Blazers Get Set for Sonics
posted: 3/23/2008 at 9:24 PM
We're in the middle of another stretch of four games in five nights, but at least this time we're close to home. Close enough, that some of the Blazer wives were able to make the drive up to Seattle to spend the evening with their husbands, and in some cases kids were in tow. The team spent the afternoon out at owner Paul Allen's estate, where they went through a light practice.
We didn't arrive in Seattle on Saturday night (actually, Sunday morning) until about 2:30 am, following the 83-72 win over the Clippers in Los Angeles. It was, however, an enjoyable flight, as those after wins always are. With the victory, the Trail Blazers picked up their 37th win of the season, and finished off the season sweep of the Clippers.
Even though LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy led the way offensively once again, both scoring over 20 points, Joel Przybilla got most of the attention. He recorded a career-high 25 rebounds, even though that will probably be changed to 26, once the NBA reviews the game tape. The stats monitors at the Staples Center crashed at about the time Przybilla tipped in a missed shot. Instead of getting a rebound along with the two points, the Blazers were credited with a team rebound. It was a clear mistake, and should be corrected on Monday.
After the game, I was explaining this to Joel, and was telling him that with 26, he would have tied the Portland franchise record for rebounds in a regulation game. As I was halfway through the explaination, he said, "I don't really care. We won, right?" Of course, he always says things like this to the media, but it reminded me again how selfless he is, and what a leader he is for this young team. He was getting a lot of high fives on the bus after the game, and almost seemed uncomfortable with the attention.
As far as Aldridge and Roy go, the Blazers are now 12-3 on the season when they each score 20 points or more. On this night, Aldridge had 21, and Roy had 23. It was the 9th straight game of 20 or more for Aldridge, who continues this amazing charge to the finish line.
This game was shocking, given the way the two teams scored at will in Friday night's game at the Rose Garden. In that game, the Clippers shot 56 percent, and the Blazers shot 55 percent. Both teams exceeded 100 points. Before Saturday's game, Mike Rice predicted that we wouldn't see that kind of game again, and said it would be a low-scoring, ugly contest. He was exactly right.
The Blazers shot 38 percent on Saturday night, while the Clips shot 39 percent. Rebounding proved to be the difference, as Portland outrebounded L.A. 53-41. The Blazers also took very good care of the basketball, committing only 9 turnovers.
The goal for this team continues to be a playoff birth, but with those hopes just about dashed, a winning record is now the focus. The magic number for that goal is five. They need 5 wins in their final 12 games to get to 42 victories. All things considered, the Oden injury, the fact that this is the third-youngest team in the league, and the strength of the Western Conference this season, that would be a very impressive mark.
The schedule is April is brutal, so the Blazers know they've got to win these games they're supposed to win. Another of those comes Monday night, when the Blazers take on the Sonics at Key Arena. The Blazers won the first two meetings of the season, in Portland, but were hammered in Seattle on February 22nd. They'll use that for motivation, along with the hopes of getting to 42 wins.
We'll have Monday's game for you on KGW, and the Blazers Television Network, beginning at 6:30 with the pre-game show. We'll return to Portland following the game, and get set for a game against the Washington Wizards at the garden. The Wizards posted a very impressive 95-83 win over Detroit on Sunday night, and Monday will fly to Portland.
Speaking of big wins, Golden State beat the Lakers on Sunday, as they continue to scramble to get into the playoffs in the west. They've got a game and a-half lead over Denver for the 8th spot. The team to watch now is Dallas, as they lost to San Antonio on Sunday, and also lost Dirk Nowitzki to a leg injury. They've got just a half-game lead over the Warriors, and only a two-game lead over Denver, in 9th place. It's been an amazing race in the west, and if it turns into a Denver/Dallas run for the final spot, that will mean one of those two will be out. It'll either be the team with the reigning MVP, or the team with two all-star starters and the reigning defensive player of the year, out of the playoffs.
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Pryz is the man! And what about LaMarcus bringing it on a nightly basis? If he can do this next year, for the whole year, we are going to be scary.
Go Blazers!
The team was awesome. We still have a small chance at making the playoffs, but even if we don't we end up with a positive season. I'm so! looking forward to the draft and what we will do in the off-season if anything. The team is getting a great feel as to what it takes to make it 82 games a year.
Question: What player do you see being traded in the off-season?
It looks to me it might be JJ.
Good Morning from the East Coast!
Great coverage as usual Mike. If the Blazers finish out with a winning record that would add to to the accomplishments of the season's second longest winning streak, second only to the deserving Rockets, and further establishing themselves as a threat rather than an easy win for the elite teams. That would show the progress of the team and it has certainly turned the criticism of some skeptics. I waiting to see what the scounting report will be for us next season once we throw Rudy and Greg out there and really make some noise.
With Dirk out for 6-7 games I can see Dallas falling out of the playoff picture. Personally I think it serves as a wake up call that you cant throw money at the problem and expect it to fix itself. If they dont make the playoffs, I fully expect a complete makeover for them during the offseason, nothing outrageous, but definitely a shakeup. On a lighter note, I'd hate to see Denver win 50 games and not make the playoff themselves.
Miles Quote of the week:
When will the team sweep Darius from under the rug?
Hey Mike,
Joel was a beast! I am curious though, how does he feel about Greg coming back next season and about probably taking a back-up role?
He is selfless, but with his success (especially this 26 rebound performance) I can't help but wonder if he's not looking forward to becoming a back-up.
Thanks again and great work!
Joe
A win is a win, but does it concern anybodyelse that we struggled to beat a bottom team that was without its strating lineup. Did anyone note that each time Jack came in it was like putting a pin in a balloon and we went flat.
hey mike, great year buddy. im having so much fun this year. i am so proud of our team hear in portland. blazer mania again instead of weed blazers. and you should be proud of yourself you and mike rice. me and my whole family love to hear you guys call the games you guys are much better than those other cats on espn and other networks they can take notes from you guys. and i came up with a KILLER NAME FOR JARRET JACK MAYBYE YOU CAN SAY IT ON THE AIR IT'S JUMPIN JARRET JACK FLASH BUT THAT FIRST WORD IS A LITTLE IRONIC LOL.SO JARRET JACK FLASH WOULD BE NICE. TRY AND SPREAD THAT. IT WOULD MEAN ALOT TO ME. THANKS GUYS FOR THE GREAT WORK. AND MY NAME IS ROB FROM PORTLAND
hey mike, great year buddy. i'm having so much fun this year. i am so proud of our team here in portland. blazer mania is back. and you should be proud of yourself you and mike rice.me and my whole family love to hear you guys call the game. you guys are much better than those other cats on espn and on other networks. they should take notes from you guys. and i came up with a killer name for jarret jack, maybe you can say it on the air. ITS JUMPIN JARRET JACK FLASH. BUT THAT FIRST WORD IS A LITTLE IRONIC LOL. SO JARRET JACK FLASH WOULD BE NICE. TRY AND SPREAD THAT IT WOULD MEAN ALOT TO ME. AND THANKS FOR THE GREAT WORK GUYS. YOU MAKE EVERYTHING THAT MUCH BETTER!
I wouldn't worry too much about Pryz's playing time next year. Oden is going to be The Incredible Foul Machine. If he averages 25 minutes, I will be surprised. He'll be GREAT, don't get me wrong, but he's going to go for blocks and he swings down on the ball (as anyone who has seen YouTube video of Oden knows). And the whistles will go TWEET-TWEET-TWEET!
But next year the Blazers are going to have TWO quality low post presences -- and a coach who has (belatedly) figured out the necessity of using them...
t
Let's see...what word to use for the Sonics game tonight?? Pathetic, Misguided, Awful. A lot of other words come to mind, but we have to keep this clean. Poor play, poor coaching, poor effort. We looked like the team that was mailing it in for the rest of the season... That was embarassing!
yep, i was embarrassed too. we got spanked with our pants pulled down by the small sonics. we've still got some growing up to do.
Apparently blazer red saw the game. That was a self imposed butt Kicking. With the possible exception of two very tall people the last three games have been examples of a lethargy that really should be a concern. Maybe its time to see if immersion can get Sergio to play a rounded game or should we let go of this hope he generates with occaisional fantastic pass. Perhaps its time to bring back Josh and see inserting a high energy player can inject some intest in the game by this group that seems bored on the floor. Find out if VonWafer (sp) is someone to keep. In other words if those who have been playing have lost interest (thats what they look like) let's find out what potential these other players really have.
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