Celtics Too Much in 2nd Half
posted: 2/24/2008 at 9:36 PM
When one of the NBA's elite teams shoots 58 percent from the field, 67 percent from behind the three-point line, and outrebounds you, you're not going to beat them. You probably didn't need me to tell you that, and that very scenario was played out at the Rose Garden on Sunday afternoon.
The Trail Blazers brought some big-time intensity to the ballgame, and got over the big hurdle of getting off to a good start, but the middle two quarters were killers, as the Blazers fell to the Boston Celtics 112-102, in front of 20,554 at the garden. Portland shot 11 for 19 in the opening quarter, while the Celtics were just 7 for 18, and the Blazers took a 32-16 lead to the second quarter. Things were looking good, and a couple of stats we gave on the TV broadcast had everyone feeling confident.
The Blazers were 6-0 on the season when they score 30 points or more in the opening quarter, and were even 10-2 when they score 28 or more. The 32 points they scored in the first quarter of this game were a season high for the Blazers, besting their previous first-quarter high of 31.
In the second quarter, the Blazers struggled, and shot just 8 for 22, while the Celtics were a scorching 11 for 15 (73%). It was amazing, considering those second-quarter numbers, that the Blazers still held the lead at halftime, 54-47.
The third quarter saw more of the same of what we saw in the second, as the Boston defense tightened the screws, and the Blazers shot just 4 for 18. The Celtics, meanwhile, were 13 for 23 in the third, and took an 8-point lead to the fourth quarter.
Not only were the Celtics now in charge, but the Blazers learned they had lost Brandon Roy for the rest of the game after he re-injured his right ankle. It was clearly bothering him in the first half, but he was able to fight through it, and even had 9 points at halftime. But, in the second half it became obvious that he had to come out. He ended up playing just under 26 minutes in the game, and without him in the fourth quarter, the Blazers had no answers for the Celtics, who eventually built a 19-point lead.
Paul Pierce did the heavy lifting for the Celtics on this night, and ended with 30 points, on 12 for 14 shooting. He was also 4 for 5 from behind the three-point line, and scored in a variety of ways. Ray Allen, who had 35 the first time these teams met, added 19, and point guard Rajon Rondo had 15 points, and played excellent perimeter defense.
This was an example of what very good teams in this league do- they got punched in the mouth early, and bounced right back up to dominate the next two quarters. They had already lost the first three games on this 5-game western trip, and weren't about to see their season-long 3-game losing streak continue.
The Blazers were led in scoring, once again, by Travis Outlaw, who ended with 24. He had 26 against the Sonics on Friday night in Seattle. Jarrett Jack had 17, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 points before fouling out of his second-consecutive game.
As usual, Nate McMillan joined Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey after the game on the radio. To hear his thoughts on the loss,
click here.
We head for Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, and Tuesday night take on the Lakers, before taking on the Clippers on Wednesday. At this point, were not sure if Brandon Roy will be making the trip. He had x-rays on his right ankle after Friday night's win over Seattle, and they were negative. But, clearly, something is still very wrong. Roy underwent an MRI on the ankle late Sunday night, and the results simply showed what we already knew- he aggravated an already-sprained and sore ankle. He is officially listed as day-to-day.
I'll have more on Monday night when I post from Los Angeles.
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Just watching a little of the tidbits of the post-game and they just mentioned that Brandon Roy didn't take a shot or assist in the 2nd half before coming out because of an ankle injury... I also remember Mike Rice jokingly saying "You gotta listen to the trainer".
BUT this also got me thinking, WTF was Coach McMuffin doing leaving an inefficient Roy in the game?! The stats don't lie... He didnt' shoot or dish out any dimes in the 6 minutes he played in the 2nd half and Nate still leaves him in?? Your halftime lead of 7 is now a deficit of 7 and it takes the trainer to make that decision over Coach McMuffin?? If Brandon is out for a serious amount of time or plays worse/crippled, you can put this one on McMuffin as well...
Even though we lost this game I enjoyed watching it--well, most of it!! Just to see Aldridge and Pryz not back down from that big bully Garnett was so great to see. Lamarcus needs to bring that to every game. Take some lessons from Joel. I love Joel's scowl that says don't mess with me man.
Hopefully, Roy won't be out for too long or else this team could be in for a long second half of the season. Do you know when Jones will be back?? Hopefully it will be soon.
I'll say it one more time:
We are going anywhere with Mr.Sonic. Period.
Another expendable season. Great!
It's pretty frustrating to want Roy to do something amazing out there and then see him not even touch the ball. I can see though that he is very limited in what he can do because he is injured. I think it's best that he take as much time as it takes for him to get back healthy.
I wouldn't be upset at all if he decided to stay home and recover. It's the best choice.
I thought the Blazers played a good game. It is unfortunate that they weren't rewarded with a victory though - but as you said - Boston shot the lights out.
Still though I was encouraged. I think they should continue playing an up-tempo game.
At this point it really looks like they won't make the playoffs. But it is not the end of the world. They still have a lot to be proud of. They are right there. They are competitive even without some of the other puzzle pieces they need to really contend for a championship!
The Blazers slogan is "Rise with us". That is good. They are rising. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. But I would remind people of another saying which is this: "Good things come to those who wait"!
And who knows - maybe they can put together a charge like they did earlier in the season. It would be nice.
But at this point they need to give everyone playing time. Find out who wants it the most. Find out who will be part of next year's team with Oden and Fernandez.
I know the fans want it all and they want it now. But these guys are young. They are learning. They have come a long way. And maybe if some of those games where they lost in overtime or the Cleveland game that they blew had gone our way we would be in the playoff race.
But remember - Good things come to those who wait...
excaliburWe've got our philosophy reversed. We have to play defense and let turnovers, steals, rebounds lead to easy break away baskets for us. If we want to be an offensive team like the Suns then we're not coached that way (and even the Suns are finding out that they need defense to win). I think our coaching is not directing the team to the fundamentals right now. The identity we had as a scrappy, defensively tough team which got after the ball, moved and passed efficiently and shot in rhythm well before the shot clock expired has evaporated... We gotta get back to this...
I gotta say, the Blazers played decently. They even played great at times. Unfortunately, they weren't allowed to play as physical and intense as Boston. I blame that on the refs! This is my 2nd or 3rd complaint about the refs this season. The first complaint was after the Celtics game in Boston.
Boston was allowed to swarm, grab, shove, bump, and hack our guys. When we tried to match that physical intensity fouls were called left and right. That will deflate any team.
Joel got a T for talking trash? Are you kidding me? After all of that garbage Garnett dished out. That's fine if your gonna call it both ways but it clearly wasn't!
It's official, I hate the Celtics and I hate how much the NBA pampers this superstar team. They are dirty crybabies with mama referees catering to their every wimper.
Way to go LA and Pryz for the tough play and not backing down. I thought LA played with a lot of fire and didn't let the Celtics intimidate him which pleased me to no end.
Go Blazers!
Bashing the coach is pure nonsense.
We were never going to beat Boston after they lost 3 in a row anyway. Especially without Roy in the second half.
Channel your frustrations in a more logical manner.
Our team is over .500, which is well beyond any reasonable expectations anyone had at the start of this season.
NateMac is still learning, he's not perfect, but he was a leading candidate for Coach of the Year for most of the first half of the season and has done a stupendous job overall.
Shame on you.
I am serious doubting Nate McMillan’s coaching abilities. Come on coach. Step outside of the box. If some of our guys are not performing well, give some quality minutes to McRoberts, Wafer or even Miles. Let’s stir things up a bit. Try or do something!
I am a season ticket holder and it is far too frustrating to watch our Blazers lose these games that we could have or should have won.
I have been notified that the blazers office would like confirmation for next season tickets…
I’ll have to get back with you.
who are these people still pointing to the +.500 record? where have you been the last 20 games? the blazers are in the middle of a nosedive that most likely will not end until the season mercifully ends. I hate to sound too negative but get a dose of reality people. by the time we're looking back at this season, it will be as if that 13 game streak never happened.
I agree with BeaverBoy19 about the coach bashing. Nate McMillan is doing well.
Everyone's aspirations and expectations went way up when we won 13 in a row and 17 out of 18. We are better but we aren't that good. Now that they are losing some lots of people are pointing fingers.
Remember this. Just before their 13 game winning streak they lost 9 out of 10. This is a young team. They are still learning. They are doing quite well to be 29-27.
We should experiment more with the up-tempo game and playing some of the guys that don't get much playing time. The Blazers were very competitive and had a lot of close games. A lot of close games.
At this point it looks like the Blazers aren't going to make the playoffs unless they can relocate to the Eastern Conference. So - maybe they can try playing some of the bench guys more.
I think that people should remember a coach doesn't always have the last say on bringin back certain guys like Darius Miles. However I am curious as to why no one seems to have seen him lately.
The guy had promise for sure. Something needs to be done to give guys more time like Josh Mcroberts and lets not forget Raeff Lafrentz used to be a pretty darn good player and if given the floor time he could really help on Defense which my ESPN degree tells me is where offense starts.
D-Miles can stay home. He's not gonna save this season. Why waste minutes and energy integrating a guy who doesn't have a future here.
My guess is his apathetic attitude has not changed, his physical talents have declined, and his rhythm is gone.
He had his chance with the Blazers and he blew it by embarrassing this organization.
If he were to return I would boo him.
Go Blazers!
I do have to agree with Chris it is getting really old hearing remember these guys are young and no one expected them to be a 500 team. Let's stop paying them a million buck a season then and see how motivated they become if their salray is based upon performance. i get sick of these people making millions to make excuses.
Hey MB: don't listen to the critics here on this BLOG....it is SO easy to critisize, but REALLY hard to give compiments....I trust the Blazers - from KP to PA to NM!!! GO BLAZERS!
Youth. Ain't it a bitch.
you can't play basketball with 5 guys unable to play decent one-on-ones regularly... And McMuffin seems to love it... JJ and Blake are some of the most boring and uncreative guards i've seen in the NBA in years
I'm as proud of the team as anyone and our season tickets over the past 5 years have cost us $10K/season so forgive me if I feel a bit entitled to reset my expectations based on what our team could consistently do in the December timeframe. Having higher expectations is ok by me. I think the players have higher expectations of themselves and the team. The coaching staff and management have said that reaching the playoffs was a goal this year. They didn't say it till January, but it was on theirs and the Teams' mind and was considered a reachable one. I don't see why a Fan shouldn't expect more from this team. We raised the bar on the type of personnel we wanted on the court and in the backoffice afterall. Now that we have this, let's set the bar higher than .500 ball and the lottery. Do we really expect so little of these guys just because they're young? Expect more and get more. I'm a bitter loser and I'm just a Fan. I'll bet I'm not that much different than most of the guys in the locker room...especially a guy like Joel who gets physically pummeled for 82 games... We just want the "W" to go with the beating that comes with it.
I read in the paper that MacMillen was pushing Broy's minutes to how much he could do, well with a cold that doesn't improve and an ankle not getting better but worse I think he found the level of exhaustion that led to a breaking point. I hope he won't try to see how fast he can get him back on the floor rather than allowing him to heal properly. We aren't playoff bound this year, lets not damage the prime pieces of our future.
I always smile when someone complains about the officiating, saying that there is favoritism in the NBA. There has always been favoritism in the NBA, because the game is a commercial product, designed and conducted to sell advertising and team-related products. That is the reason the players make so much money. Without pampered stars, the league would be viewed as just a bunch of tall guys playing a game. But with hyped up ads and "special" players, the public (that's you and I) shells out cash. Every Blazer currently benefits from this system, whether they get fouls called against them or not.
Sometimes a team comes along (a team like the 19766-1977 Blazers) that refuses to let itself be intimidated by the hype machine. That team figures out that it will have to work harder every night to win, that the teams from the bigger markets get favored treatment, and that the only people who will truly appreciate a championship are the folks in its home town and the people in its families.
This current team hasn't quite figured this out yet, so they get rolled over by the bullies, the refs, and their own lack of confidence. Sooner or later a group like this one either sucks it up and starts fighting back, or it gets split up. The current Blazers are in that fog where they don't quite get it yet. That's where youth can be a blessing, because there's still a chance they'll step up and represent themselves before they get steamrolled. But I doubt that they'll do it, because they haven't yet, and it's almost March. Come on, guys, surprise us.
i really feel bad for some of our players. they really are trying. unfortunately i think they are starting to realize that most of them are not of the caliber of other starters in this league. i also agree that blake and jack are some of the least creative players in the league. i know JJ doesn't mean to turn the ball over as much as he does (especially on the open court) but he does. i have nothing against him but IT IS WHAT IT IS. i allways feel bad for him when he does because he tries so hard. i know blake plays pretty steady at low intensity but when the game hits the critical point, he dissapears. KP did the right thing in keeping everyone by giving them an opportunity to prove themselves this season. The sad reality is that we are not very good right now and last night we got soundly beat by a much more talented team. i think once KP starts making some moves he will be able to do it knowing that he gave everyone a shot. i hope that for the remainder of the season we can evaluate ALL of the players who don't get any plaing time and see what they're all about.
p.s. trai bloggin blazer fan: i can't believe your venomous blogs get posted in here. i feel slightly less intelligent as a result of reading them.
p.p.s. Roy needs to take as much time as he needs and then some. he's been overworked this season and we are not going to the playoffs anyway.
After watching the trade deadline come and go, I was glad to see us stick with our team. Sure, we're a little banged up, but keeping our team and building on the future is the most imortant thing. Watching younger guys like Travis and Jarrett get minutes will solidify our bench. Travis has shown that he is a legitimate 6th man and is beginning to find his all around game. Jarrett is beginning to understand what it takes to be a solid combo guard and is showing flashes of what we need. For the last set of games, they need to give the minutes to the guys who will be here for years to come and develop the bench so next year we hit all of the targets we all look forward to. This team is very young, talented, and determined to get better and become a championship team. Keep working and learning what it takes down the road so we can all reap the benifits of this great team!
I think all everyone involved with the Blazers knows why Darius isn't playing. Mike will probably never mention it in this blog either until Darius is traded. No one wants to see a thug player in a Blazers uniform. I'm tired of it, so are the rest of the fans, and no one wants Darius "team cancer" Miles playing.
He only wants to play when his team is good, and doesn't care when we are struggling. He spent too much time around Ricky Davis or something. Darius Miles is the biggest waste of talent I can think of.
I was at the game and it looked like Sergio could have broken down his man and got to the basket at will. Plus he's pretty fearless (except for his fear of Nate). Someone needs to loose this pony cuz Jack killed us in the 4th quarter. Now that it seems like the playoffs are beyond reach, let's give Sergio a run Nate!
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