A quick thought about the Orlando game
I’ve said this before, but I think the Trail Blazers have to be wary of relying too much on the Brandon Roy clearouts late in games. Some teams (all of the good ones) are just not going to allow you to do that. Plus, it does kind of take the other Blazer players out of the flow to where it’s kind of hard to find them when you need them.
Last night, in a couple of key possessions late in the game, the Magic just jumped out and double-teamed Roy immediately. I don’t think you’ll ever see Portland handle that situation any worse than it did last night. When you get a double-team that far from the basket, you simply must lay the ball off to another player and very quickly take advantage of the four-on-three advantage you have in the rest of the half court.
You get aggressive and take the ball to the basket, even if your original intent was to run time off the clock. Otherwise, you give your opponent free reign to double without punishment.
Great game to watch, though. We just don’t see enough shootouts in the NBA these days and this one was a real dilly.
NBA, Trail Blazers | Dwight Jaynes | December 10, 2008
Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers
I agree, when they double Roy, especially that far out… the ball should be dished and we should aggressively attack the basket. We will either get a easy bucket, draw a foul, or get a good shot at a 3…
I wonder if they should see if Rudy could run an isolation? Why not give it a try?
Execution down the stretch I am sure will be at the heart of the next practice
Too bad cause Aldridge and Roy okayed a great game , Pryzibilla, Sergio, and Rudy played a heck of a game too…
That was a tough assignment for the young Oden
How about running some sort of motion set that tries to score points and utilizes the talent on the floor. This team is being touted as one of the deepest teams in the league, yet only one player is allowed to win the game. Brandon is an amazingly talented young man, but he is not Kobe or LeBron. During a normal NBA game one does not even have to watch until the second half. Unfortunately with Portland the last two minutes in a close game becomes almost unwatchable due to how predictable they are.
If Brandon makes 2 more of his free throws, this is all mute. As Schonely used to say, “you’ve got to make your free throws!”
IIRC in the last 4 possessions we had a Blake missed 3 a Blake TO an Outlaw missed 3 and Roy’s desperation 3.
All in all not too bad we just didn’t hit the shots, with how Blake and Outlaw shoot the 3s probbaly mor eoften than not at leats of them goes in and we’re talking about a great win. Heck ifthey don;t call teh touch foul on Roy’s kick out (how often does Roy get hit a lot harder and no call, they pick that moment to finally give him the call!) to Outlaw for the 3 he hit we win. And even with all that Magic needed to hit 3 straight 3s including Terku’s heave over Outlaw off the glass. Replay that game 100 times and the Blazers probably win 99 even without scoring the last 4 trips. We beat Houston on a miracle shot luck goes both ways
gotta agree with you dwight about the overreliance. i also don’t like travis as the number two option at all. especially if decisions such as “shoot or pass” need to be made under time pressure.
also, what is a dilly?
Brandon has to be one of many many options to close out a game not the only option. Teams look at tapes and scout so there is no mystery to how the Blazers approach the end of the fourth quarter. Maybe we should include the mystery options that teams do not expect to encounter when facing the Blazers. I for one am sick of watching Brandon try and do everything by himself. He has talented teammates who are more than capable of handling the ball and closing out these teams. I agree that TO probably should not be the second option as he is a bit of a wild card these days.
Protect the basketball and stay aggressive. I believe that is how to win games and it helps if you can shoot lights out!!
Thanks for your blog, Dwight. I really enjoy your insight.
Another point to consider here, Nate kept saying that when Brandon is doubled far out like that someone is supposed to cut to the middle so Brandon can get him the ball and attack 4 on 3. It looks like Nate and Brandon both went out of their way to not throw someone under the bus for not being in the right place.