Some things to take from an untimely Blazer loss
First off, a great game. One more team comes into the Rose Garden extremely well prepared to play the Trail Blazers. Some reaction:
– Man, Philadelphia played an incredible first half. At the half, it was 19-0 in fast-break points. And the 76ers had 36 points in the paint. They flat took it to Portland right at the basket. The Sixers were physical and active, not what you’d expect often from a team that played the night before and was on the end of a five-games-in-seven-nights run.
– I don’t want to hear anything about the officials. Honestly. Yeah, Leon Wood had a bad night. Steve Javie did a real bad thing, too. When the crowd was in the middle of its “Javie sucks” chants, the referee in question went to the Philly bench and flashed a snarky smile as he exchanged a few remarks. That’s not good, Steve — you make it look as if you’re conspiring against the other team. Try real hard, by the way, not to look so much like you enjoy it when everyone’s on your ass — it makes you look psychotic.
– That said, the officials had NOTHING to do with the outcome.
– All night long, Philadelphia did as efficient a job on Brandon Roy as anyone has done all season. In the first half, the Sixers jumped every single pick and roll Roy was involved in, doubling him and forcing him to give the ball up. In the second half, Portland mercifully got him out of those pick and rolls, but Philadelphia still doubled him at every opportunity. And when the Blazers spread the floor for Roy’s hope for a one-on-one chance, Philly mobbed him, making him beat two or three more defenders.
– That said, what on earth was Portland thinking going to that set with the game on the line and 20 seconds left? Four guys standing there watching Roy play one-on-five is not productive. This is a playoff preview and I’d like to emphasize, as I have at previous times, the Blazers have to come up with something better than that in late-game situations. In meaningful games, the good teams are not going to allow you to get Roy into open-court, one-on-one situations — GIVE HIM SOME HELP! Give the whole team some options — move the ball and move bodies. Don’t give the defense such an easy option to lock him down.
– The spread offense continued in the overtime period and again, to no avail.
– Portland had virtually no fast-break chances when Sergio Rodriguez wasn’t on the floor. He’s not only got to be the backup point guard, he should be getting more minutes. His court vision helps get other players involved.
– I’m saving Greg Oden for another post. Suffice it to say he was a huge factor.
– I don’t know much of anything about Tony DiLeo but man, all I have to say is that if Maurice Cheeks was still coaching that team, you wouldn’t have seen that kind of defensive effort and cohesion.
– Yup, a lot of fouls went uncalled. It was a physical game. People got knocked down. That’s the way it gets at this time of the season and the Blazers, and their fans, better get used to it.
NBA, Trail Blazers | Dwight Jaynes | March 24, 2009
Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Tony DiLeo
Philly played an outstanding game. I was impressed with their ability to handle Brandon, and then immediately spring off the double to cover their man when Brandon passed. It was a textbook double team all night. They deserved this win.
This loss could actually help the Blazers – this game is exactly how they will be played in the playoffs. Study the tape and learn.
I want Andre Miller as a Blazer next year. I’ve always liked the guy, but after last night I’m convinced that he would be great for Portland.
P.S. Dwight, any ideas as to what is going on with Roy’s beard? He looks worse than you did with hair!
I was completely impressed by the Sixers defense. They earned that win. I wish the Blazers played that hard on defense.
The “spread” offense or prevent offense didn’t work at all last night. Brandon was not getting the calls that he normally does (ft attempts).
Greg showed me somethings last night I had not seen in awhile. Quickness, explosiveness and a stopper in the middle. Good for him.
Let me preface this statement by saying the refs didn’t cost the Blazers the game last night the layup line allowing first half defense did. However, that was one of the most unprofessional jobs of officiating I have ever seen. Sure, playoff type basketball, let them be physical, I get that. The mystery calls and the woefully inconsistent calls were a joke. From the Evans flop to the “foul” Rudy committed on the 3 pt attempt, to moving screen on Joel, to LA getting hammered with no call the list goes on. The point is if you say this is physical playoff hoops, then be consistent I don’t care how many times they attacked the rim the same measure of contact should be the same on both ends. I know Brandon didn’t get fouled as much as everybody wanted but he did get fouled without a call multiple times. Overall just a flat out poor job by the officials…..I have a friend that officials college ball and he tells me that you know you have done a good job when you don’t become the show. Javie wants to be the show. Leon Wood is not even suited to ref the WNBA.
Last night was a great loss – as weird as that sounds. My only regret was that I was so revved up from it I had to take a long walk after the game and missed most of Talking’ Ball.
I’m going to sound way too sentimental for a blog, but I am dreading the end of the Blazers season as much as I dread the end of the NFL every year.
I love this team. The story lines, the cast of characters. Normally, there are only 2 or 3 players you really care about on a team. If it’s the entire starting 5 as with the Drexler era, then that is a profound blessing for a fan. But I like this entire roster – okay, the new guy is an unknown, but you get my point. This is the most admirable group of NBA players I can remember. And there are no losers in the mix.
I read the debate about the backup guard and I understand being a little frustrated, but let’s not get crazy with the tone. There is no way you can call any aspect of this team a mess. Rasheed Wallace throwing a towel at Arvetis Sabonis was a mess. These guys are gold.
Last night should mark the end of the Oden/Durant debate. Greg is an extraordinary force field of a player. When he plays great, it has the look of basketball legend.
I chuckle when Nate gets criticized as well. It looks brilliant now, but how many coaches would have the gnads to start Nick Batum at the beginning of the year? Player minutes and rotation is often the biggest problem and Nate has put together a really unusual and creative plan that appears to be working. I don’t see any pouting here and that’s to Nate’s credit.
Listen, there will always be situations where you can second guess a coach, but at a certain point, the critics just sound ridiculous. If the team concept shows enough growth and the players mostly appear to be getting better, then coming down on the coach for something like last night just seems petty.
Betting on Brandon Roy to win that game? How can anyone possible argue with that? There was no rule that said he couldn’t pass. He wanted to take it on himself – how can you fault either Nate or Brandon for that? Brandon was a little off last night, but he’s so far in the plus column, watching him struggle a little actually makes me like him more – not less. The young man is a lion. I’ll risk the outcome of a game on him anytime especially if he’s been quiet in the first 3 quarters.
I thought last night was awesome. This team is turning out around 2 memorable appearances a week. I am really, really dreading the end of the season. Go Blazers.
I agree with all that you said in this post, Dwight, especially about Roy at game end–it was clear from the getgo that he wasn’t at his best this game, not to mention the Sixers defended him really well, so why not try something different at the end? I don’t know, I guess Nate thought that was still his best chance of winning the game.
That was a fun game to watch, though, it was like a fight out there and the Blazers traded punch for punch during the 4th quarter. Man, the Sixers were up for that game. The Blazers better be prepared to take off the gloves against Phoenix Thursday.
My problem with our offense still starts with Nate and Blake.
Blake should be a DISTRIBUTOR first and a shooter second. Blake has shown this year, as the season has gone on – that he looks for his own shot too much.
It is not acceptable for your starting PG to play 43 minutes and have 20 shots attempts, but only 5 assists.
Outside of the amazing 14 assists in one quarter, when was the last time Blake broke 10 assists in a game – as he is playing about 30 minutes a game?
That should be a major stat for concern. He cannot run a fast break, prefers to shoot than pass, seems to lock out Rudy, cannot seem to playmake.
Good player as a two guard or shoot first PG, but sorry people – Blake is not a PLAYMAKER.
I to was really impressed with Philly, they really played a great game. To come back in the fourth after falling behind by 6 on Rudy’s 3, with the crowd as loud as it was, really shows alot about the 76′ers character.
I enjoyed the game very much, but I do question Nates decision not to have Oden or Pryzbilla on the floor for the Blazers last defensive stand in the 4th when Portland led 98-96. Ultimately Philly tied in on 2 free throws, but to not have either of our defensice enforcers in the middle in the game just seemed like a really poor choice. Philidelphia took the ball to the basket and drew the foul, maybe things would have been different had a shot blocker been in the lane.
We can’t always come from behind and win. Philly earned this win. We sure are good in the 4th Qtr at home though. Isn’t the home team supposed to get the benefit of the calls? I’m still waiting for that.
Several years ago I made the decision to stop watching any NBA games “starring” Steve Javie because I’d get so upset watching that jackass pretending to be a ref. In a real world job that guy would last 10 minutes.
Dwight, the problem with your theory of officiating is it based on a false premise. Refereeing does affect games. The refereeing was terrible, it wasn’t even close, if Oden or one of our guys even touched Philly they were called for a foul, then Philly is allowed to hack everyone in site without a foul. Just call it even on both sides of the floor. They did influence the outcome of this game. They influence the outcome of every game, if they didn’t the NBA wouldn’t have them at the games. Sometimes, especially with the Blazers they influence the game in a negative way. Don’t deny it because you are trying to be “impartial”. The Blazers just don’t get breaks from the refs when they try to play physical with another physical team. Every time the Blazers try to match the physicality of another team, they get a bunch of fouls called on them (see Oden) and the other team gets to hack away without any fouls being called (see Roy). That is a major problem. It does affect games.
Bryan — honestly, the referees are NOT out to get your team. It doesn’t work that way. Paranoia is so pointless.
– Dwight
Poor team defense continues to lose games for Portland. Complain about the refs all you want, but the 76ers were waltzing to the basket at will in the 1st half.
The team’s record has improved, but it’s directly correlated with the continued individual improvement of Roy and LMA rather than Nate’s coaching. Nate is not up to the task of getting this team to play solid defense IMHO.
A couple of my thoughts from the game:
- First and foremost, that was one of the most exciting and entertaining games to watch all year. Wish we had pulled it out.
- Dwight, I have to disagree with you about the refs. Although I do not consider myself paranoid, there is just no way to look at that game and not see a clear difference in the way the refs treated both teams. The number of bad calls really boggles my mind. Bad calls lead to undeserved points, which in a close game, can lead to a loss. Although it is definitely only one of the many reasons we lost last night, it is very much a reason. And yes, there were some calls that favored the Blazers as well (e.g. Aldridge landing on Miller at the end of the game), but more often than not, we got screwed. The Rudy/Iguodola three-point call was terrible. And then to follow that up with the Iguodola carry, travel, barge into Rudy while losing the ball non-call and it becomes absurd. There is no doubt in my mind that if Rudy and Iguodola had switched roles for those two plays, the foul calls would switch as well. Maybe that’s just the NBA, but it’s really not fair. And those are only two of the plays that stick out in my mind. Dwight, I realize you are too experienced/respected of a writer to comment on officiating like that, but please don’t call us paranoid for calling it as we see it. Especially when the lead official is “psychotic” and appeared to enjoy every minute of it.
- Other than Roy, I thought the whole team actually played pretty well last night. One thing I think Roy needs to improve on is finding the OPEN man when he is double teamed. If teams are double teaming a player who can pass as well as Roy, they should PAY for it. Too often, Roy makes a pass out of a double team to a player that being guarded or is unable to take advantage of the 4 on 3. In my opinion, the second Roy gets double teamed, the team should spread out and stay away from Roy so that the opposition cannot recover after Roy makes the pass. That will inevitably lead to Roy not being double teamed as much…that would be nice.
- One last problem I noticed last night that I think the team needs to address is communication. Especially early in the game, there were a number of Blazer defensive plays that had they communicated better, I thought they could have made stops. Guys like Blake and Outlaw were getting beat while Prz was under the hoop looking the other way. If someone had simply yelled “help,” all Prz would have to do is turn around and we all know what happens next. There was also the play where Prz rebounded the ball and almost lost it to a 76er trying to steal it from behind. A simple “heads up” would have allowed Prz to protect that ball. Didn’t hear anything.
Exactly what Blazer MVP said.
Philly and Dallas have our number. They both have shown to be well prepared and know how to hit our weak spots…
One thing these teams notice is our weakness at point guard. Blake and Sergio simply cannot defend, and the opponents point guards have a field day us. Andre Miller looked like he was in his prime. Jason Kidd and Jason Terry Love going against Blake and Sergio. Tony Parker looks like a lottery winner when he sees our point guards…
You also see how this affects our big men. They are constantly having to bail out our PG’s lack of defense. This also collapses our defense which leaves our opponents many wide open looks at 3 pointers
I really hope they can address our pg issue over the summer. As this season progresses, it is becoming increasingly clear that in order to get to the next level, we have to find a solid floor general
Panama -
I don’t understand your use of evaluating the PG’s by their defense and opposing players.
A few points foryou.
1. Your first concern with a point guard should be ASSISTS. This means that the PG is running the show and CREATING opportunity. Blake and Bayless do not show that value. Sergio DOES show that value. While it may costs turnovers at times, it’s worth it in the end.
2. Let’s look at who your talking about… Tony Parker lights up almost every team at the PG spot, including top notch league PG’s. All defensive PG’s, etc. Those players are going to get their points. You need to protect them from DISTRIBUTING. You also need team defense. (See point 3).
3. The Blazers defense is the cause for much of this. Point blank, Blake and Roy have been pretty poor at defense all year. They are such “saviors” in the eyes of many. (Roy for sure, but not Blake).. They somehow escape defensive critisism. We have had the same problem all year with defense. It’s the switching. It’s the slow coverage of outlaw..
and more importantly.. NATE’s gameplan has changed from the switching model. His new model is to force the guard into the lane, providing a clear path to the big men below. The problem is that when you have a penetrating point guard like a parker, miller, paul, etc. This is perfect for them. They will go up and get fouled, have a wide open lay-in or will make a play happen. This is almost as bad as switching. You need to PUSH penetrating point guards with man to man defense or double teams, much like they did with Roy last night.
Problem is – Nate is just too dumb to come up with any offensive or defensive scheme that works. (Even a basic one.. yeeesh)
Dwight, You made me laugh on your reply. You shouldn’t have a problem at the comedy club. It really is not about wins and losses, really I could just as easily blame Brandon Roy or any other coach, player and/or referee for that loss.
The fact of the matter is that if the Blazers try to play physical at all, they are constantly whistled. Two recent examples would be the Lakers game and the Utah game. Look at that Laker game, the Blazers were constantly being called for fouls that on the other end were not being called. Same with the Utah Jazz, they get away with playing physical and if the Blazers try to match their style they get whistled.
A tip of the cap to the Sixers. I would love to see us play a swarming, turnover causing defense like that. And they ran it back at us big time after a stop, FULL STEAM. They were going to MAKE something happen.
Is it just me or does this Portland team and the media (Mike Barrett, Jason Quick) seem to talk about how tired this team is a bit too much. For being such a young group we sure talk about being tired and beat down a lot. We did the same thing toward the end of last year.
Look at Philly. They played the night before, did the same 5 games in 7 nights AND they were on the road and they come out gangbusters. They came AT US. They seemed to have more energy in the OT too. Their focus seemed to be on how much they wanted this win.
Portland’s 1 and 4 record in OT might play into this as well. I don’t know if it physical (conditioning) or mental, or both, but the Blazers tend to talk about being tired a lot. Something to consider.
Great points Jon. I would add that our overtime strategy needs to be revisited as well. 1-4 is a trend.
The Blazer media, Barrett and Rice are always making excuses and playing the “woe is me” card, these are young men getting paid handsomely to produce, they’re not in college or high school.
Last night, I almost spit my dinner out when Barrett said, “what are the Blazers going to do when Steve Blake has to come out and get a rest.” Moments later Blake handed the ball off to the wrong team with no pressure.
Does any one else see the disturbing trend with LA? He spends way too much time on the perimeter. A big man with outside touch is nice but I think he has fallen in love with his jumper. Does the coaching staff teach pick and ROLL. LA seems to POP most of the time. Half the time Brandon gets double teamed and LA has a clear roll to the hoop but chooses to drift to the side. Someone on the team (other than just Oden) please RoLL. Travis does the same thing!
I am a fan of this team and I am proud of what they have accomplished. However – they will not go far in the playoffs shooting jumpers.
I am ill after that game last night..
good god, they took the lead then to lose it ?
oh boy,that one could come back to haunt us.
I agree that the officials did not cause the loss. Sometimes you get beat and that’s how I view last night’s game. Philly did everything they needed to do to win that game. Hats off.
That said, the officials do not get a pass from me. I don’t think they were biased or out to get anyone but if the NBA is the premier basketball league in the whole world why is their officiating so bad. They are no more consistent than your average high school ref. Players were crunching each other all night long and suddenly you get a couple of calls like the “3″ foul on Rudy and Joel’s “moving” pick which was nothing of the kind. I did think, however, that the blocking call on LA was a good call. He was dancing.
The standards for NFL officials is so high that if an official makes just one really bad call in a game, Ed Hochuli, it’s all we hear about for months. NBA refs make so many we can’t even remember them all. The league can do better. I don’t even want to talk about ego jobs like Javie. He shouldn’t be a ref at all.
BlazeRmvp I agree with you about the lack of assists. We rely way too much on Roy and Aldridge doing one on one isolation plays. A big reason why we rely on this is Blake’s inability to create. Heck he can’t even get a pass inside to any of our bigs let alone create…
The reason why I concentrate more on his lack of defense is because pg is the front line of the team’s defense. When he continaully breaks down that not only leaves our bigs vulnerable to fouls, but it also allows our opponents many open looks. Philly came in here and lit it up, and a big reason is they had open looks all night from Andre Miller breaking down our defense. Heck if he wasn’t passing off the ball for a wide open shot, he took Blake down low and just schooled him time and time again.
Roy shouldn’t be asked to guard point guards because he really is not a point guard. He has to play that because in my opinion we don’t have a true floor general yet. Our opponents know that, and teams like Philly are smart enough to focus on Roy.
Seriously we can’t expect Roy to play all nba defense, carry the offense, and log 45+ minutes a game. He needs help and Blake is proving to be not the answer
Good Call Panama-
We see eye to eye on this.
I still think that this is McMillian’s game. Sergio, Bayless AND Blake all make the same defensive errors? I will buy it for 50/50, but I think it’s the game plan.
There is no effort on the defense, it’s just push them down one side of the court into the bigs.
I think we just notice it more with small, quick point guards that actually distribute the ball. We let them penetrate, kick it, etc.
touche…
Dwight,
You’ve been around for a long time and I respect your opinion. So I’m going to ask how does Steve Javie keep his job? This guy is notorious around the league for being a horrible official and a jerk. He reminds me of the old school WWF where the idiot referee keeps his back turned to the ring while the one guy hits the other guy with a chair. Then as soon as the ref turns back around the guy has him pinned for a 3 count. Is there anything we can do as fans to get this guy out of the league?
Dwight, you are woefully ignorant if you think officiating did not affect the outcome of the game. Sure, the Blazers could easily have put the game away without all the mistakes in the first half, but the officiating was very one-sided that night. Just one more call Portland’s way would likely have changed the outcome of the game. Had a foul been called on Oden’s dunk to put Portland up by 2 (which he was obviously hacked on) with 30 seconds left in the 4th, Portland likely would have been up by 3, and taken the win. How can you say officiating did not affect the outcome of the game? Officiating profoundly affects games, but generally it is balanced out. In this case, there was no balance, and it made it much more difficult for the blazers to overcome their mistakes.