Blazers Drop the Hammer
posted: 3/25/2008 at 10:48 PM
Going into Tuesday night's game against the Wizards, the Trail Blazers had only recorded four wins this season by a margin greater than 12 points. In other words, this team wins close games, and hardly ever blows the doors off an opponent. But, thanks to an inspired team effort, the Blazers, playing without LaMarcus Aldridge, and after losing Brandon Roy at the end of the first quarter, lowered the boom on the Wizards and won going away, 102-82.
So, let me get this straight. The Sonics, a team that has very little to play for, and a team that has the second-worst defense in the league, handles the Blazers on Monday night, 97-84. Then, against a playoff team from the east, that was coming off a win over Detroit, and has the 11th-best defense in the league, is shredded by a shorthanded Blazer team. That's life in the NBA.
Following the loss in Seattle on Monday, Nate McMillan called for a 10am shootaround on Tuesday morning. It's extremely rare that a team shoots the morning between a back-to-back set of games. But, Nate McMillan told me before the game, he wanted his team to have to sit and watch the game against the Sonics. He wanted to point out the lack of focus, the lack of ball movement, and the overall lackluster play. The Blazers responded.
Portland shot 68 percent in the opening quarter against the Wizards, and built a quick 11-point lead. In the final play of the first quarter, Washington's Caron Butler went up for a shot, and in an effort to create a foul on the play, locked arms with Brandon Roy. It pulled Roy into a very awkward landing, and being he didn't let up until Roy was already bent in half with his right leg tucked under him, it caused an injury to Roy's right groin muscle. Brandon tried to return and play through it, but it was clear he was in too much pain, and left the game for good midway though the second quarter.
Roy was not in the locker room after the game, but according to team doctors, the injury "didn't look good," right after the game. Groin injuries are difficult to get over, and even though it's just speculation at this point, I would guess he'll miss some significant time. I hope I'm wrong, and we'll know more on Wednesday, but Roy probably won't make the trip to Golden State Wednesday afternoon.
Aldridge, who missed the game due to a sore ankle he sprained at Seattle, does plan on making the trip, and will likely play against the Warriors. His sprain isn't serious, but that could change in the next day or so as well, and it's another "wait and see" situation.
As we often say, injuries present opportunities for others to step up, and that's exactly what happened on Tuesday night. Nothing makes a team focus like the loss of its stars, and with no Roy and Aldridge to lean on, the Blazers got big-time performances from Jarrett Jack, Martell Webster, and Travis Outlaw. They also got 17 rebounds from Joel Przybilla, who's on a heck of a roll, and got three bombs from James Jones.
The Blazers played fast, and hungry, and never let the Wizards back in the game. It was a wire-to-wire victory, and the final margin of victory, 20, is the 3rd-largest of the season for the Blazers. It's their most comfortable win since a 26-point victory at New Jersey.
During the team's incredible 13-game winning streak, and stretch of 17 wins in 18 games, we always talked about how it was someone different stepping up in each game. This looked like a return to that mentality. Along with the guys mentioned above, Channing Frye had 10 points and 5 rebounds, Steve Blake had 7 assists, 6 rebounds, and a big three pointer, and Raef LaFrentz gave the team 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots in his 19 minutes of action.
The Blazers shot 49 percent in the game, recorded 28 assists on their 39 made field goals, and turned the ball over only 13 times. They also dominated the backboards, outrebounding Washington 55-36. Przybilla, who earlier in the day had his rebound total in Saturday's win over the Clippers to 26, due to a statistical error, had the 17 rebounds, and completely controlled the middle. It should also be mentioned that Joel has played in every single game this season, and his goal to play in all 82 is still very much alive. Only one other starting center in the NBA has played in every game this season, and that's Orlando's Dwight Howard. Plus, Przybilla has averaged almost 12 rebounds per game since the all-star break.
For the Wizards, who sit in the 5th playoff spot in the east, welcome to life in the Western Conference. They were kicking off a 5-game western trip tonight, and continue it in Seattle on Wednesday. The Blazers, who have two more wins than the Wizards, and two fewer losses, are just about out of the playoff picture in the west.
As I said yesterday, the Blazers' goal of reaching 42 wins, and recording a winning season, is still sitting there for them, but getting another 4 wins won't be easy, given the remaining schedule. Monday's loss in Seattle will hurt in that effort. But, at the very least, the Blazers showed their ability to bounce back in this one, and showed the ability to blow a playoff team out without their two leading scorers. There aren't many teams who are capable of that.
And, here's one more impressive stat. The Blazers are now 11-7 in the second game of back-to-back situations. Back to backs are brutal, and for them to have 11 wins in these situations is a huge testament to good coaching, focus, energy, and preparation.
Thursday night the Blazers take on the Golden State Warriors in Oakland. That game will be on TNT, and so we won't get to broadcast it on our TV network. But, Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey will have it on the Blazers Radio Network, and we'll be back on the air on Saturday for the home game against Charlotte.
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Awesome game(to say the least) tonight. Why can't they play like that all the time, esp Jack? I like the guy, don't get me wrong, but he seems to be the only one not improving. I know this is the downside to having such a young team. So, I'm hoping they get better by next year. They have by far exceeded expectations this year though, so gotta give them mad props for that. I was really glad to see Raef get some good play time tonight. He always does such a good job! Oh, and Przybilla has been off the hook...so happy...GO BLAZERS!
P.S. Do you know what happened to that woman that Blaze accidentally(was it?) threw the cake on? Her hubby looked pissed. Hope she was able to sit through the game...
Oh, and also, U guys(Mike & Mike) are the best!
Hey Mike,
Great coverage as usual. Becasue I'm in the easternt market area I was forced to listen to Wizard announcers. It sucks but I can live with it.
This was definitely a great game and I loved every second of it with the exception of Roy going down. What I wish we could have saw was more of James Jones' open looks go down. He blew 2 or 3 that would have burried the Wiz under the bleechers! But watching this game was worth coming to work half dazed from staying up so late to watch it.
As for Thursadys game, I beleive we can do well against Golden State. The Blazers have held them to a few of their worse scoring games this season and if we can put up a strong defensive front we can gut out a win.
See you guys Thursday!
Any info on the Cake Incident during the game? Paul Linnman was suggesting on the radio this morning that it wasn't a staged bit, and that the elderly woman and the guy sitting next to her were pretty mad about it, and even left the game early after they were each given t-shirts by way of an apology.
I may be wrong, but didn't the Blazer 13-game streak start with Aldridge on the bench? Lamarcus is a good player and a nice guy, but the team does better without him in the lineup. They spread the court better, and the scoring is spread around more.
I think this summer would be the time to trade him, while his value is very high. The focus on getting the ball to Aldridge hurt this team this year.
What a great game! It was cool to see Raef get some minutes and respond, as everyone did. MB, since you don't get to do the game at GS, do you still travel with the team? If not, I can imagine how strange it would be for you to watch it from home on TV!
perry,
Please do not post immediately after smoking crack.
The cake bit was totally staged, so no worries about the woman who got the cake in the face. She was in on it. I will pass along that it apparently worked very well, because people were sold.
MB
Amazing how good this team is when they play with energy.
I knew you could. I knew you could. Get well soon, Brandon. GO BLAZERS!
Perry,
Put down the pipe (LMA comments).
John
umm... Perry I would appreciate it if you wouldn't post garbage on here. Trade LA? Are you serious? That could be the dumbest move ever. Don't forget our little piece of the puzzle named Greg Oden next year. How foolish of you to even think that.
While we all can be Blazer homers, it is somewhat short sighted to not point out that the Wizards put themselves in 5th place in the East while missing both their two leading scoreres for significant portions of the season.
Still...hats off to the Blazers for getting after it tonight.
Hey MB,
Just to put things in perspective about what Joel Przybilla is doing for the Blazers this year ...
The benchmark for the average number of rebounds for an NBA center is 1 rebound for every 3 minutes played. In other words, a center who plays 30 minutes a game should be able to pull down at least 10 rebounds.
For the season, Joel is averaging 1 rebound every 2.8 minutes. In the last 14 games, Joel is averaging 1 rebound every 2.56 minutes !
Joel's minutes have also increased from 22 minutes/game over the first 58 games, to 29 minutes/game over the last 14 games.
Dwight Howard leads the NBA in rebounding at 14.5 rebounds per game, but Dwight also plays over 38 minutes per game. His rebounding average is 1 rebound every 2.64 minutes.
The Blazers next best rebounder, LaMarcus Aldridge, plays over 34 minutes per game, but his rebounding average is 1 rebound every 4.7 minutes.
Joel is absolutely invaluable for the Blazers, and what's impressive is that he doesn't need big minutes in order to be effective.
Next year, just between Greg and Joel themselves, the Blazers are probably going to be able to count on nearly 20 rebounds per game. That's going to completely change the way the Blazers are going to be able to play !
Go Blazers !
Phil
perry you are an idiot. The streak started WITH lma, only 5 wins of it were without him, while 8 were. Think before you post.
Perry your comments on Aldridge are ridiculous, and hopefully Mike bans you from posting permanently. Jarret Jack and Frye will both be traded this summer, thank goodness. Webster let me down earlier this year, but with Oden inside Martell's game will work beautifully. Oden will get such deep position in the paint that double teams will have to go WAY inside...if Oden dishes out to Martell it'll just be open three after open three. There will be too much ground for a defender to cover back at the 3 line. Don't be surprised to see a new career high from our Seattle Prep boy in 2009
What an enjoyable game to watch from tipoff to the end. (except for the first 4 minutes of the fourth quarter when we couldn't score)
I'd like to see Blake be more aggressive on the scoring front. His quick five points in the 4th quickly jump started our team and saved us from repeating a Philadelphia nose dive but he needs to get his scoring started earlier. He's a starting point guard which means he needs to start scoring early! That is my only complaint.
Steve Blake is one of my favorite players.
There is no reason, even without our stars, that we can't win at least 4 more games. We have the talent, we just need more focus and confidence. That's the difference between us now and "the streak".
Mike,
Would you pass on the word to the Blazer Dancers that they are doing a terrific job? Glory, glory, they were awesome last night! Best entertainment of the season so far on their part.
Go Blazers!
Gosh guys, I don;t even know how to thank you after being called a crack smoking, ridiculous idiot, so I won't. What I will say is that I think Lamarcus would do better somewhere else. With him in the lineup it seems like the team can't run (Brandon is also too slow for a running team), and when Lamarcus does get deep, he is still soft.
With Roy and Aldridge in the lineup, the Blazers look like three extraneous guys waiting for the other two guys to do something. Easy to defend, easy to figure out, and easy to beat.
With the "stars" out, the five guys behave as a team, and teams (not stars) win championships. So feel free to go back to your Oden daydreams now. "Gee, when Greg gets here, we'll all have ice cream, and the basketball fairies will protect us from Kobe, Nash, Baron, Carmelo, Dwight, Duncan, and Ginobli!" Uh huh.
perry,
now you really proved you are smokin' something!!! what?? aldridge "can't run"? he's the fastest on the freakin team!! to quote mike and mike, he runs like a gazelle and a deer! he is sneaky cause he runs with such grace. find something else to write about.
i was so sad that i missed my first game this season due to illness, but felt better after watching such a great effort and win. mike and mike, you were so effusive with your praise of the wizards play lately, maybe you jinxed them. perhaps you should do that to all opponents. haha.
when brandon went down, i told him that the wizards would lose the game as punishment for butler's scheme (on a buzzer shot after all!). that's karma!
It sure fooled me and everyone else on that end of the arena!!! That cake lady thing was really something--are you sure it was a set-up? Why would anyone do that to themselves during a game with all that icing all over them? It took the janitors about1/2 hour to clean it up--what a thing to go through if it was a hoax! Yuck! So glad to finally have a good old fashion blow-out for a change--and we got chalupas to boot!! Go Blazers for Thurs. at G.S.!--Blazer Kathy
Hi everyone!
After reading many guys insulting perry I must say that he's no so wrong...
I wouldn't trade Aldridge, but I think he's a bit overestimated... Ok, when he hits his fadeaway shot he's quite unstoppable, but he's still far from being reliable... And somehow it's true that the team doesn't move the ball with Lamarcus and Roy on court....
It won't be bad to have Oden Aldridge and Joel inthe paint next year...But such a strong team at reboundindg should run a bit more
Philski:
Since you're into the rebounding stats I'm sure you want to get them right. Statistically, Aldridge IS NOT the second best rebounder. Frye is significantly better at 1 rebound per 3.94 minutes...better than LaMarcus' 1 per 4.69.
Philski: Since you're into rebounding stats...you might want to check your numbers. Aldridge IS NOT the second best rebounder statistically. That belongs to Channing Frye who is significantly better at 1 rebound per 3.94 minutes.
Mike;
been away has anyone missedme,LOL.
Everything Perry said was utterly ridicules.
Perry, LMA is still a pup as far as the NBA is concerned. Not many second year players hold a candle to him. They sent Kobe overseas to play because he wasn't good enough. Well, I don't have the stats to back that up.
We can't fast break if we don't defend and get rebounds. Joel's late tear has helped that and in the last two games LMA played in I think he was in most of the running plays.
There is time when we have to play half court and that is our most important asset. Without BRoy and LMA our outside shooters wouldn't get many open looks. And that would be about all we would have. Three's can win many games, but three pt misses can lose many games. LMA will get some muscle, will continue to improve because of his work tactic and Oden will keep some of the double teaming off him. So why in the world would we think of trading him?
Remember The Suns is a run and gun team and they added some beef on the inside. Shaq is old but he has added depth to the team. So, who do you think we should trade LMA and Broy for? I can't think of anyone that will be better in the next year or so.
hg
Perry,
You know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT BASKETBALL. Stop trying to act smart because your just not. Lamarcus is the best running big man in the league, and a futer all-star. I swear I heard you Say we would be better without our stars(brandon roy,lamarcus.).
Are you freakin kidding me? If your not on crack then you just plain stupid. Do the world a favor and dont have any children.
Hey Mike,
A few observations about the game last night. One, whoever was guarding Jamison (Travis?) was instrumental in the win. Jamison is a Blazer killer, and he was held to single digits in scoring for the first time in something like 60 games. Awesome.
Second, you mentioned during the game that Butler wasn't trying to hurt Roy. In the replay it actually looks like he is trying to do just that. He grabs Brandon and pulls him across his body which isn't a harmless action in basketball. Similar to sticking your foot under a shooter as he is landing. The referee is 10 feet away staring right at the play and ignored it. After watching that play I was disgusted. I honestly hope someone with the BLazers makes a stink about this and the referee and Caron Butler are suspended.
Just want to congratulate you, Mike, and Rebecca on a job well done. Next year is going to be awesome!
Perry, you'd make a terrible GM. Glad you're not one.
The Blazers have patiently reassembled a cast that is already reaping dividends. And you want to give away key characters?
Sucks to be you.
Perry is absolutely right and the rest of you just can't stand it. It takes a village.
Sorry, Susan. You're both misguided.
And now you want us to just sit in silence while you purvey your twisted opinions and try to pass them off as truth.
Perry is your middle name Susan or is she your slave that says yes sir. I can't believe there is two with this moronic ridiculus opionion on this blog
hg.
I believe that you added correctly.
I believe you are the male and female part of the same person that adds up to one disarranged person.
hg
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