Friday, February 27, 2009

T Wolves Preview

If ever there was a must win, tonight would up there for top consideration. The Blazers are coming off of two tough losses to the Rockets and Spurs and end tonight’s 3 game road trip in Minnesota. In the tightly packed western conference, by losing 2 games, the Blazers slipped from 4th to 5th in the standings. Bottom line is we need every win we can scrap up.

Minnesota is without their best player Al Jefferson, who is out for the year with a knee injury. However, they are still not to be taken lightly. It will almost be like playing a completely different team then the Wolves the Blazers faced earlier this year. Instead of dumping the ball into Al Jefferson and going off of him, they now primarily penetrate and kick for open shots. It will be interesting to see how the Blazers respond to this. It takes a lot of energy to cover teams like this and the question is do the Blazers have enough in the tank on this 3rd game of a road trip?


Kevin "Showing A Little Too Much" Love

Greg Oden will once again be out, and it’s not looking good for Sunday versus the Spurs at home either. I personally think people are making way to big of a deal about this, and I can’t think of a player who has ever been more closely monitored while in the IR. Relax people, it’s not a season ending injury, he will be back soon enough. Meanwhile maybe this helps prep another one of our bench guys (Channing Frye) in case one of our bigs goes down before the playoffs.

So how do we go about beating Minnesota? Here are my keys to the game.

Keys to the Game
1. Score In the Paint. A lot
The T Wolves interior D is like warm butter, we need to be aggressive (looking at you LaMarcus) and not settle for jumpshots. This weak D should be a welcome confidence booster after the last two games.
2. Get A Hand Up on Their Shooters
If this team is going to beat you it will because you didn’t challenge enough of their shots. We cannot just leave them wide open to cast away threes, we must rotate and help on the dribble drive.
3. Control the Tempo
Minnesota is trying to ramp up the pace now that Jefferson is out, but we must not get caught up in running with them, and play at our own pace. We will dictate this by taking quality shots and hitting the glass.
4. Relax And Play Like We Can
I am sure that many of these young Blazers are feeling the pressure everyone is putting on them to perform and reach the playoffs. We just need to relax and remember what got us here.

Gambler’s Corner

Blazers -4.5
Over/Under 204.5

I am going to take the Blazers and the Over. I think this game will be a lot like the Clippers game last week, and the Blazers will get easy looks early after playing the stingy defenses of Houston and San Antonio this week. Playing those two teams is like wearing offensive ankle weights coming into tonight’s game.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Bayless or Sergio?

For those of you looking for a Spurs game recap, don’t worry, I just decided to make it a different post then this one. Please see the “Blog Archive” on the right hand side for the recap.

After Wednesday nights loss to the Spurs I have read and heard many fans jabbering about Bayless not seeing the floor at all, and how Sergio sucks. Why isn’t Bayless playing over Sergio? Sergio has reached his ceiling. How are we supposed to win with Sergio playing over Bayless? Who cares if Bayless makes mistakes, let him play through those mistakes. He needs court time to get better.


Then the same fans turn around and say, “what are the Blazers doing? We needed that win last night to stay in the playoffs.” And stuff like “Nate needs to tighten up his rotation so we can get into the playoffs.”


While I am as big as of a Bayless fan as anyone, you have to step back and take a look at these “fans” are contradicting themselves. On one hand they want us to play Batum, Bayless, and Oden a ton of minutes so they can “improve” by playing. Yet, they fully expect this team to not only get into the playoffs, but have a shot at homecourt advantage! I think you need to take a step back and realize how far ahead of schedule these young Blazers really are. Below are the average ages of the starting 5 for a couple of the eastern conference teams and the (9) teams in the playoff race in the west, including Portland.


Suns = 32.2

Mavericks = 30.2

Lakers = 29.8

Spurs = 29.8

Celtics = 28.6

Cavs = 28.4

Nuggets = 28.2

Rockets = 27.8

Hornets = 27.4

Magic = 27.2

Utah = 24.8

Blazers = 23.4


The only two teams with a younger starting 5 then Blazers are the Thunder and Grizzles, who combined, have 7 less wins then the Blazers.


Thunder = 22.8

Grizzles = 21.6


If that doesn’t tell you how special this team already is then I don’t know what will.

Bayless Needs To Prove Himself In Practice First


We have the youngest playing rotation in the league and are only 2nd to Golden State (20-37) in average roster age. Not only are we in the playoff hunt, but we were sitting in 4th, with homecourt advantage for a few weeks! I think fans, including myself, tend to get near sighted when it comes to our teams, and that’s why we say things like Sergio sucks, let’s play Bayless and let him make mistakes. Well, that’s fine, but the goal from day 1 of this season has been to make the playoffs. If Nate thinks that Sergio will help this team accomplish that better then Bayless then so be it. Do you realize that if we started playing Bayless over Sergio, we would have 4 rookies contributing significant time to our team? That is unheard of, especially for a playoff team. And don’t worry, Bayless’ time is coming. It’s not like Nate is going to stash him at the end of the bench forever, but Bayless still has a lot to learn. And if we know anything about Nate, he demands the most from his point guards.


A lot of people cite defense as the reason Bayless should be playing over Sergio, I would counter by saying that yes, Bayless is a better on the ball defender, but what about TEAM defense? I have seen multiple times when Bayless is a step late in the rotation and surrenders an open look. However instead of admitting Bayless was slow to react, or doesn’t completely understand the defense yet, we pass it off as great ball movement by the other team. Now I am not saying Sergio doesn’t mess up in his rotations, but defense is more then just playing on the ball and getting up in a guy. It’s about smooth rotations, good communication, and knowing where to be and when to be there. Bayless needs time to learn these things, and he will in good time.


Another misconception is “good offense” is scoring a lot of points. The reason I love basketball is you can do so many little things that contribute to your team winning (plus as a 6 ft. Asian post, points aren’t exactly easy to come by). Well Sergio is that guy at the point for us in the 2nd team. He sets the table very well for Rudy and Outlaw. Bayless still struggles with this, and while he is very good at getting to the rim, he needs to be able to keep his head up and get the ball to open teammates. There is no denying Sergio has a better grasp of Nate’s offense, and that just comes with time and experience. Again, Bayless will get there, he’s just not there right now.


Lastly, there is not denying Sergio’s chemistry with Rudy. That was obvious from the moment they stepped on the court together. Bayless does not have that connection with anyone yet. I am not saying he never will, it just doesn’t exist yet. That connection comes from just flat out playing a lot of ball with that person. For the same reason Batum starts over Outlaw, Sergio goes better with the second unit. You cannot tell me that today Batum is a better player then Outlaw. But Outlaw meshes better with the second unit and same for Batum and starters. It’s obvious that Sergio just meshes better with Rudy and Travis then Bayless does RIGHT NOW.


Wrapping this whole thing up, it sure sounds like I love Sergio and not Bayless. That is hardly the case, I am not a huge fan of Sergio, and LOVE Bayless’ potential. But that’s all it is right now, is potential. If playing time was doled out on potential, then I guarantee those average ages of starting lineups would be a lot lower. But it doesn’t work that way. Bottom line is it comes down to this question. Are you trying to win now, or are you trying to win in the future? Fortunately for us Blazer fans we’ve been able to enjoy the best of both worlds, which is definitely contrary to how things normally work in this league. Personally I think we have more to gain this year by getting into the playoffs and gaining that experience rather then get Bayless significant regular season minutes. And as much as it pains me to say it, Sergio is the one who gives us a better chance at getting that done THIS year.


What do you think? What is your answer to the question, Are you trying to win now, or are you trying to win in the future? I want to hear your guys’ opinions!

Spurs Recap



If ever there was an opportunity to snatch a win from San Antonio in there place last night was it. However the Blazers failed to capitalize and were outworked, outhustled, and outsmarted by the veteran Spurs. Tony Parker scorched us for 39 points (17-27 FG) and 9 assists. We let him pretty much get anywhere he wanted on the court, and it showed as he had 21 points in the first half on 9-12 shooting. Despite his amazing FG% in the first half we were still only down by 3 at halftime after a great individual effort from Batum to steal the inbounds pass and drain a 3 with 1 second left in the half. However, in the 2nd half we found ourselves settling for jumpshot after jumpshot and not taking advantage of the open looks generated by the Spurs double teaming Roy and Aldridge. They basically said “someone besides Roy and Aldridge step up and beat us”. Well no one did. It was a disappointing loss that does not fall on one player, but the entire team.

Individual Performances

Brandon Roy – Roy struggled to get a good look all night and ended up going 5-18 for only 14 points. Usually you see Roy getting teammates involved when he is having such a difficult time scoring, and he tried but no one else stepped up. I also thought Brandon was somewhat content settling for his jumper rather then getting the rim against the undersized Spurs.

LaMarcus Aldridge – Not such a pleseant home coming for LA. He ended with 13 and 7 on 4-9 shooting. He struggled to find his groove against he likes of Matt Bonner and Kurt Thomas. That just goes to show how good of team defense the Spurs play. Like Roy, LA could not/would not get to the rim, and relied on his jumper far too much.

Steve Blake – Blake killed us by going 0-9 and 0-2 from 3. He struggled to keep Parker in front of him, and was exposed early and often. During the 2nd half, I noticed that Blake began to get gun shy and was not shooting open shots when they came to him off of Roy double teams. If you are not going to take advantage of the open looks given to you by the other team doubling, then you deserve to lose.

Channing Frye – Too bad this game wasn’t played on a “Friday”. Get it? Frye had his best game of the year with 15 points and 7 rebounds. He seemed to be the only one to truly mix it up on offense, and played a season high 25 minutes. He was one of the main reasons we were in the game as long as we were.

Travis Outlaw – Outlaw played well also, scoring 13 points (6-9) and 5 boards. I wish we would have went to him a little more down the stretch, but I don’t know if it would have changed the outcome of the game.

Nicolas Batum – Batum did his usual thing, plus some 3’s. The last two games Nic is 5-6 from deep. That is definitely a welcome stat.

Joel Przybilla – Przy played decent and ended with 8 points and 10 boards in just 22 minutes. Przy was shelved in favor of a smaller lineup to matchup with the Spurs small lineup a little better.

Sergio Rodriguez – Sergio played a very good game, and ended with 8 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and only 1 turnover in 20 minutes. He is the main reason Frye and Outlaw got off to such a good start. Sergio was definitely the right play over Bayless tonight.

Rudy Fernandez – Rudy continues to struggle with his shot and ended with only 5 points (2-8 FG, and 1-6 from 3). Out of all of our rookies, you can see the “Rookie Wall” affecting Rudy the most.

Game Summary in One Sentence: A tough loss, and a not so nice reminder of what it is going to take down the stretch to get into the playoffs.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Rockets Recap/Spurs Preview

Podcast

Just another reminder that we posted another podcast, you can download it here, thanks guys.

BREAKING NEWS: Tim Duncan will be out tonight versus the Blazers.

Game Recap

Man these back to backs kill me. I have to write a recap AND a preview in the same day. Man life is tough. That was my “e-vite” to my pity party, don’t worry you don’t have to RSVP if you don’t want to. But let’s get to the goods.


Last night’s game was a very interesting one. The Blazers seemed to come out focused and determined to not fall behind early like they have so many times this year on the road. We led by as much as 7 in the first quarter, but then we gave way to a huge Houston run (23-3) that spanned the mid 1st quarter to the mid 2nd quarter. It was very frustrating to watch, as the Blazers settled for jumpshot after jumpshot. Granted Houston plays very good defense, but come on! 23-4! We went into half time down 17.


The Blazers came after halftime ready to go, and in typical Portland fashion never quit on this game. They managed to bring the game within 3 points with about 2 and half minutes left in the game. But that’s where the magic stopped, the shots stopped falling, and Houston hit all their free throws. A play that stood to me in particular was LaMarcus Aldridge’s wide open jumpshot with about minute left, that he clanged off the back iron. I thought about all the talk from him about how he wants to be in the limelight more, and be one of the big 3, well that was your chance! Roy is there cause he steps up! Where are you?!? Now maybe that is a little too harsh, but he talks about being a go-to guy and a pillar of this team, but he needs to walk the walk. Another killer was back to back offensive rebounds given up to Houston late in the game. Portland was going with an unusual lineup of Roy, Rudy, Travis, Batum, and Aldridge. Batum just couldn’t handle Scola who secured both boards for Houston. When you are on the road, those are the kinds of plays we need to make.


After that loss, we moved from 4th to 5th place in the western conference, and more importantly lost the season series to Houston giving them an advantage in any sort of tie-breaking scenario. It will be interesting to see how we bounce back tonight.


Individual Performances


Brandon RoyRoy ended with 24 points (10-23 FG), 5 boards and 5 assists. Houston was very physical as expected and we didn’t get a ton of calls. Roy managed to somewhat fight through it, but he seemed to settle for a lot of jumpers. Tonight was one of those nights that we needed someone else to step up.


LaMarcus Aldridge – Aldridge had a confusingly bad showing. Although he ended with 21 points and 8 boards, he was only 37% from the field (7-19). I was expecting a big game from him due to the fact that he was in his hometown state, and he had a combination of Scola, Chuck Hayes, and Carl Landry guarding him. I thought for sure he would have a great game, but he struggled with the physicality of the Houston defenders.


Steve Blake – Blake played very average after a spectacular game versus Clippers. He ended with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists with 1 turnover in 40 minutes. While this isn’t a horrible stat line, we needed him to step up tonight offensively, to negate his struggle on defense against Aaron Brooks (20 points, 5 boards). Brooks had an easy time going right around Blake, which in turn opened things up for everyone else.


Nicolas Batum – Batum caught fire in the 3rd quarter, and was the key component to the Blazers bid to get back into this game. He had all 14 of his points in the 3rd and was 3-3 from deep. It was an encouraging sign to see from him considering his shot has been off for some time now.


Joel Przybilla – As always it is hard to measure Przy’s impact by looking at the box score. Przy played amazing D tonight against Yao who ended with 15 points (6-15) and 5 boards to go along with his 5 turnovers. Bottom line, Przy made sure Yao didn’t beat us.


Travis Outlaw – As some of you know I tend to harp on Outlaw quite a bit, but last night at the end of the game, why were we not going to him!?!? He was the only one who was having success scoring, but instead we go to a pick and pop with a double teamed Roy and a somewhat broke Aldridge? Doesn’t make sense to me. As Batum did in the 3rd, Outlaw kept us close in the 4th, but we couldn’t quite deliver a dub-a-ya.


Bayless/Sergio – Both combined to only play 11 minutes, this could be a sign of things to come as Nate tightens his rotation for our stretch run.


Game Summary in One Sentence – If we can play with the urgency and energy we did in the 2nd half for an entire game, we would have homecourt advantage for the playoffs.


Game Preview


After a disappointing loss to the Rockets last night, we have another tough game against the Spurs of San Antonio. I am beginning to think Gregg Popavich hates us. First he rests all his starters versus our division rival Nuggets, and last night sits Tim Duncan out to presumably get rested for tonight. Now it is not for sure that Duncan

will go tonight, but if I was a betting man I would say that he is a go.


Tonight’s game looks to be even more challenging then last nights game. After a somewhat rocky start to the season, marked by injuries to their key players, the Spurs have bounced back to solidify themselves as the Lakers main rivals out west. It is the same story as in years past, they play a tough, physical style defense with crisp rotations and move the ball well on offense. We must bring our A game tonight if we want any chance at beating these guys at their place. A bonus for us is Manu is out for tonight's game, so that is one less threat for us to worry about.


Greg Oden is out again for tonight’s game and we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will be available for Friday night’s game against the T-Wolves. This again hurts us as we go against one of the leagues premier bigs in Duncan. Let’s hope Przy can have as much success tonight against Ducan as he did last night versus Yao.


Keys to the Game


  1. Stop Tony Parker’s Dribble Penetration
    1. It all starts with our on ball defense. If our PG gets beat then we are at a disadvantage as we scramble to rotate and cover open guys. The Spurs have too many good shooters and are too good of passers for us to survive too much Tony Parker.
  2. Hit Our 3’s
    1. After going just 5-15 last night from 3, Portland needs to bounce back and shoot closer to 40% tonight for us to have a chance. We need to make up points somewhere, and the 3 point line and free throw line is where it’s going to come from.
  3. Run As Much As Possible
    1. San Antonio is a great defensive team, and if we let them get set in their half court defensive you are going to see a lot of the same thing as you saw in the first half last night versus Houston. We must get out and get some easy baskets.
  4. Play Through the No-Calls
    1. We have to expect that we will get next to no calls in our favor tonight, accept it, and play through it. It seemed like last night our guys tended to get a little too caught up with the no-calls/physicality of the game. We cannot let that happen again tonight or this game will be over quickly.

Let’s see if we can take advantage of our youth tonight and bring more energy off a back to back then San Antonio. It will be interesting to see how the Blazers respond after last night’s tough loss.


Gambler’s Corner


Blazers +1.5

Over/Under 179.5


I am going to take the Spurs and the Over. I see it as a tall task for these young Blazers to get a win over a savvy veteran club like the Spurs coming off a back to back. Also, I think the Spurs will dictate the tempo of the game, and that will keep the score low as we are forced into too many jumpshots. Oh I am also taking over +4.5 times they show Eva Longoria in tonight’s broadcast.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Podcast & Houston Preview


News

Hey, I finally got our second podcast up. Check it out under previous post “Podcast Baby!” Trust me, it’s really, really good.


Game Preview

Many have billed tonight’s game against the Rockets as a “must win” or “the biggest game of the year”. While I agree that it is important, I don’t think it is the end all be all. The Blazers go into tonight’s game against the Rockets with a half game lead for 4th place in the west (home court advantage). So a win could be a huge coup for a team who is trying to make the playoffs for the first time in 5 years. Many people think that Portland is going to be a one and done team in the playoffs, but I strongly contend that if we can gain home court advantage we could do some real damage. The Blazers are significantly better at home and are just ok on the road (3 games below .500).


The Rockets are without Tracy McGrady who announced yesterday that he will be undergoing the dreaded microfracture surgery today to repair his bum wheel. However, a lot of people think that Houston is better without a half dead McGrady on the floor. I agree somewhat, but you can’t tell me that you would rather play Aaron Brooks over Tracy McGrady. He might have been bad this year, but I’d rather have T-Mac anyday. It will be a tough matchup for Roy tonight, as Ron Artest is starting at the 2 guard opposite of Roy. Roy has had difficulties in the past with Artest, and it will be interesting to see how Brandon plays tonight with a little more experience under his belt. It seems as though someone besides Roy and Aldridge will have to step up for us tonight, and it will be interesting to see if anyone rises to the occasion.


Greg Oden is out again, and likely out for tomorrows game against San Antonio as well. This is a tough break, because with Przy starting, it doesn’t leave us with many options to go against Yao and Duncan if Przy gets in early foul trouble. We would either have to go with Channing Frye or Aldridge.


Keys To the Game:


  1. Przy Must Stay Out of Foul Trouble
    1. We need him in the game to go against Yao, and also we can’t afford to send Yao to the free throw line where he is an 88% foul shooter.
  2. Not Back Down Against Houston’s Physical Play
    1. Artest, Battier, and Scola are all physical players who will push our guys around. We cannot fold under that pressure and must play our game not theirs.
  3. Win the Rebound Battle
    1. We need to out rebound Houston. Their entire team crashes the boards hard so we need to make sure and get a body on someone and not just turn and watch the ball being shot.
  4. Treat This Like A Playoff Game
    1. This game will have a playoff atmosphere to it, so we need to bring it tonight. No time to start slow, we need to get going right out of the gate.

Gambler’s Corner


Blazers +4.5

Over/Under 190


I am taking the Blazers and the Under. I think that they will keep it close if not win, and both teams are going to slow it down and play a half court game.

Podcast Baby!

Hey guys I finally got our 2nd podcast up! Just an FYI we recorded this on Sunday so if any information is stale that's why. We cover injuries, the coming and passing of the trade deadline, the playoff picture and your guys' questions. Thanks again to everyone who wrote in with a question. I hope you enjoy!

Download Podcast

Oh, and check back later today as I will have a game preview for tonight's game versus the Rockets.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Clippers Game Recap

Just wanted to announce that I planned to have a new podcast up today, but the website I load them onto was down last night so I wasn’t able to get it on. But, look for it later tonight, I am going to try to post it. Thanks to everyone who emailed in questions, I am pretty sure we addressed them all.

Game Recap

Wow, that was a good game. The Blazers scorched the Clippers last night at home to the tune of 116-87. Portland jumped out early and scored a season high 37 points in the first quarter. But the real story of the game was Steve Blake and his record tying 14 assists in the first quarter. He tied the all-time record for assists in a quarter and set the all-time record for the first quarter. Blake only managed to finish with 17 assists, but then again he only played 28 minutes. This wasn’t much of a game and it was a good opportunity to get our starters some extra rest. The Blazers also set a season high of 38 assists as a team, eclipsing their previous high of 31, and almost doubling their per game average.

Individual Performances

Steve Blake – Steve set the tempo early. We started out running and Steve’s main beneficiary was LaMarcus Aldridge. Blake was pushing the ball up the floor and getting us easy basket after easy basket. He played great tonight, and what makes it even more amazing is the fact that this is only his 3rd game back.

LaMarcus Aldridge – LA played great tonight. He got out on the brake and regularly beat his man down the court for easy dunks. It was hard not to imagine what kind of numbers LA would be putting up on a team like Golden State or Phoenix. He ended with a season high 28 points and 10 boards in 26 mins. Good work.

Brandon Roy – As always, when the team is playing good Roy seems content to step into the background and let his teammates shine. That is exactly what happened with Roy tonight, even though he still put up 20 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. He’s good.

Travis Outlaw – Travis did his usual thing of jumpshots and getting to the rim some. He ended with 15 points on 6-13 shooting in 24 minutes.

Nicolas Batum – Batum got involved in the flurry of assists from Steve Blake ended with 10 points in 25 minutes.

Rudy Fernandez – Rudy played pretty good and scored 11 points in just 16 minutes. It was good to see him get some rest and still hit double digits scoring.

Channing Frye – Channing Frye did a good job of filling in some quality minutes. He played 24 minutes and ended with 7 board, 2 steals, and 4 points. That’s pretty good considering he hasn’t played hardly at all this year.

Jerryd Bayless – Bayless played only 12 minutes but had 7 points and 2 assists. It was good to see him get some burn.

Sergio Rodriguez – Sergio played good, and had 6 assists and only 2 turnovers in 17 minutes of play.

Shavlik Randolph – Shav not only chummed it up with Brain McKnight before the game, who was there to sing the national anthem, but put on his best performance of the year with his man crush in the house. Shav had 9 points, and 7 boards in just 8 minutes of play. I think maybe he should get a little more burn after that.

Game Summary in One Sentence – Got out in front early and never looked back.