Subscribe Feed (RSS)Sorry this post is going up a little later than I would have wanted. I just get so tired of writing the same things about the Trail Blazers I’m not as motivated to sit down and do it.
Just a few of the great many irritating things about Friday night’s three-pont loss at Houston:
– In the first half, Portland was playing so ugly it was incredibly fortunate to be within 20 points at the half. Jeff Van Gundy, doing analysis on ESPN, second-guessed several things we’ve been talking about all season long, including a pointed comment about why the Blazers don’t quit shooting “jump shot after jump shot” and throw the ball into Oden; and also a suggestion that even though Oden drew a couple of quick fouls, it’s difficult to play when you only get two or three-minute bursts and that the Blazers ought to leave him in with those two fouls.
Amen, brother.
– Do people understand why Oden should have played more minutes and been given the ball more during the regular season? You simply have to have an inside game — particularly if you play as if you think fast-break baskets are illegal.
– How in the world do you call a timeout, draw up a play and then get a shot-clock violation with three minutes to play in the game?
– Sometimes I seriously wonder about Brandon Roy. I mean, Portland’s down by six with a minute to go and he’s out there dribbling around for 20 seconds before launching a shot. What’s that all about? Play with some sense of urgency! Of course, it might be because at times, Houston has completely taken Portland out of whatever offense it is supposed to be running.
– Taking Ron Artest off the dribble is not difficult for Roy. He can do it just about whenever he wants. But beating the next three guys who pick him up on the way to the basket is difficult. Portland’s going to have to either figure a way for him to dump the ball off to open teammates or do something else but just have him play one-on-one. Hey, what about posting him up? Well, I don’t think they have that play.
– It didn’t matter WHERE this game was played. It was there for the taking for the Trail Blazers, particularly late.
– Don’t even get me started on attacking the basket. Yes, Yao will block a few shots. But the Blazers seemed petrified of him. Folks, there are better shotblockers than this guy. He WILL let you shoot and he has very little lateral mobility. All you need is to pull him out just a few feet and then go around him — he can’t move!!!! Oden dunked the ball on him twice in the third quarter when he had running starts off pick and rolls. Steve Blake and LaMarcus Aldridge had moments Friday when they had the ball in the basket area and just slammed on the breaks, put it in reverse and bailed out on scoring opportunities.
– At the defensive end, same old story there, too. Guys, contest shots. Get a hand up. You’re not supposed to be giving up open jumpers, layups and dunks in the playoffs. Ugh.
– I’ve made this point about a thousand times. For three straight possessions at the end of the third quarter, when it seemed Portland was finally convincing itself it could get back in the game, the Blazers scored on dunks — two by Oden, one by Aldridge — off the end of the pick and roll. It was Blake orchestrating those pick and rolls. If only Roy would make that pass off HIS pick and rolls, the whole makeup of the game would change — but he just won’t look for it. It looked like Stockton to Malone on those possessions, folks — with Oden thundering to the hoop like a runaway train and Aldridge slipping the pick the way Karl often did.
Man, put Yao into that pick and roll and make him defend out on the floor! This isn’t Rocket science.
– If Blake found himself wide open with nine seconds left, yes — that’s an OK shot. But come on — that was RUDY’S SHOT! Everyone knows it. Rudy has to take that shot and there’s plenty of time to get him the ball. Except without a timeout, the Blazers were just standing around looking at each other, and not running that play with Rudy on the baseline running around picks. Why? I don’t know.
– Once or twice during the game, the ESPN mic caught McMillan telling his team to quit thinking. Fooled me. I didn’t see much evidence they were thinking.
– Roy and Aldridge couldn’t play any worse than that, yet Portland still nearly won. The Rockets do so many little things, stick to their defensive system, contest shots, block out on the boards, hustle for loose balls and work for good shots — that’s a big difference in this series, not talent, for sure.
– After that game, if the Blazers don’t think they can win at Houston, they really ought to come home and clean out their lockers.
– No, Sunday is NOT a must win. It’s only a must win when you have three defeats already. Portland will win Game 5 at home regardless of what happens Sunday night and then all the pressure in the world would be on Houston to close it out at home in Game 6.
– Sergio didn’t play a minute. Most of the season he’s the backup point guard and then he plays a total of about six minutes in the first two games, leading to a no-show in Game 3. Not sure that worked. Putting the ball in Roy’s hands even longer really isn’t much of an advantage in a game like that, when Roy’s struggling, anyway. He feels such an obligation to score these days, I’m not sure he’s the playmaker he was last season.
– Man, Travis Outlaw is pulling a Clifford Robinson. Get Rudy some of those minutes!
– Portland had a decent defensive plan, but didn’t execute it. Doubling off Scola is fine, but hustle back to him when he has the ball! Even Van Gundy was frustrated, imploring Aldridge to “close out on him” when Scola was open from 18 feet. These are professional players, they hit open shots — so don’t give them open shots. Not a difficult concept.
– I could go on and on. What a disappointing effort this one was. But it’s probably just best to stop right now.
Tags: Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, Houston Rockets, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, Yao Ming
gotta wonder about this game. Why do you have all the players if you’re NOT gonna’ use them when someone else is struggling?
Houston played very smart and took what we gave them. Where has Travis gone?
Man oh man, if only Portland hadn’t played like dog poo in the first quarter…
I totally agree about Roy feeding the cutter off the pick, however, none of his pick setters expect him to pass so they don’t roll anyway. It sure would be nice to mix it up a little.
Why the hell wasn’t the ball in Rudy’s (very capable) hands? Even with no timeouts, Blake has to know to 1.Find Rudy and 2.Find Rudy. Starting point guards should know better-especially in crunch time!
Portland can play in Houston. Period.
“– How in the world do you call a timeout, draw up a play and then get a shot-clock violation with three minutes to play in the game?”
Haha…Nate must have been taking lessons from Mike Dunleavy Sr…That happened to the clippers at least twice a game this season. The Blazers a young and will probably get bounced from this year’s playoff, but they are bound to be there every year for a while.
Nate needs to really consider mixing up the starters in game 4. Another offensive option is needed to free up Roy & Aldridge. That option is Rudy, he needs to start!
Remember when teams used to start their five best players? What happened to those days?
Very disappointing. Attacking the basket was clearly the right strategy. No true back-up to Yao, so he had to manage his fouls. A clear and unique opportunity. Instead, outside of a few limited spurts, Blazers spend most of the game settling for jumpers. Was this a preparation problem or a failure in execution? My money would be on the latter. Perhaps it is time to stop considering symptoms and diagnose the disease – this team may have a couple of soft players in key positions.
I have to agree with Dwight almost point for point on this game. I really wonder what the coaching staff is doing with it’s time during the extra days off in between these games ? I’m not blaming this loss on Nate cuz I think the guys are not executing the game plan real well.
The possession where they come out of the time out, brain freeze, dribble out the shot clock. This has been a series, season long malady. Is it execution or coach not preparing his guys ? dunno.
The point made about attacking Yao, attacking the basket, can not be made enough. They have done an admirable job defending Yao. They have yet to spend 2 minutes trying to figure out how to attack him. For starters Greg is so much quicker than Yao. Why not get him to use that drop step, up and under Yao, and explode to the basket move we see so precious little from Oden ? Travis I just don’t get. Sometimes I think he’s a lost cause. He has all the skills, all the tools, to attack and destroy the rim with abandon. Yet no paint points, no rebounds.
The one point Dwight has had made that I am slowly coming around to seeing is Roy not being the play maker and setting up other guys enough. He is putting it all on his shoulders to score and in the process ignoring and missing wide open plays. The two Blake, Oden pick and rolls for dunks should be an eye opener for the coaches and players. Ye they run it twice. Then forget about it. Brandon won’t run it at all. Brandon has become so slow and deliberate. It is almost tunnel vision. He is missing opportunities to involve teammates and get some fast break points.
The one point TV guy made that caught my ear was how Blazers run their fast break to get jump shots, jump shots and more jump shots. Yet despite it all they still had a chance to steal one on the road in the end. It aint over. Not yet. It aint over.
Dwight,
I’m glad you pointed out Roy’s “lack of urgency”. I just about came through the TV last night watching him in the last 3 minutes. He would stand around and dribble for about 18 seconds before making a move. He was playing like Portland had a double digit lead.
Beyond game 4 and looking big picture, no doubt we have a team that has tremendous talent and potential. However, it is also a team that when challenged, apparently includes individuals that are clearly timid and feel more comfortable launching contested 20 footers over and over again. Kevin, Nate, et al. need to decide if they really believe someone can be “taught” to gte over this at this level? Will experience bring improvement on this specific concern? If not, then retooling this team becomes an off-season priority.
Great points Dwight.
It was so refreshing to have announcers that weren’t homers protecting Blake, Outlaw, Lamarcus.
Yao Ming had 7 points, Brook had 11 = 18 points combined.
Everybody else killed the Blazers, how on earth are Landy and Lowry getting the better of our guys. They are clearly role players and we are making them look like all-stars. We are making Scola look like hall of famer.
Channing Frye outscored Outlaw. Ouch. He played only 9 minutes and outlaw played 30 minutes and didn’t score and didnt rebound either.
I am not sure Steve Blake should be playing 40 minutes. Ouch.
I am positive Rudy needs to play more than 22 minutes. He had 17 and was making it look easy out there. He definitely doesn’t have Cliff Robinson disease.
Sergio, where are you buddy?
This was one of those games where – even if your team comes back and somehow wins – you’re still mad at them.
As it was, I was out there on a cross city hike trying to walk off the frustration.
I’m glad to see the criticism of Brandon Roy here. It can only do him good, whereas knee-jerk praise and adulation can ruin him.
My observation is that he still needs to learn how to come off a huge game. He seemed to have a zombie glow about him like he was basking in the last game.
Then he’ll get upset at himself and come back and play well again.
He has to get used to his own greatness, accept it, and not let it affect anything about his next performance. I think he’s almost bashful that he did so well and mentally fails so he can get back to earth.
WGN used to show all the Bulls games in some of Michael’s glory years, and it was a real eye-opener watching him play great 3 or 4 games in a row. He could shed an amazing performance and show up the next night fresh mentally.
Brandon still has to learn to do that. And I think he will. But he better not wait too long or it will be next season.
Dwight,
The positive thing that has come out of these playoffs is that management (and fans) should all realize that the team can’t be sentimental when it comes to Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake.
Everything that I have seen about them indicate they are quality people, but not the talent level of players needed for the roles they fill on the team. I like Blake as a back up PG, Travis is to inconsistent (offensively and defensively) to be my first option off the bench.
I agree with KP’s strategy of waiting until summer to do your moves. Without the wait, we really wouldn’t know what we have until everyone was playing together with a healthy Greg Oden.
I hear Tayshaun will be available this summer and if memory serves Andre Miller will be an unrestricted free agent. What do you think Dwight?
I’ve been saying this on and off all year. Roy has slowly but surely stopped looking to pass. He gets a high pick and one of three things happens:
1) he drives to the basket for a shot attempt in traffic, which he is very good at making and/or drawing fouls
2) he pulls up for the midrange jumper off the pick
3) he bails out by back-passing to the pick setter or the safety valve guard, and we start all over again
What happened to the 2007-08 Roy who actually created shots for others off the dribble?
CLIFF ROBINSON!!!! I was thinking the same thing! Great minds think alike.
Here’s how I commented on Barrett’s blog. Should have put it here; too many cock-eyed optomists over there. Dwight as usual has it right on.
Our boys for reasons unknown, in total defiance of common sense and logic reverted to every one of their early season bad habits especially in the first half and on offense. It’s amazing they could close it to 3. The game was no where near that close. It was uphill the whole game, very much like game one except the Rockets did not hit their shots as well.
Credit: Yao, did not beat us; Brooks did not beat us; Artest did not beat us. We beat ourselves by doing all the wrong things I presume Nate has been teaching them not to do the whole year, and largely doing them poorly. I thought they got it. Guess not.
We have enough talent and luck to come back in a game like this even when it is hardly earned. Either the Rockets are one hellaciously good defense or we gave them this game. The Rockets are good, in my view, but not that good. You cannot quite thoroughly control their big three and forgot all about Scola and Battier, and the rest. They are a team too.
Play Houston like they played the Lakers and Spurs, Milwaukee and Cleveland in the last month and you will score 100 plus and win not with ease but not as a squeakier.
You cannot win if you do not make shots. LA (6 of 15) and Travis 2 of 11) in particular again did not have it tonight. You tell me why. Brandon was not any better, but he worked his tail off. You cannot plan on winning your games by relying on 3 pointers and long 2 point jump shots. Oden showed he was quicker than Yao but rarely got the necessary pass. They mostly forgot how to pass. Is that all Houston? I don’t know but I do know that time after time we came down slowly, dribbled around to eat up time, let one guy handle the ball one on one with whoever and the with the shot clock running down force a long shot. STUPID. You cannot get out of round one that way and you should not.
The only guy who played like the game meant everything to him was Brandon as usual. It’s not fair and it is doomed to fail if all we can show is Brandon the genius and the rest is wasted long shots. He then feels he has to force it and takes shots he should pass. 6 for 18 is not going to do it. When Brandon has to foul himself out to stop the clock you are cooked. One and done. I am beyond disappointed.
We started 4 for 16, can’t win that way. Only Scola had more than 3 fouls for Houston (total 16). We had two 4s, a 5 and a 6 (total 25). Something’s wrong here. When was the last time Brandon fouled out of a game? It’s completely rework things or plan your off season. The good news is that the odds are pretty good they will put on their Laker personality Sunday.
Yup: shoulda, coulda, woulda have won this game despite Travis going AWOL (don’t care how much fun he is in the locker room); if he plays that badly this long sit him; Sergio for sure deserves a solid shot; he brings ball movement; he hits Rudy among others and Rudy was the man last night; he could not play less D than Travis and he is less predictable than SB and BR especially after 3 quarters of the same failed crap. Houston is well coached, not dumb and apparently much more bench deep than we are willing to acknowledge. OMG it’s infuriating. This game was sooo sooo winnable. We shut down their big three; almost took ‘em out of the game totally, and then played no D on the rest. Scola is very good near the basket. He is a positioning genius. You cannot ignore him. Battier can hit threes with anyone and has all year; it’s not news. You cannot ignore him.
All season long the club encourages unwise pressure on GO, who just turned 20, has one year of college play, barely belongs in the NBA yet if proper maturing were an option; and then in a game where he clearly shows why we drafted him, no one gets him the ball even after two brilliant plays. He is amazingly quick, plus all the rest. On a bad night he is good for @ 60% success on all his shots – no one else on the team is close to that. He clearly can beat Yao when he has foul troubles and probably any time. Use the man. Who among us prefers Travis? (And I like Travis; on some nights he is a wizard; no one can out jump him; but he has royal COLD streaks; now is a cold streak. Give him some time to get his head adjusted. Last night I would have preferred Shavlick; the man can play.) Gotta quit, I clearly need a rest.
So Von wafer and Aaron brrok are going to send us home? WOOOW
BROOKS LOL
I don’t know why more people don’t feel that we just might have our second superstar on the roster already, and that it is Rudy…he plays with a high IQ and is clutch as all get-out…
I also think Oden can have more of an impact in this series still, some good moments from him but stoopid fouls limit his floor time.
Too much stuff to second guess. Not productive, but how can a passionate fan do otherwise? I think games 4 and 5 could be ours, although I agree 4 is not must win, they are all ‘will wins’
With the lack of running game, Comcast really should rename the show to “Walkin’ Ball”…
I watch a lot of Blazer Games. I have witnessed a team in the play offs that is not even similiar to the way we played in the regular seasons. Paranoid sums it up the best. Nobody is playing like they did in regular season. I think that was the worse game I have seen Brandon Roy play.
He needs to spend less time being pissed off at his team and focus on his side of the street. He stood out there in a daze when we needed to score. His attitude sucked and we could see it. L.A. is a coward right now.
Afraid to take it to the paint. I swear we resemble a middle school team playing a college team. McMillan has to be ready to crack the clip board over each one of their heads. Come on Guys!!! Be a Man! Play with aggression! No more jump shots!!! TAKE IT TO THEM!
Travis Outlaw if he ever learns how to play both ends of the court WHICH I DOUBT will ever happen. SERGIO dribbles way too much!
Could we ever find a center who could take a free throw shot in a game? Weak side help on DEFENSE? NON EXISTING! I think our weakest links are really showing in the playoffs. I would not have Travis Outlaw on my team very long. He is lazy most of the time except when he can shoot his jump shot.
I love Rudy and his aggression and hustle!!!
Oden…….get that dumb looking expression off your face when you think your HIP can play defense! I am still pissed at ROY! WTH are you thinking………not to play hard the entire game!!! POUTING is for your little son! NOT YOU
Von Wafer is a joke!!! He can play with Bonzi, Patterson, Miles……..Mental Ward is missing their patient!
Judy, how can you bash on Sergio, he didn’t play one minute yesterday. He only played 10 minutes in game 1, and 3 minutes in game 2.
We have a lot of guys that are playing major minutes that are getting outplayed by Wafer, Lowry, Landry, Scola etc… and Sergio (and Rudy and Roy) ain’t one of them.
Really nothing to add here. Actually, and Dwight’s comment about Roy just dribbling the ball with a minute left sparked this thought that I’ve had before. There have been times since Brandon has been here that he seems to do something that you can only describe as stupid. Your down by six with a minute to go… you can’t just stand there and dribble. You have to score. I think Brandon has great instincts on the floor, but I don’t think he’s the brightest guy out there. Anyway, they really sucked last night. One more thing… Oden had two great plays and then Aldridge had one… three power dunks in a row… and then that was it. Why would you not ride that horse in to the f***ing ground and make Houston stop you?
The bad shot Steve took was the only time I found myself wishing Sergio was in the game. Sergio has that great play with Rudy where he pushes the ball, Rudy curls around and Sergio lets his momentum carry him into a pick for Rudy’s defender.
(FWIW, half the time I think this play is an illegal pick on Sergio’s part, but they let him do it consistently, so why the hell not.)
If you watch that play again, you’ll see Rudy is curling and in perfect position for Blake to run that play, except Steve never does that play. Instead, he never looks at Rudy and takes the bad shot.
Why aren’t we driving the ball into the paint? Why are we settling for jumpers? Why didn’t we get the ball more into Oden?
Defending the paint and getting points in the paint will determine whether we win this series or not
Nate has to tell players not to think!!!!???? …that shows he is over coaching and wants to control the players way to much. When Oden was Dunking on “Cry Baby” Yao I would have ran that play until they stopped it 4 times in a row. Since Portland thinks nothing of shooting jumpers “CLANK” that many times. My coach always said feed the “Hot” player and Rudy should have gotten the ball twice as many times as he did. TO needs to find a seat next to Bayless Ruffin and Sergio and stay there, so much talent so little skill. What needs to change?? NATE BACK OFF! Oden DEMAND the BALL, Roy LMA Knock a Rocket to the floor the next time they try and slap your arm ,and RUN RUN RUN ! Or go home now and start your summer!!!!
It was a frustrating loss – but it was actually a much better result than I expected. Hopefully, the team knows if they play closer to their potential – that they can win in Houston now. We’ll all feel better after a victory tomorrow – and will probably start jumping off the bandwagon with a loss.
Was a little disappointed to see the Blazers have six fouls called against them with zero for Houston in the 4th quarter (with about 3 minutes left). While technically that 4th call on Oden was a foul (since he was above the free throw line) it really seemed like it wasn’t being called that closely on the other side of the court.
Just as the name says – not disappointed as I have come to expect little from this team in the crunch – and have seen my expectations come to fruition time & time again. “Judy” is right – what happened to the team that got to the playoffs?
Maybe we should keep the Coliseum & let them go back to playing there & save the Garden for Pro teams…….
I know Sergio did not play yesterday!!!!
I was just commenting about his inability to get the offense moving……….he uses up 7-8 secs a lot of times at the top…….not sure of what to do…….it appears……He is a great player on the fast break…..
Sergio and Rudy execute together so well because that is the style of bb they have played in Spain……anything is better than last night. McMillian cannot play the game for the guys. It is all about changing speed and direction before the guy defending you has a chance to stop you. Our guys looked in shock if you will at times. Create some movement but please do not stand there like it is “monkey in the middle”.
Judy do you even watch Blazers games? Sergio dribbles around too much? Well he’s only played about 5 minutes against Houston this series, and they don’t really have that great of a defensive PG, so I highly doubt Sergio would be “using up 7-8 seconds a lot of times at the top.” That’s what Blake was doing all night, running around trying to get pick after pick, doing nothing with them. His stat line is WAY better than his mediocre play was. Also, isn’t Sergio the guy that pushes tempo for us? Isn’t that what EVERY SINGLE ANALYST has said we should do to win? Why is Nate not playing him? Why is he playing Travis 30+ minutes when he’s doing nothing? Why is he sitting Rudy when he’s doing everything?
This is getting really repetitive. Nate is a loser, he’s a lifetime loser. Never won as a player, never won as a coach, and granted he “coached” the Olympic team’s defense. But how hard is it to tell 12 of the most athletic people in the world to go out there and switch every pick and roll? Because that’s all he did there.
Until Nate leaves, expect mediocrity like this forever Portland. We need a coach who knows how to manage a game. I think we need to promote Monty Williams to head coach and put Nate on the bench as an assistant. Nate’s even said Monty has to tell him who’s hot most of the time. REALLY? That’s pathetic. Nate needs to be gone at the end of this season.
Everyone take a step back from the edge of that bridge. It was pretty much everyone’s first playoff road game and we are into game three of this groups entire run. Yeah, they played like crap and Dwight has a lot of good points to make but this is more then a one year run at the championship. We know this team will learn from this and get better. They have always done that.
All the Blazers need to do is keep their chins up and know that when they play better then last night they will beat this Rockets team regardless if it is at home or on the road. Their is a lot more of Murphy’s Law going against the Blazers these past few games then some people would like to admit.
And Tony Brothers should never be allowed to officiate a game with the Blazers ever. His calls in the first half were inconsistant on both ends and the T on the Pryzille was laughable. And yes, I just complained about the refs but I’m not saying it cost the Blazers the game. I’m just saying they sucked.
BTW Dwight, what’s worse? Chanting “these refs suck” or “Portland sucks?” Keep it classy Houston.
Greetings to you all in Portland. I hope the weather there has been fantastic, as it was especially good today in DC. A nice day to grill and be out and about.
Does this playoff series between Houston and Portland remind anyone else of freshman year final’s week? I recall experiencing a roller coaster of emotions during that week, with one all-important, big test following another. A great feeling of euphoria of having aced one exam would be followed with a sinking feeling of having flunked another, all the while feeling anxious, nervous, tired, and not wanting to let anyone down.
The current crop of Blazers aren’t much older than typical college freshmen, and are experiencing a trial similar to a series of challenging tests. I think folks that tend to fare better in these tests are those who have a certain sangfroid – a certain calmness in the face of tremendous stress and pressure. The great ones – Bird, Magic, Jordan – all had “it” in spades and I believe that Roy has it too. I’m just not sure if any other Blazer (with the possible exception of Fernandez) has that quality. Too often, I see the Blazers panic and become tentative when the Rockets apply defensive pressure or when the calls aren’t going their way. And I also see that a number of Houston players (especially Battier, Scola, Brooks, and the bench) have exhibited much more cool and controlled play in pressure situations than the Blazers, and that is worrying. I think the difference in composure has been the difference maker in the series. Maybe this is what people attribute to “playoff experience.”
All that said, I still believe that Blazers can and will win tomorrow’s game in Houston. Go Blazers!
Much better result than I expected in game 3, especially after the first quarter.
Yes, Houston has exposed most of Portland’s flaws. No duh, they’re a tough matchup for the Blazers, most of us knew that coming into the series.
Still Portland hung tough, you’ve gotta give (some of) them credit, seeing how they got next to nothing from the forward postion.
Let’s face it, this roster has issues. The two best wing players (Roy/Rudy) play the same position, and Fernandez is never going to get “more minutes” unless they’re at Brandon’s expense (not likely) or the two play together (which will always create defensive matchup headaches)
Aldridge is a wonderful player, but when he’s not “on” the team needs another PF who can do some of the things that Scola/Landry were doing (hit an open jump shot, play solid interior defense and rebound) Finding a quality backup PF should have been a priority in February, but all KP added was Ruffin and a trade exception, while letting LaFrentz’ expiring contract…expire
And I agree with the previous poster about Blake being a backup point guard. Not sure who the starter should be, other than it shouldn’t be anyone on the current roster. The FA PGs this summer are old and not good enough defenders (Miller, Kidd, Bibby) so the right fit may need to come via trade…(psst, Hinrich)
…and that brings us to Outlaw. Again, the time to deal #25 was February, as his trade value has been taking a massive hit with each passing playoff game no-show. Still, Travis has proven to be a decent regular-season 6th man, so maybe they’ll be a GM out there who’s rebuilding and will take a flier on him. I think the SF position will be in good enough hands for years to come with Batum and Webster (but if Tashaun Prince is really available, then by all means bring him on board)
As for the noise about Nate McMillian being a mental midget…stow it. Mr. Sonic has the respect of coaches, superstars, front office execs, scouts and media around the NBA. Only myoptic Blazer fans and former newspaper columnists question Nate’s coaching acumen. Could Nate use better assistant coaches? Sure, why not go out there and bring in the best staff that Paul Allen’s money can provide–there’s no salary cap (or limit) to how many good basketball minds a team can assemble. I liked Rick Barry’s suggestion of Clifford Ray as big man’s coach, for instance. Bring him in to work with Oden (etc)
Final thought…I called this series Rockets in 6 beforehand and unless the somehow Blazers put a complete game together tomorrow night it looks like their season will be over next week. (Dwight predicted that the Blazers would win in 5, but it’s not his fault the players didn’t take advantage of all those athletic mismatches, they just weren’t “prepared well enough”) I’ll be rooting for a win tomorrow and a hopeful game 7 but if the season does end with game 6 (and even if it doesn’t) I hope KP has learned a valuable lesson: it’s OK to build your regular season roster in the summer, but you may want to tweak your “playoff” roster in February.
If you want to still be playing in May
It could be time to utilize the aggressive penetration of Bayless to generate more physicality on the offensive end. I think he could hold his own against Brooks, too. Certainly Blake hasn’t been able to contain him, and Blake’s jumpshot has been off all series, so why not put Bayless in to take some of Houston’s attention off Roy as the only Blazer who drives to the basket?
Charles Barkley was absolutely right. There is no way we can jumpshoot our way into the second round.
It was frustrating to see the Blazers come up with huge defensive stops, only to come up short on the rebounds.
You could tell too that Rudy Fernandez was pissed about his role in the game. He has the confidence to succeed in games like these, and it’s time for Nate to seriously consider using him as more than just a 3-point threat. We all know that guy is an offensive machine.
I’ll take 20 points from Scola any day over Brooks/Yao getting on fire. It’s really our offense that needs tinkering to push these guys over the edge.
Dwight, while the opportunity to win was certainly there (making the loss particularly frustrating), I think you are a tad bit harsh. Its a road loss against an excellent team. Houston plays the best defense in the West and we saw it again. I think you were way too hard on the Portland D– Scola and Landry getting good looks is the price you pay for locking down Yao as well as Portland did. Sure, they should have closed out more strongly but those two are not going to hit the same % every night– Landry, in particular, is not going to hit 4 straight 20 footers very often.
I agree with a lot of your points. Outlaw’s been bad and Rudy isn’t playing enough. Roy doesn’t look for Oden enough. Blake’s shot was dumb as heck. All astute observation that I can’t argue with at all.
I like coming to your blog because you almost always notice something I miss. This was no exception. I did think your overall tone was a little too harsh on the team, though. They played a very nice 2nd half.
I am not going to argue with anyone. I am stating the fact that Sergio spends a lot of time dribbling around………end of story.
Nate is respected by anyone who has any coaching knowledge. END OF STORY!
We are very young and inexperienced! It is all about emotional maturity as well as physical maturity.
DC Mike, when I first took finals in college I blew big time. By the time I was a junior I was knocking them out of the park. These kids will learn but we as fans need to be patient.
The last time I saw a group of Blazer fans get this uppity was in the early 90’s and they ended up firing one of their best coaches and sending still productive players to other teams.
This team is young and a pleasure to be a fan of. They are going to take their lumps but they will learn. Enjoy the ride but don’t get discouraged when you hit a bump in the road.
Dwight – I agree with each point. I also agree you (and I) have been saying this all season. So my question is – who do you ultimatley hold responsible? I am tired of yelling at the player – I think it is poor coaching??
Dwight – who do you hold responsible??
Quit whining and get ready for the parade at Pioneer Square.
The parade marking the 32nd year since Portland has won a championship. Wow almost 1/3 of a century. THAT’S A LONG TIME. Hmm they hate the lakers who have won 8 in that same period. Average of one every 4 years. Sounds like envy to me. Now get out there and beat Houston so we can meet up like the smack you all were talking at Pioneer Square last week. We’re doing our share now do yours and get the job done. If not I’ll be back with the party favors and confetti from the Rose Garden that didn’t get used and take go to the parade with them. C’mon now I’m just trying to encourage another pep rally here.
By the way if you would have won game 3 all you would have said it was one of the Blazers greatest comebacks of all time.