Really, forget the recent record — how are the Trail Blazers playing?
Frankly, not so well. At all.
They went into last night’s game having surrendered a cumulative field-goal percentage against of more than 50 percent over their last five games. They have not been playing good defense at all.
Yes, they “held” the Kings to 43 percent shooting last night, but seriously — I haven’t seen a team miss as many open shots in a while as the Kings missed last night. The Blazers didn’t close out on three-point shooters at all — but Sacramento couldn’t take advantage of those open looks and missed 10 threes, many of them wide open.
You can say that the recent injury to Marcus Camby had an impact on the team’s defense but really, not all that much. Camby has not played real well since he got here, folks. He’s blocking some shots but he’s a turnover machine. Considering how infrequently he touches the ball, his four turnovers last night were embarrassing, considering the team had but 11. And given the slow pace, lack of fast break points and points in the paint Portland has to live with every night, it can’t afford turnovers.
I expected better play from Camby but perhaps he just needs time. Heck, he’s been playing for the Clippers, where little things like turnovers probably don’t mean much.
There are other things going on right now that are disturbing. The Kings came out obviously trying to be more physical than usual. They attempted to push Portland around a lot and had intentions of ramming the ball inside all night. Word is getting around about the Trail Blazers’ lack of muscle and strength inside.
And the other thing that must be pointed out is that Brandon Roy is still not back to being Brandon Roy. He’s needing more shots than usual to get his points, isn’t getting to the foul line as consistently as he usually does and is missing a lot of free throws. All of that is uncharacteristic.
Some of it is that he’s probably not back to being 100 percent, physically. But another contributing factor is that teams are just not letting him play one-on-one as often as they used to. Portland’s offense has gotten so stagnant it’s beginning to seem as if every shot they take is off a one-on-one move by someone — and is usually contested.
That’s not going to work well, long term. All in all, I’m very underwhelmed by their standard of play at this point of the season. And once more, I’d remind you — don’t talk so much about who isn’t playing. Talk, instead, about who IS playing. And there is enough talent out there to be playing at a much higher level than what we’re seeing.
NBA, Trail Blazers | Dwight Jaynes | March 10, 2010
Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Marcus Camby, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings
I at one time thought the Spurs in their prime were boring to watch. However, they now look like the “Showtime” Lakers compared to what the Blazers do on offense. Egads. I will take wins, but it is somewhat painful to watch. I think we can all see the train wreck coming.
I had to ask myself who some of their guys were last night, as in, “Who was that who just scored on us?” I mean, May, Garcia, Temple, Casspi, and McGuire are not exactly elite players and yet they made us look bad at points last night.
One of the characteristics that my Blazer buddies and I have come to use as a gage of their play is what we call the, “sweat equity measure.” The more sweat, the more equity in the game. For example, watch the Lakers or Cavs, and you will see lots of equity. Last night, and most nights for that matter, the Blazers are going with the zero down payment plan. Where is the intensity that good teams play with?
Everyone who says ” Blazers were 4-1 on the recent roadie…” forgets they were 1-4 AT HOME beofre they left on that road trip.
Its the eyeball test….you can’t just say a win is a win. Its how you win and who you beat. Soem of these Blazers seem to want to sit back and let the other guy make the play or do the hard work-or are content to do that….problem is the other guy isn’t doing it either.
I really don’t understand this. The Blazers last year may have been just a good team, but they were exciting to watch. This year’s team was supposed to be even more exciting, with Andre, Howard, and Canby, and others, but instead we get a team that can’t beat Sacramento by more than 10 points. The have the height, they don’t need to worry about centers. What is going on. My explanation: They wan’t Nate fired. Either that or they just are a bad, bad team. They have the talent. Where’s the Game?
that game was an abomination! wow the defense really needs to come together. if this team plays like this and the last 5 games they wont win one game in the playoffs. the time is now to get MAD DOG MEAN! FANGS AND FOAM BABY FANGS AND FOAM!!
oh and some one needs to grow some kahonies on the offensive end too!
The team will look 100% better when BRoy comes out of his slump.
And the D does look ugly at times, but the end result was 81 points for the opposing team. You can’t argue w/ the results.
Yeah, but we only scored 88, so Sacramento’s D mist have been just about as good as ours, right?
I’d argue that they played better D than us; we just made a few more shots and a couple more late-game hustle plays than they did.
And what did Carl Landry do to LMA in last year’s playoffs? The dude looks outright scared of Landry (and he has at least as big of a body).
I think every player on this roster is not as good as i thought they might be or could be last year. I’m not excited.
Batum would become a much better player on a good team like Dallas or Phoenix or Cleveland. He will be wasted talent on this team
At the beginning of the year I thought we could really have won our division and been the second best team in the west.
Now…
Even with a healthy Oden….I don’t think so next year. Players have regressed or not improved.
I’m not trying to argue or start a fire…but:
Lakers
OKC
Denver
Utah
Dallas
These teams will keep improving and continue to have more upside and be better than us. They are favorites next year.
And Phoenix, San Antonio, Memphis, Houston, and New Orleans all could be better than us next year.
I wouldn’t put money on Portland as a playoff team next year. And worst case scenario…..I could see them with 50 losses if Memphis gets better and the other teams pass them by.
I’m not saying Portland will lose 50 next year. But I think it’s a possibility. They don’t have that buzz….that upside is not there.
They HAVE to get rid of Roy. Everything revolves around him now. Remember back when he was injured how well the team played!! How well the ball moved. How much more energy the team played with.
Roy is the anchor. They have to move him, and move on.
Agree. I think DJ was spot on for most of his post, but I really don’t think this team is as talented as the top few teams for each conference. There are a lot of fairly one dimensional role players that are too up and down.
It was difficult to watch. I, and my four blazer buddies, standing there watching a shell of Brando Roy trying to beat one two or three players off the dribble. This is painful. You can feel the tentacles of the coach on each possession. This team is built on speed, not size, yet we play a “grind it out” type game. Sorry Nate.
Dwight, am I mistaken, or didn’t you say before the Denver game that the team was playing real well and had a shot in Denver? I agree though last night was underwhelming. The good thing (or maybe bad thing depending on how you look at it) is it seems like most of what I saw that was bad was correctable. It seemed like there was a lot of lazy passes, people not helping on D… it really seemed like an effort issue in my eyes.
I disagree with Doctor and others, I think we have the talent, we lack the coaching. Was at last nights game – what a depressing yawner. The Queens led us on the hustle board almost all night, led in rebounds & points-in-the-paint most of the game, and showed far more intensity and hustle than the Blazers throughout. Blazer defense – horrific – Sac. made us look like Junior Varsity College players much of the evening they scored so easily inside. This is a team we should have blown out….and this year’s disturbing trend to play poor at home – what is that all about ?!? I can remember the great Blazer teams of decades past playing at the shoddy MC treated home court like it was sacrosanct – we just did NOT lose at home. It was so rare that when it happened fans would be very alarmed.
Something is very wrong here, and I think it starts at the top.
Why the Blazers are struggling:
Defense> All the switching on picks makes for a soft effort.
Defense> Not enough pressure on the passer, so always chasing the play.
Offense> Way too much time getting plays in motion- so options are limited when the defense takes away plan A and B.
Offense> Roy (and the team) has not learned how to react to double-team and forces it too much.
Overall> Lack of a dominant inside player on both ends is evident – ODEN PLEASE BE THAT GUY!
What do you expect? This is a very poorly coached team when it comes to the x’and o’s. And it is the softest team I have ever seen, EVER. I don’t know why people expect the blazers to be much more then a little bit above average. That’s what they are without a healthy Greg Oden in the middle. And even with him its tuff cause Nate McMillan does not know how to use a big man on offense….. WHICH IS VERY DISTURBING.
At the close of the season, there are going to be a number of issues that will require tough decisions, and in my opinion, not least of which is whether Nate is the right guy to get this team to then next level.
I realize this has been a wacky year to say the least, who would have imagined the shear amount of injuries this team would experience, and is probably not “fair” to Nate. However, the doubts as to Nate’s potential to lead this team beyond what it is today have been sowed in previous seasons, not just this one.
There is no question Nate is a stand up guy who strives to do his best. He appears to be liked by his players and Blazer brass….but that is not enough when you’re running a business and expect results. Pritchard will be expected to address personnel issues (which there are, no doubt)…it would be myopic of him and Paul Allen to not look critically at the coach in determining if the Blazers are on the right course to meet their stated goals and objectives – which is to bring a championship to Portland.
The pick and pop with Roy and LMA has to be pulled from the playbook. My God, it is the most ineffective play that we run. Brandon gets doubled, LMA doesnt roll or move anywhere open, and it takes 6-7 seconds off the shot clock.
Also, Roy looks sluggish, tenative, and ineffective. He is passing up shots that he normaly doesnt and doesnt look like he can attack like he is used to.
Sac-Town isnt all that bad either. I know people are mortified that we only won by 7, but they just beat Houston the other night and actually have a decent roster.
I agree. LMA is as bad a ZBO was, once that ball gets to him-its going up with a jumper. He rarely passes out or looks to take his man right to the hoop.
Our coaches need to add that to his “game” for him to ever be considered even close to all-star talent…
derftron – I agree with your oberservations with the pick and pop. I have made the same comments many times. With regard to LMA, that has always been his tendancy. It was interesting to watch Landry last night. The guy rolled to the hoop after setting his pick. If that was not open he at least moved to an open spot and made his defender have to make a decision. LMA makes it easy for his guy just to double Brandson.
LMA’s basketball IQ is lacking. Plus I think he tends to be a bit lazy or at least does not bring the intensity another commentor was complaining about.
I sat 7 rows up from the Blazer bench last night, and what I saw was several of the players clowning around durning just about every break in the action. If they were up by 20 maybe you can understand that, but this game was at that point too close to call. With the vast number of coaches that sit next to Nate, I would think at least one of them might have put a boot into a rear or 2.
Makes you wonder if the coaching staff has the respect and support of the players.
I couldn’t watch the game … but this year’s team is pretty boring. I don’t pretend to know enough about coaching to really make a strong arguement against Nate, but this team isn’t taking advantage of their strengths. In a wierd sort of way, I could see Nate doing better with the Celtics and Doc Rivers doing better with the Blazers.
“I don’t pretend to know enough about coaching to really make a strong arguement against Nate”
dont worry about it Chris B. That hasnt stopped 90% of the posters on here.
And yes, we arent playing very well right now
I would love to speculate on trades, free agent signings and new coaches but bottom line is we are stuck with what we got for now.
The players need to lock themselves in a room and hold each other accountable for an entire game. As fans we can see right through their half hearted hollow effort.
Watching Roy pretend he’s healthy is embarrasing his reputation. He needs to watch the recent film of Larry Bird and Magic. I just don’t see the love of competition anymmore
So what is the difference between this year and last year?
Last year’s team had, I believe, the 5th best record in Blazers history. It also had cohesion and excellent chemistry. Brandon Roy obviously felt good about the young, improving team moving forward, and said so. He said he wanted no changes.
Two issues were considered for improvement over the off-season. One was point-guard/offensive creativity, and the other was interior toughness. The organization did almost nothing to address the latter, but provided depth through the draft and the signing of Juwon Howard. An improved Oden provided, for a time, the real progress here. The organization decided that point guard play and offensive creativity were the issue to tackle – or the league decided for them. First, they went after Turko, then Millsap, and then finally Miller.
The Miller fiasco and how it was mishandled are well-chronicled, as well as Roy’s involvement in it and how it seems to have affected Roy. At this point, Roy’s troubles are difficult to read given the multitude of factors that could be involved – being out of sync and practice, being behind the rest of the league in the game of constant adaptation, being hurt, being uncomfortable with what is going on around him on the court. And chemistry.
So, again, what are the major changes from last year? They are a) the injuries b) Andre Miller and c) no Blake.
I like Andre Miller, and respect him as a player, but he never, ever looked like a good fit, and I still am not sure he is. In a lot of ways he is a poor man’s Roy on a team that has the real Roy. The games where he helped best early in the season were games where he basically carried the whole team for a quarter while Roy was sitting or cold.
Blake is a free agent at the end of season, so that can be addressed if people wish.
I mentioned Roy’s feelings that this team could contend as it was, before the back-court was monkeyed with. Well, as striking as that concept is, Roy may have shot his credibility somewhat by saying recently, before the trade deadline, that this team could win a playoff series against any team in the West, even without centers, and should stand pat. Rather than astute analysis, Roy’s earlier comment starts to look like just a reflexive preference for the status quo. (Or maybe he knew who would be traded and was just hoping to keep those 2 guys.)
I don’t have the answers, but I think it is enlightening to consider what happened from last year heading into this year, and how those changes seem to have hurt, rather than helped, the team. And I say this fully rejecting the argument that it can all be explained by other teams adapting to what Portland does.
In considering changes that made the team worse, perhaps some revelations can be gained about what makes this team tick and, accordingly, what would make it better.
roy acting like he is better than he really is and since he got paid..premadonna…$$$$
Camby needs time. By the way if it wasn’t for his 4th quarter hustle, we probably lose that game…
Bottom line is we look like a team who will quickly exit the 1st round of the playoffs.
Look I know it has been a long weird year. A rash of injuries, overloaded at the guard spot, a trade and trying to assimilate another big man ect… there is no doubt it has been a challenging season.
With that said, it’s time this team steps up and shows some real hunger. That Denver game was AWFUL. Our plyers should be embarrassed by such an sorry effort. Instead there out there hugging and laughing with the nugget players
I guess that is what is bugging me most. I see no passion out there. I see no alpha desire to be the best. Where is your inspiration? Give me a reason to renew my tickets
the Denver will be the norm in the playoffs…going natroyiso with 10 minutes to go in teh 3rd will get us the loss everytime.
the iso only works agaisnt BAD BAD almost worst teams ever.
we moved better without roy.
I agree Dwight. I haven’t really watched a Blazer game in a while and I’ve been wondering why. The other day I realized that it just wasn’t fun to watch the constant Iso offense. Its so boring, so predictable and almost like a Middle-school level offensive scheme, if you can call it that.
What do you think it will take to get them to get some off the ball movement and rewarding those who do move w/o the ball?
People, you come up with some great questions and are wondering why things don’t change with this Blazer team. You can go on and on about this stuff but the bottom line is that Nate McMillan is a sorry excuse for a coach and until he leaves there will be one mediocre season after another.
Dwight, make up your mind. On March 7 you claimed that this team is better than last year’s team. Now you sound as if we are the Bobcats.
Actually, I think he said the talent on this team is better than last year’s. However, right now that talent is playing like crap.
His blog was titled: “Why this Trail Blazer team, right now, is better than last season’s team”
I agree that Camby has not been playing up to snuff since the trade, yet. I am not much of a Camby fan or supporter. I did see some signs in last nights game, even thru all the listless team play, that I think could really be a plus for the team going forward if it is built upon. With LA, Camby, Batum as a front line they can run, even out run most front lines in the west. They have the length, size, quickness and wingspan to be a potent front line on both ends of the court. I saw them in almost awkward, painful, spurts trying to run and capitalize on these traits against Sac. Camby is a good to very good passer from the top of the key. If they get some cutters. If Batum, Rudy, Bayless will move and cut Camby can deliver the rock for points in the paint. Yea their points in the paint this season are pathetic. However; you do not necessarily have to score off of post ups to gets cheap points in the paint. Camby and Howard both can pass from the post and the top of the key. Get some movement, cuts to the rim, make the pass, points in the paint. Yea it seems like asking the team to hang the moon to get this them to get some motion and cuts to the rim. Maybe Camby can help further that cause…we can hope
I think Nate will be gone after this season, whether he deserves it, or not. I don’t think Paul A. and company have the luxury to wait for this team to get better and make a run at a ring. Whether the Blazers have the talent to make it happen, or not, the coach is the one who is going to be the one to go. I don’t see Roy, Aldredge, Oden, or Batum going anywhere. Yes, there have been a ton of injuries this year. However, I can’t believe that the Blazer brass will give Nate a pass because of the injuries. I think they see what a lot of us see. The injuries actually made Nate’s job easier for a time because he didn’t have to make as many decisions. Once players started to come back, then the system Nate uses is expected to work. We’ll all see how that system works for the remainder of this season.
Gary
the only thing is that natroy is from that town up north which the owner is from….he is loyal to the city that wont be named….webster….