| Man, a game like that will make you wish you had three days between all of them! For a contest that was billed as (and was) a hugely important game with playoff implications for both the Blazers and especially the Suns, one team clearly looked ready to step up their game for that rarefied atmosphere of competition, and one team just...didn't. Good news! The Blazers were the up-steppers, and they stepped all over Phoenix by dominating all phases of the game. It was sweet. I had penciled this one in as a win some time ago, but as the game drew closer in the wake of that tough OT loss to Philly, I started to reconsider. And why not? Phoenix was hot, winning six straight--including two must haves against Denver and Utah, scoring 118 both times. Sure the Blazers had won in December at the Garden (which I was luckily there for), but Brandon Roy needed every bit of his 52 points to seal it. And the Suns need every possible win they can get to even have a chance at the dance. Still, I'd convinced myself that the Sixers simply match up too well with the Blazers, and if Portland could keep up with an active Suns team and showed more heart for the kill, they'd come out ahead. I expected a back and forth, hard fought game that featured a lot of the big four--Nash, Shaq, Roy and Aldridge. I got half of all of it--hard fought and two stars with big games, and back and forth for about half the game. I suppose O'Neal's 20 counts for something, but he played only 25 minutes total, and collected 14 points in the first half. Nash had 15, but they were quiet points that usually came only when he discovered himself out of options on the drive and had to improvise quickly. On the other hand, Brandon and LMA were just too good for their matchups. First of all the Suns played a zone, which gave Blazer shooters all kinds of room as the Phoenix players rushed (and failed) to fill the gaps. It wasn't just outside; the Blazers were also successful at packing the Suns in enough so that even midrangers were often too far to come out and cover in time. LaMarcus in particular enjoyed one of his best games, and embarrassed Matt Barnes like Andre Miller ripped Steve Blake apart on Monday, simply as the taller, stronger player. If he posted, Barnes couldn't obstruct it. If he popped, Barnes couldn't get close enough. And when he tried, he fouled. See also: Amundsen, Louis, and Swift, Stromile. Meanwhile, Brandon Roy was just having fun. Grant Hill popped a couple of Js, but finished with just six points after a big night against Utah--and had no answers for BRoy. He was simply too old and too slow to keep up with the well rested star, and Roy made him pay every which way, including at least once as the roll man on a P&R. If it had boiled down to just those players, the Suns would have been much likelier to hang with Portland for the whole game and made it the back and forth contest I expected. For much of the first half Shaq was pretty unstoppable on offense inside, schooling Oden on the post a couple times but also effective with his hooks and short jumpers. (He was slow and beatable on defense, however). And Jason Richardson, a mighty fine player himself, was also on target and could have been the difference. {the difference, below} |
The difference, as it has been in almost every big-margin Blazer win, has been the uniform effort going 8-9 deep at a starter's level, applying pressure on the other team for four quarters and executing as a team on both ends of the floor with energy. Some nights Blake can't hit and take the doubles off Brandon. Rudy's been having a hard time finding his stroke. You never know just when Outlaw will be there for you. And Oden and Joel, for all their great defense, have been inconsistent points producers lately. Tonight, it all worked for everyone. Nic Batum started the parade of runs keyed by "other guys." He had a geat putback jam coming in from nowhere, hit a key jumper, played sharp defense including a steal and finish on the break, and did all of the things that leave you breathless for a 20 year old. In the 2nd quarter it was Rudy, who hit four threes in the first half as the Blazers slowly began to move to a steady 6-8 point lead as the second quarter waned. Steve Blake got in the act as well, knocking down for nine in the quarter, including the last four of the half to put them up eight at 65-57. The third quarter was where the Blazers really strangled Phoenix, exploited their matchups, outhustled and outexecuted the Suns, and forced a very good points scoring team into taking a lot of outside shots they eventually couldn't keep hitting, and into turnovers (Nash had three in the 3rd quarter alone). Pretty much everyone scored in that quarter: Roy (6), Blake (2), Outlaw (2), Batum (4), Oden (2), Fernandez (5)...and LaMarcus (14). LMA was ridiculous in that quarter--jumpers in yo face, layups, big rebounds and follows, off the break, pick and roll, offensive boards with fouls...did I mention the 6-6 from the line? But it was Rudy who put in the dagger, by becoming Chalupa Man. In the third quarter. In about 2 seconds at the end of the third. Not content with scoring eight points in 43 seconds to bring the Blazers ahead against Philly after being down 14 at the half, he a) took the charge against Jason Richardson; b) ran out ahead of the pack and was under the basket for Sergio to find him with 1.7 left on the clock, and c) stole the inbounds pass and lined up for a trey at the buzzer. Golden--21 point lead, 100-79, good luck in the 4th, Phoenix! The final stanza was fun to watch, once they got going. Phoenix never threatened as Nash and Shaq continued to sit, but did close a little bit as Portland played sloppy to start the quarter. But Roy started to take over with some abuse of the zone, and when he hit a three with 4:23 left that was followed by an Oden block and a Blake three top corner, the Blazers led by 29 at 124-95. If you'd have told me the starters for one team would go out after having popped for 124, I'd have put a paycheck on that team being the Suns. Nope. Now, Phoenix's defense is not that great man to man, and thus they play zone--but against a faster team that is hitting its shots, there are no answers except to pray against rain. the Blazers brought plenty of good old homegrown liquid sunshine on Phoenix, and let it pour from all angles last night. This was the game you hoped to see. It was a chance to separate, all but assure themselves a ticket to the dance, protect homecourt against a tough but matchable foe, and rebound after a tough loss. Check, check, check, check. The Blazers set season highs for points, FG % (an absurd 60%), and made FG (50) at least. More importantly for the future, they recognized an opportunity to advance and conquer, and did not fritter it away. They took advantage, and completed their third recent takedown of a star-studden Western squad in the month of March. It's actually fairly simple: when someone besides Roy is hot whenever he's in the game--Rudy, Blake, Outlaw, LA--the Blazers can play ball with anybody. ANYbody. They have too many weapons. With these two challenges off the schedule, the next week is slow and populated with lesser opponents. Memphis comes in Saturday night, then two more days off before Utah and their poor record in Portland arrive on a back to back, and the Blazers get ready for their last roadie of the season, starting with OKC on the 3rd. If you're worried about whether they CAN take care of business (not even they know if they WILL), just remember this game as you worry about each remaining one in turn--if they put it together, it won't matter who they play. |
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