– New referee shirts this season. And they managed to make them even more drab than the old ones. Ugh.
– I don’t like National Anthems that take longer than the first quarter to play. Sure, he was great — but if I want a sax concert I’ll go to one.
– Greg Oden was solid before the game on the mic: he ended with “have fun and get loud!”
–The Blazers opened the game getting a 20-foot jumper from LaMarcus Aldridge. Not exactly setting a tone there for the shots they want to get.
– First two shot-blocking attempts by Oden: A goaltending call that was borderline and a foul on Oden that probably wasn’t one. Yeah, the real referees remember Greg. Check that, apparently Aldridge was given that foul.
– Andre Miller reporting in. Expect a dunk for Oden soon. Never mind… he never got a chance. What happened to that pick-and-roll, Blazers?
– Portland’s vaunted “second unit” isn’t exactly running the Rockets out of the gym, even with Brandon Roy on it.
– Tied at 23 after a quarter.
– Portland won the rebound battle in the first quarter 15-8 and is outshooting Houston 45 percent to 31 percent and it’s tied. That 5-1 turnover deficit hurts.
– They will announce a sellout but there are A LOT of empty seats in the 300 level.
– Outlaw is on fire. Who would have thought? Trade him quick!!!! Like at halftime!
– Second group is playing better defense than the starters.
– And that defense is serving them well at the other end. Big run.
– Five assists already for Miller – in 11 minutes.
– Don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade here but Houston is pretty awful. So far the Rockets are 9 for 31 from the floor. And down 23-11 on the boards. And I’m not sure you can credit the Trail Blazer defense, either. Houston is just, well, bad.
– Portland leads 54-41 at the half. A total of 14 Portland turnovers is keeping Houston in the game. The Rockets do a great job of getting back into the paint and digging at your post players. The Blazers’ Oden and Aldridge have combined for six turnovers.
– Oden’s been open in the post so many times without seeing the ball. Some things don’t change. He’s got a 6-6 guy guarding him and he’s taken one shot.
– Well, if you’re watching this on television, probably time to find something else to watch. We did not learn an awful lot about the Trail Blazers tonight. We did, however, learn that the Rockets are just as bad as we thought they’d be. Too bad. Losing Yao is a killer.
|
Dwight Jaynes Just watching the world float by…
|
 Subscribe Feed (RSS)
Comments Feed
|
-
Este’s Men’s Clothing Co.
A lot of people ask me where I get those great ties I wear on television. Well, they come from Estes, a uniquely Portland store that provides personal service I've never found anywhere else. It's located at 16th and Northwest Glisan and I'd advise you to check it out.
Follow me on Twitter:
Blogroll
Subscribe Feed
-
Meta
Yea the real refs are back, too bad they still SUCK!
For real, I watched every single Oden foul multiple times and there were too many calls, I think about 3 of them, where the refs whistled him for … being 7′0″ and 270 lbs. seriously, how does Oden get a foul because Aaron Brooks forgot he couldn’t run through him on defense, I watched that one about 5 times and if that had been Brooks running into Amare or Bosh, there is no way there’s a foul called. It wasn’t a screen, that’s too obvious, that it shouldn’t need noting. that one just baffled me.
Besides that, Greg didn’t get any calls on the other end either. I didn’t know it was ok for defenders to hack at your arms now. regardless of whether you’re shooting. Seriously, I don’t even live in Oregon or the Northwest. I live in Florida and that was quite odd. Considering if the Blazers did that, it was a foul. And they were the home team?!? That was just odd. Maybe the refs have rust, or they forgot to study up on the game in the offseason.
Oden was getting his touches and shots up in the first. That was nice too see after some of the things Nate was saying. Trout is killin it! Rudy looks rusty. Roy looks sweet. MIller is going to start by seasons end. He sees the floor so much better than Blake. Blake just gets torched by brook’s speed.
How about MIller? He seemed to be the spark plug for the improved energy and D. Everything pick up after he got in the game and warmed up.
Blake comes back in and everything goes to crap again … ODEN ODEN ODEN! Block party!
I agree about Oden being open in the post and not getting the ball. He does however have 5 turnovers all his own which is going to make guys hesitant to give him the ball. Greg also needs to move on the pick and roll better. He needs to cut harder and crisper. He just does not run that as well, as clean and deliberate as he needs to. As does Priz.
The Trout haters just need to STFU! TO is killin it tonight. Granted these Rockets are not the Rockets we saw last. But TO just does not get his due on this team cuz of his rebounding and D. Which is no worse than that of Aldridge. Rudy is warming up now as well! Here comes Miller. Now we shall see.
Priz just creamed Ariza on a screen! That’s one for the Vanilla Gorilla!!
yup don’t give the Blazers ANY credit. You can always count on Dwight.
I am watching on TV and I will tell you this. One thing Lowry learned. Oden’s knees are not so soft after all he is still lookin for that right hand ball
Another thing we learnes is Aldelman is a better in game coacxh than Nate. He asjusts. Blazers were up by 20. Rick sees the Blazers back on their heels and he puts in 2PG’s. The energy goes all Rockets. All the sudden it’s a game again.
I have to give Nate some credit now I guess, He has went to two PG’s now as well. I know Blake is not as bad as Brook’s makes him look. But Brooks must just love it when Blakes in the game. Cripes he’s even getting smoked by Buddinger? Blazer’s are still a young team. They still need to learn how to keep the boot heal sown hard on the neck of a downed oppenant. Learn how to keep them down.
Just as I say that Nate pulls Miller and leaves in Blake. Cripes Nate. Oden ia ahutting them down now at the basket! Save goes to Oden! Oden has owned the paint on the defensive end. Shoulda never been this close. What we learened? Still have alot to learn.
Perimeter defense needs a lot of work–the reason that the Blazers had 11 blocks or whatever, and so many fouls on the bigs (5 for Oden, 5 for LMA, 6 for Prz) is that it was like a shooting gallery out there–they were CONSTANTLY having to defend the paint against penetrating guards.
Blazer penetration, OTOH, was much harder–even without a legit shotblocker on the Blazer side.
Losing Batum is gonna hurt like that
Godfather, I love ya to death. You’re Portland’s perfect rainy day columnist. But I gotta think someday if Brandon Roy is hoisting the championship trophy up in the parade on Broadway, you’ll be griping about him riding in a hummer and not a smart car.
What the heck is he supposed to do? Lie!!???
Anyone with an understanding of basketball above about the fifth grade level could see that last night’s performance by the Blazers WOULD NOT get it done against most opponents. If they played that game away from the Rose Garden they’d have lost to almost EVERY other NBA team.
Lots and lots of turnovers. Roy was not very good. All three big men in foul trouble. Now, tell me how Oden-Przybilla-Aldridge get 16 fouls between them while playing against a team with no center!!! What’s gonna happen when they play a legitimate big post player?? It’s not going to be good.
So all you RipCity-Retards can suck your thumbs and dream of an 82-0 season, but they’ve got a LONG way to go. Especially their big guys.
Geez Dwight! Debbie Downer much?!
Points in the paint: Houston 40, Portland 26. And that’s against a team that guarded Oden with a 6-foot-6 forward. Also, the Blazers’ offense down the stretch consisted almost entirely of Roy isolation plays with very little ball movement and, consequently, poor shot selection. Some things never change. This is not the style of play that wins playoff series. Sorry fellow Blazer fans, but it’s true. They just don’t get it.
I really only watched the first half, but kept thinking to myself – what changed during the offseason? Looks like exactly the same team as last year, just a few different jerseys.
Overall, I’m not impressed. Despite the turnovers, it was a game to get Oden into a groove, and they should have tried harder to do so. 3 shot attempts? Still way way way too many jump shots for this team. The offense was stagnant, LA only wants to shoot 20 footers, and the defense on the starting unit was awful. For all the Steve Blake lovers – observe how the guy NEVER blocks out on defensive rebounds. He probably gives up 5 offensive boards a game. Miller needs to start.
Yes. With regards to Oden, why wait. The team will struggle at times as he goes through the ups and downs that every player that has the tools to make an impact – remember Roy as a rookie? – must go through. In the end, the Blazers will be better off if they find a way to get points in the paint, and Oden appears to be their best bet. I love the Blazers, but they can be so frustrating to watch, especially when Roy gets the ball at the top of the key in the last two minutes and everybody just stands around and watches. What a waste of talent.
Miller needs to start. He’s probably the only guard who knows how to get a post player the ball. Heck, maybe Alrdige would get down on the box too if there was a chance he could post, re-post and get a good look.
Outlaw continues to confound me. Many of his lapses are inexcusable at this level of play, but just about the time I think the Blazers should trade him for a bag of used basketballs, he has a night like this one against Houston. Whenever he shot I shouted No, No, No! Then with each shot that went in I shouted Yes! (Like that little pervert Marv Albert). It’s all too confusing.