Thursday, March 5, 2009

Roy Love & Nuggets Preview

Gambler’s Corner Winner

The winner for February’s Gambler’s corner is a tie between Matt and Kiel! Good work fellas, and thanks for taking the time to read the blog and post. If you guys would like to submit a post to me, I will get it up on the blog. For everyone else, keep your eyes open for these posts!

Oh and if you are looking for a recap from last night’s game, check the Blog Archive on the right hand side.

Blazer News

ESPN’s John Hollinger has taken notice to Roy’s excellence late in games with an article today, for the entire article click here.

Brandon Roy needs a nickname, so let me boldly propose one: The Magnificent Seven.
For starters, he wears No. 7, which is helpful. But this season, he's the magnificent No. 7 in more ways than one.
Take a look at the NBA this season. Six players have been a cut above the rest -- LeBron James, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. But who has been the seventh-best? Search around, and you won't find anyone with a better case than Roy.

He is seventh in the league in player efficiency rating for a team that, coincidentally, has the league's seventh-best record after Wednesday's 107-105 win over Indiana -- one in which he scored 10 points in the final two minutes and 24 in the second half. Check the Power Rankings this morning; guess which team is No. 7?

[skip]

So why aren't we hearing more about this guy? He might be seventh on my stat charts, but he's nowhere close in terms of name recognition yet. Sure, he's a two-time All-Star, but the perception of him is more as a nice player than as a superstar.

[skip]

His game is pure craftiness -- changes of pace and direction, subtle fakes, midrange jumpers and cleanly executed finishes around the rim with either hand. It's jarring to see a player who is 24 years old play with such polish, something Roy credits to his older brother.

[skip]

And the other reason Roy's exploits don't get more attention, I must say, is numbers. Roy isn't a guy who excels in one category, so there's nothing to make you go, "Wow." Even the advanced metrics agree on this -- he's not among the top three shooting guards in any category except PER.

But here's the thing -- he's good at everything. Roy might not lead his position in any category, but he's in the top third in all of them.

[skip]

"If you let him get to the basket, he's so strong and shoots with either hand so well," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said prior to Wednesday's game. "He shoots an extraordinary percentage inside 5 feet."

High praise for Roy, and the entire article is good, so if you have some time go check it out.

Game Preview

I know I have said this a couple times already this season, but tonight’s game is the biggest of the season. It is for first place in the NW division, and although it may be short lived by either team with the way Utah has been playing, it would still be a nice feather in our cap.


Eff the Chest Bump Bro, That's Gay. Let's Do the Wiener Bump


Denver has hit somewhat of a slide as of late, going 5-5 in their last 10. That includes loses to Milwaukee, Indiana, and Detroit. Carmelo Anthony was out for their last game against he Pistons for violating team policy, by refusing to come out of the game when head coach George Karl attempted to take him out. Let’s hope that their locker room is still out of sorts for tonight’s game.

Denver has no key injuries for tonight’s game. As most of you know Greg Oden is out for tonights game. Man wouldn’t it be nice to have him tonight? He would be matching up Nene and Johan Petro. I have a feeling Oden would’ve had a very nice offensive night if he would be playing. However he is not, and we will go to war with the Przy. So how can the Blazers snatch up the division crown tonight? Here is what I think they need to do.

Keys to the Game
1. Crash the Offensive Boards
Denver is 24th in the league at defensive rebounding rate (rebounds per 100 possessions), and the Blazers are 1st in offensive rebounding rate. This is a huge edge, and we need to take advantage of it.

2. Make Some 3’s
We need to shoot a decent percentage from 3. Denver is not an especially good 3 point shooting team outside of JR Smith and Chauncy Billups, so we can gain some ground in this department.

3. Control the Pace
This will be hard to do because Denver plays at the 6th fastest pace in the league where Portland is 29th. They will have the advantage because a lot of the times the PG dictates pace, and Denver has one of the best. Remember though, it is ok for us to get out and run, but we cannot compromise on defense and give up easy baskets too.

4. Help and Rotate Sharply
We must be ready to help on Billups off the dribble and in the post, but then everyone else’s rotations need to be crisp as well. Think San Antonio.

How big would a win be tonight? With a relatively easy scheudale left, compared to Denver and Utah, this could mark the night the Blazers rise to the top of the NW division and don’t look back for the next 8 years.

Gambler’s Corner

Blazers +7
Over/Under 199.5

I am going with the Blazers and the Over. I think that they understand the importance of this game, and will come out and give it a good fight, if not win outright. I would not have been so confident, if I had not seen the Blazer team that came out inspired and sharp versus the Spurs only 4 days ago. Look for the Blazers to push the tempo, just like that game, and get over the 199.5 mark.

3 comments:

  1. Im going with the Nugs and the under.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So excited, Blazers and the over

    ReplyDelete
  3. Big game tonight! I'm taking the Blazers and the over...this is my first pick, so exciting.

    ReplyDelete