For me, it all came down Sunday night to that play — and I really shouldn’t call it a “play” because it wasn’t one — where Portland needed a three-point field goal to tie the game in overtime.

The inbounds pass went directly to Brandon Roy, who stood one-on-one against Deron Williams with really no chance of getting off an uncontested three pointer. Yes, he can make threes under duress. He’d even made one to begin the overtime.

But man, if you’re the coach you owe him more than that. Do you realize how difficult it is to get a good three in that situation? Unless your name is Kobe or Lebron, it’s pretty much impossible. Man, there are several things you can do there but the worst is to just inbound directly to Roy.

See, you have only such a small portion of the court to work with when you need a three. And penetration and kicking out to a shooter for a three isn’t going to work — the defense isn’t going to leave someone open.

Run Roy off a pick. And most likely, the Jazz will switch every pick, which would make it even harder to get him open. Put him on the baseline and run him up the lane — at least he can get a defender running at him hard, enabling a ball fake and a possible foul, or at least a more wide-open shot than he got. Better yet, inbound to someone else and let Roy run a little off the ball — if you get a switch from an off-ball screen, at least you probably have a better chance of him getting open against a lesser defender.

My point is, this team continues to use “We need another guy who can get his own shot in the fourth quarter” as a convenient excuse for not coaching. Man, watch the Jazz and see how often they just hand the ball to a player and ask him to beat the defense by himself. It just doesn’t happen.

And watch how easy it is for the good defensive teams — like Boston and Utah in the last two games — to lock in on Portland’s stagnant offense. You’ve got to move the ball and move bodies, which the Blazers so infrequently do, to get good shots.

My goodness, the Jazz had 50 points in the paint. It’s not because they’re handing it to one guy and letting him create his own shot, either. It’s because they pass, cut and move the ball.

Blowing a 25-point lead in the third quarter? It can’t happen unless a lot of things go wrong. Portland made only four of its last 27 shots over the fourth quarter and overtime. The Blazers, including Roy, missed a lot of big free throws.

And Nate McMillan continues to be so stubborn in regard to putting Nic Batum in the starting lineup. What is he waiting for? Batum had 14 points and seven rebounds in the first half. But by the time he made it on the court at the very end of the third quarter, McMillan had managed to cool him off. What kind of crazy stuff is going on here?

It’s already pretty much established that this is a developmental season — the team’s not going to the NBA Finals. So let’s get the kid in the starting lineup, playing with the best players, as much as possible — and get Martell Webster in his likely future role as a sixth man, shooter off the bench.

But at certain times this season I just shake my head. McMillan spent an NBA career as a bench player and he seems so overly concerned with his “second unit.” Man, it seems like a PE class out there some nights as he uses 10 players before the second quarter is over. Is he trying to make sure these guys get their varsity letter?

Seriously, trim that rotation. This season is getting down to the serious games and your team has already lost more home games than any other Western Conference playoff team.

Man, those McMillan-Jerry Sloan matchups are starting to remind me of the McMillan-Rick Adelman matchup we saw in the playoffs last season. And that’s not a pretty sight.

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Tags: Brandon Roy, Dwight Jaynes, Jerry Sloan, Nate McMillan, Nic Batum, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz

Man, the first quarter last night was a thing of beauty for the Utah Jazz — and basketball purists. The Jazz sliced and diced the Portland Trail Blazers, spread them out, isolated them and cut them up, laying them bare at both ends of the court in front of about 20,000 people.

Seriously, the new buzz words for the past several seasons in the NBA are cliches by now… all I’ve heard lately from teams is how they need to find players who can “create their own shot.” Yeah, well… I’m old-school. I admit that. But I remember when basketball was a beautiful team game –when it was systems that created shots. And that’s what I saw from the Jazz last night.

Jerry Sloan has never been coach of the year? What a joke. He’s one of the last holdouts who plays the game the right way, who has a system at both ends of the court and sticks to it — and makes sure his players do, too.

Did you see the Jazz just handing the ball to a player last night, asking him to go one-on-one to get a shot? And it’s not as if they couldn’t do that, either. Deron Williams could do it any time. But he works within a proven system that provides great shots for everyone — and Williams has no trouble getting his within that system.

Rick Adelman does this. So do Phil Jackson and Larry Brown. They understand that moving the ball, moving bodies and demanding that players be disciplined within a team framework is critical to winning basketball. For all you young people who think basketball is nothing but isolations and clear outs, who think you win by just handing the ball to your best guy and staying out of his way — well, get your hands on a video of last night’s game.

A lot of fans think that just because John Stockton and Karl Malone were in Utah so long running pick-and-rolls, that what Utah does is pretty predictable. But no way. Even in those days, the Jazz would come at that play in so many different ways, from so many different angles. You’d have to stop all sorts of back cuts, off-the-ball screens and player movement before they got to that play.

And you wonder why Malone and Stockton stuck around for almost two decades, playing in nearly every single game that whole time? Well, they were never asked to carry the same load that a Brandon Roy carries on a nightly basis — the task of taking the ball in the middle of the floor and constantly trying to beat multiple defenders on the way to the basket.

I get so frustrated with people who think that’s how you play winning basketball.

Look, last season the Houston Rockets ate the Blazers alive in the playoffs — and Portland came away saying it needed one more player, in addition to Brandon Roy, who could get his own shot. Meanwhile, the Blazers had been carved up by a team with NO players who could get their own shot but instead played a team game, stayed within a structured group of sets, ran plays, worked to get each other open.

Is nobody paying attention to this? Your system is supposed to get you shots, too — but it doesn’t happen here very much.

And at the other end of the court, well, it’s the same thing. For most of the first half, the Trail Blazers couldn’t get an open look. They had trouble getting to the basket and getting open threes. The Jazz got out to Portland’s guards while still being able to seal off the inside as well as anyone the Blazers have played.

Rudy Fernandez, Andre Miller, Martell Webster and Steve Blake combined to go 8 for 39 from the field. Jerryd Bayless was 5 for 12, but made that many only because he was relentless in his pursuit of cheap buckets late in the game when the issue was decided.

In the second half, things became a little more equal because Carlos Boozer left in the middle of the third quarter with a calf strain, right about the time Williams went to the bench with his fourth foul and Utah was pretty bad at the foul line. Besides, the trailing team, especially at home, always gets that run in the second half.

(By the way, it was a typical LaMarcus Aldridge game — great statistics at the end of the night but if you were watching the game, you wouldn’t like what you saw. For most of the night, Boozer just annihilated him. If he hadn’t gotten hurt, he’d have thrown Aldridge off the Broadway Bridge by the fourth quarter.)

But don’t let that obscure what happened in this game. The Jazz gave the Trail Blazers a very big lesson on how the game is supposed to be played. And it’s real important that everyone understand that.

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Tags: Brandon Roy, Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, Dwight Jaynes, Houston Rockets, Jerry Sloan, Larry Brown, NBA, Phil Jackson, Portland Trail Blazers, Rick Adelman, Utah Jazz

The main subject of the story here is an update about LaMarcus Aldridge negotiations with the Portland Trail Blazers. And while the headline says that there is progress being made, the story doesn’t quite go that far.

I will say, though, if both the agent and the team agree about what percentage of a max salary Aldridge should earn, the hard work is over. The rest will be figured out.

The most interesting part of that story was the notes, where it was mentioned that Greg Ostertag was at the practice facility working out with the team. On the surface, it seems wacky — I mean, the guy really couldn’t PLAY, even back when he was in his prime. But then on second thought, there is the premise of  mainly using him as practice fodder for Greg Oden. Giving him someone to bang on when Joel Przybilla doesn’t want to take it.

I think, upon further review, I’d go back to the first thought. Look, the guy was a constant source of irritation to Jerry Sloan just about the whole time he was playing in Utah. He was always being screamed at — often because the perception was he was a bit soft and wasn’t working hard enough. That doesn’t sound like a guy you’d bring in as any sort of veteran presence.

And he’s an injury guy, too. I’d be worred he’d be on the injured list most of the season, collecting checks and not earning them.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Greg Oden, Greg Ostertag, Jerry Sloan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trail Blazers

Congrats to everyone, especially Jerry Sloan — who goes into the Hall on his first try after never having won Coach of the Year honors. The others are Michael Jordan (who would have thought HE would ever get in?), David Robinson, John Stockton and women’s coach Vivian Stringer. I’d take that team right now — with Sloan playing and Stringer coaching, against any other class in history.

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Tags: Basketball Hall of Fame, David Robinson, Dwight Jaynes, Jerry Sloan, John Stockton, Michael Jordan, Vivian Stringer

The last time Utah came to town, I made a big fuss about how I thought the Jazz would really give Portland a game. But it didn’t happen.

Tonight, even though this is the second of a back-to-back for Utah, I expect the Jazz to throw a real tough effort at the Blazers. I’m sure Jerry Sloan’s troops are tired of hearing how bad they are on the road and this is the first game of a seriously difficult road swing. I would think they’d want to establish something tonight.

So, one more time, let me say I think we’re in for a very entertaining game.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Jerry Sloan, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz

I dunno. I guess so. That’s what everyone said. It’s also a four-game win streak — thanks to a corresponding four-game lull in the schedule. But really, that game Saturday night was a disappointment — maybe not as a victory, but as a game.

Honestly, I was all wrong about it. I predicted hand-to-hand combat and what we saw was a game of patty-cake. Yes, Portland shot 55.8 percent. Great.

But an outstanding defensive game by the Blazers? People were actually saying that. My goodness, Utah — not really very good inside, quite obviously, without Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko — shot 54.4 percent and got to the foul line 37 times! Sorry, there’s no way you can tell me how great your team played when it allowed .544 shooting. It just doesn’t work that way for good teams and the Blazer future isn’t well served by thinking it’s acceptable when they allow teams to make shots that easily.

Yes, I’m raining on your parade, Blazer fans. Sorry about that. But somebody’s got to say it — it’s going to take much more than what we saw Saturday night  to become the team you want to be. 

How bad was Utah? Real bad. Like classic, have-you-ever-seen-a-Jerry-Sloan-team-this-inept bad. After the game, Sloan was extremely ticked.

“We came out in the third quarter with different things we wanted to do defensively on five different possessions,” he said. “They scored all five times. I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen in all my years of coaching. I guess it must have been my fault — I think I confused them.

“You can talk about playing back to back but I played in this league. I know what it’s like. We played (an easy game) last night and then got on our chartered plane, had a nice dinner and came up here. I can’t accept that as anything difficult.

“But give (the Blazers) credit, they waxed out butts pretty good.”

And really, it was ugly in that sort of way. Sloan was livid about his team’s defense, which was only marginally worse than Portland’s. It was never a close game from the first minute as Utah opened the night with three straight turnovers. The Blazers won this one on cruise control. It really was about as pretty as a butt waxing.

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Tags: butt waxing, Dwight Jaynes, Jerry Sloan, Portland Trail Blazers

Williams hasn’t played a regular-season game yet but is getting close. Odds are, though, he won’t be in the lineup tonight when the Jazz and Blazers meet in Salt Lake City.

This is one of those barometer games for the Trail Blazers. Generally, to beat Utah you have to really take care of business — you have to be physical, you have to defend the basket area, you have to play transition defense, you have to execute your offense . . . uh, I guess you pretty much always have to play well to beat the Jazz — particularly on their home floor, which the Blazers did last season.

I like Utah games. Jerry Sloan has his teams ready just about every night and that means not only mentally but physically. And it was obvious, from the peeks at practice we got this week, Nate McMillan believes his team needs to get a little more physical. Tonight will be an excellent test, to see if the Blazers will respond to that challenge. My guess is that it will get a little rough and tumble tonight.

It will also be fun to see if Nic (yeah, why not drop the “Nicolas” by now? He’s family) Batum responds to being a starter and how well Travis Outlaw plays off the bench. I would expect the bench and starting units to be a little more fluid.

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Tags: Deron Williams, Dwight Jaynes, Jerry Sloan, Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers, Travis Outlaw, Utah Jazz

A few random observations after Sunday afternoon’s Blazer-Jazz game:

Greg Oden: This was one game when it appeared the opponents had scouted him a little bit. Early in the exhibition season that doesn’t happen much, but it will now. And still, it’s nothing like a regular-season game, in terms of preparation by an opponent. The Jazz swarmed him every time he touched the ball and pushed him off the block all night. Nothing came easy to him and Utah was absolutely not going to let him just back someone down and dunk. That left him with a couple of wild jump hooks and not much else. But he’ll be OK eventually. There’s just a learning period that he’s got to go through. He sometimes has a problem finding the rhythm of the game, either rushing himself or going too slow.

Plus, he’ll certainly get more room to operate at the post when he’s playing with LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy, rather than Shavlik Randolph and Luke Jackson.

“He’s got a tremendous upside,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “He’s big, good around the basket and he looks like he’s going to shoot his free throws well. He’s still trying to find himself . . .” and then with a smile, Sloan added, “I like his chances.”

Also from Sloan: “It is hard for us to get excited about that game,” he said. “Their best team was sitting on the bench.”

Don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I love Jerry Sloan.

Nicolas Batum: The kid’s still 19 and plays with the poise of a veteran player. I don’t recall ever seeing a guy that young with such a great feel for NBA defense. He’s really been the surprise of camp. He’s always blocking something or deflecting something. When you think about it, with Martell Webster out for a couple of month, Batum’s skillset makes him a legitimate candidate for a starting job. He already defends better than Travis Outlaw and seems to be satisfied with whatever shots come his way (although, to his credit considering his age, he’s not at all afraid to shoot). And he not only can pass, he’s willing to pass — one other category where he surpasses Outlaw.

Ike Diogu: So far, I’m not seeing much from him. I think I’d shop him around and see if I could get something for him – which could open the door to keeping Shavlik Randolph and Steven Hill. Plus, he’s in the final year of his contract and ought to be with a team where he can get playing time. That’s not this team.

Sergio Rodriguez: He’s better. Slowly but surely, he’s getting better. Playing time will do that for you.

Jerryd Bayless: Still pounds the ball too much. In time, he’ll learn. Less is more when it comes to dribbling around in the halfcourt. No question he’s got some tools, though.

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Tags: Greg Oden, Jerry Sloan, Jerryd Bayless, Martell Webster, Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers, Sergio Rodriguez, Shavlik Randolph, Steve Hill, Travis Outlaw, Utah Jazz

As I reflected on yesteday’s post about Mike Schuler, the former Trail Blazer coach, it came to me that I didn’t mention another very interesting fact about Mike — that he had so many nice clothes. He once told me he could go through an entire 82-game NBA season without ever wearing the same suits, ties or shoes twice.

I mean, I don’t know what your closet looks like, but I’m lucky these days to get through the week without a repeat appearance of some form of clothing.

Anyway, the point of all this is that I’ve often wondered why basketball coaches have to wear jackets and ties on the sidelines during games. Am I the only one who thinks it’s a little nuts to see these guys in hot arenas, surrounded by sweaty guys in basketball uniforms having to suffer through a game while wearing expensive and not-really-appropriate-for-sweaty-work clothes? They don’t wear these things to practice and most of them don’t even wear them to the arena on game nights — they change just prior to the game like actors slipping into costume.

Yeah, I know it looks “nice” to have them dressed up. But come on, these days lawyers, teachers, doctors — all sorts of professionals who used to wear the jacket and tie — have put them in the closet for good.

On even a good day, a tie is a nuisance. I mean, whoever came up with the concept that wrapping something around your neck and cinching it up tight is the standard we must all meet while working? It certainly doesn’t feel good, at least until you get used to it. And to have to be wearing it through an overtime game with pressure building up on all sides — it’s crazy. But the NBA and most colleges make the whole thing mandatory, although a turtleneck sweater does make a sneak appearance once in a while.

Baseball managers and coaches wear uniforms just like the players. I realize, it looks a little bit goofy on the old and overweight ones. But hey — for the most part they’re comfortable and you can dribble spit on yourself and not worry too much about ruining an expensive shirt or tie. Football coaches have had to fight for the right to wear a tie on the sidelines and Mike Nolan did it recently only to pay tribute to his father, who wore a tie in the old days. About 90 percent of the time, football coaches wear team gear that’s for sale at the souvenir shops — which is the idea, of course.

Now I know some of these fancy-pants basketball coaches would wear an Armani suit and a tie even if they didn’t have to — because they’re just made that way. I picture Rick Pitino wearing a slick suit and expensive tie in the middle of the night on a trip to the Quicky Mart for a six pack. But I think it would be cool if basketball coaches could just wear whatever they want. And the league is missing a big marketing opportunity by not making them wear casual gear with team logos – available for sale upstairs on the concourse so that you can dress just like your favorite coach.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think the basketball world would collapse — at any level — if you let these guys coach in a nice pair of slacks (or even shorts!) and a team-issued polo shirt. And given the comfort level in being able to bounce around freely without worrying about the nice clothes, they might even coach better. And don’t even get me started on the shoes! My goodness, put some basketball shoes on those guys — get rid of the expensive loafers with tassels that don’t belong on the hardwood floors, anyway.

I’d love to see what kind of clothes Jerry Sloan or Rick Adelman or Mike D’Antoni would wear, given the freedom to choose. And what would Nate McMillan opt for? He’s got some nice threads, so maybe he’d stick with the suits.

But what a statement it would make for a big game if one of those guys came out in a pair of basketball shorts and a warmup top — you know, ready to DO BATTLE, looking as if he is all set to kick some butt – instead of looking like a pretty boy headed for a night club.

Not that I’m expecting it to happen, of course. The NBA is so image-conscious that it has a policy for what players are supposed to wear on the way to games. The league certainly isn’t going to allow coaches to cavort around the sidelines looking like, well, you and me.

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Tags: Dwight Jaynes, Jerry Sloan, Mike D'Antoni, Nate McMillan, NBA dress code, Rick Adelman, Suits, Ties