We shut down Yao and Brooks (Problems A and B from last game), but our
offense was really only flowing through Brandon and LaMarcus.
Hopefully a few of the other guys will handle some of the offensive
load next game...
LaMarcus Bounces Back
LA scored 27 points on 11/19 shooting. Even though it was nice to see
the jumper flowing, I'd like to see LaMarcus dominate the paint for us.
Player of the Game
Brandon Roy
Brandon was Mr. Everything for the Blazers, scoring 42 Points (15/27 FG, 10-12 FT) in nearly 42 minutes. He still did a lot of it away from the basket, but Yao can't play all 48 minutes, and their next tallest guys are 6'9 (Scola) and 6'7 (Landry).
It's never fun to lose by 27, let alone at home, let alone in the first round of the Playoffs. But then again, the Blazers have never been too good at getting off to a quick start...
Roy and LaMarcus Shut Down
Aldridge was completely unable to gain any sort of offensive advantage, which crippled our post game enough to turn us into the jump-shooting Blazers of old. The Rockets also did an incredible job of containing Brandon, who started strong but was shut down for most of the game. With those two guys made ineffective, our offense was downright sad. We ended the game shooting 41.7% as a team.
The Oden Factor?
In addition to LaMarcus, it seems that Mr. Oden may be available for some low-post offense. He was pretty much the only bright spot for the Blazers, scoring 15 points, only picking up 3 fouls, and was surprisingly effective in 21.5 minutes.
Yao Dominates
Not only was Houston's defense stifling, but their offense was flowing to the tune of 60% accuracy for most of the game. Yao Ming scored all of his 24 points in the first half, shooting a perfect 9/9 from the field and 6/6 from the freethrow line. He scored at will, plain and simple. He wasn't the only Rocket to dominate the paint, either. Luis Scola shot 7/9 and scored 19 points. Meanwhile, Aaron Brooks had his way with the backcourt (27 points on 10/17 FG).
J-Bay Defense
I've seen a lot of people on the forums talk about how difficult it was
for Steve Blake to contain Aaron Brooks, and also how good Bayless's
defense looked. Like many of you, it wouldn't surprise me to see
Bayless in tomorrow's game a little earlier than normal if things
aren't going well for the Blazers.
What a way to end the regular season. The combination of Houston's loss and San Antonio's win just before game-time meant that the Blazers were playing for Home at Home. How about another rout?
The Nuggets looked very sad for most of the game. They came out cold and alone - playing one-on-one basketball against a Blazer opponent that could not have been more of a team. NONE of the Blazer starters scored in double figures - tell me the last time that has happened in a 28-point victory. Our 4 double-digit scorers: Travis, Rudy, Channing, Greg.
[Shout out to Kevin Calabro, who announced tonight's game on ESPN with Hubie Brown. Calabro was the announcer for the Sonics from 1987 to this last year when they moved to OKC. His voice is forever ingrained into my head from growing up in Seattle, as I'm sure is the case for certain Blazers that also have roots there.]
1st Half: The Channing Frye Show
I have to give props to Channing Frye, especially for his play in the 2nd Quarter. He came in and helped us turn a 12-point lead into a comfortable 19 going into Halftime. Aside from stroking it smooth, Channing even threw in some nice passes...
Sergio's 12.5 (officially 12) Assists in 18 Minutes
There was some "retro" Sergio on display tonight - buckets of assists in a short amount of time. In fact, mid-way through the 4th Quarter he had assists on back-to-back-to-back offensive possessions, all of which were 3-pointers (to Outlaw, Frye, and then Fernandez for the record). Much less retro (or possibly so retro that I'm unaware) has been Serg's new touch around the basket. He seems to be much more confident about going to the hole, and the results have been downright fantastic.
Player of the Game Rudy Fernandez
Rudy began the night five 3-pointers behind the record for most threes in a season by a rookie (held by Kerry Kittles at 158). No problem - he drained a career-high 6 of 9 attempts to become the new record holder at 159. In order for him to even get in that type of position, Rudy had hit a 3-pointer in each of the last seven games, going 20 for 36 (55.56%) in that span. In not one of those games did he shoot less than 50% from behind the arc.
The Blazers, just one game away from the last of the season, are rolling. They've won 9 of their last 10 games - a list that includes Phoenix, Utah, San Antonio, and the Lakers - and don't seem to be showing any of the fatigue that supposedly plagues a young team at this point in the season.
Last night's win wasn't over a Playoff team, but we won the way we should have. The Blazers were up by more than 30 before the game even reached half time... it was a total domination. Brandon Roy was granted the privilege of rest, playing a season-low 22 minutes, and I was granted the privilege of Jerryd Bayless.
Player of the Game Travis Outlaw
With Batum sent home ill before the game, Travis was given the start and a plump 32 1/2 minutes of floor time. The new-and-improved Travis Outlaw, as I see him, continues to play within himself and got his shot falling again (his previous two outings saw no better than 25% FG%). He finished with a team-high 21 points (9/14 FG) and 5 rebounds, but it was his defense on Kevin Durant that sealed the deal. Durant was held to just 10 points on 5/15 shooting in 31 minutes.
Honorable Mention
Greg Oden
Greg only committed 2 fouls in 20 minutes! This gives him back to back games with less than 4 fouls, which hasn't happened since the middle of January. That aside, he also had 16 points (7/11 FG) and 9 rebounds. Of his 7 field goals, 6 of them were dunks. Credit Rudy with some smooth passing, too.
Blazers: 87 Clippers: 72 Player of the Game Rudy Fernandez
In a game where the Blazers controlled throughout but couldn't seem to break away, Rudy Fernandez was the one to finally put the nails in the coffin. He hit two huge 3s at the end of the 4th Quarter to put the Blazers up by 5 and then 10 points, respectively, after which the Blazers coasted. He finished with 13 points (2/4 3PT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 0 turnovers.
I wanted to experiment with rendering and uploading larger videos, so I have the video of each successful offensive possession against the Lakers, as well as a few defensive. I left out freethrows...
In another comeback victory, the Blazers beat San Antonio to gain 4th Place in the Western Conference.
I wasn't able to get the video for the first half, so I made one for LaMarcus's 3rd Quarter. During a time when neither team could run an effective offense, Aldridge was there...
After one half of basketball, the Blazers had amassed over 1/3 as many turnovers as points (12 and 35, respectively). It was some ugly basketball that none of us wanted to be seeing around this time of year, especially against a team like Memphis.
The Blazers rallied in the second half, though (as they often do), and beat the Memphis Grizzlies by a mere 3 points. Ovinton J'Anthony Mayo was on fire all game (finishing with 31 points), but it wasn't enough once the Blazers re-discovered offense in the second half. They out-scored the Grizzlies 61-46 in quarters 3 and 4 to overcome a 12 point halftime deficit. Player[s] of the Game: LaMarcus Aldridge
AND
Rudy Fernandez
Tonight, it wasn't really about who put up impressive numbers. Roy was the only Blazer that scored over 20 points, but it was when we got points from these two guys that was so key. After losing by double digits for most of the game, the Blazers needed to get back in to the game before they could think about winning it. So, LaMarcus and Rudy went to work...
LaMarcus came out of halftime on a mission to dominate, which he accomplished. Once the Grizzlies were nice and scared, he started handing the ball to Rudy, who shot us back into the game. These two are a budding combination that Nate seems to like more and more.
Honorable Mention: Brandon Roy
Roy did what he does - close the game. Notice the times in which his highlights happen - very sporadic until the end of the 4th when he attacks the basket relentlessly.
Oden Report: Greg Oden
Oden was on the court for 23 minutes tonight! 10 points (5/8 FG), 5 rebounds, 5 fouls, 3 turnovers - not too impressive. But HOLY CRAP did you see the block on Warrick? Hakeem Warrick can sky. He's a very long and VERY athletic 6'9 - he almost always ends up on the good end of a poster.
Statistics aside, I thought Greg played a good game. He positioned himself particularly well, and he completely locked Marc Gasol off of the boards.
With a 125-104 blowout of conference rival Utah, the Blazers have put together three straight wins of more than 20 points. With 8 games left, we can only hope that their dominating play can be sustained.
The Jazz are an especially bad road team, and the Blazers are an especially good home team, but the manner in which Portland handled Utah totally surprised me. The Jazz are rarely an easy win for us, but Blazers had control of this one from the beginning, led by another outrageous offensive display. Three games ago, we set a season record against Phoenix in FG% with 60.2%, only to top it tonight with 61.8%. The best thing about that is that we haven't been dependent on jumpshots - a weakness of concern as we prepare for the postseason. The Blazers spent the night attacking the rim, and when Utah double-teamed to stop it, we swung the ball perfectly to find wide-open shots. Our floor-spacing has been absolutely stellar recently, and our opponents can't seem to do anything about it.
Player of the Game:
Brandon Roy
I try not to pick Roy for Player of the Game because of the monopoly he would otherwise have on it, but he was too convincing tonight. Brandon had his way with Utah ALL NIGHT, and he did it against defensive specialists Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko. His 25 points (10-14 shooting), 6 rebounds, and 11 assists, though impressive, don't do his presence in the game justice.
Honorable Mention: LaMarcus Aldridge
He did it again - another utterly dominating performance by the increasingly aggressive Aldridge. Finishing with 26 points on 10-16 shooting, he showed us another seemingly angry performance where nobody would be allowed to stop him. There is no question that LaMarcus Aldridge is the 2nd most important piece on this Blazer team, and he's making sure everybody knows it as he prepares for the most important stretch of basketball of his life. As a side note, LA has really picked up his freethrow shooting recently, making 21 of his last 22 attempts (95.4%).
Oden Report:
Greg Oden
In barely over 11 minutes, GO racked up 12 points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), and 2 blocks. Yes, he also picked up 4 fouls, but that's normal by now. I've already accepted that he will not spend a lot of time on the court because of foul trouble, so I just hope for production while he's in. Well, he provided all sorts of production tonight. The man was a beast on the boards, had a great block, and also showed us some of the touch that I believe is what will make him a special big man. Pay special attention the lefty hook - I think those are the types of moves that we'll see more of as Greg develops his footwork.
Drama on the Court: Joel Przybilla
If you remember Przy getting into it with Shaq a few games ago, then you have to watch this:
It was easy to make a case for tonight being the most
important game of the season.The
Blazers were sitting just one single game ahead of Dallas for the last remaining Playoff spot,
and there was only one team in the Western Conference that had a chance of
catching either of us: tonight's opponent.With only 10 games remaining in the regular season, the Blazers had an
opportunity to take a HUGE step toward solidifying their spot in the
Playoffs.
Then again, it will also be
very easy to argue that almost every upcoming game will be the most important
game of the season.Even though the Blazers are 1.5 games ahead of 8th in the
West, they're now tied with New Orleans for 5th,
and only trail San Antonio
by 2.5 games for 2nd!Every
game could mean the difference between home-court advantage against the 7th
place team and a First Round meeting with the Lakers.Oh, and four of our 10 remaining games are
against teams in that hunt with us.Still, tonight was a unique opportunity to take a huge step in
guaranteeing the Trailblazers an appearance in the Playoffs, and they took full
and merciless advantage of it.
Player of the Game: LaMarcus Aldridge
L.A. set the tone on offense, scoring seemingly at will. He led the team with a career-high tying 29 points on an extremely efficient 11-16 shooting, and he also collected a team-high 12 rebounds. The thing that made his performance so particularly impressive, though, was the attention that he commanded from the Phoenix Suns. When they double-teamed him, he swung the ball, which almost always led to an open Blazer eventually getting a shot. When they didn't double, he scored - plain and simple. Here are some experimental highlights from the first half (I highly recommend clicking the HQ button at the lower right):
Honorable Mention: Nicolas Batum
Batum didn't have the game that LA, Roy, or Rudy had, but I think he deserves some credit for what he did. Nicolas spent a pretty good chunk of his minutes crashing the offensive boards BIG TIME. He finished with 4 offensive rebounds in only 16+ minutes, and you could tell that this was a role that he is developing for himself on the team. And why wouldn't he? He has the combination of length and agility at the small-forward position that gives him an advantage over almost any of his opponents, and who would we rather have be out of position during transition defense? I seem to recall a multitude of times the rookie has caught up to the play and blocked it from behind.
I don't know if he has been instructed to emphasize his offensive rebounding or if this is something that is developing more naturally, but I'm a big fan. The game of basketball is won by exploiting mismatches, and Nicolas Batum is a walking mismatch. It's a lot of fun to watch him learn how to exploit it...
Again, some experimental highlights from the first half:
