| Updated Saturday 6pm-- I added a couple of thoughts to the summary, extending the idea that maybe this was the team the Blazers send out when they want to rest up for the really big game Sunday--the Evil Twin Team. I really hadn't intended to miss most of the game against the Hornets tonight--in fact for a fair bit of time I expected I might scrounge a couple of craigslisters and take lil Joe to this one, since it seemed like a good matchup. (We actually opted for a sweet deal on the Lexus Club for the Pistons Bucks.) I did see pretty much all of the fourth quarter and followed the game in some fashion for nearly the whole game, but if it looked as shaky as it sounded I don't want to see the replay--other than Tyson Chandler giving Joel the Chicken Wing Shiver after Pryz objected to Chandler hacking on his own bum wing. That was pretty great, once again, to see other teams get frustrated by the Blazers fighing back. It was definitely the high point of the game, both by the peak and the noticeable valleys on either side--particularly afterwards, when you'd think the team would respond and attack the new weakness. Nope. I can sum up the game pretty quickly: - The Blazers shot like crap, almost everyone. Rudy led the team with 19 and was probably steadiest, but next at 16 was Outlaw and they all came in Outlaw style, unpredictably and with not much else good in the production hopper. They shot less than 40% for the game, less than 25% from distance. Bleccch.
- The Blazers, other than Joel, rebounded like crap. This was the Blazer Evil Twin night, when LaMarcus can't hit the jumper and disappears inside, and Oden starts Foul Hunting and bagging big game quickly. Get outrebounded like they did, and this Blazers team almost surely loses.
- On nights where Oden goes foul crazy, Ike needs to concentrate on putbacks and boards, good fouls and outlet passes. NOT dribbling, not shooting from further than 5 feet. Baby steps for baby GO, OK?
- Blake was Evil Twin Blake. His shot did not fall and thus he couild not steady the team's shakiness on offense, but more importantly he did not distribute well, unable mostly to find his big men down low as he had against Boston. And if he's not passing down low, he's not driving down low either--and if the 3 isn't falling, who cares about Steve Blake, defensively? No one.
- Jerryd Bayless is not yet, not quite, as good as Brandon.
- Nobody else at guard, or frankly any other position, is as good as Brandon.
- Thirteen turnovers for a good turnover team is too many turnovers.
- Channing Frye is the lanky princess locked in the tower, where some handsome GM somewhere will someday rescue her and buy out her contract.
- Sergio had no assists--and no turnovers--in limited minutes.
- If Blake is not in distributor mode, not moving the ball around well enough to (say) pry Travis Outlaw from the corner, then it absolutely HAS to fall on Sergio to get things going. When he's not committing any turnovers, funny to say, that tells me he wasn't even trying to create out there. I think he's not used to having different players besides Rudy, but that's no excuse in the long run.
- Did I mention no Brandon Roy?
The guys at Blazer's Edge will give you the educated recap and report from the media hovel; I prefer happier memories. As Mike Barnett apparently said tonight, would you rather beat NO and lose to the Celtics? I think not. It was truly a night (this is Tuesday in Boston now, not tonight) where all the best faces were on and everyone came to play and execute. They didn't turn the ball over, they controlled second shots--it was beautiful. And set to music, below, it's a work of sports art. So let's put this ugly but probably divinely oriented defeat into the permanent sleep of the past, and focus on the happy state of Tuesday prior. Opportunity wise, it's at least theoretically achievable Sunday in LA, probably without Roy again). {vid, below} |
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