No, it Wasn't the Defense--Spurs 99, Blazers 84 by: torridjoe Thu Feb 26, 2009 at 02:00:16 AM PST

If you're a regular reader you're more likely than not also routine visitors to Blazer Dave and Ben of BlazersEdge, who now routinely find themselves cited as news sources in national sports publications like ESPN.com. (The issue that Henry Abbot and Ben are talking about there is actually something I was going to post on tomorrow.) For me the sun doesn't stop shining on their asses when it comes to the NBA and the Blazers--although I'm not so awed as to forbid myself to disagree with them on a particular subject.  I'll pretend that I'm not so much disagreeing with Dave on the takeaway from tonight's loss to the Spurs, as I am filling in the blanks of a first half where the DirectTV feed was lost for many folks, that he admits leaves a certain hole in his perspective. But I do have a more optimistic (or brutal) viewpoint on what exactly led to the loss. Dave's thesis seems to be mostly that the answer to Portland's loss lies in the gulf between the Spurs and the Blazers that is painfully evident to watch, predicated almost entirely on the mantra of proper defensive execution, a mantra that comes in many ways only with experience and lots of teamwork in high-pressure situations. But beyond that, the poise, physicality, energy, hustle, reliance on fundamentals--God, are the Spurs fundamental!--these are the things that still separate the teams, and explain why San Antonio continues to be a nightmare no matter where we play them. See, here's the thing: I don't disagree with any of that. There's no doubt when you watch them together, when push comes to shove the Spurs are better coached, better talented from a pure, how-to-play-NBA-ball perspective, and better executing as a team. This is not really a disappointment, superficially; the Spurs are in fact likely the 2nd best team in the West and probably round out the top 5 in the Association. So if all that's true, what's my beef? Having watched the whole game--and maybe that doesn't make a difference, because I don't quite see what Dave saw in the 2nd half we both watched anyway--all that stuff about the gap between the teams isn't why Portland lost. Portland lost because Tony Parker is among the elite game changers in this league, and because the Blazers missed OPEN shot after OPEN shot to an extent they could no longer overcome by the fourth quarter. {more, below}

torridjoe :: No, it Wasn't the Defense--Spurs 99, Blazers 84

First, to the question of Mr. Longoria's wicked sickness, or perhaps it's his sick wickedness: I hate those odd ESPN recap videos that come with the recap story on NBA games, but watch the one of this game...I'll wait here... OK...aside from I think one nice jumper by Travis to give the Blazers the lead in the second quarter, what was that entire video composed of? Tony Parker being ridiculous:   He cuts right past a chasing Blake outside the arc and then  darts the other way around a backsliding Frye to the goal for two  He fakes a leisurely advance--and then blows around the  surprised Roy on the baseline  He gets stupid on Blake, who really stays in front of him the  whole way across the lane--but spins and hits a ridic bank  He steps from the 3pt line INTO a jumping Travis and hits  And then he launches a three far left wing over TWO Bs Come on now. Thirty nine points of this--and clearly more if it had been required--was not the difference maker? Was it really the fundamental defense played nightly by the boys of the Alamo? Here's a thought: he dropped 37 on the Mavericks doing exactly the same thing: taking the offensive slack from Duncan and Ginobli and scoring nearly at will regardless of who's guarding him. Is Dallas like Portland? Untested and in some cases apparently unable to process team defense? Or is Occam whispering, "Tony Parker pretty much made it his job to put the other team to bed?"    The other thing that keeps me from giving the vaunted (seriously) defense of the Spurs, is that the first half was really quite competitive, and the Blazers were indeed dominating inside and getting some good looks and holding the Spurs to one shot on defense. Dave talked specifically about the defense played on Roy--one on one outside the key, double as he approached and the house near the hole--and in the fourth quarter, it was indeed an effective strategy. I saw a better Roy to start the game, and plenty of the shots he loves to make. He just...missed them.   And OK, let's take Roy out of the equation. Perhaps the strategy was to let non-superstars take their shots and live with the results, but letting Frye and Sergio take shots skips a layer--what about the other two guards? Rudy and Blake: 2 for 17, including 1 for 8 from distance.  And they too had their normal shots in their normal places. Were they crazy open a crazy number of times? No. Were they open enough to make their shots like they normally do? I think they were.   If the difference in the game was San Antonio clamping down on their defense in the second half, and that proves the point, well OK I guess. But the truth is that the Blazers let the Spurs shoot their 53%, like pretty much everyone these days--and it was their own cold touch that failed to carry the team. Steve Blake 0-9? Please.   I also have to wonder: Blake's shoulder, crashed in a pick last night by Yao? Brandon's elbow, which he was really pained by last night and nothing was said of this evening: is that why their shots were off? Rudy's been ice cold for a while it seems, but Roy and Blake have been MONEY since the break. Apologies to Bonner and Bowen and Oberto, but...I don't think it was them. Either our guys were just cold as a group--and maybe that's a problem of itself, the way it seems to happen--or one or both guys was quietly toughing out a night when their rhythm shot was a painful one?   I actually feel better about this game than the Houston game for a couple of reasons. First of all, the Spurs are simply better than either team, so a loss has to be less of a blow, although they were pretty shorthanded. Secondly, the Blazers played in control longer, were being aggressive inside and getting second chance points, and staying within 9 at all times (it was almost uncanny how Portland would get any kind of lead or deficit, and eventually it would come back to exactly 9).   Friday's game is a more straight up game, although Minnesota is playing quite well lately, every NBA team is tougher in their place, and the team will be tired. And I don't care who it is, Portland is not going to shoot 38% for the game. So they got that going for them, heh.

Tags: NBA, pro basketball, Blazers, Spurs, recap, (All Tags)

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