| I was afraid to say it earlier, and I guess now it's too late to claim so without looking like a doofus. I've been burned a couple times these past three weeks or so, thinking that the Blazers would have a bounceback-type game, where everything clicked over a theoretically lesser team. Even if they did manage to eke out the win, it was nothing like I imagined them playing, with confidence and team fluidity, everyone understanding their roles and playing as a unit, executing crisply. So I was afraid to confidently predict that the Blazers would come out energized and freshly focused on task against a dangerous Atlanta Hawks team playing some of its better basketball of the year. I had a hunch but truthfully had lost some of my own confidence. Seeing LaMarcus fail miserably covering for Joel in the middle when Oden would normally be in, seeing Travis languidly defend and carelessly shoot--I wasn't sure that they really were up to that task. But I did say this, earlier today: This is their time to step up, now that they've got the vote of confidence and they are fully bonded as a team, a group of guys all pulling for each other. I'm hoping this non-activity will flush the so-so play of the last month and renew everybody's spirit and energy for the playoff drive. Fans got that in spades tonight. The Blazers really gelled and came together as a team to beat a talented Hawks squad that admitted later they just didn't have enough to keep up, as Roy and the outside sharpshooters slowly buried them in the second half. And bless Nate McMillan, I swear he's the only person who reads these recaps--because damned if it didn't seem like the team took my half-informed advice from the last game: give Bayless a shift of Sergio's when the team needs an offensive spark, and let the team run if it wants to run. Obviously I don't know these men, but it's seemed clear that from the first folding chair on the bench to the last, this particular group of young professional athletes trusts and cares for each other, and feeds off their common experience in a way that leads them to exceed the normal boundaries of their years and talents. Did the uncertainty of how that circle might change at the upcoming trade deadline, cause subconcscious anxiety and hesitancy? We can't be sure, and the players themselves probably don't know or wouldn't admit it publicly. What we do know is that there seemed to be universal relief and a renewed sense of purpose after Kevin Pritchard said the roster (minus Ike) would stay the same. And I think it also renewed the challenge and crystallized their common purpose: win together. What I've seen others say as a way to criticize the lack of a roster shuffle--you win championships with 2-3 All-Stars, not 1--is probably true, but what it probably means is that the Blazers just aren't a championship team yet, but the same group of players very well could be a year from now, or two, or three. So why mess with that? Still, on the court for the rest of the year--where the reachable goal is definitely homecourt and a first round win, I'd say--the reality of the talent level and heightened play in the runup to the playoffs demands that every Blazer rededicate himself to providing their part of the chemistry. Without that star level talent, it will take the combined efforts, everyone chipping in a little bit here and there, for the goal to be realized. {What I saw that fulfilled this promise, at least for a night, below} |
Against the Hawks, that sense of camraderie, picking each other up, working hard, playing a team game--it was all there. There was also plenty of high-flying, entertaining as all hell action, and individual exploits; the happy irony of selfless, aggressive team play is that it opens the door for individual moments of magic--alley oops, tough boards that lead to breaks that make for amazing passes and awesome finishes, blocks that humiliate somebody else's All-Star (cf "In Garnett's face, oooh that was nasty!") First and foremost, this was LaMarcus' best game in I don't know how long. Regular readers of my Blazer stuff know that I'm very hard on LA; I expect a lot and hold him responsible for a large part of the weight needed to carry this team to a title. He needs to lead with his play, in short. And while he puts in his numbers and usually the guy who gets them through the first quarter until folks warm up, in too many games he's failed to...represent, for lack of a better word. Well Jesus and Mary Chain, tonight Aldridge represented like a team of William Morris agents at Miley Cyrus' 18th birthday party. The entire US House of Representatives doesn't do this much representing in a workday. Everything that he didn't do in the Memphis game, letting Grizzlies penetrate his interior and steal his lunch time after time, he fixed. Against a pretty big and pretty physical Hawks frontcourt, I frankly didn't miss Oden for a game, or at least never worried about his absence. LA was that good--he was dominant. He was, I daresay, a beast. Everything you need to know about how he improved his game, you can tell from his stat line, and I'm NOT talking about his point total: 11 rebounds, SEVEN of them offensive. And a block. Those are Oden's rebounds, right there. And against Memphis, they were Memphis'. Against Atlanta, by Jehosephat those were LaMarcus' rebounds. And the best part was the kind of rebounds they were--in close, where LA was in great position, got the ball and put it right back up, finishing and a couple of times drawing the foul too. And remember when I pointed to the difference from last game when Joel was in, vs when he went out (and LA became the tallest Blazer on the floor?) And used plus/minus to demonstrate it? Guess who led the team in +/- tonight? Yep, LaMarcus, +13. Usually they were + with an !, an authoritative jam that got the crowd and the bench pumped. On defense he was involved and very active, on offense he was not using his jumper (which was sweet again) as a crutch, but as a setup for his deep moves. On one trip he set on that block and you could tell the defender was ready for a turning fader. Instead LA went right and towards the hoop, moving under the outstretched arms for the And One. It was soooo pretty, because until now his post moves have not really taken him strong to the hole. Tonight he was looking to back guys down. I almost cried. It should be said that Travis also did a pretty nice job of getting in there for the tough rebounds, especially in the fourth quarter when the Hawks jumpers started getting more frantic. His shot was better tonight, showing up BEFORE the fourth quarter. And while he still got caught late on his man a few times, they didn't often enough take advantage. Channing Frye also had some really nice defensive stops on Al Horford in the 3rd, plus two steals in just 13 minutes. Glad to have you in town still, buddy! You get to enjoy another spring in Portland. And they all got help from Nic Batum, who has put together by far the best back-to-back games of his career. He was once again a lead player on the fast break, and was in there to get two O-reebs. He also had another two blocks (three if you count one washed out by a foul), including one of the patented Sneakin Up on Yo Ass behind-the-play numbers that he can already fill a highlight reel with. It's a jaw dropper every time: how the...did he get back so...dayyyum! Here's a sequence from the 2nd half live blog I did, that adequately illustrates all of the little things Nic can do already at 18, that makes people like Mike Rice call him untouchable in trade talks: Batum changes the shot and Joel gets the rebound. On the ensuing trip, Blake ends up finding Batum in the corner, who drives baseline and then shovels a sweet pass to Joel for the jam. He'll get one assist out of that, but it was so much more. He was in the lane, perfectly positioned to force a shot adjustment that made it go off rim. Joel was free to take the board weakside because Batum had occupied the shooter, and that started a semi-break. Who made it more break than semi? Nic Batum, who'd already gotten open in the corner when Blake began to survey his options. He had a three, but he also saw real estate open on the way to the hoop and took it. The hole closed as he neared the basket, but that didn't faze him either--look, there's Joel right under the hoop! I'll just whipcurl it around the defender to him. And this kid is 19 and nobody really even knows about him except covetous GMs. THAT is how you make up the difference for not having three All-Stars. I haven't even mentioned Brandon yet. LA deserved top accolades for his double double and for his overpowering play, but B-Roy had one of his don't-even-think-you-can-stop-me nights, where the defender just sits in front of his locker afterwards, a towel covering his eyes as he answers questions in a quiet voice: "Man, that's why he went to the All-Star game." Tonight, that man was Josh Smith, who is really quite a good basketball player. Smith looked like JV out there on Roy. The key to Brandon's offensive game is that midrange jumper, foul-line depth or so. If he can get confidence on his first couple of shots from that distance, he's a holy terror to guard the rest of the game. If he doesn't, his Plan B is to keep driving and trying to draw fouls and/or finish/dish until the team wins. But when Plan A is working, he just paralyzes people--is he going to drive, and if he is, is he going to finish or dish? Or is he going to drive and then step back and kill you with that jumper? Or maybe not even drive, just dribble up and pop? Or my favorite, when you know B-Roy knows he has his defender completely guessing: a couple of crossovers at the top of the key before BOOM, rain for two. Tonight that little jumper was golden from the get-go, and he barely went at the rim off the dribble, particularly just to get a foul (he had a great oop, though). Like Channing and Travis, Sergio probably woke up this morning feeling pretty good about the sunny day. Viva Portlandia! Unfortunately, his day at the office was not one of his better ones, after a pretty great game against Memphis. He was in for just 11 minutes, and went 1AST/2TO, just one bucket. I advocated in this space since Blake returned, that Bayless be used to provide some kind of spark when that slot is sluggish, and that's just what Nate did. It worked, too--in just two minutes, he had two assists and a steal. His +4 was almost entirely self-earned. Forgive KP if he can't yet figure out which one is the long-term sidekick to Brandon Roy, if either. Blake and Rudy had fine games; Steve was 5AST/1TO and somehow managed 14 points while going 1-7 from distance. (He was 5 for the other 7, is how). If he has his normal night from three, this game is over in the 2nd instead of the third. Rudy had a really active night and a strong 19 points, plus four assists and three three, including a couple of key shots in the second half. He also had a nasty crossover three that knocked Bibby off him and pretty well sealed the game at 104-88, when it looked like Atlanta might penetrate-and-draw their way to 30 foul shots and a drastically cut Blazer lead. After Rudy, the penetration stopped. Other than Sergio, everyone except Ruffin--who got 17 seconds and what I swear was a very cordial ovation at the end of the game--contributed something to the win. It was exactly what you'd expect from a team that had been given a big vote of confidence as a unit, and simultaneously realized that hey, no calvary are coming--if it's going to get done, we're going to have to be the ones who step up and do it. Against a strong team, very much like the Blazers in terms of talent level and offensive balance and playing some good ball right now, Portland had a complete team effort, over nearly 48 full minutes, and took care of business. If they maintain half that focus against the Clippers Sunday, it's going to be ugly for LA. |
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