Atlanta Breaks Through at Garden
posted: 11/03/2009 at 10:45 PM
The Portland Trail Blazers lost only seven times at home last season, and created an atmosphere of invincibility at the Rose Garden. One of the losses came as a result of a last-second bank-in three pointer by Orlando. The other loss took a total collapse by Portland at the free-throw line, and a buzzer-beating three pointer to force overtime. In other words, you didn't come to Portland and expect to win.
Now, this is certainly not panic time (just five games into the season), but the Trail Blazers have now dropped two-straight home games and Friday night welcome the San Antonio Spurs to the Rose Garden.
The home-court advantage is as much about attitude as it is about talent. It's a mystique, that creates a swagger, that creates confidence. Clearly, the Blazers are frustrated and need to get that attitude back. We shouldn't limit the discussion to just home games, as there are certainly concerns that go beyond games at the garden.
But, they are just that- concerns. No one is feeling at this point that a major overhaul in philosophy is necessary, or that wholesale roster changes need to happen. It's the X factor that's missing. I just can't put my finger on what that X factor is. Again, we're just five games into the season, so that's the good news.
The problem isn't creating positive results at the offensive and defensive ends. The problem right now is sustaining those results. Never was this more on display than in Tuesday night's game at the Rose Garden. Momentum constantly switched back and forth. The Blazers led by as many as 12, but couldn't find the combination to ultimately lead them to a win.
Last season at home when the Blazers led at halftime it was over. They were 26-0 when holding a halftime advantage. This year, in their last two home losses they've led at halftime and they've lost both.
Atlanta is a very talented, and very good team. Let's also get that out of the way. In broadcasts and on this blog I always try and give credit to the opponent in situations like this. The Hawks deserved this win, and will be among the elite teams in the east this season. I don't think there's any question about that.
But, the fan in me says that all of that shouldn't matter. The Blazers simply win at home. I know the team has that attitude, and I hope this stretch doesn't poke big holes in that thinking. Because, again, that attitude is what carries you on your home court.
Nate McMillan and the Blazer coaching staff is obviously searching a bit right now. That's what they're paid to do. They're trying different combinations, different defensive schemes, running on some possessions and walking it up on others. I have no doubt that they'll lock on to a successful formula. Afterall, they see this team a lot more than the rest of us do, and have forgotten more about basketball that we'll ever know.
There are a couple of key numbers that stood out to me in this game. First, the Blazers came into this game having outrebounded opponents 172-140 in their first four games. They were outrebounded by Atlanta 46-36. The Hawks also had 50 points in the paint to Portland's 34.
I've said this many times in the past, but when you win 54 games the challenge is to tweak without changing what you are. So many teams struggle because they never really know what they are. Brandon Roy took 3 shots in the fourth quarter of this game. That's clearly not what the Blazers are. Give some credit here to Atlanta's defense, which wanted anyone but Roy to shoot the ball. The Blazers also went long stretches in the second half of this game with both Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden on the bench. The effort was to go smaller, play a zone defense, and out-quick the Hawks. The result was that rebounding deficit I mentioned above, along with the inability to create easy shots with either big screens, high percentage points in the paint. That's part of the searching.
I also got the feeling that Portland was going small in order to create opportunities to run and get easy baskets. I sit about five feet from where McMillan stands for 90 percent of the game. I can't tell you how many times, after grabbing a defensive rebound, Nate waives his arm in a windmill fashion and yells "push, push, push!" So, when Nate talks about wanting to run more, he's not just saying that to make you happy. The Blazers ended up taking only two shots in transition. They were successful on both attempts. Atlanta had 18 fast-break points. The Blazers, by the way, are last in this category in the NBA.
Back to the big guys for a moment. Oden was in foul trouble again in this game. He played just 16 minutes. But, in those 16 minutes he nearly had a double-double, and ended with 8 points and 9 rebounds. Przybilla played 19 minutes and ended with 4 points, 6 rebounds, and two blocked shots. Joel started the second half, and Portland quickly regained control building an 8-point lead midway through the quarter. By the end of the quarter, Atlanta had jumped back on top and led by 3. The Blazers tied it a few times after that, but never led again.
One comment I've heard over and over again by both coaches and players is that there is too much thinking going on and not enough reaction. This illustrates that the team is in an adjustment mode. It's a mode we all knew would take some time to figure out. And, it's not like couldn't see this process coming. It doesn't make it easier to stomach now, but some struggles early in the season were inevitable. I've talked at length about that in the two months.
We are very, very early in what is going to be a long season. That's the good news. Tell yourself that when you're reaching for the panic button. Call me an apologist, but that's the reality.
Early in this busy schedule the Blazers don't get two-day breaks between games very often. They have one now. McMillan is giving the team Wednesday off, and that's probably exactly what they need.
To listen to McMillan's post-game comments,
click here.
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i was at the game tonight, and had a few thoughts:
first off, no one should panic or proclaim the demise of this team. we started last season at 2-3 as well. five games in, and there are things to work on. the guys will work on them...
if greg only plays 15min, why doesn't joel play the other 33? joel played 19min & g.o. still had another foul to give, we should have let him and joel finish the game. we were -10 in rebounding.
in one instance, greg was called for a foul simply for being bigger and stronger. he and josh smith were airborne going after a loose ball and tangled arms. when josh fell to the floor oden was whistled. the replay even showed that a non-call should have been applied. it should not be such a frequent disadvantage for greg that he is the biggest strongest guy on the court.
rudy was called for a foul on a three point shot by jamal crawford. the replay showed that rudy did not touch crawford on his shot. crawford made all three free throws. to be plain about it, despite the fact that there were relatively few fouls called tonight, i thought the officiating sucked.
last season, we often closed games with blake, rudy and roy. why have we gone away from that? andre has to prove that he can play well with these guys to get the p.t. in the last 4-6min of the game.
i think that it was in the 3rd quarter, after greg went to the bench with his 4th foul, where we went to a defense that had the guys starting in a zone and then matching up as the hawks tried to attack. that defense + not having a center in the game really seemed to hurt us. likewise seeing batum in a sling.
joel's block of josh smith's dunk attempt was freakin' sweet. classic vanilla gorilla, straight from the RG.
hg,
my thought in regard to what you said, is that greg is young. it is pretty much that simple. he should be a bit frustrated, but not mad enough at himself to beat himself up. he has to turn those things outward and use them to learn, especially if he does that by taking it out on his opponents. b-roy seems to give him the right perspective in telling him to move on to the next task and just try to keep getting better & better.
we will get better!
GO BLAZERS
Mike, thanks for providing a great blog site for Blazers!
I am a season ticket holder and I love the Blazers! That said, this was the most frustrating game for me to watch in the last 2 seasons. This was for me the worse display of team offense i've witnessed by the B-Roy era Blazers. The MO appeared to be to give one Blazer the ball to go one on two (or three) while the others watched. I realize that we have new players and new rotations and it will take time to develope chemistry BUT tonight we looked like a bunch of guys playing pick up ball at the Y. No organization and a lot of selfish play. Our defense lacked team work as well, but our offense did us in.
I believe that we have the athleticism and talent to run on teams. If we do slow it down and go into the half court offense we should be able to run plays to at least provide us with open shots and occasional back door layins. We've done it in the past and i hope we return to it soon.
Mike,
THE REFS WERE HORRIBLE!!! Na, I'm just kidding, they did a pretty good job.
What really annoyed me about tonights game is that it seemed the Blazers just "gave up". One thing that made them win last season was the unselfishness and ball movement. Ball movement is the key to winning. The Blazers had horrible ball movement this game and in the Denver game. A lot of steals the opposing team were simply from poor passing and uncontrol of the ball. Brandon Roy almost turned it over 3 times in a row by not looking when about to catch the ball, or by simply trying to take over but instead of a winning attitude, he seemed frustrated. I hate to say it, but in the ending few minutes I did not feel comfortable with him having the ball after the minor times it was bumped from him or he simply lost control of the ball.
Another key thing about Ball Movement is REBOUNDING. The Blazers should *NOT* have been beaten by a smaller Hawks team in rebounding. No excuses. In the 4th quarter, there should be tough, strong rebounds. A rebound should always be earned, but in this game the Hawks got a lot of free ones just by the Blazers shooting and running.
The Hawks simply outsmarted the Blazers in this game. They had like what, 20 fast break points, and 20 second chances? The Blazers should have been man-to-man, but instead played more of a mixture of both, and no one got back on Crawford. He just murdered the Blazers in this game.
Tough loss, but the best thing to do is review the tapes and learn. One thing I think that confused this team is that they had a great season last season, but than all these adjustments came in, now the players seem to be back to learning. But this is the start of the season, and knowing what KP has done, this season will have a positive end.
Hey MB - I'm not one for analysis, but yes, I agree, we have to figure out a way to win these home games especially against a team like ATL; yes they are a good team, but we are certainly capable of taking care of them. Anyways, I'll leave it at that. It just hurts to wake up and see the score sometimes, against a team that I know we can beat. Denver, San Antonio, coming up short against them I can deal with, though again, we can beat those teams as well, but its easier to take, if that makes sense.
Ok, will leave my fellow fans who watched the game to make the more analytical statements. Go Blazers! Keep the faith!
Until Nate quits screwing with everyone's minutes, and using jacked up lineups like Miller Blake and Roy, we're gonna be garbage. Nate hasn't done anything this preseason or early season to show that what he teaches ever gets into the guys' heads. I mean if he's really preaching this crap, then either we have some VERY STUPID players, or we have a coach who can't articulate what needs to be done.
And can you explain why when Greg is obviously the MOST DOMINANT PLAYER ON THE COURT TONIGHT, that Nate refused to play him. 16 minutes, seriously? I know he had fouls, but I don't think you get a fine if you foul out right? What would be the problem with playing him until he fouls out? Nate just helps propagate the Oden is a foul machine stereotype by sitting him for nearly the whole 3rd quarter because of "foul trouble." WTF!?!? If someone could please just explain why we, The Blazers, who are possibly the tallest and longest team in the whole NBA next to maybe the Lakers, how come we get outrebounded by these little guys? And how come every damn game we get outscored in the paint. This is pathetic. We shouldn't have to pay for a crappy product, and that's what Nate and the players are giving us.
Hey MB you wanna know why the Rose Garden isn't hard to win in this year, it's because the building is empty. You guys charge way too damn much during a recession for tickets to a sporting event. It was so pathetic to see the hundreds of empty seats on TV. Maybe if the management could cut the consumer a break and maybe cut prices a little, I mean we are 2nd in the nation in unemployment, then maybe the building would be filled with real fans like myself, and not a bunch of puds who just show up because the Blazers are the cool kids again. Until you take care of the real fan, the Rose Garden will never have it's mystique back.
Very disappointing loss. Sitting at the game I felt the Blazers lacked intensity. Forget all the different lineups and how they play together, how bout just wanting it more? Atlanta wanted it more and played better than Portland. Portland needs to play with a little more urgency.
On a side note it was my wife's bday yesterday. Originally she wanted to just stay home and rest after work, but since I couldn't sell the tickets we went. When we went in I stop and ask if we could buy the buffet for Karla for her bday, but the gal said no. She surprised us by giving Karla a wrist band to the buffet anyway since it was her bday. Very nice. The Blazers are a class act. Thank you!
Where is the passion?
I loved last years team. Something is off. I hope they figure it out, I've been so disappointed with the team so far. Blazers are not giving their all.
Hey MB: living on the east cost, catching the games @ 10pm - it creates a LONG NITE....LOL! that being said - where's the effort? Travis STILL looks lost in the offense/defense schemes. Nate's rotation is kinda weird, if you ask me. YES - very much in the early part of the season - let's get some heart back for the SPURS! Man, oh man.
Hey MB:
like i said earlier in pre-season: i see a trade in the future. Rudy Gay or Danny Granger or ?
gettin close to hitting the panic button. last years success saw pryzbilla at starter and alot more rudy. not saying im a coach but this logically would be an idea to stick to.
I know some people talk about nates coaching, and I for the most part have been a supporter of his. But past night was really one of the first times I thought he didn't know what he was doing. He seemed to be just trying random things to see if they worked. He was substituting players way too frequently, he didn't know what style of play he wanted to play and it was clear he was flustered. I'm not really sure why we were trying to run, because we had been controlling the tempo pretty well the firs half and then he all of the sudden tried to outrun the hawks who are a very good fast break team. As much as the team is searching, Nate seems to be as well. Perhaps all the talent on the team gives him too many options to play with.
I also think we miss batum more than people probably think. He really is our glue guy and we miss his effort plays.
I have faith that eventually we will figure it out, but it's not going to be until mid December/January.
Nice stuff ,Mike..Yeah,50 points in the paint,ouch.Weren't we one of the best at defending the break last year.We are not taking cre of business at home.Agreed Atlanta is a good young team with a lot of scorers,but last night we got ran over on fast breaks.I don't know f thats D or a lot of quick shots. It seemed like BRoy was forcin it a bit in the 3rd and the 4th.Took some questionable shots 8 -18 last night. I know he is supposed to take over the game for us,but Aldridge was rollin.And Martell started to get hot and they stopped going to him,which I don't understand. I think that the comment about not thinking so much is spot on. I wonder if the rotation weirdness is affecting players decisions.Theyr'e playin like they don't know when they'll play or for how long.Or worryin about how they play and will that affect their playing time. Dre played with the perfect stat line 5 pts 11 assists and a nice oop to GO,(one of many more to come).LMA -14 rebounds.,THATS WHAT I"M TALKIN ABOUT!!!!!!!!!I knew he could. GO in foul trouble early again,he earned these especially the first three.I don't know if it's he's still a bit foul prone or not getting ref respect.This was another ALMOST game,brutal for the fan.We almost got a rebound,almost got a stop ,almost made the shot.It was like one step forward two steps back. Nate might be learning to be a little more flexable with his rotations according to game conditions. last night was a perfect example.If Nate wants this team to run ,he should do it a hell of a lot more because you can't turn a caddy into a dragster .
Mike: Great Blog of course;
I didn't get to listen to the part with us being ahead. I got to the game just before Atlanta took the lead.
I am not BB Analysis, but it seems like the team lets different aspect of the game slip away at different times. When their rebounds are great the offense is bad. When the offense is great the defense is bad, when the defense and offense is good their rebounding is bad. When a team takes something away from us, we can't seem to figure out anything else to do in time to save the game. I guess this is what is meant by playing a complete game.
It is clear that every team has taken a page out of the play-offs last year, to take BRoy and LMA out of their games and then we have to scrap to find others to step up. Greg does that when he is in the game. Since Greg's foul trouble is a factor in every game at the moment, since the opponents D is keeping BRoy and LMA out of sync much of the game, it is time to find another outlet. Outlaw and Martell are too inconsistent. Nobody being able to take the ball to the rim consistently without losing it or getting rejected, Andre is not driving to the basket or getting players in good scoring positions for what ever the reason's is. Maybe it is just Andre playing with youth and can't go down to their level. All in all we just have to find somebody to step up and take over. WHERE IS OUR FLYING BATMAN. (cry, cry, cry)
I promise you Mike, I am not panicking. I am not about to jump ship. In my short part of the game, I found the game very exiting. It sounds like we just miss too many shots and miss Greg to much. That will probably change, if not then I will still enjoy listening and occasionally watching (grumble, grumble)the game regardless of the outcome.
Thank you for the update.
hg
I agree with all the comments about getting out rebounded by the Hawks.Desire!Just an intersting side note re:refs to detract from a painful loss,heres an excerp from Donaghys book.Thought provoking. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Ex-NBA-referee-Tim-Donaghy-s-wild-book-excerpts?urn=nba,199082 I will defend Sarge,he has a lot of new ingredients to try and blend into a good soup.I doesn't taste very good now,but he's workin on the right combo of spices.But I think Sarge is a pretty good chef. BLAZERSROCK
Watching the game Oden needs to work on low post moves. When he gets it he is thinking of what move should I do then it is too late. Just work on a quick jump hook. Probably need to hire a Bill Walton or Bill Russell for some help. Also on defense he has to pick and choose what to go after and what to let go when someone is coming at him. 1 good foul can set the tone and then it is just being around the hoop can change a shot.
On defence the guys need to stop letting the offence penetrate. If the guy is too quick back off and let them shoot outside sure they are going to make a few, but it will cut down the fouls our big guys get. "Block out" or find someone to "Block out" that is something I told my kids constantly. If the shooter shoots it make sure you put a body on him and everyone needs to find someone to block out. It is a complete effort if one guy does not block out then the effort is wasted.
On offense if you got the shot take it. Move the ball around to make the other team play defence and if you are open take the shot. Too much standing around waiting for Brandon to do something or trying to get it to Lamarcus. Three guys should alway be around the offence boards and two to get back on defence. Make the other team block you out. If they don't we will get the ball back. Also we have a deep bench more so than other teams, so we can interchange players to stay fresh thoughout the game.
We can go on forever, but it comes down to the basics. Blocking out, switching, talking contantly, setting screens and how to use them, find the open man and trust your teammates. Find the mis-match. You find in the NBA it is who has the mis-match. Once you find it keep going to it until the other team makes an adjustment, but once they do there will be another one.
We saw this team flounder in the preseason and accepted mediocrity as nothing to worry about. The Blazers are suffering from an identity crisis, and from their own success last year. This team is not, repeat NOT, a running team, (can you say last in the nba)? We scrap for every basket that we get, while giving up way too many chip shots for the other team. Blake played most of the minutes last year at pg, Sergio was an afterthought. This team, and its fans, needs to get over the hype and just get back to being hungry. Let's mandate that "The Eye of the Tiger" gets pumped into the player's headset before every game. I think they're listening to a little too much Snoop Dog.
Hey Mike,
Thanks for your comments. You're right, we shouldn't panic especially because 2/5 of our starting lineup is different from last year, oden and webster being the new starters. What I don't understand is why Nate doesn't let Greg finish out the game even in foul trouble. He ended the game with 5 fouls, so keep him in there until he picks up that 6th. It makes no sense to put him on the bench and preserve his foul count if he's not going to play anymore. Also, I feel like this team has too much talent and it times it's hurting us because depending on the different situations, Nate keeps flip flopping guys out and they never get into a rhythm.
Also, I think not having Batum is killing us right now. I don't think we really appreciated his defense and the intangibles he brought, but I think this team really misses him. What do you think?
Thanks,
George
I can't believe that I am agreeing w/ Charles Barkley about this, but the Blazers have become a team that relies too heavily on Jump Shooting for their offense. Until they find a way to score inside, often and accurately, they will continue to lose games that they should be winning, and they should be winning all of their games.
Passion, effort, and drive. Those are all things I see missing from this team.
Jerome Kersey was the energizer bunny that often got the Blazers intensity level up when he was playing. This team doesn't possess that intensity, nor the gutsy, all-out-effort that's needed in this league.
Until they find that Kersey edge, it's going to be a long season.
I too love Nate, and am supportive, but I'm sick of the stupid frigging substitution patterns! It's out of control. The Blazers haven't been "in rhythm", had any momentum at all, for more than three minutes so far through five games! We get a little going and then what? Subs subs and more subs. It's not like he's even using "two units". We've seen about 100 different combination. That's foolish in my view. We need to win, not continue training camp.
I was up til 3 in the morning looking through box after box in the garage for my panic button. Then I remembered I sold it at a garage sale two years ago. At the time, I was sure it was broken, so I was thrilled at the thought of getting over on one of you even though you were able to haggle me down on my price. It seems clear that it just needed batteries or something, because someone out there has gotten it to work. All I know is that I had no use for the damn thing any more. Besides that, they are purposefully designed by the manufacturer to become obsolete in about a year. So, if it starts giving you problems, shake it, or bang it on the table a couple times. Sorry, there are no returns. CAVIAT EMPTOR. (That was Latin, Google it to get the translation).
RIPCITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess a double double for Greg is 10 min +any of the usual stats.
Thinking about it maybe the Blazers were looking ahead to the Spurs game. They might have just thought being at home they only needed to do the bare minimum to win this game and save it for the Spurs. Of course you can't do that as they found out if that was the case. Only reason I say that might have happen is because this was really uncharacteristic of the Blazers and the effort they put forth.
Whatever it was it's time to put this behind them and take it to the Spurs!
GO BLAZERS!!
Well that was painful to watch. I think the Nate/Outlaw/Miller trio broke the game last night.
Outlaw makes just enough of his crazy shots to stay in the game, but all of his shots are crazy. I don't know how many wide-open threes he passed up to drive into a defender's face, then pop up for the prayer. He is a liability. I can't imagine what it's like to play with a guy like that. I get the impression that he doesn't really know any of the plays, he just gets out there and freestyles. The ball comes to him and it's the Travis Show, even when Rudy is open in the corner and Travis himself has dribbled away the shot clock. What a bonehead. Yet he gets 23 minutes, and an educated, four year college guy that had a much talked about Summer League and preseason, sits on the bench(Dante).
Miller will produce eventually. He's starting to get used to this squad(11 assists), but hasn't quite dialed in that alley-oop yet. It's a maneuver that takes time and trust to develop, and as of yet, Miller has earned neither. It doesn't help when he goes bowling into the defense for a heavily contested layup when Rudy is open in the corner.
Nate had a breakdown last night. I am usually a big defender of his and ruthlessly tear into the "Fire Nate" dorks that occasionally drift onto the site, but last night was just awful coaching.
First off, our Oden approach needs to change radically. I think every game that he gets into foul trouble, we should let him foul out and Nate should get a technical. That is the only way to communicate our position. Nate needs to draw attention to the situation. Also, we should send clips of game tape, showing the bad calls, to Stern, or whoever. Mainly though, Nate needs to stand up for the young man and demand fair treatment.
Secondly, what was up with the tiny lineup? Challenging a fast breaking team to a fast break contest is like calling Billy the Kid out for a showdown. You don't draw on The Kid, you hit him with a whiskey bottle when his back's turned! But if we're going to go small with LMA as our center, we need a power forward in there that isn't allergic to rebounds. I don't understand why Howard didn't get any minutes in that lineup. Has he not proved to be twice the player that Outlaw is?
Finally, why on Earth did Rudy get the shaft? He was all over the place! Sure he missed a few, but he was playing hard and those shots would have started to go down if he wasn't getting yanked out of the game every two minutes. I mean, jeez, if you're trying to fast break, why not put in your fastest player? Just doesn't make any sense.
All I can figure is Nate was trying to send some sort of message to the players, like he did with Martell. Unfortunately, it cost the team a home game. I hope it was worth it.
4-21 from Blake, Miller, and Rudy. Not going to win too many games with crappy shooting like that.
Especially from a team that has yet to learn how move without the ball and relies far too much on jump shooting from distance.
Mike,
All I have to say is, "Look at the +/- for the last five games." The "big 3", for lack of a better term, of Roy, Aldridge, and Oden are putting up +/- over the past 5 games (in order 1st to 5th) of (+1, -1, -1, +12, -2), (-7, -13, +8, +12*, -9), and (+6, +6, -5, +9, -4) respectively. It should be noted that LA's +12 was for only the first quarter of that win over the Thunder.
There are a couple things I have to say about this:
Roy should be making everyone better all the time, period. While a +1 or -1 is not all that variable, it translates into him not having much of an impact on the players when he is in the game. While he is not running the point, he is running the show, as in, he is the leader of this team.
It is his job to make other guys be better...not just play better, but want to play better, work harder, sacrifice...etc...
As far as his personal play is concerned my feeling is "meh".
I know he went off in Houston and many of you will probably disagree, but something isn't right there.
Lamarcus just needs to play with the same conviction night in and night out. I like him riding under the radar a little bit, as far as being seen as an All-star caliber player. It gives him an advantage. As soon as he comes out in to plane sight though, the people will be gunning for him. Having (3) games of -7 or more, well I don' know what to say. Basically I feel like...again something isn't right.
Oden - Only two of his games have had less than +6 which means he is doing good things on the court. While he is still getting into foul trouble early, he has the right attitude and that is clear.
Finally, all of you may be wondering about Dre and his impact. Well here he is (+1, -1, -6, -8, -13). I think it is pretty evident that this is a mysterious stat. Last night he chalked up 11 dimes, but got a -13?
The point of all of this is that for the Blazers, last year the secret was team chemistry. Everyone knew their roles and executed at or above expectation. This year the roles aren't as clearly defined except for B-Roy's, and this is causing a log jam in the flow of chemistry. I am not sure who is to blame or if indeed blame is even necessary. I just hope that this gets figured out soon, because I would be sorely disappointed to see Bill Russel's prediction of a 41-41 season come to fruition. The kid gloves need to come off.
I too don't like to point fingers at Nate, but the combinations and rotations were just not cutting edge. We need to stick to what will work and then substitute with balance and chemistry.
The players need to get fired up and keep it up during the whole game. There have been flashes of this, but not like last year. It is most disappointing that the Rose Garden is no longer the intimidation for the opponents. This needs to change. In addition, people don't want to invest their money to attend games at the Rose Garden or time in front of their televisions to see the team flounder. Let's face it; the team needs to live up to expectations.
They need to have a joy in their pace and a court awareness.
Last years desire to win needs to be ingrained into this year. Maybe Dante could provide some fire?
Phi Slamma: Well said.
MGB, DskowinLG, bknows, Bryan, Herr, and Rick Dawg:
I like much of what you all said. Rick, I think, despite some empty seats, that the game was sold out. Maybe the "fans" just didn't show up.
fivehundreddogs: I agree with your analysis as well. Thanks for your details.
Greg does not need help getting into foul trouble. Perimeter players need to stop the ball before it gets into the paint. Let the surplus of guards rack up the fouls, we aren't getting a 3rd center any time soon, and get killed on the glass with "small ball"
I understand adding Miller will take adjustment time, but turnovers have to stop too.
Man up Blazers !!!
You aren't going to get rings if you keep giving games away at the Rose Garden....
I don't know if it's already been said, but there are 3 things that stuck out to me about last night's game.
1. Roy and Miller cannot play together. Just give it up, Nate. It's not going to happen. And stickin with it in the 4th quarter last night hurt the Blazers, because Roy didn't have the opportunity to take over the game the way he has done in the past.
2. Can the Blazers please buy some defense? Good grief! And after you get a defensive stop...RUN! I'm starting to think Nate doesn't know how to properly coach that style of play
3. Why did BOTH Joel AND Oden spend nearly the entire 2nd half on the bench? Yea, Oden was in a little bit of foul trouble, but where was Joel? This kind of goes back to #2, but the lineup that Nate had in there for the 2nd half was the worst i've seen him use at BOTH ends of the court. Nate needs to be quicker at making adjustments. Period.
Can a team have too much talent? There are some who would scoff at such a notion, vehemently denying such a situation could ever occur. I see a tentload of chiefs and not enough indians. Scalpers are not just confined to the outside of the Rose Garden, they do their handywork while wearing a blazer uniform. Fans are pulling their hair out in droves waiting for this team to gel. This may say more about the fans than the team. At least Lewis & Clark blazed a trail that actually led somewhere. I sense this team is lost in the woods and crying for mama.
Having Blake and Miller divide their minutes wouldn't have been a bad idea if both players played the same style of ball. Unfortunately, they have two distinct styles. I do not care to argue about which one is better, only that the team pick a style that is best suited for its players, and then get everyone on the same page!
I am gonna try not to be negative this time, i know we all agree that we are not even close to playin are best ball right now yet we are 2-3 and had chances to win the the 3 we lost i dont know if its a more consitant roatation or if the players need to take it upon themselves to take care of business or maybe our shots will start fallen but once something clicks with this group it is not unreasonable that we can rattle off 10 wins in a row or more. Our schedual definitely helps us out you know its been 5 games and its a long season we will hit full stride soon. Just be patient
maybe it's just me, but didn't this use to be a bit more fun? Expectations seem to dull the high of surprising success and intensify the monotony of projected success.
I agree with you, mike. Nate has forgotten more about basketball than i'll ever know. However, coaches have good and bad nights just like players. I personally believe nate's performance vs. atlanta was his worst in his tenure with the blazers. He was, in fact, horrendous.
I thought we, as a franchise, had gotten away from playing to another team's strength when we fired Dunleavy. You remember, right mike. The guy who would put in 4 guards to match up against goldenstate's 4 guards. The guy who would do that regardless if their guards were better than ours. He just HAS to match up, no matter what.
Our strength is our size. Too bad nate decided we needed to play to Atlanta's strength. That was just one of the perplexing moves he made last night.
Anyway, not the end of the world. Hopefully things get better. I believe they will sooner or later.
Charles Barkley is right. We need a true low post scorer. I like Andre Miller's game and all but he just seems uninterested in the game when he's out there. Maybe it's due to him not starting, who knows. I mean, he does his job and everything but I don't see any emotion from him, or anyone else of that matter except Webster. It just seems like the guys are expecting to win without showing up and we never once saw that last year.
Anyways, until we get a low post scorer who can actually score and pose a threat, I don't see us making it far into the playoffs or anything. Oden's still too slow when he has the ball in the post. I'm pretty sure I could poke the ball away from him once he puts it on the floor or get a deflection. I love the Blazers and I may be overreacting but we should not be 2-3 right now, I can tell you that much.
Some great posts here,i'm beginning to think some of you might actually have a grasp of this game. Phi....we have been playing as schizophrenic as I've seen,especially after the OKC game.I,personally think they are still playing like they are worried about minutes, touches,and,when Nate is going to yank them for no good reason.We seemed distracted. I can't remember who said Martell is not playing consistent.He needs more time .He is still playing with more fire than anyone,game to game. Another big annoyance for me,No easy baskets for this team.Everything from the outside.Get GO some touches,C'mon now.Somebody,anybody,post up,willya. It's about time we get our opponents in foul trouble.Thats not gonna happen shootin jump shots.
What is wrong with the Blazers is not the fact that the players aren't working hard like Coach Nate is suggesting...it's HIS coaching. Come on!!! How long are you going to use Greg on the pick and roll when no one is guarding him 15-17 feet from the basket. Everyone team will double team Roy and he will turn the ball over or make a bad shot. No one is moving off the ball...no one is looking for cutters...just one-on-one move. LA - Roy - Travis...Everyone. No one is playing team ball...I'm tired of watching this COACH...Teach your team to move without the ball and look for cutters...!
Wish I could have watched the game, but I gave up on Comcast a couple months ago. They are way overpriced and the picture quality was the worst quality out of all the major sports channels by far, even comparing SD to SD. When I went from a game on TNT and then back to Comcast Sportsnet it felt like I was going from 2009 to 1993. Now they are making a big deal about having HD for all the games??! Way to go Comcast! You are only 3-5 years behind everyone else! Sorry, I hate that the Blazers made that deal with such a terrible company.
Anyways, I have been getting really upset with the officiating until this week when I realized why we don't get as many calls as the other team. I swear, at least since last year it doesn't matter who we play, we seem to get less fouls called for us than our opponent all the time! Is there a stat for that we can look up anyone? I think it's one of two things, maybe a combination of both. All we do is take jump shots and the other team drives inside a lot more!! And/or the refs don't like us/Star treament. I mean I remember every time we play the Lakers, Kobe gets at LEAST 3 phantom fouls called on us somehow! ALWAYS! It's obvious that it is on purpose and I wish the DAMN NBA would fix this (pun not intended)! But I know with Stern this problem will never even be adressed. So our only other option is to drive to the hoop more! Please! LaMarcus, could you make a move towards the rim at least once in a game? Can we start the PG who can drive AND dish or find an open man cutting to the hoop? Can Outlaw quit doing that stutter step everytime before he makes his move so he doesn't get a travel call at least once a game?(other than that and his lackadaisical passing I like Travis though.) But most of all, I think the missing x factor MB was talking about is the coach. Like I said last week, the team is reflecting Nate's indecision and people don't know their roles and are not effecient with who they are playing with on the court. He also has a terrible habit of taking someone out who is hot and subbing in someone else. It also seems the team is not listening to him at all, after hearing over and over that Nate is telling them to run or push and THEY NEVER DO!
I'm also sick of hearing "Greg almost had a double double in his limited amount of minutes!!!" Now there are times when I see Greg committing ridiculous fouls, but even more I see the refs calling ridiculous phantom, touch or non-call fouls on him!!! Like what Travis said about him being called for being bigger & stronger, he is absolutely right. I think the fans pay enough to get at least HALF of the games with Oden not being called for 2 - 5 stupid fouls!!! We pay to watch him, not for the refs to make grade school calls in the nba. We want to see him in a whole game, plus I hate hearing all the time he has to earn the refs respect!! He shouldn't have to! A foul is a foul, and if it's not a foul DON'T CALL ANYTHING!! It's not that hard. They call some of the most ridiculous fouls on Greg EVERY GAME!
OK I'm still upset with the officiating, but if we could drive to the basket a little more I think there wouldn't be such a distinct margin between our and our opponents fouls.
What is the difference between the Sandman and KG,Kobe, LeBron, and D-wade? Defense.
Everyone in Blazer land knows the Sandman is the man. The team knows it, management knows it and I know from listening to MB he knows it too. I also know that the Sandman himself knows it. He sets the lead for all to follow and his defense has been atrocious as has Blakes, Millers, and at times Hollywood and Catfishes. If the Sandman plays lockdown D the rest will follow.
We can't play waiting for our turn to score.
Obviously there are a lot of Blazers that think all they have to do is out talent everyone.
We haven't even come close to playing a single good game.
Only the Allfather has brought a consistent effort and he is probably more frustrated than anyone on the team.
I love the Sandman but until he takes the next step of becoming a lockdown defender we will be just average, which is a shame because we have the talent to be the best ever.
I did not expect this.
Get it together Blazers.
Nate it your job to have the team focused.
Rip City forever.
the blazers are fine quit your crying and excuses.spurs friday
blazers for life
Speaking of the Spurs it would be nice to have a guy who could take their point guard into the post and hang some fouls and easy buckets on him in the starting lineup.
Eric Snow said you can tell the teams that come out to play, the teams that come out to win, and that teams that come out to win championships. what are you seeing?
TomL............we will not be getting those calls till we earn them.The reason is we settle for jumpers.Untill we put the pressure on other teams by takin it inside,we will continue to get the kind of respect that a jump shooting team deserves.We are no longer the new kids on the block.People know about us and what we do and how to defend us.They watched the playoffs last year.I think GO still is learning how to be agressive without drawing fouls.He found his way into the first three fouls on his own,he has to learn from that.As a team,we have to adapt to what is happening.I'm hopin these last two days will get them refocused.We are close but not close enough. BLAZERSROCK
Well looks like some team chemistry is missing here. Is Miller a good fit? I honestly think Blake is better pg for Portland. In terms of "PURE" ball playing skills,Miller does get the nod..But knowing how this team plays..Blake is the better choice...How much room will we have on the salary cap after this year...Rumor has it that Lebron James will go to the Lakers..honestly if all possible we cant allow our biggest rival to make that happen. Imagine a James-Roy-Aldridge 1-2-3 punch..oh my gosh..thank goodness these guys are not missing any fingers,cause they would need em for all those Championship rings!...Ok..maybe alittle too much..but you cant deny that would be a super dangerous team. just my 2 cents.
No panic button...no band wagon...no white flag...no hype...just a real fan here. We can and should do better but honestly the rotation would be tough for any coach so stop degrading our coach. We are showing our Achilles a little bit, but I'd rather see it now than at the end of the season. As for the team... we are going to be just fine. Losing at home should be the equivalent of losing on the road...I mean I know that fans get disappointed but in reality it is just one game at a time. The best solution to correct a concern is with constructive criticism and a positive attitude. There is no doubt to me that we are right there and we have lost 3 games by 6 or less points...honestly the problems as far as I can see are: fouls, finding a rhythm, getting our confidence back and just getting over the hump.
Let's Go Blazers
fathom
Greg isn't ready to be a post up player yet. He does not have good control of the ball. they should teach how to make a 10 foot jumpshot instead of him trying to post people up. he doesn;t have good presence and doesn't look confident. He is still not ready for what everyone thought he was gonna do. he should be setting up picks, rebounding defensively, getting garbage points off of offensive rebounds. that's it for now. don't throw it in to him unless he can jam it.
Andre Miller shouldn't be playing at the end of the game. He should be a second and third quarter assist specialist with an occasional drive. If he has to play at the end of the game he should pass the ball to Roy!!
This brings up the main problem with this year's team; Hedo Türkoğlu. That is where the problem started. At this point and time I would have rather kept Frye than have Miller especially now that the French Man went down. Take a look at the record of frye's new team and he's getting minutes.
I am sorry to be such a spoil sport, but I think this maybe a difficult year.
In all due respect fathom, i hope the Blazers never believe that "losing on the road is the equivilant of losing at home". Not is this town! We should dominate the Rose Garden. I agree with you about contructive criticism. Here is mine: We must learn how to and intensify our efforts to defend the pick & roll or our big men will continue to get in foul trouble and our opponents will score at a high percentage. This is not a rotation problem this is a TEAM problem. It takes a team to guard the pick and roll not just two players, but the lack of hustle from guards on top makes everything harder. On offense we need to run some deliberate TEAM plays to unclog the congestion in the middle and provide some easy shots. Otherwise we will continue to shoot a low percentage and will live and die by our outside shooting. This would also make the defense work a little bit and open up the spontaneous two on two offense. I'm not saying anything thats not common sense here but for some reason we aren't pulling it off. I love the Blazers and haven't pushed any panic buttons here but as someone once said "the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things and expect different results"
Go Blazers!
Why do the the Blazers shoot from the outside so much when they have Alridge & Oden. Inside is their strength. Is the coach a outside coach? I have sent many emails to ask that question but no one will answer me. No one seen to address that problem. Is it the players or the coach. I believe until they deal with the problem they won't have a great team. Please answer me!!!
Go Blazers!!
you get your wish steven its you.its your thinking it sucks
Hey gang,heres a B Edge thing about thursday practice and some Broy comments about makin adjustments.http://www.blazersedge.com/ Its the first story ,I just posted the link cause I know people are lazy!
Steve Nielsen:
I have been wondering the same thing since last year. He talks about taking it to the inside pass to our outside shooters. He is talking about Andre posting up and drawing the d in and pitching out to the shooters. My guess word be yes.
I know when we settle for outside shots he grumbles about it or just says we have to be able to knock those shots down.
hg
its pathetic to me how to see many bloggers here keep defending oden. the guy looks like a lost puppy out there and about as physical as one. I cant stress enough how he gets stripped of the ball every time someone passes to him in the paint. its because hes a pansy. and i will say it to his face (given the opportunity) nobody else in the league fears him. can you name a worse (starting) center in the nba. I cant. Greg Oden-Read this and grow a pair little boy.
perrynoid1:
How big of a pair do you have? Is that what you are saying is a mark of a man. Boy are you suffering from illusions.
Hang in there you might make it as a human yet.
hg
I think sometimes when the blazers add a new player they think that the team is better and they don't play hard enough. this is like any job you need to know what the person is thinking and do things together. play smart ball. make each game like a play off game.
Love your personality Mike Barrett. Hope you stay with the team for years to come!
Mike
I watched much of the Spurs game last night, and guess what; Parker couldn't stay with Williams at all. Added to that is Williams couldn't stay with Parker at all. Isn't that odd? All I hear all this nonsense out our pg not being able to stay up with fast pg; It appears to me that fast pg can't keep up with fast pg. Team D is the answer.
hg
Brad:
I agree with you about the influence that we have as a crowd on the Blazers at home. My point was that record wise, EVERY game means about the same thing to the team. If your team wins all their home games at home but loses all of them on the road then they are a .500 team. I know this is an unrealistic scenario but that's why I say we should take each game one at a time. We are really missing Batum too, but we have enough talent to fill the void so I hope we find a way. Get well soon Nic.
Some of my concerns were vaguely addressed in my above post. Obviously maintaining a good rhythm and effective tempo are important. We have also seen this team needs some definition in its defense or should I say to find its defensive identity.
The jump shooting thing...it wouldn't bother me so much if Greg and Joel weren't the only ones crashing the offensive glass. I am not sure what the solution is as I am far from an NBA coaching level, however, it would be nice to see a 4, 3 or 2 chase a miss down and keep it alive and set it up so we could feed Greg or LA inside.
We have to drop our free throws consistently. When Blake is missing you know something's up.
Lastly, some better ball movement would help. Less dribbling and ball holding and more cutting, and dishing the lane. I like pick and roll just fine but not when the ball handler dances around until there's 2 left on the clock and forces a tough one up.
Anyways...that's just some of what I see. I really enjoy being part of the Rose Garden crowd and though I won't be there tonight against the Spurs, I am fortunate to have tickets to 11 games. That being said the Blazers are great at home, and lots of hope to reestablishing their success there tonight and for the rest of the season.
Cheers,
fathom
tonights matchup favors greg and many other of our guys. it should be fun to watch. we will own the paint in this one. joel, lamarcus and greg are one of the best frontcourt rotations around, and i can't wait for the game, and sunday against the wolves. could be the start of a good stretch of play for us.
Trade Lamarcus????? HAHAHAHA..wow..yes his points are down alittle this year..but its still early in the season..he hastn quite been his oldself..much like Brandon Roy..which brings me t another thing..Thank goodness were getting away from that miller-blake backcourt and Roy @ sf. I t worked 1 game!..when we fast broke for bunch of points against the wolves..other than that..its been sad..Roy has not been himself..passin up way to many shots..not getting to the free throw line..hes had more sub 20 point games this season than all of last year...The ball needs to go through Roys hands still..with Aldridge being the next go 2 guy..thats our 1-2 punch..never go away from that..Im liking Martel in the starting lineup..thats where he is more comfortable..he needs more min to get back into rythem..yes hes played like crap..but thats cause he has not been into his zen so to speak..basketball is so mental!!!..And Oden and Zilla..oh my..keep up the goodwork big fellas..I have nothing but positive to say about that duo..block and rebound fools they are! :)....I will say 1 thing thats alittle out there..but honestly I have alwas felt Roy could play point..he is just a awesome passer..he knows where everyone is..hes prabaly a better 2 guard all in all..but Roy can play point..hes that good. Aldridge is wayy to darn good to even be considered to be traded..hes then future of this team..your talking about a 6'10 guy who runs up and down the court faster than most guards! and has range out to 20 ft. Basicly a fast running Kevin McHale..enough said!...I think well be ok...1 thing that is missing from last year..is the excitment..the energy..it seems like they just show up and play but thats it..dosnt look like there having alot of fun out there..and last years team was alwas having fun..being motivated. I do agree that it would be nice to see Miller as starting pg..but well see how it goes...Aslong as the ball goes through Broys hands and then the feeds to L.A and Oden with Martel spreading the defense..well be a tough team.
I was glad to see the end of the 3 guard lineup. Andre does some nice things for us but he is a liability with the shot clock running out.
I would love to see the lineup be Rudy, Martell and Brandon in the backcourt. Brandon and Rudy can both see the floor like a PG and Rudy with Martell makes for some exciting fast paced defense.
Frankly we could divide Andre's minutes between Jared, Martel and Rudy and have addition by subtraction.
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