Archive for November, 2008

30
Nov

A Great Sunday

By John 0 Comments
Categories: General Blazers

I woke up today, as I usually do, around noon. I then remembered, oh ya, the game today starts.. right now! That’s the first bit of good news when you wake up on a Sunday, a Blazer game. 

 

The game today promised to be a tough game. Going to Detroit, on a Sunday to start a five game road trip, plus it was the first game since Turkey Day, so let the sluggishness ensue. Well, the Blazers are not that team anyone. They came to the Motor City and opened the game strong, breaking open a solid first quarter double digit lead. Then the bench would come in and lose the lead in the second quarter and it took Roy, Aldridge and the rest of the starters to build up a halftime lead of 8. Then the dismal third quarter play and early forth tied the game at 75-75. Then, ROY showed up and carried the team to a 7 point lead with just 5 minutes left to play. The Blazers never looked back and started the 5 game road trip with a GREAT win (also a win I did predict… Just saying…).

 

Oden: He still suffers on offense, but he is essentially a write in for 8+ rebounds, which is nice. I still love the play of Przybilla, so I would say things are on pace for the center position, all things considering…

Roy: I think it is said best, Roy is just amazing. He is consistent, and even on his “off” nights, he makes a difference. Tonight (or today rather) he played a solid game. When the team needed him, he carried the team on his back. He hit big shots, drew fouls and did his thing like always.

Batum: FINALLY! Batum got solid minutes today and showed why he deserves them! He made smart plays, good passes and hustled like always. Kept at least two offensive plays alive that resulted in points for the Blazers and outplayed Outlaw and Fernandez today. He finished with 7 points, 7 rebounds in 30 minutes. Those are not AMAZING stats, but he played solid defense and his hustle was key.

Aldridge: This was his best game of the year. He had 27 points against Rasheed Wallace, which is no easy task. His play is the reason (with Roy) that the Blazers won today.

 

All in all, a great Sunday road win against one of the NBA’s best teams.

30
Nov

Wild Wild West

By John 0 Comments
Categories: General NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers will win the Western Conference. I am fairly secure with that assumption, but look at the rest of the West and it’s up for grabs. The Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers are all tied for second in the West with a 11 - 6 record. Then comes Utah at 11 - 7, New Orleans at 9 - 6 and the San Antonio Spurs at 9 - 7. Who is on the outside? The Dallas Mavericks at 8 - 8.

 

The shockers would be that Denver is a real playoff team, New Orleans is not fighting LA for the conference and the Spurs and Dallas (traditional powerhouses) are 8th and 9th, respectively.

 

There is nothing the Blazers can do expect win their games and hope it works out. A 600 record (50 wins) should be good enough to make the playoffs. In fact I don’t think any 50 win team has ever missed the playoffs. You know some teams (Utah, San Antonio) will really turn on the after burner after the All Star break, so teams like Portland, New Orleans and Denver need to do their best now to give themselves a buffer. Of any of the 11 - 6 teams, Portland has to be in the best position, having played only 7 home games and about to head out on a 5 game East coast trip. After that trip (so long as Portland goes at least 2 - 3), the Blazers start to play a consistent level of home games through the remainder of December.

 

Also of note, ESPN’s Playoff Odds give the Blazers a 99.7% chance of making the playoffs and a 11% chance of winning the NBA World Championship.

29
Nov

Another Five Game Trip

By John 0 Comments
Categories: General Blazers

Portland leaves the Rose City still undefeated at home, with a 7 - 0 home record. The Blazers have been one of the worst road teams in the past three years and struggled terribly at the start of last season. But hey, this is an all new team, and nothing proves that more then the 11 - 6 record the Blazers show with having played an absolute ridiculous schedule. So, we head East for a 5 game trip against 2 powers (Boston and Detroit), 2 players (Toronto: Bosh and O’Neal) and 2 teams in limbo (Washington and NY Knicks).

 

November 30th: Detroit (10 - 5)

The Iverson trade took a turn this week when he missed practice for no good reason. After being benched from his starting job in the next game against the Bucks, Iverson looked great, getting 17 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals, which is a solid showing. The Pistons have looked really great and really off, it just depends on the night. They are 5 - 2 and have always been a tough matchup for the Blazers. They have weapons everywhere, and Wallace is a matchup for anyone, but Aldridge might be game, as he plays in a similar style. The big question is who plays Iverson. Roy? Batum? Blake? I’m just not confident that Blake can contain his former Denver teammate. The Pistons are tough, but the Blazers will be ready for this game. This might be a “homer” pick, but I think the Blazers steal a win. Aldridge will contain Wallace (meaning 15 - 20 points), Roy/Batum will play with Prince/Hamilton and Iverson will get his points, but we will win the rebounding battle (he misses a ton too). Oden v Kwame Brown is a wash and the Blazer bench (Fernandez, Frye, Rodriguez and Outlaw) make the difference.

 

December 2nd: NY Knicks (7 - 8 )

 

The Knicks have a near 500 record, but have already written the season off. The Marbury troubles continue and it really looks like a mess. Lebron came to New York, but much to the sadness of Knicks fans, he left again. Will he be in a Knicks uniform in 2010? Maybe, but he’s not now. This is not only a winnable game, it is one of those “must/need to win” type games if the Blazers are going to make the playoffs. Win your home games and beat sub-500 teams on the road and you are in. If Portland falls to Detroit, they should get revenge against New York. If they win in Detroit, even better: “hello 5 game win streak!”

 

December 3rd: Washington (2 - 11)

 

I’m not going to go into too much detail. The Wizards are bad, really bad. Once Agent Zero returns, they will be a 500 caliber team, but now, they are just a Oklahoma City caliber team. No matter how the first two games of the road trip go, this is a W for sure, you can bank on it… (please note that the term, “you can bank on it” doesn’t hold much weight since something like half of USA banks are bankrupt… just saying)

 

December 5th: Boston (15 - 2)

 

Much like the game against Washington, this is an easy call: Boston. They are too good and this game is the 4th game in a 5 game trip. That doesn’t spell success, unless your a C’s fan. The real game is in Portland on the 30th. That should be a good indicator of how good Portland is, can we defend our home court against the Eastern Elite?

 

December 7th: Toronto (8 - 7) 

 

I am really excited about this matchup. Bosh and O’Neal are a great force but Aldridge Oden/Przybilla have been killing the boards and getting plenty of open shots for Roy, Fernandez and even Frye! Calderon meets the Rodriguez/Fernandez duo for the first time in the NBA, which will be fun to watch. There will be a lot of Spanish being spoken in Canada, where the national language is both English and French, go figure.

As for the game, it could go either way and it will be telling. How can Portland respond to a loss on a road trip against an elite team (Boston)? The bench in Toronto is a little suspect, but Portland’s bench didn’t look great as of late with Fernandez, Outlaw and Rodriguez struggling to score. They do make other contributions, but just re-watch the New Orleans game if you think our bench is unbeatable. I will pick the Blazers, just because Im a homer like that, but this is a very easy game to lose (so is the Detroit game). But, if we do lose to Detroit, then this game is more winnable. Trust me, the players will be pushed so hard to go 3 - 2 on this trip and they will make it happen, they believe they can beat anyone, and they can (except Boston).

29
Nov

LaFrentz Trade “Unlikely”

By John 0 Comments
Categories: General Blazers

Marc Stein of ESPN has ranked the top players with expiring contracts and the likeliness that that player (and contract) will be traded. LaFrentz comes in at #9, with an expiring contract to the tune of $12,722,500 (much of which is covered by insurance). Stein also comments that he views a LaFrentz trade as being “Unlikely.” All of Blazer nation has looked at this contract for at least the last few months in the hopes of getting a big name guy in exchange for the expiring contract. In fact, if you ask a Blazer fan what “The Contract” is referring too… Im guessing at least half would know that the answer is LaFrentz. Travis Outlaw’s play has been pedestrian at best, but (apparently) other teams are showing interest. How does a LaFrentz + Outlaw trade rank “Unlikely?” I suppose the answer Stein gives is satisfactory, in that the Blazers need to free up cash to sign players to long term deals over the next few years (Oden, Roy, Aldridge, Frye are the main players who will require new contracts/extensions in the next few summers).

 

I for one, think KP will trade “The Contract.” As the season goes on and teams get desperate for cap room this summer, LaFrentz will be looking better and better. The main issue is who the Blazers would want in return. A point guard? A small forward? I think the real answer will come when Webster returns. If he is in good form and looks like the starter of the future (with Batum a solid backup) then the need for a small forward my disappear. But, if Webster has lost a step or doesn’t preform, expect KP to go on the market for a small forward, and expect Outlaw to be a package in that trade (Webster just signed an extension and Batum has too much potential to pass up).

28
Nov

All Tied Up

By John 0 Comments
Categories: General NBA

The NBA season started on month ago, and the Northwest Division is no clearer now then it was on opening night. In fact, it is much less clear now that Denver is a serious playoff contender. The Blazers, Nuggets and Jazz all share the lead in the Northwest Division with a 10 - 6 record. The Jazz have had the “easiest” schedule so far and have been the most disappointing. They have played the most home games of these three teams (8, while Portland has had 6 and Denver 7) and faced the least Western Conference teams (9, while Portland has faced 12 and Denver 11). Portland has the highest point differential at +4.4, but Denver leads in scoring, at 100.0 points per game.

 

For all intensive purposes, Utah has disappointed, Denver has pleasantly surprised and Portland has weathered the storm that was the first month of NBA basketball with possibly the most unfriendly schedule ever.

24
Nov

What Happened Monday

By John 0 Comments
Categories: General Blazers

1) Travis Outlaw. Here it goes, I’m off the band wagon. Trade him, play Batum more, or do something, but he in no way deserves the 30 minutes a game he is playing. Yes, he had a spirited offense rebound in the fourth, but he also has no fundamentals and can’t be trusted with the ball. It’s that simple. Batum is a better shooter, puts in a ton of effort and can’t be trusted with the ball either. I mean, Outlaw almost cost us a win tonight against the Kings, sure Roy didn’t get open but come on, Outlaw just looks for his own shot 90% of the time. Webster, I can’t wait for you to return.

 

2) The Chicago Bulls were able to beat the Utah Jazz, in Salt Lake City, thanks to a last second shot by Larry Hughes. This moves the Jazz to 9 - 6, trailing the 9 - 5 Denver for the NW Division lead.

 

3) Greg Oden moved into the starting lineup, but the real story is the stellar play of Joel Przybilla. He might not score a ton of points, but he puts forth more effort then any other Blazer (sans Roy), and it shows. He gets rebounds, blocks and puts away dunks. He has really proven to me in the last few games that he is a VERY important part of the team, even if Oden is the future. Oh yah, Przybilla had a double - double (and 2 blocks, 2 steals on 5 - 6 shooting… but the shot he missed was a 50 foot one armed lob to end the quarter).

 

4) He’s back. Manu Ginobili returned for the San Antonio Spurs tonight and scored 12 points, 4 rebounds and an assist in just 11 minutes.

 

5) Brandon Roy is really, really good. He has begun to take over games. He did it against Houston, tried to do it against Phoenix on Saturday and did it again tonight against the Kings. If it’s the fourth quarter, watch out, Roy needs the ball, and he should be getting the ball. There should never be (ahem rarely be) a possession where he doesn’t at least touch the ball. He finished the night with 28 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Those are great numbers, but beyond the numbers, he is becoming a true court leader and showing that he really is an All Star.

 

6) REBOUNDS! The one noticible difference from this year to last year is that the Blazers are getting rebounds, and doing it on both ends of the court. Last season, Portland was one of the worst defensive (and offensive) rebounding teams. This season, we are dominating the offensive boards and getting better on defensive rebounds. Thanks to Aldridge, Oden and Przybilla, the Blazers once again dominated the boards, beating the Kings 48 - 32 on the boards.

24
Nov

PHEW!

By John 0 Comments
Categories: General Blazers

That was WAY too close. After blowing out the Kings in Sacramento, I expected them to come to Portland wanting revenge. This ending was scarily similar to the San Antonio Spurs game (our home opener) when we basically got lucky that the opposing team missed a very makable shot at the end of the game after we blew our chance to put it away. What was Outlaw doing, his look wasn’t terrible I guess, but just cause you make a game winner last year doesn’t give you the green light. There was still about 6 seconds on the shot clock and that really opened the gates for the Kings to win. That was not a game that the Blazers won, it was more that the Kings lost it, in my opinon. I justify saying that because Portland could never put the Kings away, and was basically holding on in the fourth quarter, then a few lucky breaks and the Blazers escape with a win.

 

Good News: With the Jazz loss, Portland picks up a full game on Utah (9 - 6). We still trail Denver (9 - 6) for the NW division though.

24
Nov

Oden & Aldridge

By John 1 Comment
Categories: General Blazers

As reported earlier in the day, Oden started the game tonight against the Sacramento Kings. This will be a great opportunity for Aldridge and Oden to “bond” on the court against a very inept front court of Miller and Hawes.

 

Aldridge has grown in his back to the basket game this season, but is still not your Tim Duncan type low post threat. If given the chance, Aldridge may very well choose to take the 15 foot jumper as opposed to the 5 foot hook. Oden, on the other hand, has not taken a shot outside the key in… forever, and don’t expect him to soon. I think the growth of Oden and Aldridge as a team will be very important. There was a great example early in the first quarter in the game tonight against the Kings. Aldridge had the ball maybe 7 feet from the basket, with Oden under the basket on the opposite side. Aldridge put up a makable, but 2nd best shot, when he could have dished the ball to Oden for an easy dunk. I think in 2 months, Aldridge would dish the ball, but the two just are not that comfortable playing together yet.

 

The more comfortable these two get in playing together, the more easy looks both players will get. Teams are often cheating on Oden, not playing a true double team, but a help defense. This will still leave Aldridge open on countless occasions.

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