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.
Update, Friday 11AM--nice Youtube clip (if a little blurry) that effectively captures the highs and the lows, with the big finish:
Years from now, if I ever have the privilege of interviewing Brandon Roy, I just know I'll perform like the late Chris Farley: "Brandon...y'...y'know that time, that time against Phoenix in 2008, when you scored 52 points and the Blazers won? Do...do you remember that? That...that was AWESOME!"(pumps fist)
The word is entirely apt tonight however, as I still can't really believe what I saw from section 330 at the Garden tonight. I am crapping you negative, as the Coen Brothers would say: Brandon hit 52 points on 14 of 27 shooting, 19-21 from the line, five three pointers, a mess of other counting stats, and--oh yeah--an ice-veined dagger of a three to put the Blazers up 122-119 with a minute left. To say the crowd went nuts is to assert that Steve Nash leaves hair in the drain after a shower. My voice is shot.
I got a FREE ducat from a friend who happens to make, empirically speaking, the best cheesesteak in Portland. He has a pair of season seats and a few games where that second one is otherwise empty. I apparently passed the "cool seatmate" test, so although I'm guessing Celtics and Cavs are not coming my way, I'll get another shot. No way it can be anything but a letdown after tonight. It was the most lose-your-mind exciting and PUMPED atmosphere of anything I've been to since David Cone's perfect game in Yankee Stadium the summer of 99. Just amazing.
My ever-growing tendrils into the Blazer community have snared a little treat for tonight: a ticket to the game at the Garden against new jersey retiree Terry Porter and the Phoenix Suns (link is BE's preview.) It will be my first game of the season, hopefully not the last--and it will give me an up-close, IPD (In-person Definition) view of the action.
Speaking of jersey retirements, they're doing another one tonight, #30. Hey wait, isn't that TP's number? Isn't #30 already hanging in the RG's rafters now? Yes, but 70's Blazer Bobby Gross also wore it, and is one of the lucky dozen players to have a championship ring from his time with Portland.
Bob wasn't exactly the prequel to TP, but he was also a point guard and one of the regular guys on those 70s teams, sort of like the Brooklyn Dodgers of old, embraced by the community as one of their own despite being a high paid pro athlete. That's about all that's driving the retirement, however, because his career 9/4/1 stat line is not exactly dominant. To give you an idea how pumped up the diehards are, at BE they've got two stories with hits on the name--and both are in the context of "Terry Porter and Bob Gross."
Still, it will be nice to re-live the memories from the short-shorts era, which I'm actually old enough to remember. I had only recently moved to VA, and before I switched over to following the Bullets in closer proximity, I did the best I could to keep up with Rip City as they marched to the Finals. I remember riding in a car somewhere, going nuts in Game 6 as the B's completed the amazing comeback from 0-2, taking down mighty Dr. J (in his first year with the NBA, after the ABA merger) and the 76ers.
Tonight is another chance for Portland to figure out Nash, O'Neal and the Suns, who have won 11 straight. This is about as good a time as any to take a shot at breaking the skein, so I'm looking forward to the evening. Let you know how it goes after it's over!
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