Some thoughts on Thursday’s game vs. the Suns
Don’t remember when I’ve seen a better game. It was a classic. Trust me, if all NBA games were played at that pace, they’d be selling a ton more tickets than they sell now. THAT was what NBA basketball used to be all about on a regular basis. In the early 1990s, such games were common. Let’s take a closer look at some of the happenings:
- You can say both teams played poor defense, but that wasn’t always the case. There were a LOT of tough shots made. “Travis Outlaw made some amazing shots,” Terry Porter said after the game. “A lot of their guys did. I don’t know if we were as bad on defense as it looked.”
- Actually, I think the Suns were better, defensively, than the Blazers quite often in the game.
- Phoenix made 56.9 percent of its shots overall. It made 66.7 percent of its three-point attempts. It made 86.2 percent of its foul shots (on a night when Shaq went 5 for 7). It had 28 assists on 41 baskets. It scored 119 points. AND IT LOST THE GAME BY FIVE!!!! My goodness, that’s incredible.
- In a game that finished in regulation with a 124-119 score, there were only 28 fast-break points. TOTAL. That’s ridiculous. It wasn’t really a fast-paced game, it was just very good ball movement and spectacular shooting. Spectacular shooting.
- Don’t pay much attention to rebounding stats in this game. There were only 67 rebounds, total, to be had.
- The Blazers really played hard. HARD. I think Phoenix is one of the toughest matchups in the league for them. But this team found another gear Thursday night.
- I’m telling you right now, folks, Greg Oden is coming. He’s coming. He got a couple of cheap touch fouls that shouldn’t have been called that sent him to the bench but he made a big leap from his last game against Shaq. You can still pick-and-roll Shaq to death and Portland opened the game doing it. You’re going to see more of that as the year goes on.
- Brandon Roy. What can you say — on this night he was almost as good as Damon Stoudamire? Uh, that’s not quite enough — even though Damon’s team-record 54 points is safe for now.
- Roy needed only 27 shots to score 52 points. He got to the foul line 21 times. Big scorers, clutch scorers, usually live at the foul line. “He’s learning how to do that,” Nate McMillan said after the game. “He’s learning how to draw the fouls without getting hurt. The biggest thing with Brandon is his health. He’s stronger this year and he’s learning how to protect himself better.”
- Steve Blake was terrific. You better not leave him open if he makes his first shot.
- The Blazers had only six turnovers and the bench had five of them. Rudy had three of them.
- Portland had only 23 assists on 45 baskets. That’s because so much of the Blazers’ offense was isolation stuff. Roy and Outlaw were getting a lot of their points off one-on-one drives and pullups. In the playoffs, teams are not going to allow them to just clear a side and play against just one defender. There will be hard double teams.
- Phoenix is one of the best offensive teams in basketball, no doubt. I don’t care what people say, the Suns don’t need to run. They need to defend better. In the halfcourt, they’re going to score so easily a lot of nights they need just a smidgen of defense to win.
- There was one incredible thing about this game that nobody’s mentioned. It was as if the ghost of Earl Strom came down for one night and inhabited the body of Monty McCutchen. Earl — one of the great referees of all times — would often tell his partner(s) to just put the whistle in their pocket and let him call the game by himself. I swear, Monty made about 80 percent of the calls in this game. And about half of them were not very accurate. I’m not sure when I’ve seen this happen before but the NBA ought to be asking these three officials why this happened.
- Steve Nash — 11 assists, 6 turnovers. He’s still a great player, but I believe he’s slowing down a little. He’s lucky he’s not in the old full-blown running game or he’d be toast already.
- A great crowd. It really helps. I have to say, the franchise is really doing a great job of putting fannies in the seats. Bad economy? No problem. Bad weather. So what? The place was legitimately packed. And I can’t imagine what the TV ratings might have been.
- That game probably kicked the whole town’s hysteria level up one full click on the scale. It’s going to be nuts around here come playoff time.
NBA, Trail Blazers | Dwight Jaynes | December 19, 2008
Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Nate McMillan, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Steve Nash, Terry Porter
i think the fact that phoenix really wanted this game bad made the win even more impressive. after watching the suns a dozen or so times this year, last night was BY FAR the best game they’ve played this season.
i don’t know what it is about portland that gets phoenix so juiced but you could tell shaq and amare really wanted to dominate. stoudemire usually just takes the posession off when he’s on defense, but man he was getting after it last night like i’ve never seen him do.
but the biggest thing is that portland took the suns’ best shot and still got the win.
Great thoughts Dwight and Marko! It was an emotional rollercoaster last night. I thought the guys showed a lot of heart last night. I see good things from Greg, a little more pep in his step. Shame that he got abosolutely screwed on a couple of calls. It still amazes me that Shaq gets protected still like he does by the officials. Funny how he can’t/won’t give the other team credit in his post game remarks.
I was impressed with Blake’s game last night…0 turnovers.
One bully down a couple more to go!
Best Blazer game to watch since Sabonis left.
The Blazers played great last night. There aren’t enough superlatives in the English language to describe how well Brandon Roy played.
Our biggest weakness, though, was at center. Shaq plugged up the middle so well that most of the Blazers’ shots were from beyond 12 feet. I’ve been thinking about that, and I came up with the perfect solution: the Blazers should purchase a Kodiak bear and train it to play defense.
That’s right, a Kodiak bear – ursus arctos middendorf. These bears have body length of up to 9 feet, weigh between 600 and 1,500 lbs, and can run 35 mph. Even Shaq, as burly and tall as he is, can’t come close to matching these stats. Kodiak bears are highly trainable and, best of all, they are very territorial. Teach one to keep all the opposing players at least 15 feet from Blazer basket, and the opposing teams would be hard-pressed to score 50 points a game against us. I suspect that the opposing teams would not only stay beyond the 15 range if confronted by a Kodiak bear, they’d probably stay in their locker rooms during the game. As is currently the case with Oden, we would not expect the bear to score any points, although if he did that would be a wonderful bonus.
To make this happen, the Blazers would have to put Channing Frye on the injured reserve list. The post-game interviews would be a little tough for the bear, but all he’d need to learn is four little words: “Both teams played hard.” Hey, that worked for Sheed.
As a fan of great basketball, I am still on cloud 9. The best part, is a whole new generation of Blazermaniacs were born last night and witnessed Blazermania.
Brandon Roy could run for Governor or Senator and would win by a landslide!
We are witnessing greatness, not just from Brandon…but has there ever been a younger team in the entire history of the NBA playing at such a brilliant level.
The best part, each and every one of these guys has even more upside, have not even come close to reaching their peak.
Dwight I am glad you mentioned Greg Oden’s play last night. Yesterday I watched a couple of youtube clips from his OSU days and it’s clear that it’s only a matter of time before he starts wrecking defenses and creating a huge problem for the opposition on D. It’s all about him regaining his athleticism. It’s clear from those videos that he’s a different player now because of his surgery. I mean the difference is startling. Last night I thought he showed tremendous quickness to the ball when he blocked those two shots. Also, his explosiveness is coming back. You could see that he is becoming more confident in his body. He’s starting to overcome the mental part of the surgery. I was bummed that he got in foul trouble because he really displayed a competitive spirit against Shaq. As far as B Roy is concerned, I am calling my shot: He’ll surpass Clyde Drexler as the most popular Blazer of all time. Amazing game!
“…emotional rollercoaster”? “…still on cloud 9″?…wow, settle down follks, its one game in a long season. AS Dwight has written before, pace yourself. You sound like lunatics.
Wow Hayduke maybe you should give me some of your meds. Maybe you were not at that game last night. I don’t know how you could not be on the edge of your seat unless you have no pulse. That game was a lot of fun. Trading baskets back and forth, tip in by Travis at end of third etc. I am sorry that you hate the game of basketball so much. I had fun, sorry you didn’t.
i am with RB on this one. Dude was just expressing he had fun. Man you are a serious downer Hayduke. Let fans have fun. Not like they were sayin Blazers win it all this year. Are you a laker fan?
Here are Dwight’s comments from an earlier blog that I think we can apply to last nights game.
I’d be happy to make this same reminder after the next tough loss.
“After so many years of covering the league, the thing I learned is that you never need to get too carried away about anything that happens before the calendar turns to a new year. And you don’t worry too much about one game.
Enjoy the game, though. It’s fun to watch two good teams play. But don’t go in figuring that there’s a whole lot at stake. You can’t prove much in a December game.
It’s still a very long season and your best friend is always perspective.”
Did anyone listen to Quick’s chat on O-live? I think the refs did. Quick mentioned that Oden has not been in real foul trouble yet this season, which we all thought would be the biggest problem with GO. Thanks, ref, for making this a problem last night.
Had this game been called better, I believe Oden would have had another double-double.
Both teams were really pumped for this game, and it showed from the opening tip. Even on TV, you could tell the Rose Garden had a “playoff-like” atmosphere. Was I mistaken? The Blazers showed what they are capable of, and it makes me wonder if they can play with that same level of intensity in more games. Most teams would crumble under that kind of pressure should the Blazers bring it every night.
It’s amazing what a few nights off and sleeping in their own beds has had for this team. Can’t wait for the next game. Go Blazers!
I guess you must be a mind reader to know how I feel after every game. I agree with Dwight. I also agree with Don Shula who had a 24 hr rule with his players. You get 24 hrs to either celebrate or pout after a game. After that you focus on the next. Great advice to give young players in any sport. Now as an old fart like me who can’t play much of anything, I will choose to say I jumped off my couch and cheered last night. I had a blast. I guess if I were you I wouldn’t even watch a game, you could just read about it. I guess I watch a game because I like the joy and even pain it brings at times. Makes me feel alive and allowed to have feelings. I personally am not going to go face down in the gutter after a loss, but that was a darn good game last night. I read on the phoenix blogs saying the same thing, even though they lost they said it was a great game. I agree at times people get a little carried away, but with economic times the way they are etc, it is so wrong that people take joy in a game? You are entitled to your opinion just like these other posters. Someone asked if you were a Laker fan…I wonder if you are a Blazer Grinch. I enjoy your opinion, thanks for being a good sport.
Jim Beam – good points, and very well put. No, there is nothing wrong with taking joy in a game. I live and die with my baseball 162 games every summer. The point I was trying to make is that the ‘Zers aren’t going to win the title because of last night’s game and aren’t going to lose the title because of a loss to the Clippers. I like your comment about Shula, and I think it’s valid. I was just trying to say, don’t get carried away. If things go the way you all hope this season, these kinds of games will be common place, and instead of getting extremely excited, you can all just give each other a knowing glance that says, ‘We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.’
I also wonder…what would the general feeling be if the score was reversed last night?
As far as being a Blazer Grinch or a Laker fan…I would say that is irrelevant to this discussion.
So yes, you are a Laker fan.
Haha
“So yes, you are a Laker fan.”
My feet still haven’t hit the ground yet after this game.
Brandon Roy is my heart’s delight.
Steve and Brandon anchor a very good back court.
I had taped the two loss games,wish I had kept them..
his scoring was so superb in those games also.
Thanks Dwight for a very good basketball site !