| I chose sanguinity as the theme for tonight's wrapup, because while I also laid down some buzzkilling reality in the title--the Blazers are not as good as the Dallas Mavericks, just as they did not appear to be as good as the New Orleans Hornets, and they should feel good about the split under the circumstances--the truth is I'm not as bummed out about the loss as I have been on other evenings. In fact, I'm actually feeling confident, if not cheerful about the present, and definitely expectant for the future. And as I wade into a bit of a rant on a familiar subject, keep my sanguinity in mind. How soon is now? Not yet, that's tonight's lesson. I saw some good things in certain areas against the Mavs that show me the gap is really not that wide between the two teams (although maybe a little wider than against the Hornets). But there is a major, major deficiency in the team on most nights, and against good teams they remain simply unable to overcome that deficiency without a freak groin injury or a miracle three. We all know what it is, the youthful disease that dare not speak its name. No, not chlamydia. These are the NEW Blazers, people. Pay attention! No, I'm talking about Preventatus Orificious--otherwise known as Craphole Defense. Joel Przybilla, another great night for you in relief, although it seems This Bird Has Flown again on your recent offensive flurries. Don't care, not why you're there--hit the showsrs, buddy. Nice job. The rest of you---ennnh! Stay put, let's chat. {dodge the folding chairs, below} |
Yes, Dallas has been torching other teams, better teams than Portland, in the very recent past. Yes, there is no shame in giving up 50%+ to a good team on their home court. There might be a little more shame in being 2-17 over your last nineteen against them, but OK, these are new days. Yes, they are new days for the team, and Portland wants to show it can compete. And allowing Dallas fifty-five percent--closer to 68% as late as the mid third quarter...68%!!--is a big sign scrawled in Sharpie on your forehead after you pass out drunk, saying "you suck." And even if you do, it might YET be forgivable if Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry do all the tearing into you for that 68/55%. (They certainly helped). But Brandon Bass goes 9-11 on you? You manage to get Dirk in trouble with two fouls early on in the 2nd quarter, and the result is you let Bass drop little jumpers on you instead? I'm willing to cut Oden and LA some slack when it comes to actually guarding guys like Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler down low--but when you're getting chumped by Hilton Armstrong and Brandon Bass, that's a weakness. It's almost kind of funny to hear the Mikes comment on how some guys just seem to rain out of nowhere on the Blazers, who you wouldn't expect. There always seems to be someone who, as a fan you sit in your recliner and shout "THAT GUY?? You're letting THAT GUY pivot on you? FEH!" There is also the related malady of having aforementioned opposing chump guarding you on the block, and fading away with a 12 footer on him, instead of daring him to set his feet before the pain train comes with the rock. You know why these guys exist against Portland? Because Portland don't guard a brotha. It's just our laid back way--"no man, put it up, good luck to ya." You know? "Oh well, hey--if you're going to rotate TWICE on us, I guess we'll have to let you take an an open one." Or, "What? You're not going to wait until I get back down the court after missing my third off-balance pass to nowhere, you're just gonna blow by me instead? Suckage. Hey look, we get the ball back!" I'm being dramatic, but there's a reason that knowledgable people would tell you that a guy who buries 50 half-court shots in a row in an empty gym is not necessarily an NBA All-Star. How's he do when someone would like to prevent him from making those shots? A different story, perhaps. Point being, there isn't a guy on an NBA roster who shouldn't be able to drop at least passably on you, as long as you give him an open look. Thus the rotating Unsung Hero for the Other Guys Award as Portland makes its way through the league. OK, I think I've got it out of my system. All it really took was that one quarter, the second, to bury the Blazers, but otherwise the game was actually really close and fairly well competed. Would it surprise you to know that Portland won three of the four quarters, including the first in which the Blazers closed well on a spiffy 15-4 run and took the lead? Maybe the fourth quarter is a bit tainted by the lack of urgency by Dallas, but the third was evenly contested, Portland winning 27-25. In quarters 1, 3 and 4, the Blazers were +9. In the 2nd, -14. Ouch. Put it in those terms, and things don't actually look THAT bad. Even with the lapse, the Blazers had multiple opportunities to win this game. Not until the very end, when Dallas pulled its starters and then had to put them back in when Portland somehow closed to three, did the Mavericks start playing like they were coasting, holding Portland at bay. Otherwise they had to work, and I think they were a little surprised that it was needed. And while that's a bit of weak tea, yet another cup of delicious moral victory, there is something I think we can take away from this one--more and more, the offense is not really a problem. They find themselves in some nasty holes, but they are clearly capable of scoring quickly, playing aggressively and canning their shots from multiple players at all angles. They WILL crash the boards and make opportunities. Bring back Blake's distribution and Martell's touch, and this team will be a devil to stop. It's certainly better to be a balanced team, like the Celtics, or to have a game changing star like Kobe or LeBron. And you probably can't win a title with only one half of your game sizzling. But I think you can indeed be a playoff team, a 1-2 series winning team even, if you are able to compensate enough for your weaknesses. For Portland, this means can they score and maintain their efficiency high enough, to allow the other team to make more than half of their own shots and still win? It can work, against a lot of teams. Against the elites? Almost never, and against their peers in the West it will burn them more often than not as well. But against the scrubs, the teams that should be helping you build your win total, the Blazers are doing enough other things to compensate for the fact that they're needing every one of those precious points to keep pace with what they're doing down at the other end. And don't underestimate the ability to consistently beat the teams you should be beating. Ask Denver (1-pt win vs OKC), Hornets (dropped by 15 to the Bulls--the Bulls!), Houston (by 11 to the Grizz) and Phoenix (by a dozen to GSW) how much they cherish a loss to a team they should run circles around. As much as they might have wanted this game, losing to Dallas right now, when they're up two games on them in the standings, and on a night when several other in the big West scrum teams either lost or looked terribly, seems like the least painful time to do so. Watch these games coming up against Oklahoma City. As I said, other teams are starting to have trouble with them, and they are making games of it against superior competition. So far the Blazers have not fallen into that play-down-to-the-opposition mode, and so I actually expect Portland to win this one fairly smoothly in the end. Then there are a whole string of games against the Thunder and Grizz of the Association. Even with the heavy necklace of poor defense hanging around their necks, against lesser talent Portland has proved they can overcome, in a variety of ways. We''l see. |
RSS Feed: http://www.loadedorygun.net/rss/rss2.xml
