Dwight – who do you hold responsible??

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.