Points to the Game

1. Don't take it for granted. They're going to win their first one sometime.

2. Almost nobody on this team is a good distance shooter. Follow the strategy you've been pursuing all year. Deny the middle, make them score from the edges. You'll be happy.

3. They don't share the ball any better than they shoot the ball. Your first guess should always be that the scorer holding the ball right now is going to take the shot. Plan accordingly.

4. This should be another night when LaMarcus Aldridge can go to town. Milk him and keep his spirits high. Good things will follow.

5. Two words: Bench Dominance. If Portland's reserves don't eat up their Jersey counterparts something is wrong. Even depleted the Blazer bench ought to be good for a double-digit advantage.

Final Thoughts and Links

I'm looking forward to seeing Oden and Lopez duel. Let's see if Greg can keep the mojo going.

Check out...check out...by gum, SBN does not have a Nets site to check out. Quickly, someone start one! My suggestion is http://www.BrownPaperBagOverMyHead.com. You can suggest your own names below.

You can enter tonight's Jersey Contest form here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Nate McMillan Talks Zone Defense

2009-11-24T22:35:06Z

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

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It's no secret any more: John Hollinger's numbers love the Blazers. A weak opening schedule, large margin of victories and a slow-down style that encourages efficient play have combined to shoot the Blazers up to 3rd place on Hollinger's power rankings.

Like last year, the Blazers again find themselves in the upper echelon of teams from an offensive efficiency standpoint this season. The surprise this year? The Blazers are currently ranked #2 in defensive efficiency, a nice accomplishment for a team that lost its best perimeter defender, Nicolas Batum, to long-term injury and fiddled with an unconventional three guard lineup for much of the early season.

There are a number of reasons for the team's early defensive success: the continued development of Greg Oden, the improvement of Rudy Fernandez, the giveaway of Sergio Rodriguez and, of course, the extremely weak early season schedule.

One other reason that hasn't gotten a lot of play, though, is the team's use of zone and matchup zone defenses. This isn't something new -- Nate McMillan has had both in his system for years -- but the zone looks appear to be working quite well this season. The first half in Atlanta stands out in particular. That night, the zone was used for long stretches of the second quarter, helping hold the Hawks, one of the league's elite offensive units, to just 20 second quarter points and 43 first half points.

After practice today I spoke briefly with coach Nate McMillan about his zone defenses. During our conversation he makes reference to a "straight zone" (players defend set areas rather than specific bodies) and "match-up zones." Here's a nice, simple definition of a match-up zone courtesy of Coaches Clipboard.net...

Match-up zone is a "combination" defense, combining elements of man-to-man defense (on ball), and zone defense (away from the ball). This is a zone defense that acts a lot like a good man-to-man defense. The on-ball defender closes-out and plays tight like in a man-to-man. The zone away from the ball resembles man-to-man "help-side" defense.

Here's a transcript of our conversation.

Blazersedge: You've been playing some match-up zone recently on defense. What prompted you to go in that direction this year?

That's a part of the package. We have a zone package that we play. It's not just one zone. We've got really four zones. We've got a "2", "2 Black", "3" and "3 Black".

The "Blacks" are matchups and the "2s" and "3s" are straight zones.

Depending on what a team has out on the floor as far as players, whether they have shooters, we are able to cover the perimeter [with our 3]. If they have bigs as well as shooters we go to our 2, which can cover the perimeter as well as the paint.

Blazersedge: What triggers the switch into the zone? If your opponent comes out shooting cold or is it a personnel thing?

It could be a lineup, it could be that they are hot and we are trying to disrupt them, get them out of a rhythm.

Last night we tried to go to it because Chicago started to get a rhythm offensively. We wanted to change their attack and get them standing and not moving. I think they were able to score once or twice off of it.

We use it for a number of different reasons. It's just part of our defensive package. We go to it when they go to certain lineups or if we're trying to break a rhythm.

Blazersedge: Is it true that we are more likely to see the zone if you're going smaller with the 3 guard lineup?

Possibly. Possibly. Because they do have maybe an advantage somewhere and we can keep our paint tight and stay away from teams trying to post up one of our small guards.

Blazersedge: What brings you out of the zone? They shoot over the top of it or... ?

It depends. It depends. Sometimes they are shooting over the top of it but we're keeping them on the perimeter. It all depends on the game and their lineup and how they are scoring. If they are scoring over the top of the zone with a hand in their face, we sometimes stay in it.

Blazersedge: There's a lot made about how difficult it is to rebound defensively when you're in the zone defense, because the bigs have to go actively find a body to box out. Is that a reality in the NBA or is that a misnomer?

Yeah, you look at all of that.

In the NBA, you can't play your traditional zone because you can't keep a middle man because of the illegal defense. It's some zone-like rules but it's not your traditional zone.

Blazersedge: In general, would you say your players prefer to play zone or man-to-man?

It's just part of our package. We've explained why we use it [to the players]. We use it different times and against different teams and we try to take advantage or disrupt or catch a team, surprise a team with falling back into a zone.

Blazersedge: Do you try to run out off the zone or are you looking to slow tempo?

You try to run out on both man and zone. It's the same. Sometimes the zone is even more difficult for teams to match up with their player (in transition) because their guy might be on the other side of the court.

About halfway through, you probably noticed Nate McMillan make passing reference to the NBA's defensive 3-second rule and how it prevents a "middle man" from running a "traditional" zone by camping out in the key. Yet another thing for a young big man like Greg Oden to worry about.

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

Washington Post: Wizards Owner Abe Pollin Passed Away

2009-11-24T21:12:23Z

Washington Post: Wizards Owner Abe Pollin Passed Away

Michael Lee of the Washington Post tweets..
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Sad news from Washington. I just heard that Wizards owner Abe Pollin has died at age 85. No details yet, but he passed this afternoon.
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Here's a link to some thoughts posted on Bullets Forever.

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

Dante Cunningham Earned a Promotion

2009-11-24T18:06:03Z

Last Friday, I wrote...

I'm not sure how much longer the Juwan Howard era can continue before his play becomes a Nate McMillan problem and not a Juwan Howard problem. There are few situations where Howard's number gets called and your first reaction isn't "Oh dear, here we go." Just play Cunningham. Let's see him play worse than Howard before Howard gets extended minutes again.

Monday night against the Chicago Bulls, it was a beautiful thing to watch as Nate McMillan did just that. And, at least for one night, that decision paid off nicely.

Taking a step back, though, McMillan has been presented with the quintessential "Experience vs. Potential" showdown thanks to Juwan Howard and Dante Cunningham. In one corner, a cagey veteran on his last legs, who compensates for a lack of athleticism by knowing every trick in the book. In the other, a hungry rookie anxious to please, still with star-struck eyes but also a monster work ethic and a strong, young athletic body.

The role the two players are battling for is minor: backup minutes behind one of the team's star players, power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. It's a limited role but an important one, particularly in the wake of injuries to both Travis Outlaw and Nic Batum. Short two key rotation players, just filling those minutes is no longer enough. Production is necessary. Howard, bless his heart and his baggy Michigan shorts, isn't exactly oozing production these days. While he might not do a ton of positive things, he is still savvy enough to avoid doing negative things. Generally speaking, avoiding disaster can often be enough to earn spot minutes when you're playing for one of the most risk-averse coaches in the league.

Having played four years at Villanova, the 22 year old Cunningham isn't your typical mistake-making rookie. Yes, he occasionally rushes his shot and he did travel during Monday night's game after hesitating to pull the trigger. But his court awareness and instincts have exceeded expectations and he rarely breaks down defensively. His footwork on both ends has been very good, he does a nice job of keeping the action in front of him, he crashes the glass hard (not always getting the board, but impacting the scrum at the least), he is active off the ball and he sets a solid pick.

Put it all together and Cunningham leaves his coaches looking for a reason why he shouldn't play rather than reasons why he should.

Until Monday night, Nate McMillan had given nearly all the backup power forward minutes to Juwan Howard. Against the Bulls, though, Cunningham was the first power forward called off the bench. After the game, McMillan was asked about his confidence in Cunningham, the rookie...

We're going to need him. He's worked hard. Every time you put him on the floor he's learning. He's picking up some things and doing some things better. We'll go that way. He's playing aggressive. He's smart. He's played big time basketball before. Yes, I do have confidence in him being out there.

Cunningham played 14 minutes against the Bulls' active, aggressive young frontline of Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Luol Deng and James Johnson. But it wasn't a particular match-up that made Nate McMillan call Cunningham's number.

I just like what I've been seeing. In practice, in games. Last game we gave him a few minutes, he made some hustle players. Was doing some good things. With Outlaw being out, we're going to need both him and Howard to play that 4 position, that backup 4. And I wanted to give him some minutes off of what he did last game. After looking at him tonight, you put him out there again. But we will need both he and Howard.

Cunningham tallied 4 points, 3 rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot in his 14 minutes. He drew rave reviews from multiple media members for his basketball intelligence, and his next-door neighbor in the locker room -- Greg Oden -- needled him with some good-hearted post-game banter. It felt like the first good night of many to come for a player whose close childhood friend and grade-school teammate, Ty Lawson, has also quickly become an impact rookie.

Cunningham's biggest offensive weapon -- the ability to consistently knock down an open face-up jumper -- is a perfect fit in the new-look second unit that features Andre Miller and Rudy Fernandez, ball-handlers that can draw attention and then kick to Cunningham. What's more, Blazers scouts have praised his pick-setting abilities since pre-draft workouts. While Brandon Roy might not be crazy about using picks, the Miller/Cunningham pick-and-roll/pop/fade has some serious potential. As does a solid Cunningham pick that creates daylight for a driving Jerryd Bayless.

After the game, Cunningham was all smiles, even getting some television face time for the first time this season. We talked briefly; here's what he had to say.

Blazersedge: How much notice did Nate give you to let you know you would be that first power forward off the bench?

A little bit. We worked in the (Monday morning) walkthrough a little bit of what he was looking to do. When he called my name I was just ready to go.

Blazersedge: Were you surprised when he called your number tonight?

No, not today. Because again in walkthrough I was the first (backup) four to go through the plays and everything like that. It was just something mentally I was just always ready.

Blazersedge: Did he let you know if this was a permanent change or do you have an idea how long it might last?

Not really. No, I think it's going to depend on how he's feeling. What the team needs. It could go either way, me and Juwan.

Blazersedge: What has Nate emphasized that he wants to see from you in those minutes?

Energy, getting all the loose balls. Hustling. Just playing defense, things like that.

Blazersedge: You're a pretty solid pick-setter. You're out there roaming a little bit.

I love the contact. I love getting out there setting screens. The problem is a lot of teams at the four position switch. So it's kind of hard for me to set a screen without having the guard just switching and it being a moot pick.

Blazersedge: What do you do in that situation?

If they switch, a lot of times I either don't set a screen or slip the screen. If I do happen to set it, hopefully I have the big on me and I get far enough away so it's a long run for them to [recover to the ball-handler and protect the basket].

Blazersedge: But if you slip that pick and pop out, that's when they have you looking for your shot, right?

Mmm-hmmm.

Cunningham's work ethic, positive attitude, quick progress and increasing role with the team reminds me of a scaled-down version of Nic Batum's rookie year last season. He's not being asked to start nor is he being asked to take on a major individual defensive responsibility. But he is now expected to step up and really contribute. His veteran teammates and conservative coaching staff already respect his abilities and maturity enough to put him in that situation, even though he's been a pro less than 20 games.

That's no small feat on this team.

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

Media Row Report: Blazers 122 Bulls 98

2009-11-24T09:04:40Z

More photos » by Sam Forencich - NBAE/Getty Images

PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 23: Joakim Noah #13 of the Chicago Bulls ain't fooling smack-talking Greg "Giggles" Oden #52 of the Portland Trail Blazers during a game on November 23, 2009 at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon. (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)

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So that's what it looks like when everything comes together. It's been awhile since Portland Trail Blazers fans have seen their team play as dominant, inspired basketball as they did Monday night, pounding the Chicago Bulls 122-98 in the Rose Garden.

The win was a blueprint for how things should have been working all along. The tandem of Greg Oden (24 points, 12 rebounds) and LaMarcus Aldridge (24 points, 13 rebounds) should overwhelm teams inside. The scoring ability and play-making of Brandon Roy (18 points, 7 assists) should open things up for his teammates. Andre Miller (15 points, 5 assists) should be free to attack weaker second team defenses, getting to the line for an endless string of free throws. Rudy Fernandez (13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) should play off of Miller, knocking down open shots and dazzling the crowd with his passes (except that one off of Luol Deng's face. Jeepers.). Steve Blake (3 points, 4 assists) should be the 7th or 8th offensive option, playing passably but not horribly. The youngsters -- Jerryd Bayless (4 points) and Dante Cunningham (4 points)-- should help step on the gas when appropriate. And Martell Webster (6 points, 4 rebounds) should do what he does best: try really hard during garbage time to make up for a lackluster game.

All kidding aside, this game was by far the best all-around performance of the young 2009-2010 season for the Blazers and was certainly the most impressive, entertaining victory of the year as well.

The Blazers won the first quarter, counted on their depth to blow open the game in the second quarter, did a solid job of weathering a Luol Deng-led (25 points) push in the third quarter and cruised down the stretch. With the game out of reach, the Rose Garden crowd took a break from doing the wave to serenade their starting center with chants of "Oden! Oden!" in appreciation of his play against NCAA rival Joakim Noah. It's hard to remember the Rose Garden cheering Oden as passionately as they did Monday night, and it was well-deserved. His strong, patient play on offense, his smart play on defense and his fantastic foul shooting added up to what was likely his best performance as a professional. It was, at times, mouth-watering and jaw-dropping.

His confidence soaring, Oden returned to the locker room after the game -- and an NBATV interview -- to joke on camera that his Ohio State Buckeyes would "smash" either the Beavers or the Ducks in the Rose Bowl. He laughed and smiled as he said, "Sorry, but it's true." What's this? Giggles talking smack? Love it.

While the hot discussion topic might still be whether Steve Blake or Andre Miller should start at point guard, tonight we finally saw real evidence that Miller running the second unit is good for all parties. Make no mistake, Miller had a much better game than Blake tonight. But ask yourself this: Does Miller score the same 16 points if he plays all his minutes alongside Brandon Roy? Probably not. Does Brandon Roy score 18 points if he plays all of his minutes alongside Andre Miller? Do these two players, the team's two best play-makers, combine for 12 assists if their minutes overlapped more? Are both Aldridge and Oden able to get going if Roy and Miller are both in the game simultaneously, if Blake isn't there to keep the defense a little bit more honest? Does the team's dominant second quarter take place if Blake is running the show rather than Miller?

We might not have solid answers to these hypothetical questions but we do have answers from tonight: simply put, Miller off the bench can work on the court. Indeed, it can work very well. Will it work over the long haul, taking into account egos, minutes, numbers, and all the rest of it? Who knows. But it produced the single best team performance of the season.

When the Blazers are rolling like they did tonight, there are not many teams in the NBA that can come in to Portland and win. Certainly, that effort would have beaten the Denver team that came to Portland earlier this season and, equally certainly, that effort will beat the Jazz team the Blazers face later this week. While the starting point guard battle can and should remain an open race, a new ceiling has been established. Surely, Nate McMillan feels vindicated in his lineup juggling thanks to this result.

At the same time, though, McMillan should feel satisfied that his current group, despite the injuries, is talented enough to win the Northwest Division. He should put to rest the talk of needing "bodies" and realize he's got 11 talented, healthy bodies that just ran a solid Bulls team completely off the court. Unless someone else goes down, it's not about bodies for this group right now. It's about effort and chemistry.

Random Game Notes

Brandon Roy, on which team he's pulling for in next week's Civil War: "The Beavers, because the Ducks hate the Huskies more."
Last year I attended the epic Free Darko launch party in Seattle and missed Derrick Rose's first tour through Portland. Tonight was my first look at Rose in person. While he started slow and didn't play a perfect game, there isn't a player in the NBA that gets from the corner to the hoop as fast and from the ground to rim level as explosively as Derrick Rose. One of those must-see-in-person-to-believe players. Rose's pre-game workout routine was impressive, particularly on the second night of a back-to-back. He shot for roughly 25 minutes, working on shots from every angle and taking probably 50 bank shots. Quite interesting that there is a noticeable difference in his shooting percentages when he goes from uncontested to contested even during warm-ups, as he started missing regularly with a simple hand in his face from the coaching staff. Obviously his form is far from ideal but he's a complete monster off the dribble. Good lord. The budding Derrick Rose vs. John Wall decade-long smackdown is top five on my list of most anticipated things about the 2010-2020 era, edging out flying cars and liquid pizza.
Derrick Rose's adidas sneakers are official. I realize the angle and proximity of this camera phone picture reveal me to be roughly 2 feet behind him when I snapped it. Look I didn't plan for that to happen, it just did, ok? I promise. Blazersedge commenter Courtside Errand Boy is my witness.
Joel Przybilla deserves a shoutout for not missing a shot (3-3 for 8 points) in 16 minutes. As Greg Oden becomes more dominant, Przybilla gets more invisible. But he's still there, doing what he's been doing.
Look for more on Dante Cunningham's promotion to backup power forward tomorrow morning.

Nate's Post-Game Comments

Greg Oden?

I thought he was great. I thought he was really patient in the post. Did a nice job of taking his time, reading the defense. When the defense played him with single coverage he was able to score, with deep post position to start with. When they tried to double-team he did a good job of making good decisions out of the post. I thought he was really good. His pick and roll defense was really good on Rose, being up on those screens and forming that wall that we talked about. I thought our bigs, not just Greg, Greg, LaMarcus, the combination of Greg, LaMarcus and Brandon and Miller coming in and keeping that thing going. I just thought it was a solid game from start to finish with our guys.

Killer instinct tonight?

I thought the rhythm was a good rhythm. They played off of each other. They took what the defense gave them. They made the defense pay. We went to different guys, different parts of the game and all of them were ready. It wasn't like they were standing or not in rhythm or not involved in the play. I thought they did a good job of playing off of each other. When you have those guys moving the ball like they did tonight, it's going to be hard to stop everything. We had the inside game going with LaMarcus and Greg. Brandon was on the perimeter, Andre did a good job of coming in and quarterbacking and being aggressive and getting guys involved and it was just I thought all night long offensively a good rhythm.

Does that reinforce your new lineup?

I hope so. They've got to make it work. I feel that it can work if we take advantage of it but they have to make it work. Tonight we showed what we can do with that unit. Chicago has been playing really good defense lately. They've had a tough 3 game road trip but Noah and those guys they've been getting after teams. I thought tonight offensively we were just hitting on all cylinders.

Is that as hard as Andre has played?

I wouldn't say that. I thought he did a good job of directing and quarterbacking. Last game he did that and I thought again tonight where he got guys involved but he was able to stay aggressive and quarterback that offense and defense. Just be the playmaker with that second group. All the things I think he can do. We can take advantage of that. He reads what the defense is doing very well and he takes advantage of it. He gets the ball to those guys when they're open.

Oden's confidence rising?

Yeah, he's getting a better feel every night. Playing against different guys. He's seeing the different types of defense, where they're fronting him, double-teaming him on dribble, double-teaming him on catch, tonight he saw them come on baseline. Those are the type of reads he will have to play against. But he's really patient. So I don't think that will be a problem. Just knowing what to do once you see those coverages. He's taking his time getting to the rim and not just settling for the jump hook. He's getting deep position and getting even closer. He's doing a good job establishing deep position and being patient.

Second Unit

I like what Miller has done with that group the last two games. We'll need him to do that not only initiate it and set people up but be aggressive.

Dante

We're going to need him. He's worked hard. Every time you put him on the floor he's learning. He's picking up some things and doing some things better. We'll go that way. He's playing aggressive. He's smart. He's played big time basketball before. Yes, I do have confidence in him being out there.

Were Dante's minutes upped just for this game for match-up reasons?

Nah, I just like what I've been seeing. In practice, in games. Last game we gave him a few minutes he made some hustle players. Was doing some good things. With Outlaw being out, we're going to need both him and Howard to play that 4 position, that backup 4. And I wanted to give him some minutes off of what he did last game. After looking at him tonight, you put him out there again. But we will need both he and Howard.

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

Game 16 Recap: Blazers 122, Bulls 98

2009-11-24T07:17:56Z

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Create your own caption for this one. I don't even have words.

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As you can see by the final score, the summary of the game is pretty simple. They brought Noah. We brought the flood. End of story. It was a night where almost everything the Blazers did worked. The Bulls did a couple of things well too but almost everything beats a couple of things. By 24, to be exact.

The game started out in near-comedic fashion as both teams seemed committed to showing the other had no transition defense. Unfortunately neither team evidenced much transition offense either. Watching these squads run the floor early was like watching Lake Oswegans rap. I mean, maybe you can recognize some decent intentions in there but it's just not right. ("Yo, these gold chains are real, dawg. But I have to get them back before my moms goes to dinner. Finesse the bling, yo. If fur is murder then my mom's a serial killer. Don't judge. Those chinchillas had it coming! Peace out.") Then the Blazers came to their senses and started pounding it in to Greg Oden. We haven't mentioned this yet, though it's been going on for a couple weeks, but the re-post option for Greg is really good. It gives him time to get comfortable position, makes the defender move, and doesn't require him to make any moves before he's ready. Congrats to the staff for making the Phil Jackson-Shaq connection and kudos to our guards for sticking with it on those plays. The results speak for themselves. LaMarcus Aldridge came along for the ride inside and out. With the two biggest guys on the team connecting with haymakers the Bulls started to sweat. The added perspiration let the Roy-Miller trio (yes, they played together and yes, it worked) slip by for any kind of shot they wanted. Unfortunately the Bulls came to their senses as well and started doing the Deng-Salmons two-step on the guards (yes, they played defense together too and yes, it was shaky). The end result was a 31-28 quarter in favor of the Blazers.

One of the teams went for 30+ again in the second quarter and one definitely didn't. Bucking the season's trend, the team that poured it on was the Blazers. Once again they super-sized the offense with Oden and LMA doing damage. This time we saw a little bit of Miller-Bayless-Roy, which worked a little better defensively, and then Miller-Blake-Roy, which stalled a little offensively until Roy started driving. (Memo: The three-guard lineup isn't dead. It just switched time slots.) Chicago couldn't compensate and all of a sudden the Portland offense exploded. The Blazers scored 16 of their last 23 points of the quarter at the rim or from the foul line. Chicago was still hitting shots but they couldn't keep up, especially since they lacked the free throw side of the equation. Portland walked into the locker room up 15 and looking happy.

All year long the Blazers have come out loaded for bear in the third period. In this case the bear was Teddy, though. Oden was still pounding it inside but the Bulls were swarming and fouling him at every opportunity. He responded well but the tempo slowed overall and his teammates had a harder time finding and hitting good shots. Meanwhile Chicago exploited their matchup advantages at both backcourt positions and the small forward position. Luol Deng damaged anybody the Blazers threw against him and Chicago's screens dislodged Portland defenders with ease leading to awkward moments at the rim for the Blazers. With all of that, though, the Bulls only made up 5 points and entered the fourth down 10.

The script called for the Bulls to whittle the lead down to a toothpick before Portland responded. And when Kirk Hinrich converted a layup 16 seconds into the quarter it looked like that story might unfold yet again. Then Rudy happened. Playing once again with Miller and Roy, Fernandez started weaving and heaving. He got himself open from the arc and his shot was deadly. He hit 2 threes and a layup in a three-minute stretch. When Oden and Aldridge started scoring too, it just wasn't fair. Portland ends up winning by 24, having plenty of fun along the way and sending the crowd home happy.

The key to the game tonight was energy. From Oden's inside play to Brandon's drives to the commitment (and occasional pressing) of Bayless and Cunningham coming off the deep bench the Blazers demonstrated their desire for this game and their willingness to do what it took to get it. Even when they stopped flat-out breaking they still ran the ball up to set the offense. Multiple players were calling for the ball, including Oden and Webster who are usually among the less demonstrative players. They made opportunities for talent to shine through and plenty of it did. Portland shot 57.5%, eclipsing the Bulls by more than 10%. They hit their threes also (40%) but didn't over-rely on them (15 attempts out of 73 total shots). The refs blew a ton of whistles in this game and Portland got the benefit of most of them, shooting 40 foul shots to 22 for the Bulls. They outrebounded Chicago by 20, virtually eliminated turnovers...other than some spotty defense there was absolutely nothing wrong with this game. It was great to see.

Click through for individual observations and links.

Individual Observations

I remember earlier in the season--I think it was in a game against Memphis--I opined that should that game have occurred two years from now Oden would have scored 30. He darn near did it tonight. He was as into this game as I have ever seen him. He frustrated the heck out of Joakim Noah, at one point making him throw the ball into the stanchion in frustration. (Ostensibly that was at the refs, but we know who you were think of when you released, Joakim.) More impressive than his 7-8 shooting clip were his 12 free throws, of which he hit 10. The refs are starting to show him some respect on his moves. He also had 6 offensive and 6 defensive rebounds and 2 blocks to go with his 24 points. It was a massive game.

Brandon Roy had an unassuming little 18 points and 7 assists. While Oden and LaMarcus were front and center Brandon kept the defense honest by driving off the dribble and hitting pull-ups, layups, and foul shots off of their screw-ups. The best word for his offense tonight was "integrated". It was a beautiful game to my eyes. Defensively...eh. But somewhere the Blazers are going to have to dig up some better defensive players to surround Brandon and then you won't notice as much.

Along with Brandon, LaMarcus Aldridge was one of the players who ran with starters and reserves both. The Blazers cleared out for him a bunch and allowed him to be an offensive focus. It worked. He shot 10-16, matched Oden's 24 points, grabbed 13 rebounds (to Oden's 12, so I guess Greg is buying the Dr. Peppers tonight), and dished 3 assists. LaMarcus looked as happy as I've seen him this season. I would recommend continuing to use him this way.

Andre Miller looked pretty darn comfortable with Roy on one wing and Rudy on the other. That unit appeared to click offensively more than any small combination we've seen so far. The energy was palpable. Andre chose his shots carefully and hit most of them. He brutalized the Bulls on the drive, drawing 11 foul shots and hitting 10. His 5 assists were sweet too. You know defense...blah, blah...help. But I liked this incarnation of Miller overall.

Rudylicious: 13 points in 19 minutes, more threes than a Divided 9's convention, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, controlled energy...spark-ish. It's what you want from him. He also looked like the best backcourt defender on the floor tonight among the regulars. Faint praise, but praise nonetheless.

Steve Blake did pretty much what he was supposed to. He helped the ball moved, tried to move on defense, and otherwise facilitated rather than putting himself forward. He made a couple of really nice passes and ended up with 4 assists and 5 rebounds. He and Miller virtually split minutes, Blake with 29 and Andre with 27. At this point I think Blake plays well with more players but Andre plays better overall when he's with lineups that are comfortable for him.

Joel Przybilla rode the scoring horse as well tonight, getting 8 points off of chip shots in 17 minutes. The floor opening up is good for Joel. Lots of people standing is not.

Dante Cunningham and Jerryd Bayless each got decent minutes, DC with 14 and JB with 11. As we mentioned above, they pressured a little defensively and each showed gumption and drive out there. They looked like what 10-ish mpg guys are supposed to look like: moving, active, giving their all. What are you saving up for? Each scored 4 points off of good shooting, Cunningham with 3 rebounds, a steal, and a block and Bayless with a board. Based on this game you have to forecast more PT in their future, though you probably shouldn't look for either to get 24 minutes yet. I think Cunningham could sneak up on Martell if the latter falters though.

Speaking of Martell, he was the only guy who went through a sub-par shooting night, going 3-10, missing both of the threes he took, and scoring 6 with 4 rebounds in 22 minutes. At least he was a bigger body on Deng. And he had a sweet dunk off of an alley-oop.

Final Thoughts

Happy? Me too.

Boxscore

Still working on getting the Minnesota results fixed. You can enter Wednesday's form here

Check out the lamentation at BlogaBull.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Quick: Maurice Lucas's Cancer Has Returned

2009-11-23T23:12:17Z

Quick: Maurice Lucas's Cancer Has Returned

Jason Quick writes...
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Maurice Lucas, a Trail Blazers legend and current assistant coach, has been in a local hospital for weeks after learning that cancer has returned to his body less than seven months after he underwent surgery to remove bladder cancer.
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-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter

Full Court Press

2009-11-23T19:14:34Z

I tallied it up last night.

The combined records, as of today, for the 10 teams the Blazers have beaten: 42-83.
The combined records, as of today, of the 5 teams the Blazers have lost to: 43-24.

Yes, that includes 1-12 Minnesota 3 times in the wins column and the 11-3 Atlanta Hawks 2 times in the loss column. But even if you average the winning percentages of Blazers opponents, counting each team just once, you're left with...

Teams Blazers have beaten: Average winning percentage of .387
Teams Blazers have lost to: Average winning percentage of .604

Looking back over the entire record, there's a fair argument to be made that the opening night win over Houston, thought at the time to be an easy must-win, still stands as the best victory of the season. The other candidates: beating a .500 Thunder team on the road, beating the below .500 Spurs at home without Tony Parker and beating a below-.500 Hornets team without Chris Paul on the road the day after they fired their coach.

Had the Blazers not collapsed in Atlanta and had they decided to show up and take care of business against Golden State, they would be in sole possession of the best record in the league. And yet, through 15 games, they still feel like no better than a slightly above-average team.

There are worse places to be; there are better places to be. For now it's safe to say that the jury is very, very, very much out on this team.

Click through so we can go around the internet. A bunch of great articles out there today...

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

As we noted last week, Jerryd Bayless started a blog. Here's this week's update.

I want to clear up the fact that I am an angry guy who is arrogant. I have heard this so many times the last couple years in Portland and it is the farthest thing from me. Yeah I am in a tough situation at the moment, but I love life way too much to just be mad.

You look around the world and the times that we are in, and for me to just be mad when I've been blessed to play in the NBA is very untrue.

On the court at times, I can agree that I do become very intense, but off the court I could be one of the quietest people you'll ever meet unless I know you. This has been something I have wanted to clear up for awhile.

Jason Quick quotes Brandon Roy about the three guard lineup. Caution: his statements might be painful to read...

"I feel like we tried it (the three-guard lineup), and you could say it worked at times, but me sacrificing hurt the team, so it should get back to me playing full-out and getting some other guys in other areas to sacrifice a little bit," Roy said.

Privately, Roy has been conflicted. He was never happy playing small forward -- particularly on offense -- but he put on his best face for the team. But as a star, and the leader of the team, he felt like he had too much to offer that wasn't being utilized. In turn, his unrest and reduced production was having an effect on the team.

"This team is going to go off my pulse," Roy said. "Even if I'm smiling and trying to make it work, if I seem like I'm not totally comfortable, then Martell won't be. And Rudy (Fernandez) will look like he's in a funk. And L.A. (Aldridge) will look like he's in a funk. They have been playing with me for a couple years and if I'm going well, they have more confidence."

Dwight Jaynes tees off...

Why is Miller the problem, rather than Blake?

Because Brandon Roy deemed it so. Roy this season is slightly down from his career numbers in field goal shooting, three-point shooting, rebounds, assists and steals - and up in fouls and turnovers - and he's pinning it all on Miller. That's obvious. From the very start, he hasn't liked Miller taking the ball out of his hands and everyone knew it.

Instead of taking control of the situation, McMillan tiptoed around it by using two point guards instead of one. It's been all about placating Roy from the start. Why not spend 20 games with Roy being a more traditional off-guard? Learning to play off the ball, learning to move, set picks, get picks, get himself open - without pounding the ball in a spread court. Why not post him up once in a while?

A very interesting interview transcript from Tim Kawakami of the Mercury-News, who believes Monta Ellis locked up Brandon Roy and asked him about it...

-Q: Can you talk about your defense against Roy?

-ELLIS: I just did what coach Nelson asked us to do. Goad him, crowd him, play to his strength. He likes to go left so I had that cut off.

Really, I was more energetic than anything and really wanted to go out and get this win and I knew he was a big key for them to even have a chance of winning.

So I just took him out of the game and the rest of our players stuck with the gameplan and did what they needed to do with their players. We got out and ran and won the game.

Mike Barrett on Martell Webster...

Webster was undoubtedly the star on this night. But, it didn't start out that way, Martell had just 2 points at halftime. However, in the third quarter he exploded, and it looked as though a switch had been flipped for the entire team. After scoring just 17 points in the second quarter, the Blazers scored 36 in the third, and the rout was on. They followed that up with 30 in the fourth, as Webster ended with 21 points and 13 rebounds for his first-career double-double.

Brian T. Smith quotes Brandon Roy on Martell Webster...

Roy compared Webster being back in the starting lineup to when forward Nicolas Batum held down the spot last season.

Webster and Batum - who is recovering from shoulder surgery - are both athletic, speedy small forwards who are able to turn their arm length and leaping ability into advantages.

"The game is more simple for that 3 guard. They just catch and shoot," Roy said. "I think (with) the second unit, (Webster) was forced to maybe think a little more and have to create. Where as in the starting lineup, it's just he knows when he catches it, shoot it."

Joe Freeman quotes Martell Webster on his rough season and big night on Saturday...

"It's a long season," Webster said. "And guys get in slumps. You just have to keep doing the things that you did when your shot was hot or when you were playing good. That's what I did. I just kind of took that to heart."

Brian T. Smith quotes Nate McMillan making an adjustment in his treatment of Greg Oden...

Previously, Oden was limited to two fouls before halftime, and one per quarter for the first half. Once Oden picked up his allotted amount of fouls, he was sent to the bench, no matter how well or poorly he was playing.

However, now that the Blazers are dealing with a lack of healthy bodies and offensive production has been an issue as of late, McMillan said he is considering changing his Oden rule.

Now, Oden will likely receive three fouls in the first half. In addition, McMillan said he plans to attempt to allow Oden to play through foul trouble and learn on the job.

Wendell Maxey writes about Nate McMillan's recent statement that he "needs bodies"...

"I've got to go with my roster and try to make work with what I have. You have to look at that, because right now we have 11 bodies that can play. If we lose another guy to an injury - you have to look at that scenario. Financial decisions and moves like that, that's not something you can all of a sudden do," McMillan continued.

"We are aware we are missing two guys, two rotation guys. But you find that guy or find someone who is going to come in and play and help you. That's going to be more than you possibly releasing someone. That's going to be some major moves."

Portland is one more injury away from making those "major moves".

David Aldridge has a long feature with Brian Grant on NBA.com...

Grant still has an iPhone. I know because it started chirping just as Fox, the Emmy Award-winning, immensely popular and beloved actor, was in the middle of explaining how his Michael J. Fox Foundation has raised, and distributed, $150 million since its inception in 2000 for research and for clinical trials looking for a cure for Parkinson's Disease. The neurological disorder attacks the body's central nervous system, slowly but thoroughly, causing symptomatic tremors in the hands, arms and legs, rigidity throughout the body and impairing the quality of speech. It is a disorder that has no known cure, impacting the famous -- Muhammad Ali, former Attorney General Janet Reno and boxing trainer Freddie Roach all have some version of it -- and the anonymous.

Grant, who played 12 rugged NBA seasons for the Kings, Blazers, Heat, Lakers and Suns, who threw his 250 pounds into nightly battle with power forwards often taller and usually thicker than he, has all that to look forward to. For now, only his hands shake, because he is a relative newcomer to this nightmare, having been diagnosed with "early onset" Parkinson's last January. At 37, it has thrown his life into a tailspin from which he is only now starting to recover.

Coup from Rip City Project on consistency...

Consistency has arguably been the biggest issue for the Blazers, not just game-to-game but quarter-to-quarter. They are top four in the league in average scoring margin in the first and third quarters. In the second, 12th. In the fourth, 22nd. Golden State was a good example of this, with the Blazers putting up 37 first-quarter points on the defenseless Warriors, then following up with 15 in the next period. Reasons for these numbers could be the general lack of Oden in the second quarter this year and the Blazers many blowouts, resulting in 4th-quarter garbage time, making the second quarter the most concerning. It's not like the Blazers are playing bad defense in that quarter, allowing a third-best 22 points per game in the second, they just aren't scoring, putting up a third-worst 23 points. This may be due to inconsistent play from Rudy and Martell, but they both were better this weekend.

Runyon from Trail Post on the 3 guard lineup...

So, it's finally dead. Thank goodness. The three guard lineup, the greatest fluke of the season, died an unceremonious death Friday night in Oakland, as the 7-man Warriors absolutely destroyed the Blazers by 14 points. Before we take a look at the game, let's just reminisce over the good times we had with Blake and Miller in the lineup simultaneously. Took a second? Are we ready to move on? We beat a few teams by strictly surprise with the lineup, and by the end, it was expected, and we got hit accordingly. Before the season, I asked Brandon Roy if he'll be swinging down to the small forward position as much since he lost that weight. He responded, "I hope not - those guys are big." Well, his hopes weren't answered so far this season. When you have a chance to move your max deal two time All-Star around the lineup to accommodate Steve Blake, you gotta do it. It's like the Superfriends replacing Superman with the Wonder Twins. Just a bit of a talent gap.

Torrid Joe from Loaded Orygun on the lineup...

What I didn't really address, and what I typically tend to downplay in my reasoning because it's hard to judge if you're not an insider, is how chemistry is affecting the team. It was getting results, but it wasn't working, and a lot of guys knew it. Regardless of the success, ultimately the lineup was doomed to short term success at best--and maybe that's all McMillan figured he'd get out of it too.

Blazers.com is rolling out some fresh new content, including valuable insights from Blazer Dancer Melissa...

I was so excited for another win I kicked too high:) It happens!

Pass the prescription meds to Kellex over at Blaze of Love...

In just 15 games, we've already been through such extreme highs and lows that Lindsay Lohan just called to say, "Hi."

A basic season breakdown would look something like this: multiple injuries, Dre Miller drama to Dre Miller laughter, the 3-guard lineup successes to 3-guard lineup embarrassments, Brandon Roy happiness to confusion, back to happiness and at least an extra case of wine on our end. I'm just not sure how much more of this I can take.

Some Quick Hitters

In case you missed it this weekend, the single must-read article of the week: Mike Rogoway of The Oregonianlooks at the post-Paul Allen Portland Trail Blazers.
Bustabucket.com put together the periodic table of Blazers. Much like the real periodic table, it's complicated.
Max Mandel, Blazers.com intern, has a blog now.
Ryan over at BasketballGeek.com is developing some pretty insane statistical scouting reports.
Great example of why some people hate Twitter.
Darren Rovell: Brandon Jennings: marketing star.
David Thorpe rates Marc Gasol, Roy Hibbert and Jason Thompson in front of Greg Oden in his Best Sophomores column.
Kevin Durant started a blog.

Power Rankings...

John Hollinger: Blazers are 4th
Marc Stein: Blazers are 9th
John Schuhmann: Blazers are 9th

Drop anything I missed in the comments. And, please, frequent the fanshots.

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

Game 16 Preview: Bulls vs. Blazers

2009-11-23T07:49:18Z

Game Time: 7:00 p.m. Pacific TV: Comcast and NBATV

The Bulls come into town with a 6-6 record. Don't let the .500 record fool you. They've played well given the caliber of opponent they've faced so far season. The high point came on November 5^th when they beat the Cavaliers in Cleveland in a defensive knuckle-buster that saw LeBron James thwarted by Chicago's forwards as he tried to steal the game with the final possession. They also have a win over San Antonio under their belts plus the usual Eastern taking care of business victories. They haven't really had a low moment per se. 4 of their 6 losses have come against powerhouse teams (Denver, L.A., Boston) and the other two were Philly and Toronto. When they lose they do tend to lose big, but that's somewhat expected against those opponents.

One of the good storylines coming out of the Windy City is the coming of age of Joakim Noah. In his first two years in the league he looked far more likely to replace local icon Oprah Winfrey than Horace Grant or Dennis Rodman. But he put on muscle over the summer and he's now become a rebounding terror, averaging 12.3 per game, over 4 offensive, for the year. He's starting to post a double-double every night. The Bulls have scoring and skills at multiple positions but they lacked a brusier. Noah is making his bid and doing a convincing job of it. For that reason alone the Blazers won't be facing last year's Bulls tonight.

On the other hand draft wonder Derrick Rose has gotten off to a slow start, at least partially because of ankle trouble. He's down a few minutes per game and his stats are reflecting that. He still causes trouble but it hasn't been enough to put Chicago over the top in most games. In fact they've lost every game that he's led the team in scoring, including the last two in a row. He doesn't look entirely comfortable with his own game, let alone his position relative to his teammates yet. But it's a sure bet that another 20-point game or two will put him back in the saddle.

The instability at the point guard position has had ripple effects at the other scoring positions. Small forward Luol Deng and forward/guard John Salmons haven't had bad seasons as much as inconsistent ones. Granted neither is a stranger to fluctuation but both are ending up on the lower side of average overall and each has experienced horrific nights. Center Brad Miller has also been up and down and his downs, mostly drastic, have coincided with facing athletic opposing centers. Guard Kirk Hinrich is suffering more shooting woes than normal and has seen the bottom fall out of his game recently.

In short, like Gumpian Chocolate you never know what you're going to get from Chicago players individually. They've got enough talent to beat the teams they should but they haven't yet pulled that talent together enough to beat the teams they want to.

The Bulls are a low-scoring team but that's not necessarily by design. Their offensive-game is mid-range perimeter-oriented. They're not good at shooting the three and they're not good at scoring in the paint. They want to break you down, take their jumper, and try to rebound misses for put-backs. It's not necessarily a recipe for success but it does fit with most of their talent. They'd probably like to run more but they need the right personnel in the game to do it and those folks aren't their best players. Right now they're forced to hang their hat on their defense, planning on scoring just enough to make up the difference. They need more frontcourt athleticism and they need somebody else to step up on the wing. They might or might not have those players under development but it's a pretty sure bet they don't have them ready to go now.

In the end the Bulls qualify as an "almost" team. They've got almost enough scoring talent, almost enough rebounding, almost enough defense, almost enough cohesiveness, but they're not quite there in any of those categories. Some nights it all comes together and "almost" becomes reality. Some nights it remains "almost". We'll see what happens tonight.

Pivotal Points to the Game

1. Greg Oden. Whether they put Miller or Noah on him he needs to score from the post, draw fouls, and generally make them miserable. I don't think he'll need to worry about guarding Miller on the perimeter on the other end as that seems like a job for LaMarcus while Greg takes Noah. So he should be able to camp out in that lane nice and cozy all night. Take advantage.

2. Derrick Rose might cause harm (especially against us) but he's still not in position to win games by himself yet. You really have to watch out for easy buckets from Deng and Salmons though. They're both a handful when they get rolling and they usually get rolling by taking it to the rim. Keep them shooting jumpers and you're OK. Let them run out or penetrate and their points along with Rose's will spell trouble.

3. The Bulls don't shoot threes often and they don't shoot them well. However you handle rotations tonight, however you handle pick and roll plays, however you play your man individually, remember to make them prove it from the outside before you commit to covering that shot and cede the lane. You really can keep these guys from scoring easily by sagging off of them and playing for the drive most nights.

4. Rebound. Watch out for Noah and Taj Gibson. Keep them off of the glass and the rest of your rebounders should beat the rest of theirs.

5. Their perimeter defenders do get around so you're going to be covered on most of your jumpers (unless they employ the same strategy as in #3 above). Realize this. Also realize that their interior defense is less than intimidating and that if you get a step on them off the dribble the world is your oyster. They're a good defensive team but they're not an airtight defensive team. Make sure you probe them and don't make them look better than they are.

Final Thoughts and Links

This game isn't the test for the Blazers but it's a test. This isn't a game Portland should lose at home. I doubt they'll destroy the Bulls as they did last year but they should be able to handle them.

Check out the always-entertaining BlogaBull.

Enter tonight's Jersey Contest form here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Media Row Report: Blazers 106 Timberwolves 78

2009-11-22T07:58:08Z

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden, right, "squats the john" -- hip new dunk slang! -- as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Al Jefferson watches in disgust during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. Oden scored 16 points and had three blocked shots as Portland beat the Timberwolves 106-78. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

Browse more photos »

Single file. I said: SINGLE FILE! Yes, this is the line to take credit for the adjustments that led to the Blazers victory -- but please, stop pushing and shoving!!! -- Order. Please, order!!

So you thought the Blazers should ditch the three guard lineup? Good, step right on up here.

You thought Blazers bigs should be allowed three fouls in the first half, like every other team in the league? Yep, get in line.

You wanted to see more young energy -- Jerryd Bayless and/or Dante Cunningham -- provide a spark in the second unit? Congratulations, you're in the right place.

Oh God. Oh... God. You're part of the mass of 100,000 people who thought it was important to return Brandon Roy to his rightful position as two guard? Ok, all of you, you're in. Careful, please, careful.

All together now: pat yourself on the back. Don't sprain anything. Ma$e, what are you doing here? Oh, you'd like to break out an impromptu rendition of "Feel So Good?" Fine. Very well.

Good show, everyone, good show. Take a bow. You deserve it.

It's not everyday and every city where you see the fanbase so accurately predict a team's necessary adjustments after a loss and have them play out almost exactly as planned the very next day. This is cause for celebration.

Seriously, though, it's always nice to know that the coaching staff and the fanbase are seeing the same things and it's doubly nice to see the coaching staff exhibit flexibility and sound judgement in pulling the trigger. Some of these issues might have seemed like easy decisions but they are more complicated than you might expect given that they do involve real people, real dollars (millions of them) and real egos (very, very real egos). The important takeaway from tonight's game: adjustments were made, normalcy was re-established and life goes on in a much happier direction.

Tonight, Nate McMillan returned to his original starting lineup -- Blake, Roy, Webster, Aldridge, Oden -- and returned both Brandon Roy and Steve Blake to their respective comfort zones. While some might hold out hope that Andre Miller will find himself in that starting point guard spot, that's a discussion for a later date. No one can argue with the results that Blake and Roy provided tonight: Blake was 4 of 6 from distance with 9 assists, Roy with 18 points and 5 assists, the players combined for just two turnovers. The icing on the cake was one of Martell Webster's best games as a pro, his first career double-double (21 points, 13 rebounds), highlighted by a solid 4 of 7 from distance, 3s that helped turn the game from comfortable win to blowout city.

It remains to be seen how Andre Miller will respond to his return to the bench. He managed just 4 points and 4 assists in 20 minutes and gave a laconic post-game interview before exiting the locker room quickly. He said all the right things but didn't look particularly thrilled. Then again, I'm not sure thrilled is part of his vocabulary when it comes to post-game interviews.

Brandon Roy, on the other hand, looked as happy as he did the day he signed his max extension, practically gushing over the return to the original starting lineup. "Of course I like it, I'm back to my natural position," Roy said. He later added, "I wish we would have stuck to it a little longer" earlier this year. Sounds to me like those statements we heard this week about Roy not grasping his role found the right set of ears.

Certainly, it's hard to put any stock into a win over the Timberwolves, a team that fields no more than three quality players, a team that the Blazers out-shot, out-rebounded, out-assisted, out-blocked and out-housed (they took them behind the woodshed). Nevertheless, a resounding win is what we all expected to see, what the team, frankly, needed to deliver. And they did. Mission accomplished, for tonight.

Random Game Notes

Martell Webster went down hard during the last minute of the game -- a ridiculous scene, really, as he tried to pad his stats with the game well out of hand -- and was having difficulty moving around on the game's final possession. After the game, he asked a member of the Blazers medical staff to join him in a back area of the locker room and seemed to indicate he was in some pain. The team is not scheduled to practice tomorrow and will only go through a light shootaround Monday before Monday night's game against the Bulls. Hopefully it's nothing serious.
So Bill Laimbeer and Nathan Jawai walk into a bar and... yeah, it's a ridiculous mental image worthy of a punchline. During pregame warmups, the former Bad Boy was putting the pleasant Jawai through his paces, with a focus on footwork, exploding to the basket and some peppy motivational mumbo-jumbo. When Jawai took the ball directly at Greg Oden for his only field goal of the game, the Wolves bench exploded, although Laimbeer just sat smiling. Baby steps, I suppose.
Jonny Flynn might not have been efficient or all that effective but there is a very short list of players in the league who are more fearless. All these minutes with the ball in his hands reading defenses will surely pay dividends later in his career. He is Wade-esque in his ability to hurdle/vault himself at the rim regardless of the bodies around or in front of him. Blazers Scouting Director Mike Born spoke with Flynn for quite awhile prior to the game. Dare to dream.
For the record... when Nate McMillan switched to the 3 guard lineup against the San Antonio Spurs, I noted "there's a chance McMillan talks himself into this starting lineup for the next 9 games." He made it 8 games. Remarkable, in hindsight.
Juwan Howard: 0 points, 6 rebounds, 21 minutes. Is Team Dante ready to rock and roll or what?

Nate's Post-Game Comments

Martell

With that group, that first group, he's a spreader. Brandon and LaMarcus are seeing double teams when they play and you need a guy who can keep that defense honest. And if they don't he has the ability to hurt them with the three point ball. If they play single coverage our guys should be able to take advantage of that. He really helps spreading the floor.

New Lineup

Yeah, I just wanted to get back to that lineup and get Martell in the game, get us some balance. I wanted to try to get Brandon some touches. Get Andre with that second group, running that second team. I thought he did a good job tonight, running some sets with Martell. Bayless was in there for a little bit. Rudy, that group. I think it balances the rotation. Without Travis being in the lineup, we need, I really need Andre to be more of a force with that second group.

Tonight he basically was just quarterbacking. He was running the sets. Looking for Rudy and Martell. We had LaMarcus come back with that group. I want to try to keep a big with them, either Greg or LaMarcus. LaMarcus was the guy who got in foul trouble, ended up playing the fourth quarter. It wasn't bad. I think we can take advantage of Andre posting and running the team, and running some sets for those guys.

Six players in double figures

I mean it's been awhile since we've seen guys make shots. Tonight we were knocking down our shots. Open looks, shots that we've had in other games but tonight we were knocking those shots down. We're very capable of knocking those shots down and we just need to keep taking them.

Wins over bad teams

Those are games you've got to take care of. That's the schedule, you play the schedule. You try to improve every single night. A game is a game -- all of them mean the same, regardless of who you're playing or where you're playing. You try to win those games. I thought tonight we came back after losing that game last night, much better job taking care of the ball, only 10 turnovers tonight.

Stick with this starting lineup going forward?

Yeah, this is where the lineup that we'll go with.

Andre's reaction to not starting?

He was fine with it. I want him, I need him to be aggressive with that group. It's not a demotion or anything like that. I think with that group we can allow him to be aggressive, post up, run the team. We had pretty much all of our weapons in that first group -- now Martell, you're not running plays for him, he's just spreading and playing off of guys, which I think is good for him. This is the way we started. You change that lineup sometimes to get some aggressiveness, to light a fire with a guy and tonight Martell had his eye.

Martell's defense and rebounding

It's very important and he's capable of defending and rebounding. He's a good rebounder and those are things he needs to do at that small forward position.

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

Game 15 Recap: Blazers 106, Timberwolves 78

2009-11-22T06:53:42Z

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Eeet is not fair ve have to play these guys so much! There are many other teams in this league!

Browse more photos »

Ahhhh...what a difference a night makes. The team that was headed straight into the depths of oblivion 24 hours ago is now showing a bright spot or two. 9-5 was completely unacceptable. 10-5? Why that's pretty good.

The game started off well enough. Portland forced the issue inside defensively as usual. Minnesota only hit one shot within 10 feet of the hoop all quarter. The Blazers, meanwhile, were hitting their mid-range jumpers and later expanded that range to the three-point arc. They tried to enter the ball to the post but Minnesota, having watched the game in Oakland, was having none of that. Portland either turned it over or got no good shot when passing to the interior. But as we said, the jumpers were falling well enough so it was no problem. 23-14 after the first.

LaMarcus Aldridge started the second period with the reserves but picked up his second foul 12 seconds in. That took him out and brought Juwan Howard in. As you might expect, the Howard-Przybilla combo created some offensive problems for the Blazers. Oddly enough, though, it caused Minnesota to stop guarding the lane like the crown jewels were hidden therein. They switched tactics, choosing another Warrior favorite: trapping any legitimate scorer who touched the ball. (There were about two in at the time.) The Blazers countered by sending in another scorer in the person of LaMarcus Aldridge, but he picked up his third foul 30 seconds after re-entering the game. There came Howard again. The downside to all of this was that the offense stalled and it took a barrage from Greg Oden in the second half of the period to even get the tally to 17 for the quarter. The upside was that Minnesota never regained their turf inside. They did regain 6 points in the period though and Portland went into the locker room up only 3.

It got even more nerve wracking as the third period commenced. Portland came out with energy, getting the ball to Oden and then scoring on a Roy drive. But Minnesota responded by packing and trapping again. When that happens the Blazers have one direct counter: hit the open shot from outside. Pressured time and again Portland got it out to the perimeter. And guess what happened. No, go ahead. Guess! If you said Steve Blake missed a ton of threes you'd be wrong. If you said Rudy Fernandez worked some step-back Spanish wizardry you'd also be wrong. Instead Martell Webster got a burr under his behind and started shooting and hitting threes like nobody's business. He hit three straight. Minnesota then had to play honest defense. Here came Roy and Oden again...PA POW! Ooops! Better stop that! Get the ball to Blake and Fernandez for threes. Ooops! Better stop that! You already know Minnesota isn't fleet of foot on defense. As it turned out forced to choose between two evils they couldn't stop either. Portland gains 10 in the quarter and heads into the fourth up 13.

Having learned a lesson from the last couple of games (and honestly, probably because the offense was easy at that point) the Blazers continued to pour it on in the fourth. It was much the same as the third. Any shot, any pass...it was all good. Meanwhile Przybilla and friends shut down the interior, forcing the ‘Wolves to shoot over the top. They weren't very good. The only place they got points was the free throw line. Minnesota scores 15 in the period, Portland 30. Ballgame.

Portland shot 50% from the field, 42% from three, and drew 10 more foul shots than the ‘Wolves (though they missed those extra 10 in an uncharacteristic display of wooziness from the stripe). They killed the ‘Wolves on the boards, dished 28 assists to Minny's 11, didn't turn the ball over, and allowed only 4 fast break points for the game. It was pretty much total destruction, as indeed it should have been. But it's nice to see what happens when things click at both ends at once. Now we have to take it from practice to an actual game.

Click through for individual observations and IMPORTANT NEWS about the JERSEY CONTEST.

Individual Observations

Brandon Roy appeared to be battling the refs as much as the ‘Wolves but despite the perceived lack of foul calls he still scored 18 on 8-15 shooting. He passed up a lot of extra points going 1-4 from the arc and 1-5 from the line. He did make a concerted effort to penetrate though, committed only 1 turnover, and got 5 assists. It wasn't classic Roy but it was decent Roy.

LaMarcus Aldridge had an ouchy game with those 4 fouls in 22 minutes. It was like he was channeling Greg Oden v1.0. He had 10 points off of 5 shots. People are complaining about him being soft and not getting inside but there are other things going on when LaMarcus gets the ball. Watch when he gets in that side post position. Greg Oden cuts down and brings his man through usually followed by a guard. This clogs up the middle something fierce, making it all but impossible for LaMarcus to get down there unless he waits 10 seconds for everyone to clear. On the possessions when everybody just backs off and lets him work he actually does a decent job of getting into the lane and scoring. As I've said, my vote is for LaMarcus to be the continuity guy between the first and second units even more than Roy is. In every second-unit situation, and probably in more of the first-unit ones as well, they should let LaMarcus operate. He's not a natural passer. Oden actually sees the floor and gets clearance to pass better. Let LMA be the scorer he is and everybody will be happier.

Martell Webster, back in the starting lineup, scored a game-high 21 off of 4-7 three-point shooting. He also grabbed 13 rebounds, and that's not a misprint. The Blazer broadcasters announced that this was his first career double-double. I think he wanted to show he belonged out there. He opened up the offense for everybody by hitting those shots. The table is set for him if he'll just sit down and eat.

Greg Oden both set up the three-point shooters and benefitted from them by scoring copiously (for him, anyway) inside. When it works this offense is about synergy and he's the hub of one end of it. The guy shot 7-9, including hitting a jump hook finally, made both free throws, and ended up with 16. He had 3 blocks and kept folks out of the middle for the most part. I'm actually impressed with the growth he's made knowing when to go for a block and knowing when to just let a driver score. There are some times when he just seems to tell the guards, "You let that guy go. I'm not getting benched trying to clean up your mess." That's a positive step. He still intimidates enough inside that he's more than earning his keep.

Joel Przybilla picked up where Oden left off tonight, grabbing 11 rebounds (6 offensive), blocking 2 shots, and hitting 5 of 10 shots for 14 points. That's not a misprint either. Joel really benefitted from the spread defense, feasting on offense boards and less-than-attentive defenders. Say what you want about his offense, he knows what to do with it when he's near the rim. I swear Minnesota is going to make a run at him when his contract expires. He always seems to stick it to them.

Steve Blake played 29 minutes and hit 4-6 three-pointers himself. His didn't come grouped as tightly as Martell's and thus they weren't as dramatic, but once he started stroking them he spelled doom for the ‘Wolves defenders just as much as Webster did. If Steve can do this every night he more than justifies his court time. Oh...he got 9 assists to go with his 14 points as the passing lanes were just as open as the shooters. He didn't spend a lot of time dribbling tonight, which is one sign of a good Steve game.

Andre Miller got 20 minutes off the bench. He did have 4 assists but that second-unit offense as such still looked pretty brutal. It's hard to run an offense when you don't really have offenders by your side. What's he going to do? "Here, Rudy! Heads up, Rudy! Comin' your way again Rudy!" I'm thinking that as long as these injuries persist the Blazers don't really have distinct first and second units. They play their best five players and everyone else shuffles in and out depending on the situation. Miller is part of that shuffling. But they haven't got the shuffle down yet and that means Miller is up in the air.

Rudy Fernandez had the best 1-9 game I've ever seen him have. Him making his threes would have been too much for the poor ‘Wolves anyway. But he was all over the court (in a good way) with 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. It seems odd to say on a night where a guy shoots 11% but Rudy has been passing up shots he should take lately. If he'd go ahead and finish a couple drives and pull up for the easy mid-range shot he'd have a better overall percentage. He's being unselfish but he's also limiting himself to the most difficult shots. I don't think that's the idea of the offense.

Juwan Howard played 21 minutes and got 6 rebounds, 4 offensive. Except for those offensive boards I didn't notice him much on the court. That may be a failing, as there's some esoteric thing I'm not picking up on. On the other hand, that may be Juwan.

Dante Cunningham got 9 minutes, made 2-3 shots, scored 4 points, and made Mike Rice utter the same words that Larry Steele once uttered about Jerome Kersey in his infancy: "This guy is going to be a player."

Jerryd Bayless played 8 minutes, dished an assist, had a turnover, and got lost in the second-unit mire. He's completely misaligned as the weak-side guy standing in the corner. Nothing good is going to happen for him there.

Final Thoughts and Links

Boxscore

Check out what it feels like to spin "bell-lemon-kumquat" on a slot machine over at CanisHoopus.

The Jersey Contest scoreboard is screwed up because somebody inverted the Minnesota and Portland scores tonight. Ignore it for now. I'll not even link to it. It'll be fixed soon. However you can enter Monday's game here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Smith: Nate McMillan, The Morning After

2009-11-21T20:50:57Z

Smith: Nate McMillan, The Morning After

Brian T. Smith has a transcript of Nate McMillan's thoughts from this morning's shootaround.

Nothing super surprising but there is acknowledgement of issues to address and discussion of communication between coaching staff and players, which is good to hear.

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

Rogoway: A Look at the Future of the Blazers

2009-11-21T19:24:56Z

Rogoway: A Look at the Future of the Blazers

Mike Rogoway of The Oregonian does an excellent job writing about a very difficult subject to get people to talk about: the post-Paul Allen Portland Trail Blazers.

It's the must-read Blazers piece of the week. It raises possible reasons why Vulcan, Inc. might sell the Blazers should Paul Allen pass away and also looks at his sister Jody's role within Vulcan...
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For those who have dealt extensively with Allen's sister, the fact that the team is losing much less money than in the past matters less than the fact that it continues to bleed red ink.

"There is a constant sort of drumbeat from Jody and the people who work for Jody to cut the losses," said one former team executive, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject. "They're doing their job, trying to look at the portfolio as a business. I can't fault them for that."

"Paul's ownership of the franchise has always been a struggle between his emotion for the team and the sport and the business reality," the executive said.
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-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter

Game 15 Preview: Timberwolves vs. Blazers

2009-11-21T08:33:42Z

Clearly this is the low point of the Blazers' season so far. Losing to Golden State in Oakland isn't the end of the world. If it were the world would have ended multiple times before now. But losing to Golden State when they have a depleted roster, field no live bodies above 6'6", are guarding you with the same two backcourt players all game, and when you jumped of the gate with 37 in the first quarter and then barely scored half of that in any quarter thereafter...that's bad. Choking up 23 turnovers for 32 points and allowing the Warriors 36 fast break points when that's exactly what they depend on to get past you, that's worse. Seriously, you might as well take a bath in Spam and then run through the Doberman Reform School.

The main message for tonight is not to let one bad loss turn into two. You're at home and you're playing a team that's 1-11. You've already beat them twice in the last two weeks so you know how to do it. Losing this game would be worse than everything that happened last night combined. You better go in angry, refocused, and taking no prisoners.

Having seen the 'Wolves so often in the recent future (they're like the salesmen in Secondhand Lions with the Blazers playing Michael Caine and Robert Duvall) you don't need a new preview. In case you missed it the original one is here. Just don't let Al Jefferson score 30 and you'll be OK. Well, maybe you shouldn't settle for jumpers against their defense. And you'd better not turn the ball over like you did last night. And by the way, it would be easier for Greg Oden to do his thing inside if somebody could hit a three-point shot. I know Rudy has been but the two of them aren't always in the game together. Steve? This is about half of your job description. It wouldn't hurt for Brandon to sink a couple too. I don't even know where Martell is.

Despite all of that, just about the only thing that can lose you this game is a craptacular effort. We better not see that tonight. That's it.

Enter the Jersey Contest form for this game here. See the results so far, including those from last night's game, on the scoreboard.

Be nice to our friends at CanisHoopus.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Game 14 Recap: Blazers 94, Warriors 108

2009-11-21T07:23:42Z

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

The Portland Trail Blazers' Greg Oden (52) is a mirage during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, in Oakland, Calif. His teammates reported him missing at halftime; his Coach hadn't noticed. He is currently on the side of a milk carton. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Browse more photos »

The most frustrating losses are the ones that are the most predictable. Tonight's 108-94 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Oakland certainly qualifies as predictable.

Every possible goal that would have been included in a game plan was not achieved. A brief list: limit turnovers, limit fast break points, pound the ball inside, exploit the Warriors' lack of depth, keep track of Golden State's shooters, play hard on the road, keep a level head during disagreements with the referees, remain open to the idea of strategic flexibility while playing against perhaps the most unconventional team in the NBA.

Of that list, the last one was perhaps the most difficult to watch, as Nate McMillan clung inflexibly to his "2 fouls and you're done for the half" rule, benching both Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge for the entire second quarter. The players combined to finish with just 6 fouls for the entire game, and their significant size and skill advantages were forfeited not only during the time they were on the bench but also during much of the third quarter, when both players struggled to get themselves back in a rhythm after such a long rest.

As things fell apart on cue -- the Warriors outscored the Blazers by 12 in the second quarter, by 4 in the third quarter -- McMillan stood by clapping his hands, hoping to exhort effort from the rest of his players who seemed quite content not to respond. On Wednesday night, Brandon Roy admitted to me he didn't know his role on this team. Tonight he played like it. And the rest of his Blazers teammates, except Rudy Fernandez, followed his lead. When all was said and done, the Blazers laid a big, nasty, egg on the road, playing without heart, composure, effort, pride or much thought.

Timeouts were spent ignoring their coach's instructions, offensive possessions were wasted with terrible decision-making, defensive possessions were spent halfheartedly rebounding and griping at the officials, and crunch time was spent with the starters on the bench and the game out of reach, an ultimate embarrassment against a Warriors team that gave minutes to a same-day call-up from the D-League signed just to meet the league's healthy body minimum and who allowed the Blazers to jump out with a season-high 37 points in the first quarter.

If Wednesday night's win over Detroit was a lesson in playing a full 48 minutes, then tonight's loss was a lesson in showing up for more than 12. Nothing more needs to be written.

Individual Observations

After reading back through these, they might be a little bit harsh. Just pretend I'm one of the assistant coaches chewing the guys out. Maybe drink half a fifth of Jack and then read them aloud while shouting at your monitor and throwing pillows. Liven things up a little bit. Things will return to normal tomorrow but, tonight, a reality check isn't the worst thing in the world.

Rudy Fernandez was the lone bright spot, the only Blazer that fulfilled his role and played with determination throughout his time on the court. 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 4 turnovers in roughly 38 minutes. He was slightly trigger happy, especially from distance, but his shot was falling and the Blazers needed that aggressiveness.

Brandon Roy struggled from the field (just 6 of 17 overall, 1 for 5 from distance), had more turnovers than assists and got lit up by Monta Ellis when the two players matched up. He spent more time arguing calls than rebounding, couldn't get easy buckets when his team faltered down the stretch, didn't help exploit interior mismatches after the first quarter and carried himself during the second half like he didn't expect his team to mount a comeback. Not an $80 million dollar performance for The Natural.

LaMarcus Aldridge should replay tonight's game tape in his mind's eye any time he starts dreaming about this year's All Star game in Dallas. A refined, established offensive player with go-to moves, he should be the biggest beneficiary of the mismatches presented by Don Nelson's uber-small lineup. Instead, he forced shots in traffic, committed dumb early fouls that limited his minutes, was a non-factor on the boards, watched plays develop around him as he wandered the perimeter and was neutralized by Corey Maggette. The fact that his coach doesn't trust him to play with two fouls -- and he seems OK with that -- are not good signs.

Steve Blake is still missing shots as I type this. 2-9 from the field; 0-4 from three point line. More difficult-to-watch defense against small, quick guards. Now more than ever the Blazers need offense from Blake.

Andre Miller looked like a player who didn't particularly care whether his team won or lost. He played grumpy. Like something was bothering him -- the refs, his ankle, the starting lineup, his role, who knows, whatever -- and he couldn't get his mind right long enough to concentrate on properly setting up his big men. 2 assists against 7 turnovers in a game against a team that cares as little about defense as the Warriors is unacceptable from a starting point guard on a playoff team. The coaches should be in his ear. And, unlike during timeouts tonight, he should be listening.

Greg Oden played a fine first quarter and then disappeared for the middle two quarters, making a brief re-appearance in the final period. 16 points, 6 rebounds in 24 minutes. Too little, too early. His shooting was efficient (6-8) because he's pretty solid at making dunks and he was attacking the basket when given the ball in good position, which was not nearly enough. Whatever lesson McMillan is trying to impart by sitting him for extended stretches is not getting through.

Joel Przybilla had one phenomenal defensive possession (back-to-back blocks before the Warriors finally cashed in on their 4th shot attempt of the possession) and hit the boards (9 rebounds in 20 minutes) but remains a shade of the all-around center that we saw last year. He didn't hit a field goal, didn't look for the ball against smaller competition and essentially tried to stay out of the way on offense. Like Blake, he needs to provide something on offense if he's going to play 20 minutes with Travis Outlaw injured.

Martell Webster is playing so poorly it's a wonder Nate McMillan can find 14 minutes for him. Don't be deceived by his +7, that came from garbage time buckets by his teammates that helped make the score look a little bit more respectable. No defense, no court sense, a missed corner three that the team expects -- needs -- him to knock down. His performance is likely as frustrating for him to live through as it is to watch. Whatever the exact opposite of "seizing the opportunity" is, Martell Webster is doing that. Maybe we can call it "Letting opportunity run out into the middle of a highway and get run over by an 18 wheel truck." Yeah, that has a ring to it.

Juwan Howard scored 0 points, had 5 rebounds and was -11 in 12 minutes of play. I'm not sure how much longer the Juwan Howard era can continue before his play becomes a Nate McMillan problem and not a Juwan Howard problem. There are few situations where Howard's number gets called and your first reaction isn't "Oh dear, here we go." Just play Cunningham. Let's see him play worse than Howard before Howard gets extended minutes again.

Jerryd Bayless brought some energy and it was jaw-dropping how long Nate McMillan waited to give him a chance, given how lackadaisical and out-of-sync the rest of the guards were playing. 6 points, 1 assist in 9 minutes. Adequate effort defensively. Nothing game-changing on offense but he played within the team framework alright. Deserved a shot to inject some life during the first half.

Dante Cunningham got 3 minutes of play in garbage time with his team losing by 20. That's not how it's supposed to go down.

Final Thoughts and Links

Boxscore

The Blazers fall to 9-5 but will enjoy the ultimate panacea tomorrow: a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Let's hope the plane ride home features some soul-searching, some player-to-player accoutability.

Before you clock out for the night, be sure to celebrate unconventionality in every form over at Golden State of Mind. A Grade-A website, period.

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

Around the League #1

2009-11-20T08:05:37Z

Welcome to a new, hopefully semi-regular end-of-week feature we're trying called "Around the League". Things being what they are, I get so caught up in talking Blazers that I seldom have a chance to address things that go on beyond our confines. In these posts we'll do exactly that, plus mop up some Blazer topics that we didn't have time to treat in earlier conversation. My intention is not to play the expert here as much to share opinions which could lead to interesting discussion. So away we go!

Get Well Paul Allen

The most important real-life news out of the league this week came from our own franchise, as Blazers owner Paul Allen was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. There's nothing revolutionary we can say about this other than facing any kind of cancer makes for a tough fight but we know Paul Allen is a tough fighter. However I'd like to add my personal well-wishes, however humble they may be compared to what is needed.

Things like this transcend our normal relationships. We know you because you're the owner of the Blazers, Mr. Allen. We appreciate you because of what you've done for (and with) the team over the last two decades. But even though a life is measured by one's accomplishments it cannot be wholly defined by them. It's time to show support for Paul Allen the human being...not the billionaire, the final decision-maker, but the person. No matter what happens with the team, the season, or anything basketball-related we support you, Mr. Allen. We are with you, sending our hopes and prayers in your direction, and if ever you doubt that you need but ask. I'm pretty sure thousands of pick-me-ups are at your fingertips anytime, day or night. Thank you for being who you are. Strength and peace be with you in this struggle.

Thoughts and prayers also go out to others in our Blazersedge and greater Blazers community who are also fighting this fight.

Click through for a bunch more topics.

Whither Allen Iverson?

Everybody outside of Tennessee knew that signing Allen Iverson to the Grizzlies ranked right up there with clamping your tongue to live jumper cables on the Good Idea Scale. Few anticipated his tenure in Memphis would be this short. He's just cleared waivers and is available to anyone who wants him. Should anyone bite?

I don't believe Iverson is a wholly toxic player, even now. He has some game left and could be an asset in the right situation. You just have to realize that he's going to be super-mega-nuclear toxic if both of these situations are true:

1. You don't plan to play him 38 minutes per game. And...

2. You're not going to win 50+ games.

Memphis acquiring him was three-O's stooopid because they're developing young scorers and ball-handlers already and they were going to be on the low end of mediocre no matter what Iverson did for them. The amount of ball-handling time he requires when unchecked would have killed them. The amount of losing they were going to do didn't give them any leverage to say him nay. However this does not apply to every team equally.

If you're a lousy team that just wants to run the AI Show, complete with caustic interviews and 32 shots per game from him, by all means go ahead. You might at least sell some tickets. You'll certainly generate some national media attention. But that avenue is pretty much a waste of everyone's time. The more intriguing possibility would be a team with a strong identity, perhaps a firmly-ensconced superstar already, who could legitimately tell Iverson to play along or take a hike. The team would also have to be on a straight road to the deep playoffs even without Iverson. Obviously it would also require 30-ish minutes to play him. He's not going to play along entirely, of course, but if his runaway self-absorption could be kept even halfway in check he could give you something. He might be willing to pick up an oar for a year in order to get back to the Finals and have his name associated with winning again.

Keep in mind that at this point he's a relatively cheap experiment as well. You can probably have him for the minimum required. At that rate there's no reason to rue cutting him if things don't work out. I'll be interested to see if anybody, even one decent team, takes a chance. The hot rumor is the Knicks but were I them I really wouldn't bother. It's a total Isiah move. The only way it could be more so is if they immediately offered him a multi-year, eight-figure deal. They don't have the infrastructure to withstand Hurricane Allen. We'll see what happens.

Meanwhile, Back at the Hall of Justice

Having booted The Flash out of the Superfriends for being not-so-friendly the Grizzlies took a chance on The Green Lantern, a.k.a. Jamaal Tinsley. Tinsley is more of a true point guard than Iverson was. But he's had off-court problems, injury problems, attitude problems, and last I heard wanted to be more of a scorer, except he lacks any visible capacity to score. One of the things that made him special in his prime was his defense. Defense equals effort. Effort is often hard to eke out of guys with attitude problems when they're not being featured in as prominent of a role as they'd like. So you can probably strike that off of the list even if Tinsley gets and stays in playing shape. So what did we end up with? Half of a point guard with all of the potential problems. My only conclusion is that Memphis management hates Lionel Hollins. With a passion.

Speaking of Attitude Problems

The trade of the week was the Stephen Jackson-Raja Bell swap between Golden State and Charlotte. (Plus players to be named later. Ooops! My bad. They were named already. Vladimir Radmanovic and Acie Law. Neither of those players is going to be named much later.) Color me underwhelmed by the deal. On the surface it makes sense, as the Bobcats desperately need more offense and the Warriors haven't even heard of defense. But Bell is injured and even if he weren't it's pretty hard to champion an entire defense from the shooting guard position when you're the only one playing defense at all. A center might do it. Maybe even a power forward. But Bell is going to be sticking his finger into a hole the size of Crater Lake. He's probably just going to get wet. And the fact that the Warriors were willing to part with Jackson for damaged goods should tell you something about where he is right now. The wrong-est move in all of this was signing him to a secure contract. You got some pretty good play out of him when his deal got short. Then you went and gave him four years of license to Jax you up. Smart.

LeBron Changes Numbers

I know it's old news but I never weighed in officially. This Jordan #23 thing is silly. Michael was a great player for one team. He should be honored to the moon by one team. The rest of us can remember him every time we play that one team. Michael changed the marketing and coverage of the NBA and the change in marketing and coverage led to a whole raft of new hoop dreams for a new generation. I understand that fully. But that's not why you retire jerseys even in one town, let alone in all of them simultaneously. You could make a stronger argument if he were the all-time scoring leader by a huge margin but he's third on the list. You could make a stronger argument if he was the most prolific stat guy ever but there was Wilt. You could make a stronger argument if nobody in history won nearly as many championships as he but you have vintage Celtics waving seven blinging fingers at you. Besides if you're going to count championships you better retire Pippen's number league-wide alongside Michael's. They never won without each other. The fact that LeBron is changing his number to that of Dr. J and Bill Russell only makes the fallacy more evident. They each had a pretty big impact on and off the floor. This is just like somebody saying that U2 should be forever enshrined above all bands because they were the defining group of a generation and more. That may be true but the impulse is also, by definition, generational. People from an earlier era are going to start asking about the Stones and the Beatles then. People before them will latch onto Elvis. Who was really the greatest? Each generation has its argument and its claim and that's the way it should be. There might not be another Michael, but there will be somebody else who impacts the league as strongly in a different way. Let them be compared and debated without attempting to freeze our moment in time and labeling it the greatest of all conceivable times.

AROUND THE SITE...

Part of this feature will be addressing topics that have gotten some play in the comments and sidebar. To wit:

Is ~~Marc Stein~~ DOH! Bill Simmons a Tool? (Sorry, Marc.)

Maybe, but he probably doesn't care. In the old days of professional wrestling people cheered the good guys and booed the bad. This is how each made their money. Then people smartened up to how the game worked. Nowadays a great bad guy is as likely to get cheered as booed, simply because people appreciate how good he is at being bad. We probably need to smarten up to the media circus as well. Anybody who gets you riled up is making bank off of just that. If Simmons is good at cheesing off Portland fans it's because he relishes it. If you like that kind of thing then by all means get cheesed and have fun with it. If you're really angry and want to take action, ignoring it is the best thing you can do. Cheers are good. Boos are good. Silence is crushing.

Would Gerald Wallace Make a Good Blazer?

Yes and no. He's definitely that kind of crazed, charging bull that this team lacks. He's also the kind of crazed, charging bull that will want to start at small forward. In the short term that's not a problem, but Nicolas Batum might be just as valuable in the long run. Plus he'd be expensive to get. On the other hand you wouldn't have to worry about rebounding anymore. On the other hand he might have to moderate his game with age and as soon as he starts shooting jumpers instead of driving the lane he's much less of a player. If the Blazers did get him I think they'd need to concentrate on two things at the point guard position: distance shooting and the ability to run. You'd depend heavily on the frontcourt to beat everyone up and reserve the backcourt for running and shooting. Everything else would take second-fiddle. I don't think that point guard is on this team right now. I think Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless specifically don't fit that mold. So you'd need to plan another move sooner or later. Given all of that, it's not likely to happen.

Any Chance the Blazers are Ready This Year?

This question was posed by jksnake in our live chat but he posed it at quarter-after-midnight when I was on my way out the door. Specifically he wanted to know what I perceived the difference to be between this year and next, since I've opined that the window is still shut this season but it starts opening thereafter. Is it just an experience difference?

Experience is part of it...not just experience in the league but experience playing together. We haven't even got a regular lineup right now. Even without injuries we'd still be juggling that. Players are starting to trust each other and are learning to work together but it's still a work in progress. Frankly when they get under stress things tend to break down still instead of the team stepping up. One or two guys might bail us out of trouble but five together can't. The playoffs bring a ton of stress. It's more intense, sustained, and targeted directly at your weak points. The team should be far more settled by the time they reach the post-season but in reality you have to learn your lessons all over again once you get there. Teams that are learning might win a series or even two but they won't win four. Next year we should enter the year knowing what we've got. We may see a couple roster changes but they should be specific and hopefully only in one critical area instead of the three or four we're juggling now. Next year we'll also have more playoff experience and a better idea of what going deep is like (knock on wood).

The other critical factor is Greg Oden. You can already see what a monstrous difference he makes for this team. But in basketball terms he's just taking his first steps right now. He'll need to make more of a difference more consistently for the Blazers to march to a title. It's too early to pin that much on him. He's still getting in regular foul trouble, feeling his way around the offense, rushing shots, turning the ball over, and a ton of other little things that he'll need to work on throughout the year. He'll be good come playoff time but he won't be great enough to make the difference we need. Next season the expectations get higher for him.

Finally, as I always say when these things come up, you can tell we're not there by how we have to envision making it. "We match up better than most against the L*kers. We should be able to take San Antonio this year. If we can get by or avoid the Nuggets we should have a chance." You can switch around the names in those various sentences however you wish. The fact remains that if you have to say those things you aren't the dominant team. You don't want to be the team that plays the L*kers well. You want to be the L*kers. This kind of talk screams Minnesota '03-'04, not L.A. ‘08-'09. Name me a team that's won it all recently that came into the season thinking they might have a chance instead of coming into the season knowing they were going to win. The L*kers knew. The Celtics knew. The Spurs always knew. Shaq and Wade's Heat, the Pistons, Shaq and Kobe's L*kers, both sets of Michael's Bulls...they all knew too. This is NOT to say that there's one, predestined team each year. It's perfectly possible for multiple teams to come into the season knowing that they're going to take the title. Only one of them turns out to be right, but the others still had that confidence and attitude. (Drexler's Blazers knew in '90-'91, for instance, as did the '99-'00 ‘Sheed-led squad.) You probably have to go back to our own '89-‘90 Blazers in their first Finals before you can find a sneak-ish team. But even they had an inkling what was going to happen when they got Buck Williams. Plus their situation was much different, staffed as they were by veterans in their early, but legitimate, primes. (Porter was in his 4^th year and Duck his 3rd but Clyde was in his 6^th, Kersey his 5^th, and Williams his 8^th. Between them the starting five had 23 combined years of playoff experience. The current Blazer starters have 11 combined and 5 of those are Miller's. I'm not sure the entire squad put together has much more than 23.) The Blazers aren't even at the point where they know themselves yet, let alone knowing that they can dominate the rest of the league no matter what comes. That'll take time. It's actually pretty bold to think that it has a chance of happening next year even. But this team has always been a little ahead of the curve.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Game 14 Preview: Blazers vs. Warriors

2009-11-20T06:02:09Z

Game Time: 7:30 p.m. TV: KGW

The Warriors come into this game 3-8, tightly clutching the coveted "At Least We're Not the Worst Team in the League" award by virtue of home victories over (wait for it...) the Timberwolves, Knicks, and Grizzlies. This exactly like Vanilla Ice saying he's a better listening experience than Milli Vanilli, Vicki from the Love Boat, and driving a slotted spoon through your brain. The take-away lesson here is not to be a no-defense-playing, messy-mismatched-talent-having doormat disaster of a franchise when you go to Oakland or they're going to drop a buck fiddy on you and send the fans home happy...or at least less unhappy than usual. Any team with a fingernail's worth of claim to legitimacy in this league has handled the Warriors. And the Kings have too.

(Note: Low blow there. Sacramento is actually 5-5.)

So what do the Warriors do? What they've always done. A brief explanation, to the tune of "Jingle Bells":

Run, run, run! Score, score, score!

Run run, score score score!

Run run run run run run run

Score score score score sco…ore!

Run, run, run! Score, score, score

Run run, score score score!

Run run run…the game is done

And we just lost one more!

So why does a team averaging 109.7 ppg (2^nd best in the league), 22.1 fast-break points per game (1^st), 47.8 points in the paint (3^rd), 48.7% shooting percentage (3^rd), and 38.9% from three (5^th) lose so many games? A brief explanation, to the tune of "Silent Night":

Silent "D", Hole-y "D"

We score one, they score three

We can’t get the ball off the glass

Their rebounders are kicking our [*cough*]

Watch their score increa…ease!

Wa-atch their sc…awww, to heck with this! Run, run, run! Score, score score!

Run run, score score score…

(Note: Had the holiday season not been nearing that would have been, "Why can't we de-fend? Why can't we de-fend?")

In any case, the Warriors are scoring almost 110 per game but giving up more than 113. They're losing the rebounding battle like Sally Jessie lost to Oprah. And that's on both ends of the court. They're shooting 49% and giving up 50.5%. They're shooting 39% from distance and giving up 43%. They're making 26 trips to the line per game and giving up 28. They remind me of a guy trying to get over his financial crisis by charging everything to a credit card. No matter how wisely and well he spends the debt somehow always gets bigger. One wonders when the front office will simply file bankruptcy and attempt to start all over.

As if that weren't bad enough, Golden State is fielding fewer healthy players right now than you see in your average chess match. They just traded Stephen Jackson for Raja Bell and his pre-existing wrist problem. He's now having surgery on it. (How badly did they want rid of Jackson?) Andris Biedrins, Blazer-killer Kelenna Azubuike, Brandan Wright, C.J. Watson, Rony Turiaf, and Devean George are all out with various maladies and ailments. Who's left? Monta Ellis, Corey Magette, The Anthonys (Randolph and Morrow), Stephen Curry, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Mikki Moore. 5 out of 7 are 6'6" and under and all of them have the scoring mentality. Radmanovic is a finesse player. Mikki Moore is basically on an island out there. But that's OK. He and Vlad are suddenly getting 39 minutes per game which is like a week's worth of time for Radmanovic and a month's worth for Moore.

The one thing the Warriors do well outside of the run-score thing is turn you over. They get an enormous amount of steals and should continue to do alright even after the trades and injuries. You don't want to lose the ball to this group because they'll jump on it like a Doberman, race it down like a Greyhound, and then laugh at you like a hyena.

Also we'll reiterate what we always say when playing great offensive teams: they always have a puncher's chance. You're in the ring with a team that can knock you out even though their chin is made of glass and their guard is non-existent. Despite the tongue-in-cheek preview the Blazers do have to pay attention tonight. Give up your fundamentals, get loosey-goosy, and the Warriors will punch your ticket.

Pivotal Points to the Game

1. This is a huge contrast in tempos and styles. The Blazers aren't going to be able to stop the Warriors from running. The Warriors won't be able to stop the Blazers in the halfcourt if Portland makes any kind of effort. The in-between areas will determine the winner. The Blazers should have a massive control advantage on the boards. Aldridge and Oden should be able to offensive rebound to their hearts' content. If the Blazers bother to break down the Warriors at all with penetration every miss should have a legit chance of being scooped up by the good guys. The other side of that equation, though, is the guards and small forward getting the heck back. Assuming one guy is penetrating and two bigs are crashing the boards (or at least hanging out near the middle) that means the other two smalls better head the other way as soon as the shot leaves somebody's fingertips. Even if you're the coffin corner three guy you have got to get back and defend your goal tonight.

2. OK...let's do the math. Golden State has five guards, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Mikki Moore. The Blazers can attack with LaMarcus Aldridge, who is bigger and stronger than Radmanovic, and Greg Oden, who is bigger and stronger than the entire other team combined. Greg should be posting up about two inches from the rim tonight. Catch, spin, dunk. Catch, spin, dunk. See how easy that is? If you get stuck in the halfcourt, feed the bigs! You can do it in the post. You can do it by driving and trying to draw the big defenders for help and then flicking a pass through the lane. However you do it, do it! The stupidest, dumbest, most idiotic thing you can do is play into Golden State's hands by getting into that Happy-Fun-Jumper mode. They're going to beg you to shoot over the top. They don't care if you make it either. You're setting the table for them every time you settle for the long ball.

3. This is not to say the Blazers should never shoot a three. In fact Golden State defends the arc so poorly than threes are one of the ways Portland can keep the score up against the track stars. But the Blazers should not be shooting threes when anyone is within six feet of the shooter. There's no need for that. Drive it and then get a wide-open three later. And for goodness' sake, HIT your wide-open shots! All we need tonight is that weird, brain-sucking contagion that causes everyone to start missing shots they otherwise could hit in their sleep.

In short, just don't make this hard, OK? Play your game, pass, execute, and walk away with a "W".

Among our oldest friends on the network are the folks at GoldenStateofMind. Pay them a visit if you want. It's an experience!

You can find tonight's Jersey Contest form here (fixed). Don't forget that the form for tomorrow's game against the Timberwolves will be open as soon as this one is over.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Bill Simmons Addresses "Drexler's Pistons" at Beaverton Book Reading

2009-11-20T03:14:17Z

Bill Simmons Addresses "Drexler's Pistons" at Beaverton Book Reading

Chris Snethen, who blogs at On The Vig, tweets from the Bill Simmons book reading.
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I asked about Drexler's Pistons. [Bill Simmons] said he was thinking Isiah [Thomas] and wrote Drexler. Said it's not even the 25th best typo.
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-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter

Another Cut for Blazers Broadcasting

2009-11-19T18:59:30Z

After letting go of studio host Tony Luftman and not televising a single pre-season game, Blazers Broadcasting has tightened its belt again, grounding sideline reporter Rebecca Haarlow for all road trips during the 2009-2010 regular season.

Haarlow was absent from the Blazers' recent five game trip; many assumed it was because she was continuing her college football broadcasting work with FSN. This morning, the organization confirmed to Blazersedge.com that Blazers Broadcasting has decided to cut back to a two-person on-air broadcasting team during road games while continuing to use the full three-person team for Blazers home games.

In Haarlow's absence, play-by-play man Mike Barrett has picked up post-game interview duties following road games. Mike Rice continues in his role as color commentator.

The team next hits the road tomorrow night for a visit to the Golden State Warriors.

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

Media Row Report: Blazers 87, Pistons 81

2009-11-19T09:29:56Z

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Brandon Roy did enough to beat the Detroit Pistons Wednesday night but searched for answers after the game.

Browse more photos »

When I last spoke to Brandon Roy, prior to last week's road trip, I asked him how he wanted to play down the stretch, how he envisioned his role on this new-look Blazers team. His simple, confident, declarative answer: "playmaker." With teams getting hip to the Blazers 1-4 fourth quarter offense, Roy's thinking was straightforward: get by his defender, read the help defense, make sound decisions (pass or shoot) and lead his team.

Since that conversation, the Blazers put away weak competition on the road, Travis Outlaw went down with a serious foot injury and the team collapsed down the stretch against a playoff quality team in Atlanta. Roy logged the most minutes of any Blazer during the road trip, looked dead tired during overtime against the Hawks on Monday night, was held below 20 point per game for the trip despite the overall weak competition, and continued to adjust to guarding small forwards rather than off guards.

The wins over the past week helped obscure some of these struggles and changes. But tonight a new, less certain perspective from Roy was unmistakable.

During the Portland Trail Blazers' 87-81 home win over the Detroit Pistons, Roy provided the offensive spark that blew the game open during the third quarter and then watched as his team nearly blew a 20 point lead during the fourth quarter. Rushed back into the game to put out the fire, Roy failed to score a point, notch an assist, grab a rebound and only took one field goal attempt in nearly five minutes of fourth quarter play. The Pistons regularly ran a second defender at him to force the ball from his hands, then did a solid job of rotating defensively, necessitating extra passes. His shot-making taken away, his passing countered, Roy was as neutralized as I can remember seeing him down the stretch, a bystander as his teammates committed turnovers and struggled to break a scrambling Pistons trap.

The Pistons's wild fourth quarter comeback was surprising and confusing and, surely, frustrating for Roy who is now dealing with the dual prospects of playing without Travis Outlaw and playing out of position at small forward for the foreseeable future.

So after the game I addressed the same topic that we had spoken about prior to the trip: how does Roy envision his role on this team right now? Does he still see himself as a playmaker? "Nah," Roy admitted. "I wouldn't necessarily say playmaker," he said, pausing to think about it. "I don't know. That's a good question. How would you describe my role?"

It's generally not a good sign when your franchise player turns back to the inquiring writer for help answering this type of question. It doesn't happen often with a player as cerebral as Roy who is coached by someone as discipline-minded as Nate McMillan. Roles are generally established in late September, refined in October. It's now more than halfway through November.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "That's why I'm asking. It seems like you're thinking pass first some times. And then other times you're really looking to get your shot. It seems like it changes play to play, quarter to quarter."

"Yeah," Roy nodded. "Maybe even game to game [too]. Some nights I think opportunities are there for me to be more aggressive. Other nights I'm maybe not as aggressive as people have seen me in the past. For me, it's just trying to do whatever it takes to help this team win games."

Tonight, Roy relinquished control of the ball and the flow of the game down the stretch. It's not something we're used to watching as observers and it was somewhat terrifying and dreadful. Sure, a win is a win. But scraping by after giving up a 25-8 run to start the fourth quarter and with your team's star player and best ballhandler taken almost entirely out of the offense during crunch time isn't how you envision it going down.

Through it all -- the double teams, the injuries, the juggled lineups, the mismatches -- Roy has remained impressively flexible, impressively ego-less. Many doubted that he would last this long playing out of position in a three guard lineup without raising a fuss, either publicly or privately. But it was clear tonight that Roy is in limbo, forced by recent circumstances into repeating a cycle of reading situations and making adjustments, reading and adjusting, reading and adjusting. "A lot of things have changed," Roy stated. "I'm just trying to make sure that everyone is keeping a rhythm. Now with Greg in the lineup and Dre, I'm trying to figure it out and make sure our offense continues to flow better." Less playmaker, perhaps, and more dance instructor.

At times tonight, things flowed very well for the Blazers, who notched 22 assists on 29 field goals through the first three quarters. Roy handed out five himself and watched Andre Miller dole out a season-high 11 as well. One of Miller's dimes found Roy for a pretty break-out dunk, a sign that a connection between the two players continues to develop. Which made it doubly frustrating when that connection seemed to disappear in the game's closing minutes.

Perhaps buoyed by the victory, Roy remained cautiously optimistic about where he stands. Although he might feel uncertain about how things will shake out long-term he doesn't feel uncomfortable. "I'm settling in more and more to [the lineups and rotations]," he said. "Earlier it was tough but now I'm starting to settle in to see what the team needs me to do and just trying to do it." Tonight, against an inferior opponent, Roy did enough to get the win. On many nights, against many opponents, Roy is capable of delivering victory whether he's settled or not, through his skills alone.

But with only seven guys playing like they deserve real rotation minutes right now, the physical and mental burden on Roy will only increase. And sooner or later, clarity will either emerge for Roy or it won't.

Both for his sake and the success of his team, hopefully the next time we talk roles Roy won't need to turn to writers for help answering the question.

Random Game Notes

Austin Daye will be an NBA All Star before he retires. Watching his thorough, impressive warm-up routine, it was easy to see why, despite his slight frame, he was a darling of the scouts during the pre-draft process. His movements with the ball are crisp, precise and fluid, recalling a slightly less confident Kevin Durant. His footwork before and during catches was excellent, his shooting form consistent and his competitive desire was oozing, even two hours before the game. During the game, he disrupted Steve Blake during the fourth quarter by trapping 3/4 court and he knocked down a three. His frame is a liability and will remain so for a few years -- not unlike Durant -- but the sky is the limit. If I was Joe Dumars I would view Daye as my least tradeable asset, Stuckey and Gordon included.
Bill Simmons was spotted chatting up Kevin Pritchard before the game but was not shown on the Rose Garden's big screen. Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey, Jr., however, drew cheers when shown on the Jumbotron and drew autograph seekers to their courtside seats. Juwan Howard and Jerryd Bayless both made a point of getting/giving daps from/to Griffey Jr. during halftime warm-ups.
The official box score seems to be in error tonight. They charged Steve Blake with just 2 fourth quarter turnovers. In actuality, he had 1,378. Hopefully the NBA will step in and correct this.
A clash of generations occurred when 52 year old Juwan Howard posted up 13 year old Austin Daye. It was like slamming together a Discman and an iPod, only in human form.
Rudy threw a pass between Kwame Brown's legs to Greg Oden for a dunk. It was sweet but would have been sweeter if you didn't have the suspicious feeling that Rudy is looking to nutmeg someone on every possession.
Blazers Owner Paul Allen drew cheers when shown on the big screen and dropped in on the locker room after the game. Be sure to read Nate McMillan's heartfelt response to a question about Allen below.

Nate's Post-game Comments

It almost slipped away in the fourth quarter. Thoughts?

You play the game 48 minutes. I've often been criticized for not playing guys down the stretch, you don't play with the game. You don't ever. It was a good game for us. A good lesson. You play that game 48 minutes and you play it the right way and you don't relax because it's never over. I think a bad shot or a turnover can always give a team momentum. That's how I coach -- to win games. When we feel like we have that game under control we'll make substitutions. But we had our guys in there and we had to bring back that group that got us there. We stopped doing the things that we needed to do. Execute both ways. You start launching quick j's, turning that ball over, being loose, playing the scoreboard as opposed to playing the game the right way anything can happen. I thought for 3 quarters we were good. Coming off the road we wanted to give a strong effort on both ends of the floor. Defensively as well as offensively. And we did that for 3 quarters.

Margin of error slimmed down due to injuries?

I think it's just that it's the margin for error is where it's at because of the group. It's a young group that is still trying to learn how to win and how to win big. We have a lot of work to do. We have one year where we won some games but we're not there yet. We have to play that game the right way for 48 minutes.

What caused the collapse?

The thing is, turnovers and I thought maybe we just relaxed. You turn the ball over, you don't execute offensively. You lose your rhythm. You lose a little bit of confidence. They get excited. And you know make some plays, get some momentum and you start to get a little tight. I know we had turnovers, I don't know how many. I thought some shots, we may have taken some quick shots. And all of a sudden it's a three point ballgame. It was a positive that we won that game.

Blake's 3 at the end of the game

Well we needed it. We don't want him to hesitate. He had an open look. He can knock that shot down. As you mentioned, last game he had some similar shots that didn't fall. Big shot. Big free throws for Blake. And then those other guys down the stretch.

Brandon and LaMarcus offensively

Those are the guys. We gotta get them going. Tonight to see both of them score, we haven't seen that this season. We had a third guy with Blake, and Miller being able to score. So we were able to, I thought our assists were really good throughout the night for the most part. Turnovers were pretty good until that fourth quarter.

Andre missed his first four free throws. Were you nervous with him at the line at the end of the game?

Those are our best free throw shooters. Miller is an 85 or 86 percent career free throw shooter. Blake is shooting well. And Brandon. So you get up there and you have to knock them down. And he ended up doing that.

How did you address the team in the locker room? Tough love?

It's a lesson. I've said this always to the team, you don't play the scoreboard. We said that at the start of the fourth quarter. This team was down 25 points last night to the Lakers and came back. And that's what we said to them. This team is not going to quit playing. And we don't play that scoreboard. You play this game the right way. You keep pushing the ball, get into their legs because their legs are tired, they're heavy. And defensively don't give them anything. Offensively keep executing because they've been down before and last night they were down. Now it's a lesson. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way. Lucky us that we were able to pull it out.

Martell

Well, he's getting good looks. Those are shots he can knock down. He's just got to keep shooting that when he gets them. Of course, don't hesitate.

Paul Allen's presence at the Rose Garden and his interaction with the players

We were surprised that he was here. I saw him and just hugged him. He's a strong man. He loves his Blazers. I think it showed the fact that he was getting medical attention just a couple of days ago and as soon as we come back he's here wanting to see us. I think the guys were probably surprised to see him and I didn't see it but I'm sure just like I did, I was happy to see him and we're praying for him. He's a strong man. That's the man. I'm sure they were happy to see him.

Anything unusual with their press or trap at the end that gave you trouble?

Nah, they were scrambling. And just trying to create some turnovers and we gave it to them a couple of times.

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