Well, we’ve got months now to evaluate this season and to look ahead to next year. So we’ll save an in-depth analysis for all the dog days to come. At the same time, a few observations on Thursday night’s season-ender:

– Man, why did Jerryd Bayless keep entering that game? I know Andre Miller didn’t play well but he played just 18:26 compared to Bayless’s 29:10. One veteran media guy who has seen more NBA games than I have over the years turned to me at halftime and said, “That guy (Bayless) may be the most selfish player I’ve ever seen. And to keep putting him out there to watch him go to the basket to get his layups blocked is crazy.”

– Rudy Fernandez may have gotten hot in this game. Well, yes, he WAS hot. But seriously, he probably gave up more easy points than he scored. The guy bordered on tragic comedy at the defensive end.

– Martell Webster and Fernandez are pulling shots out of their backside, including several three-pointers with hands in their face, but when LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy come back in the game, the ball stops going to the weak side of the floor. It’s back to the two-man game with Roy and Aldridge and so the ball stops going to the hot hands. Stops cold. And speaking of cold, Roy was 4 for 16 and Aldridge was 5 for 17. Ugh.

– See previous item when talking about the Portland coaching situation. Unless this team changes its offensive system (or actually finds an offensive “system”) this is what’s going to happen in the postseason. The whole scheme is dependent upon those two guys carrying the team with a series of one-on-one moves out of isolation. Works in the regular season when teams have no prep time and cannot adequately prepare in the avalanche of an 82-game season. But in the post-season with time to prepare? It’s a suicidal offensive scheme. Portland made the Suns’ defensive scheme look like the legendary Pistons’ Bad Boys defense.

– One thing I heard afterward from several people — “Well, the Suns were just the better team.” Yes, I’m afraid that’s correct, as long as Nate McMillan is coaching this team. All the injuries have bought McMillan another season — one more year to show what he’s doing isn’t going to work in the playoffs over the long term. I’m astounded at how people don’t look at how many open shots Blazer opponents get out of their offensive systems and how many contested shots Portland ends up having to shoot because its players cannot create their own shots against double and triple-teams.

– Yeah, the off-season will once again be filled with the Blazers searching for “another guy who can create his own shot.” Damn, Roy can do that as well as anybody but not against three guys. Already, the Blazers play more one-on-one than any other team in the league. Roy is in isolation more often than LeBron or Kobe. HELP THE MAN! Get him some stuff that he doesn’t have to turn himself into a pretzel to get! Move the ball and move bodies instead of just standing around! Yeah, I know, you’re sick of hearing that. But the problem is, you’re going to get even more sick of watching it in the future.

– The Blazers used 10 players by halftime. Damn, 10? This is supposed to be time to shorten the rotation, right?

– Nic Batum was sensational at defending Steve Nash. But Batum is also one of Portland’s best shooters and he got just one shot — with Steve Nash guarding him. And he played only 13:59. What a joke. So often, he exited for Bayless — who gave Nash someone to guard. The entire season, the Blazers never figured out how to use Batum’s length to challenge Nash. What a totally wasted opportunity. Instead, we saw Bayless trying to take him to the basket — which the Suns finally figured out how to stop. Man, just have a big man drop off his man and go block the shot — Bayless isn’t going to drop the ball off to anyone, he’s just going to try to force something up.

– Greg Oden? Bizarre. That’s all I can say. We’ll have more time to talk about it this summer, but man, this kid has a long way to go.

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So does good ball movement and the Phoenix Suns’ inability to make shots. But also give full credit to LaMarcus Aldridge — who seems to need the whole town jumping on his case in order to get himself going. And of course, credit the presence of Brandon Roy for opening the court up for everyone.

It was a bit of a weird game. Portland once again won the battle of fast break points, by a whopping 16-4. The Suns quit making open outside shots all of a sudden. The Blazers once went about eight minutes without a field goal. The Suns opened the game with an avalanche of backdoor cuts for dunks. Portland failed for almost the entire fourth quarter to take advantage of Steve Nash defending Nic Batum — I mean, call a timeout, run Batum down the the low post and throw him the ball. He wouldn’t need any post moves — just turn and throw it down in the little man’s grill. Man, a coach like Mike Dunleavy would have made sure whoever Nash tried to guard he’d have a long day — especially if it’s a guy who stands 6-8.

But anyway, it was great to see Roy back on the floor, just eight days after his knee surgery. Among other weirdness, by the way — Rudy Fernandez didn’t play in the second half, Martell Webster played only 12:42 in spite of giving his usual consistent, solid effort, Batum was called for retaliating to a nasty elbow to his right shoulder delivered by Amare Stoudemire that ought to earn Stoudemire a fine, Channing Frye and Jerryd Bayless were both called for flagrant fouls that weren’t all that flagrant and the Blazers outscored the Suns 17-5 in second-chance points. And oh yes, I continue to be amazed that Nate McMillan insists he’s telling his defenders not to switch on pick-and-rolls and they continue to do it time after time. It put them in so many vulnerable situations that it was amazing they overcame it to win.

This is why I love the NBA playoffs. Stuff happens — stuff you don’t expect. This was the kind of effort from Portland I wish we’d seen on Thursday night. Even if the team loses after giving this kind of effort, you can’t complain.

I do believe it’s anybody’s series if Roy is back to stay and can quickly round into shape. If he can bring his game up a little more, move just a hair better and stay safe, the Blazers have a shot at this thing. And oh yeah, Aldridge has to keep rolling those big numbers, too.

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Yeah, I think Game 3 of this series Thursday night was worse than the first game of the Houston series last season. What a fiasco. And sorry, you aren’t going to read anything about gutty fourth-quarter comebacks here. If that’s what you came for, move on please. The Suns got so far ahead they quit paying attention for a few moments.

Dunks and wide open — and I mean WIDE OPEN — jump shots for Phoenix. And contested jump shots for the Trail Blazers. For. Ever. Or so it seemed.

I swear, at halftime of this one, Paul Allen, the Vulcans and the whole Trail Blazers roster should have been standing by the exits giving refunds to fans on their way out of the arena. I cannot remember seeing a home team go out and puke on itself like the Blazers did — uh, except that Houston game, of course.

Boos were raining down from the crowd with 20 seconds to go in the first half and my only question at that point was, “What took them so long?”

How could one team have been so poorly prepared for a home playoff game two contests into a series? It simply cannot happen. Hell, Oklahoma City was down 0-2 to the Lakers and went home and beat them. The Bulls came out down 0-2 at home to the Cavaliers and beat them.

Look, I know Brandon Roy isn’t playing and that Nic Batum is hurt. I’m not saying Portland can win this series. I’m just saying — there are still some talented players here and all I ask is that they play hard and smart. But it wasn’t even close to that Thursday in either department.

That was all Portland could muster in the Rose Garden? Against the Suns?

Sorry, Blazer fans, but that’s a joke. And questions have to be asked. Serious questions about the direction of this franchise and the way it’s been handled. Questions like this:

– Is there any real system for playing defense? Suns coach Alvin Gentry did a great job prior to the series setting up the Blazers — talking about how great their pick-and-roll defense is. Yeah, sure, Alvin — and your nose is growing quicker than LaMarcus Aldridge’s reputation for softness. I lost track of how many times ill-advised switching on that pick-and-roll ended up with Portland big men guarding little guys — or trying in vain to guard them. The Blazers — since Nate McMillan got here — have not been able to defend a pick-and-roll. It’s like a bad joke.

– And about that offense. I mean, you just can’t expect, in the playoffs, to rely on jump shots. It’s been said over and over and it’s true. Especially when you really don’t have good shooters in the first place. It’s an isolation team and in the playoffs, when teams have time to really prepare for them, the Blazers are sunk. Dead in the water. They can’t get anything going unless one player simply carries them on his shoulders, the way Miller did in Game 1. No ball movement. No player movement. How many times have I said that over the last few years? One more time with emphasis — NO BALL MOVEMENT AND NO PLAYER MOVEMENT!

– Rudy Fernandez, what the hell is going on, man? If you want to get yourself shipped out of here, you’re certainly on your way. In fact, I was surprised he wasn’t on a flight at halftime. Those fourth-quarter shots? Seriously — do it while it’s still a game.

– Nothing quite says “choke job” like 12 missed free throws, does it?

– LaMarcus Aldridge, what the hell is going on, man? You going to complain again about seeing double teams?You aren’t “the kind of guy” who is going to shoot over double teams? Well, uh, when you make that kind of money, you’re SUPPOSED to get double-teamed. That’s kind of how it works. And that grandstanding little set-to with Amare Stoudemire in the third quarter? Yeah, right. The guy tries to elbow you in the chops and you make a big show of doing something — well, next time why don’t you just wait until the next trip down and throw one of those ‘bows of your own?

– Yeah, I know — all those injuries. Well, sorry — that doesn’t explain away that game. Not in the slightest. Not in ANY way. Forget about that excuse. I made this point before, this team overachieved only a little during the regular season. There are still talented players here. This team won 50 games during the regular season amid a season that, on the morning of each game, was favored to win 48.

– Jason Richardson? Uh, fellas, he can MAKE that shot, OK? Might be a good idea not to leave him open every FREAKING time from the three-point line, don’t you think?

– I investigated this personally and I can report to you that it wasn’t those new compost bins every 15 feet in the concourse that were responsible for that stink emanating from the Rose Garden. Nope.

– The Suns were really dumb to engage in any sort of physical altercations with Portland in the second half. I mean, let sleeping dogs lie. And I do mean dogs.

– Oh well, Saturday’s another day. if the Blazers can muster enough courage to show up, it ought to be a better game. Well, just about ANYTHING would be a better game, wouldn’t it?

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Some players feed off the crowd much more than others. In fact, I’ve seen players in all sports who were seemingly impervious to crowds — both friendly and hostile. I always felt Michael Jordan was that way. He was above it all.

Others, though, benefit greatly from a friendly and raucous crowd. Portland’s Rudy Fernandez is one of those. I wouldn’t be surprised, if the fans stay with him, if Rudy has a bounce-back game tonight. He’s due — a much better player than he’s shown so far. But if he doesn’t start attacking Steve Nash tonight — early and often — he’s going to have to find a seat at the end of the bench for the rest of the series.

I have no idea what’s going on with this guy but it’s looking like one big pout from him so far. Why? I have no idea.

I would also expect Nic Batum to play. Maybe not a ton of minutes, but I bet he does. And that will help, quite obviously.

But what about LaMarcus Aldridge? Well, a lot’s on him, too. I know he’s facing some double-teams. Yeah, that happens. But it’s no excuse for not playing hard. For not going to the boards. For not contributing. He’s got to stay out of foul trouble, run the floor, rebound and get to the spots on the floor where he can score. It appears to me the Suns have been pushing him outside the places where he’s most effective with his jump shot. If that continues to happen he’s not going to be productive.

Man, if LaMarcus would start this game by throwing an elbow in Amare Stoudemire’s chops, he’d get a three-minute standing ovation. Sorry, that was just a dream. Ain’t going to happen.

All in all, I expect a real emphasis from the Blazers to come out strong at the opening — just to erase memories of that mess in Phoenix Tuesday night. Portland needs to immediately establish a defensive tone and regain control of the tempo. That’s extremely important against the Suns — who, as we’ve seen, are so much more comfortable playing fast.

Portland is going to have to ugly the game up a little bit. This game can’t be pretty for the Blazers to win it. In other words, bump and grind on defense, get after the Suns on the boards, slow things down, get to the foul line, make it a physical battle and then win that battle, get back in transition to cut off cheap baskets — in general, just muck the game up.

And fans, you’re really going to have to bring it. This is Portland’s Super Bowl week — the biggest sporting event of the year in this city is always the NBA playoffs. This can be the best homecourt advantage in the league and it’s going to have to be every bit of that to impact the veteran Suns. I mean, it’s going to take a lot to disrupt Steve Nash.

It ought to be a fun night.

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Well, Trail Blazer fans, at least they don’t tally NBA playoff series the way the idiots running soccer do it. You know, those “two-game playoff” series where they carry over the score from one game to another to determine the winner.

You lose a game by 1 or by 31 here and it’s all the same. Doesn’t matter.

I think more than getting clobbered in the game, the thing that really mattered Tuesday night in Phoenix was that Nic Batum injured that pesky shoulder. That will have more impact on this series than the margin of victory Tuesday.

But a few more observations:

– Man, Rudy Fernandez needs to PARTICIPATE. I mean, PLAY, man! He’s so reluctant to take a shot it’s embarrassing. Seriously — what’s up? You’re not any help if you don’t make shots. And to make them, you have to take them! Guy looks frightened.

– LaMarcus Aldridge was doing his best Clifford Robinson impersonation. You remember Cliff, right? He was legendary in his playoff impotence. Guy shot 43.8 percent from the field in a long NBA career. And 35.6 percent from three and 68.9 percent from the foul line. A very good defender and a distinguished player. But in a whopping 141 playoff games, Robinson made just 39.3 percent of his field goals, 29.8 percent of his threes and 62.9 percent of his foul shots. Man, that’s a Heimlich Maneuver poster right there. And yes, I hope LaMarcus’ 39.3 percent shooting and 3.5 rebounds-per game in this series is just a two-game fluke and not an indication of Robinson-esque problems in the playoffs to come.

– Phoenix was crazy good. The Suns will come back down to earth Thursday night. But Portland has to find a physical match for the Suns’ energy.

– Now THAT’s the Marcus Camby offensive game I remember from previous seasons.

– Andre Miller is going to have to assert himself more against Grant Hill. Don’t let the ball denial keep you away from the ball — and work him a little harder on defense so that perhaps he doesn’t have the energy to make every shot he takes.

– All in all, you write this game off and move on. Forget about it. The Blazers still have the homecourt advantage and my guess is, they’re going to be very difficult to beat in the Rose Garden.

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The Portland Trail Blazers were terrific for the most part Sunday night. But no look back at the game would be complete without a nod to how bad the Phoenix Suns were.

The Blazers missed six foul shots and a wide-open dunk in the final two minutes of the game and still scored 35 points in the fourth quarter! I mean, wow. That’s not the kind of defense you win with in the postseason. But in spite of all the hype, the Phoenix Suns are still the Phoenix Suns — an offensive circus but not good enough defensively to be taken seriously in the poseason.

The Blazers outplayed the Suns at both ends of the floor all night and the game should not have been as close as it was. If LaMarcus Aldridge had made the shots he usually hits, it could have been a rout.

Now do you see why Phoenix is such a great first-round matchup for Portland?

Meanwhile, the Blazers put together a very good defensive game plan. Without Robin Lopez in the middle, Marcus Camby can cover Amare Stoudemire — which means real trouble for the Suns. Stoudemire is almost forced outside because he can’t get to the shots he wants against Camby’s length. It’s a real quandry for Phoenix, because it cannot win without a big contribution from Stoudemire. And it’s doing to be a problem for the Suns as long as Camby stays healthy and out of foul trouble.

As I said last night on television after the game, I have very few rules for the playoffs but one of them is that when Andre Miller hits a three-pointer — particularly in the fourth quarter — you should win the game. (Man, what a pro Miller is — his basketball IQ is off the charts and at times he seems to be able to get to anywhere on the court he wants to go).

You can add to that, when Jerryd Bayless goes 6-for-10 from the field, you should also win. Bayless shooting well from the outside is a rarity and a bit of a scary proposition long term, because he’s not going to do it often — which means you are inevitably going to have to live with some ugly misses in the next game or two while he adjusts to the fact that he’s really not much of a shooter.

But by that game, Aldridge will probably be making shots, or Rudy Fernandez, or Martell Webster.

I cannot make this point often enough — and I feel like I’ve made it for weeks now about the Trail Blazers: It’s not who is missing from your lineup, it’s who is playing for you. And the Blazers still have a bevy of talented players. And that’s something a good many people haven’t caught onto yet.

Look, Nic Batum is one of the best 20-year-old players in the world. Andre Miller is still a terrific point guard. Camby is a center worthy of defensive player of the year honors year in and year out, when healthy, during his career. Martell Webster and Rudy Fernandez are guys who could start — and maybe even star — for a good many NBA teams. Aldridge is going to be an all-star some day.

Folks, even with Brandon Roy on the sidelines, this is a very talented collection of players. And right now, it’s a very comfortable situation for them, flying under the radar as underdogs against a team from Phoenix that’s still, after all these years, not made for playoff success.

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Without Brandon Roy against the Phoenix Suns, the Trail Blazers are going to have to be close to perfect to have a shot at winning the series. Very close to perfect.

But Portland has a chance. And better than a slim chance.

Rudy Fernandez is going to have to be the player he thinks he is. You know, I always say that in his mind, he came over here from Spain to be a star, not somebody’s backup. So now, let’s see it Rudy. Here’s your chance on a big stage — go show the world who you are.

Martell Webster is going to have to consistently make shots and continue his solid defensive effort. I don’t worry about him as much for one reason — Webster’s effort level has been high all season long. He shows up.

Nic Batum needs to make shots, too. The Blazers cannot afford him to check out this season during the playoffs. As heavy a load as he’ll carry in the playoffs at the defensive end, it’s going to be hard for his team to win if Batum doesn’t contribute on offense.

LaMarcus Aldridge? Simple — step up and be the main man. Leading scorer, solid rebounding, big minutes, clutch plays. That’s all. Just be the man. Yeah, I know — we may be asking a lot here.

Marcus Camby needs to also play big minutes and score. And expecting points from this guy is sort of  dicey. He’s not been a consistent scorer throughout his career. This is getting to be a theme — EVERY player needs to help on offense in this series because without Roy, points are going to be hard to come by, even against a defensively challenged team like the Suns.

Andre Miller is going to have to make sure he gets to the post and punishes whoever tries to defend him. Certainly Steve Nash can’t do the job. But Miller needs to remember that there’s a reason he gets open for all those 18-foot jump shots — and it’s because he can’t make them. So don’t take them. Please.

As well as the Suns have been playing, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them struggle in the playoffs. It happens. There’s often little connection between the regular season and the postseason. And the Suns, whose defense is up and down, are a prime candidate for change when play gets more physical, as it often does in playoff games.

Portland needs to run a little, too. You must take advantage of the Phoenix transition defense — which is when the Suns are most vulnerable. Do not think the Blazers have to stall the pace — that would be a mistake. The Suns will defend better in a slow-paced game. As Antonio Harvey pointed out this morning on the MSP, if you slow them down you only slow yourselves down — Phoenix will keep on running and get its points and you won’t get yours.

And I would expect the Blazers to try to get more physical. Make sure they get a body on Nash as often as possible. Push him around a little. Make sure the boards are cleaned up. Pressure them a little.

And the fact that Portland has already won once this season in Phoenix — without Roy — is important. This isn’t like asking for a win in Utah or Denver.

It should be a good series. Even without Roy I will be disappointed if Portland doesn’t at least win its home games. There is enough talent here to make it close.

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OK, that’s how you’ll remember this game if you were there.

What I’ll also remember, though, is the change at halftime in the Portland Trail Blazers in their win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Portland went from pretty poor to terrific in a blink. Especially at the defensive end.

Man, the second half was about as good at defense as I’ve seen Portland in years. Playing Martell Webster together with Nic Batum and Camby gave the Blazers the ability to do some things they haven’t done. Mainly, they could help and switch and be much more active than usual. They got to open shooters and still cut off the penetrations — something that was absent in the first half.

There is no question that the Blazers are a better defensive team without Brandon Roy. At least the sluggish Roy we’ve been seeing much of this season. I don’t think he’s moved well throughout the year. I’m not saying they’re a better team overall, but certainly they defend better. Roy just cannot move the way Webster can — and going forward to the playoffs I could make a case that this kind of defensive improvement has a chance to make up for a lot of Roy’s potential absence.

Oh, and I WILL remember some of those wacky outside shots by Camby. The guy needs time to wind that shot up, loading it up like an old-time softball pitcher. But on this night it went in most of the time. Shockingly.

The second half, by the way, was also marked by Portland’s sudden realization that starting Thunder center Nenad Krstic did not play because of — guess what? — a knee contusion. That meant the Thunder were undersized but it took the Blazers until the second half to realize they could jam the ball inside and get points. Suddenly, Portland started taking the ball to the basket — even LaMarcus Aldridge, who got off to a horrible start in this game — and getting results.

Down the stretch, the Thunder got buried. The Blazers were rolling and the fans were having as good a time as they have all season. It was a special night for the fans — enjoying, for the first time since Greg Oden went down, a measure of pride and hope for the upcoming postseason.

And after selling the barn out all year, they deserved a night like that.

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First off, is there any doubt this is the team Portland would fare best against in the first round of the playoffs?

Frankly, Dallas just doesn’t defend very well. The Mavs loaded up on Brandon Roy Thursday night and did a decent job of jumping him, double-teaming him and basically making it difficult for him to get off a shot. But at least Roy was able to make most of the shots he did get.

Portland did an even better job of throttling Dirk Nowitski. The Blazers crowded Dirk all night and I thought, did about as well as you can do with one of the most prolific offensive players in the game. It was a very nice job. And while Portland’s other players were able to step up and help take up for the slack of their leading scorer being held under his average, the Mavs were not.

Now that said, last night was a little easier than it could have been. In the playoffs, you’re probably not going to see a free-throw disparity of one team shooting nine times (Dallas) and the other (Portland) shooting 26 times. It’s probably not going to happen and it was a key part of the Blazers’ success.

Man, I love what Caron Butler brings to Dallas. His 25 points and nine rebounds were effortless yet spectacular at times. I thought Shawn Marion did an outstanding job on Roy and can still throw in a lot of those garbage shots he takes that look ugly but go in. I love to watch Marion’s release on shots from distance — he looks like a guy caught with a large hand grenade who is trying to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

And yes, while Marcus Camby was a huge help on offense, if you put his jumper alongside Marion’s on the ugly meter, I believe the meter would blow itself up.

But Camby stepped up with LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Miller to deliver this one for the home team.

A couple of notes here — the Mavs had zero fast-break points. Zip. That’s pretty incredible. Portland got 101 points off 80 shots even with a sub-70 percent free-throw shooting night. And had nine turnovers while shooting 50 percent. You’re not going to get much more efficient than that. … The Blazer bench played more than 70 minutes and had just seven rebounds and no assists. … Jerryd Bayless? I sense his playoff minutes are going to be very short unless he starts playing better. I could see a three-guard rotation in big games with Bayless out and Rudy Fernandez in. It just doesn’t look like the coach is going to trust him much — and with the way he’s been playing, I don’t blame him.

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Man, guard somebody. And at the other end, make some attempt at getting the ball inside. Does this sound like a broken record with the Portland Trail Blazers?

The aggressive team gets the calls and the Nuggets got more than their share all day long. And they ganged up on Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, making it extremely tough for them to operate. At the upper level of the NBA, this is how it works. It’s a playoff preview, too — because that’s the way any good team, given time to prepare, is going to play the Blazers.

And the Blazers don’t have enough ball movement and player movement to take advantage of it. That’s where the total frustration comes in. This is not a new problem.

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