SB Nation - Rudy Fernandez

IC Cold Links: Blazers, Pacers Prepare To Play Through Injury Setbacks

Tom Lewis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:39:29 -0000

The Portland Trail Blazers arrive at the Fieldhouse tonight, sorting through their own injury woes, joining the Pacers in trying to figure out which combination of remaining healthy players gives them the best chance to win.

The Pacers of course, are without leading scorer Danny Granger and continue to play with Mike Dunleavy on a minutes limit as he returns from his prolonged injury-related absence. Within the past few days, the Blazers have lost Greg Oden for the season and utility wing, Rudy Fernandez for 4-6 weeks. So just what type of game we'll see tonight is anyone's guess, but I imagine the opportunity for playing time should have some reserves brining plenty of energy to the floor to take advantage of their chance to play.

After the jump, plenty of links on the topic including video reaction from Fieldhouse.

PACERS: Pacers-Blazers preview
Pacers' offense left with big hole
Mike Wells reports on the Pacers looking for offensive answers with Danny Granger and his 25 points per game on the shelf. Jim O'Brien wants to push the pace. "I don't think 97 points (a game) is going to make it with our basketball team," the Pacers coach said Tuesday. "It might work if we had a different group of players. We are individually not good enough to slow it down and play paint by numbers."
PACERS: Pacers Video on losing Danny Granger
PACERS: Pacers Video on Rush getting another chance to play
Pacers F Granger out at least 4 weeks
Cliff Brunt offers up his AP report on Granger's absence.
Pacers progress hinges on playoff pursuit carrying on minus Granger
Tony Mejia thinks the Pacers can still win enough games to remain in the playoff race, but some new faces will have to step up and play a larger role.
Game 23 Preview: Blazers vs. Pacers - Blazersedge
Dave is expecting all kinds of ugly at the Fieldhouse tonight with two teams trying to find their way amidst recent injury setbacks collide, or at least bump into each other.
UPDATE: Blazers' Rudy Fernandez out 4 to 6 weeks after back surgery
Jason Quick reports on the Blazers injury woes increasing with the loss of Rudy Fernandez.
Memo to Pritchard: No rash moves, please
Kerry Eggers is preaching patience for the Blazers, imploring the team not to trade their way out of the injuries issues that have them short-handed.
Conley's drive lifts Grizzlies over Cavs in OT
Michael Conley has always been one of my favorite local players who seemed to make the game simple for he and his teammates. His NBA career has been a struggle so far, so it was great to see him throw a little hesitation dribble at the Cavs defense before blowing by everyone for the game-winning layup last night.
Steve Nash Internet Day!
It's Steve Nash Internet Day, so check in early and often for more.

Update: Rudy Fernandez Will Miss 4-6 Weeks After Microdiscectomy to Relieve Back/Leg Pain

Ben. — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:14:19 -0000

More photos » by Jim Mone - AP

My neck. My back. Can't believe that was a real song.

Browse more photos »

Update (3:10PM):

Portland Trail Blazers General Manager Kevin Pritchard conducted an interview with John Canzano on 95.5FM this afternoon. Here are some quotes from the interview. Podcasts for Canzano's show can be found here.

"I've been through some tough times. We all have. I believe this is where your character comes out."

"[All of these injuries} has been something I've never quite been a part of. This organization has a lot of great people. We want to continually work hard at what we do... we want to come out better on the other side. We have some injuries but it's not the end of the world. Our hearts go out to Mr. Allen and Maurice Lucas every day more than anything... I want this to cement our team and get them closer together. I want our guys to overachieve, play our tails off."

"The one thing I know for sure is that this is a predatory league. One thing people will try to do is look at our roster and say what can we get off of it. We're not going to sacrifice anything in the future for today. Does that mean a trade can't happen? It can happen."

---------

Are there trades out there right now?

"I don't have one right now. We don't have one."

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"Through the tough times, we stay calm waters.

"Jerryd Bayless is coming in and playing well. Dante Cunningham is going to be coming in more. We're going to have to overachieve."

"There's no quick-fixes in this business. There's not."

"We can go and look at trades, we can look at guys that have been bought out. We can look at guys over in Europe. We can look at guys in the D-League. Mike Born, who is in charge of NBA scouting, has done an incredible job of being ready."

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Are the playoffs a goal?

"It would be huge and a complete testament to the character of this team. And we've challenged them with that."

"Brandon put the team on his back against Houston. We're going to need that a lot. Him and LaMarcus."

---------

Who needs to step up?

"The one I'm most excited about is Jerryd... he's absolutely obsessive with his workouts. I have a lot of faith in him because he's prepared himself."

"Dante is a bunch of energy and he makes a lot of hustle plays. That's what we need.'

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Has Jerryd Bayless asked you for a trade?

"Never. Not one time has he asked for a trade."

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"We really miss Nic Batum... What he was able to do as a 19 year old last year... We need a wing defender to guard the Kobes and the LeBrons... we probably miss him more than anything."

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Update (3:03PM): Here's the full press release...

RUDY FERNANDEZ UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL PROCEDURE

Second-year Spaniard will be sidelined 4-6 weeks

PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Trail Blazers guard/forward Rudy Fernandez underwent a successful microdiscectomy Tuesday to alleviate pain in his right leg, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced today.

Fernandez, 24, will miss 4-6 weeks as a result of the procedure, which relieved pressure from a nerve root in his lower back that caused pain in his right leg.

"The procedure was successful and we can now turn our attention to getting Rudy healthy and back on the court," said Pritchard. "He's been under a lot of pain and we look forward to Rudy returning healthier than ever."

Dr. George Shanno performed the procedure at Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center in Vancouver, Wash.

Fernandez appeared in Portland's first 20 games this season, averaging 8.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 23.3 minutes. He leads the Trail Blazers and ranks among NBA leaders with 1.55 steals per game.

The Palma de Mallorca, Spain, native leads team qualifiers with a 38.8 percent (31-for-80) mark from three-point range. Fernandez's 159 three-pointers last season set an NBA rookie record.

Update (2:49PM): The Blazers report via text message...

Rudy Fernandez will be sidelined 4-6 weeks after microdiscectomy today to relieve leg pain caused by a nerve root in lower back.

Update (1:02PM): Dr. Rich Edelson of Sports Medicine Oregon told Wheels at Work on 95.5FM...

"[Rudy Fernandez] can get going right away on conditioning... he can do some things pretty quickly. He can swim, it's more the impact of running and jumping [that might take longer]."

Jay Allen of 95.5FM is reporting that doctors have told him that there is a broad timeline of 6-12 weeks for full recovery from this procedure.

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Original Post: (11:14 AM):

From the Blazers...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland Trail Blazers guard/forward Rudy Fernandez will undergo a procedure today to alleviate pain in his right leg, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced Tuesday.

Fernandez, 24, will undergo a microdiscectomy to relieve pressure from a nerve root in his lower back that is causing pain in his right leg.

Dr. George Shanno will perform the procedure at Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center in Vancouver, Wash.

A timetable for his return will be determined after the procedure.

More details on this in about 7 years. I just need to get my MD degree and then I'll be back to explain this. Seriously, more details to come shortly.

Update (11:24AM): Here is some information from Dr. Peter F. Ullrich, Jr., MD on Spine-Health.com regarding microdiscectomy surgery that seems to align well with the Blazers' statement.

In a microdiscectomy or microdecompression spine surgery, a small portion of the bone over the nerve root and/or disc material from under the nerve root is removed to relieve neural impingement and provide more room for the nerve to heal.A microdiscectomy is typically performed for a herniated lumbar disc and is actually more effective for treating leg pain (also known as radiculopathy) than lower back pain.

Impingement on the nerve root (compression) can cause substantial leg pain. While it may take weeks or months for the nerve root to fully heal and any numbness or weakness to get better, patients normally feel relief from leg pain almost immediately after a microdiscectomy spine surgery.

Please note this is general information and not necessarily applicable to Rudy Fernandez specifically.

Some spine surgeons restrict a patient from bending, lifting, or twisting for the first six weeks following surgery. However, since the patient's back is mechanically the same, it is also reasonable to return to a normal level of functioning immediately following this spine surgery.

...

The success rate for microdiscectomy spine surgery is approximately 90% to 95%, although 5% to 10% of patients will develop a recurrent disc herniation at some point in the future.

Update (11:33AM):

Here's a video from Dr. Scott Boden of Emory Health explaining the surgery in pretty good detail. It is described as an outpatient surgery meaning the patient often can leave the hospital on the same day as the surgery or, at worst, spend one night in the hospital. There are even video clips of a patient playing basketball.

Pakzaban has posted a video "demonstrating a lumbar microdiscectomy operation performed through a 2 cm incision on the back for treatment of a herniated lumbar disc." Enjoy.

Update (12:06PM): This is how you fail at twitter. KGW reporter Pat Dooris erroneously tweeted that Rudy Fernandez was done for the season. Minutes later, he retracted. Here's his official account.

Given the circumstances, an official apology from KGW to Rudy Fernandez, the Blazers and its fans is in order.

-- Ben Golliver | (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com) | Twitter

PS Thanks to Hurrakane212's quick-trigger in the fanshots as well.

Who's To Blame?

Dave — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:14:03 -0000

Click through to find the answer.

So here we are, in the midst of a three-game losing streak...a total case of shock and "awwww" for Blazer fans across the globe. This team hasn't seen a three-game losing streak since December 9^th-12^th of last season when we lost to the Magic at home, the Jazz on the road, and the Clippers again at home in overtime. And before that we hadn't seen a three-game losing streak since the first three games of the previous season, one in which we ended up 41-41. Well, I suppose we should probably mention that in between those latter two three-game streaks the Blazers lost five straight to a lineup of opponents including the Sixers, Wizards, Bobcats, and Nets. After that they won a game versus the Kings before dropping four more straight. Then later that year they dropped five in a row again. And then they did it again towards the end of the year. And oops! In all of those other losing streaks I managed to miss another three-gamer that technically did occur after the one I just cited. In that .500 season we saw so many losing streaks I can't keep them straight.

Nevertheless, in the quest to get to the bottom of this one a single question has repeated in various forms in numerous forums, including this one. It's a question that's repeated after nearly every loss, streaky or not: Who is to blame for this?!?

The question has its roots in our culture, I believe. I remember when the news about the Columbine shootings broke the story wasn't twenty minutes old before people were calling in to radio stations pinning the blame on the parents. I've learned since to avoid reading the comment section of any online news source when they report a story where something goes wrong. You'll read a laundry list of posts blaming the situation on Bush or the Demmycrats or the mayor or the police or liberals or the ACLU or judges or Outer Mongolians whether or not any of those individuals, groups, or philosophical outlooks address the matter in any way. It's human nature. If we can pin the blame for something on Subset A of society while identifying ourselves firmly as being outside of that subset (us being good parents or having the right political leanings or what have you) then the laws of simple cause and effect guarantee that said wrong will never happen to us. Now what was I doing before that story inconvenienced me? Ah yes...

"Gilligan!" "Sorry, Skipper."

I must admit that I see a fair amount of this phenomenon in my day job in the church. It's present in the occasional bout of parochialism, of course, but it imbues even the positive aspects of the church-pastor relationship. What do you suppose people want in a sermon? Along with the God-stuff comes this mantra: Keep it simple, keep it short, and bring it to a level I can understand. And indeed I try. But even as I do so I am aware of the cosmic folly of trying to reduce what is for those who follow this calling (and I'm not saying you have to or should in order to understand this example) the most complex subject in the universe. Dealing with something both overarching and foundational at once and well beyond the capacity of our minds to comprehend we are compelled to distill it into what amounts to an easily accessible, memorable, palatable sound bite. Too often it's inadequate despite our best efforts. This is one of the reasons that I have disliked every single religious billboard I've ever seen. As someone who trades in the written word myself I feel for God as he experiences that kind of editing.

"I'm curious to see what you did with that manuscript I left you. I thought maybe it was coming across a little preachy so I hoped you would...WHOA! FOUR WORDS??? You left in FOUR WORDS??? Do you know how long it took me to write that?!?"

When approaching something esoteric our instinct is to reduce a matter to the simplest explanation possible. If something in that esoteric field is going wrong we then find somebody to be the fall guy in our explanation...someone outside of the circle which includes us and the people we know and care about.

This works really well in the abstract. Most real-life situations are more complex, though. And most real-life people have far more depth than just being "The Guy Who Did It" (duh-duh-duuuuuummmmm). But that reality demands of us more than we're willing to give to most causes so we settle for the obvious, efficient solution.

Circling around to the topic again, who is to blame for the terrible predicament we find ourselves in as Blazer fans, having lost three straight games?

Perhaps it's Brandon Roy? His offensive game hasn't looked as sharp as usual this year and he's pretty much forced the team to play good defenders around him...a commodity we're currently fresh out of. On the other hand he's also playing with a bunch of guys in new roles who don't yet have the understanding to play alongside him or the tools to match him.

Maybe it's LaMarcus Aldridge then. His offense has looked even spottier than Roy's, certainly shy of the clear #1A option we're used to. His rebounding has been intermittent and he's stayed out of the lane like he's allergic to paint. On the other hand the Blazers have set him up to take mid-range jumpers because they have a true post-player now and keep clogging the lane with him and with cutters. They've also relied on their forwards to rotate to perimeter players which tends to cut down on rebounding opportunities.

Maybe it's Greg Oden. He's been doing well compared to his progress last year but he's still not at first-overall-pick level and his transformation of the team has been a disruption offensively in addition to being an aid defensively. Then again if he's not a transformational presence then he's not doing what we brought him here for.

Maybe Steve Blake is the one. His shooting has been sub-par and he's not been able to stop people individually. His forays into attack dribbling have been disastrous more often than not. But he's also been asked to play out of position with the same kind of altered lineup that his backcourt partner Roy is facing. Plus he's been yanked around by the organization and his position and/or future here isn't clear.

Could it be Martell Webster? He's been up and down like a roller coaster. But he's also all but mandated to play because he can shoot outside and has the body to absorb punishment from small forwards and both of those are attributes this lineup needs. We'd certainly be worse off without him playing.

Perhaps we should blame Rudy Fernandez. He started the season poorly, perhaps fatigued from international play. He's made some exciting plays and had some nice games but he's not found a rhythm yet and he's another guy who has hurt as well as helped. But then again if you don't let Rudy make some mistakes you lose the aggression and daredevil nature from his game...the very things which make him special.

Maybe it's Andre Miller. He was supposed to man the helm for this team, provide veteran experience, be another coach on the floor. Instead he's struggling with the coach, taking odd shots, and looking as confused as anybody. Of course he's coming into a strange situation where he's not been given the keys to the car by the coach or his teammates, so how is he supposed to drive?

Could Joel Przybilla be the culprit? He plays hard every night but his contributions are limited to rebounding and defense. Plus when he's pressed too hard defensively he has a hard time covering the floor without fouling which takes away much of the advantage he gives us. And his offense allows opposing defenders to devote extra men to the true scorers. But he's Joel Przybilla! His rebounding and lane-watching have been our silent security blanket and the already-decimated frontcourt would be all but obliterated without him.

Maybe Jerryd Bayless is to blame. He's showing more energy and compact play this year but he's still not in the flow of the offense and his shot is still kind of ugly. Maybe he should have worked harder on the jumper in the off-season. But he, too, has been asked to do things he's not naturally suited for. Plus the things he does do well he does very well.

Perhaps it's Dante Cunningham. He's a rookie and it's good to blame rookies. They have a hard time arguing back when they're hauling veteran luggage up the stairs. He suffers from plenty of rookie mistakes. But then again he brings an energy and confidence--brashness, even--that the team needs. And he's just a rookie!

If you don't like blaming rookies, how about Juwan Howard then? He's 36. He should know this league inside-out. But he's never been able to bring extra wins to teams he's played for. Plus he's having a hard time defending. But he's also one guy on the team who seems aware of his role and is willing to fill it, be that 25 minutes or zero. Besides he hasn't really played enough to blame things on.

Well maybe it's the Fates, then. They injured Nic Batum, Travis Outlaw, Jeff Pendergraph, Patty Mills. They even got in a shot at LaMarcus the other night. Those Fates are a cursed plague! Except that every NBA team deals with injuries at one time or another and if you have to blame them consistently you're sunk before you start.

OK, who put this mess together then? Kevin Pritchard, front and center please! You have to answer for the draft choices, the trades, for building this roster that can't withstand its forward corps being blown to smithereens and still win 70% of its games! How could you possibly leave us with only Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez, and Andre Miller? I mean, what NBA GM would be satisfied with that?

Ahhh...I can hear you out there. We're getting warmer, aren't we? Hmmm...maybe it's...THE COACH! YES! The coach did it! We love the players. We can't really blame them because we want them to be part of the "us" circle. We love KP too, if nothing else for the team he's put together on paper. No championship dreams without him. But coaches? They're disposable. Every decision they make is arguable. Everything they do to advantage one player disadvantages another...a player who is sure to be somebody's favorite. And the criteria for evaluating them is as nebulous as the answer to the question: "What makes good basketball?" Good luck coming up with an answer that will satisfy everyone. Not even wins will do it! You can still win and be playing far below your "potential", whatever that is. If we win at a .666 pace it should be .700. If we win at .700 it should be .750. Best of all, nobody really knows what's being said or done behind closed doors so we can make up whichever explanation suits us best. Reduce! Simplify! Explain! Pin! It's perfect!

So yes, maybe it is the coach. I assume he's going to make mistakes, have good and bad games just like his players do. 10-year NBA veterans still commit errors out on the floor. 10-year veteran coaches do too. Greg Oden probably hasn't been featured (or left out there) enough. The Andre Miller situation has slipped too far. Brandon Roy was forced into a high-pressure situation against Miami the minute he was put out there with four other guys who can't create their own shots. Like many, I'd like to see what a Miller, Roy, Fernandez, Aldridge, Oden lineup could do, especially since we're not defending the perimeter that well anyway. I could go on, just as I could have with any of the above people.

On the other hand, what's the guy going to do? He's sailing a ship with the midsection blown out right now. Everybody's bailing water. He's calling for people off the bench who aren't there. He's starting people who aren't ideally suited for the tasks in front of them. And realistically no matter what he does people are going to complain. How many times have you read, "Why isn't he playing [Player X] more?!?" and "I can't believe he's playing [Player X}!!!" in the same comment thread? Oden stays in and gets fouls? Nate's not managing his minutes right. Oden comes out before he can get fouls? Nate's stifling his progress. Losses...every one his fault. Wins? Not to his credit. Getting blamed sometimes can be fair. But it's different when there's no way you're not going to get blamed.

Here's something to think about. Maybe it's us. Lord knows we tend to anticipate more than evaluate when we assess the Blazers' chances. I had people two years ago telling me for sure that this was a playoff team, probably destined for some success. I had people last year telling me we were a Western Conference Finals team. I've had people telling me this year that we have a shot a title when that's clearly among the longest of long shots for exactly the reasons we're seeing. Every team undergoes difficulties. Teams such as we--young-ish, not a ton of experience with each other, without a track record of legitimate success--take longer to recover from their difficulties and restore their confidence and groove than do teams who have been pressure-cooked longer. The difference might ultimately be only a few games, but those few games usually spell the difference between good and great.

Or maybe it's us because we're impatient. 2 games out of the division lead with 62 to go isn't enough. Like the lovely and enchanting Veruca Salt we want our golden goose egg NOW!

Or maybe it's us because secretly in our heart of hearts hides a part that would rather be an "expert" than just a fan of a winning team along with everyone else...a part that loves the sound of its own voice...a part which would rather be right than happy.

Ahhh...but then we can also blame those Blazer teams of yore for stirring this longing for success in us: Walton for kindling the championship flame, Drexler for leaving us just short and longing, Wallace and company for dashing our souls after coming so close. And we can blame the marketing department for those catchy slogans that enticed us into dreaming. And we can blame David Stern for keeping us down. And we can blame refs for screwing us. And we can blame opposing teams for their luck against us. And we can blame the media for distorting our vision. And we can blame Dr. James Naismith for hanging up that peach basket in the first place. Anything as long as it's quick, easy, and preferably cathartic for us.

This is not to say that all criticism is illegitimate, nor that we lack good analysis among Blazer fans. You can read a bunch of it around here and I appreciate those posts greatly. But it's generally true that the level of illumination in a post is inversely proportional to the level of blame cast within it.

Who's to blame? In truth, all of the above. The Fates have hit this roster at spots where it doesn't have the right kind of depth which has forced everyone to scramble in unfamiliar territory which has lengthened the adjustment process for everyone, coaching staff included, and left certain situations in which there just have not been right answers sufficient enough to ensure the level of play which heightened expectations for the season demanded.

Brandon Roy was pressing hard on offense in the last game because of a combination of the skills of the players around him and the perceptions of his role put upon him by himself, the coaching staff, and the fans. The players around him were not able to respond in such a fashion as to alleviate said pressure nor was the coaching staff in a position to find new ones. The more Roy plays the role of savior the less involved in the offense his teammates feel and the more they're inclined to stand and watch and/or force attempts, making Brandon's role seem even more necessary.

Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla have been getting in foul trouble because of the lack of lateral quickness and appropriate size among the perimeter defenders which in itself is caused by the team accumulating players for whom that is not a forte. In response said defenders have sagged off to help protect the lane and their centers which in turn has allowed the opponent easier jumpers. When made, these make the defense look even weaker, causing the centers to drift out of position in anticipation or rescue, exacerbating the problem.

We could go on. Lamarcus' offense, pick and roll defense, playing time and development of younger guys, starting lineups, trades...there are answers for all of these things but none of them are foolproof and none are simple. Decisions will be made, imperfection will ensue, blame will be assigned, eyes (and perhaps heads) will roll. That's the way of things, for better or worse.

The truth as far as I can see it is this: The Blazers are in a less-than-ideal situation right now...certainly not the one they envisioned themselves in. There's no quick fix to make that situation ideal. We don't even know for sure if it would be more ideal if they had the full roster available. They haven't had enough time together to show that yet.

In this kind of situation only one question matters: How well do you deal with the less-than-ideal? Will you fall apart, point fingers, check out mentally, give up? Or do you pull together, grab every win you can, take the losses you have to, but always work to put the best game together that's humanly possible given your circumstances? Your answer to that question doesn't just determine your success during the rough times. It's also the same resolve that's going to be tested as you approach the pinnacle and very good opposing teams make life very tough on you for seven games straight.

And you see, that question can't be answered by one person. It can't be answered by one person for another either. It can't be done by a coach or a GM. You can't do it with half your roster. It's something that everyone has to answer together and live up to or it's meaningless. The blame falls on everybody or on nobody because you either do it or you don't as a team.

Many defensive schemes can succeed. Many kinds of offensive players can have great nights. Most teams can find multiple lineups that work together well enough to give a chance at victory. Without that team commitment, though, none of it is any good. Without everybody together--in praise and in blame--you quickly get carved apart as every opponent you meet drives a wedge right through the crack that you showed them.

Maybe everybody is to blame. Maybe nobody is. Some nights it might really be one person or another. But when it comes down to it, the question of blame means less than we make of it. The game is bigger than that. The team needs to be bigger than that. So should we be.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Atlanta Hawks 99, Portland Trail Blazers 95 or see photo

hawksdawgs — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:03:13 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

Best. Photo. Ever.

Browse more photos »

boxscore

recap

First off, no reason for the Hawks to win this game. No reason except Joe Johnson decided to prove me wrong and go shot for shot with Brandon Roy and it worked because Josh Smith jumped as high as he could as much as he could and wore Velcro gloves in the meantime.

Seriously, how did the Hawks just win? That was an NBA haters delight. If I did not know the Hawks and Blazers were trying, I would agree. It was as if the fourth quarter was all that mattered, and the Hawks mattered most. I don't watch Portland enough to know how bad they played but since I know they are good I will assume it was bad because the Hawks were horrible for three quarters. They were not missing bad shots, they were missing wide open shots. The turnovers were less bad passes and more assists for the other team. The whole thing was horrible, but more than bad , it was weird because the Hawks kept staying in reach and then, before anyone knew it, Josh and Joe started quoting the game thread and said "screw it, let's be special." And they were, and the defense followed suit.

Second off, and I mean this in the best and most complimentary possible way, screw you Rudy Fernandez. When is the last time someone scored nine points on buzzer beaters in a loss? Now that we are done playing the Blazers, I have a new play for them, and it involves counting down from three and giving Rudy the ball.

Third straight freaking off, the rebounding by the Hawks is filled with the passion of a 1,000 enraged bulls. Period. End of story. Where did it come from? I have no idea, but like alcohol, I don't care.

Where should we focus? Joe Johnson's horrendous performance for most of the game or his dominating performance for the part that mattered? Marvin Williams ineffectiveness on offense or his perfectly necessary effort on defense? Mike Woodson understanding match ups for most of the game or not fouling Greg Oden at the end of regulation? Jamal Crawford being awful or winning with Jamal being said awful? Josh Smith's awesomeness or his really, really good awesomeness?

I stand by being number one in the power rankings is bad, but for one night, in one win, look at the plus side, this Hawks team might be for real.

Game 11 Recap: Blazers 80, Bobcats 74

Dave — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:00:56 -0000

More photos » by Rick Havner - AP

BOOOOO!!! You STINK! I've scored more than that in a game all by myself! A blind man could have put this team togeth...oh wait.

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As reported below Travis Outlaw has suffered a stress fracture in his left foot. Updates as they become available.

This was another nice win by the Blazers on a much less than perfect night. They're starting to make a habit of this. I don't know whether that's good or bad, but I'm quite pleased that they won.

The game started out with the Blazers making a concerted effort to go to their stars. Roy, Aldridge, and Oden took the shots coming out of the gate. Only Oden was successful initially. Charlotte, on the other hand, did everything they could to get the ball inside. Unfortunately they came face to face with the Block Ness Monster in the form of Greg Oden, who swiftly taught them that jumpers are the better part of valor. They hung with the Blazers in the first quarter from the perimeter as both sides took mostly outside shots (almost universally missed) peppered with a few layups. The score was knotted at 18 after one.

The second period started with Portland's offense DOA as again they took the easy way out and lofted it over the top. With Oden having been out since the 7:22 mark of the first quarter with foul trouble there was nobody to buck the trend. Charlotte simply packed the inside on defense, waited for the rebound, then tried to run out. They had a fair amount of success but their attack wasn't explosive enough to get them up by more than 8. Finally after a painful series of turnovers and 20+ foot misses Andre Miller broke the ice, getting fouled on his way to the bucket and converting the free throws. Then Roy drove for a layup. All of a sudden the light went on and it was time to administer the spankings. Every point after was either at the rim, at the foul line, or off of a clear (and much closer) jumper. The Blazers went on an 18-2 run to finish the quarter up 8, having been down by the same amount halfway through.

One of the nice things about the Blazers in this winning stretch is that they've taken starts and ends of periods seriously, especially the start of the third. Tonight was no exception. They repeated the attack from the top of the game, going to Oden, Aldridge, and Roy with one Miller jumper thrown in. The big three ballooned the lead to 16 in less than 5 minutes. At that point Oden left the game and again the interior offense came to a halt. Had every fan in Charlotte simultaneously left their lights on in the parking lot the Blazers still could have provided them all jumpers. On the other hand it might not have worked as they couldn't find the post to save their lives. On the other end Charlotte started getting layups and tip-ins. Lo and behold, it's a four-point game after three.

Oden scored the first four points of the final period but by that time Charlotte was in no mood to cede the game. They scrapped hard, hit some jumpers, grabbed some rebounds, and tried to wrest it away. At this point Rudy Fernandez came in and provided some energy play to keep the Blazers in it, jumping dribblers and grabbing rebounds. Charlotte hit some threes but not enough to put them over the top. The Blazers made their free throws, weathered the obligatory Tyson Chandler whiny-soft-tough-guy temper tantrum (he wisely made sure Przybilla wasn't in the game this time), watched the refs miss a second-foul-in-the-last-two-minutes call, and still came out ahead 80-74 in a game filled with mistakes for everyone.

In a game featuring 8 assists for the Blazers (yikes!) you know this one was about individual efforts. Credit the Big Three, Miller, and Fernandez. Portland again held the opponent to sub-37% shooting. Gerald Wallace was held to 12 points on the strength of Portland's interior defenders and nobody else outside of Boris Diaw could make a difference. After they were thwarted early on the Bobcats stayed out of the middle for far too long and ended up paying the price. Portland made 21 foul shots to Charlotte's 8. The Blazers also moderated their turnovers. The only area where Charlotte did what they wanted was offensive rebounds, of which they collected 16, likely due to Oden being limited to 17 minutes of play.

Individual Notes

Greg Oden was a game-changer again, as should be evident by his name coming up every second sentence heretofore. He finished a perfect 4-4 from the field, confounding Charlotte defenders, tallying 8 points. He added 4 rebounds and 4 blocks. The 17 minutes were all about foul trouble. He ended up fouling out too, providing some justification for Nate's "Two fouls and you're down" rule. The perimeter defenders left him exposed on a couple drives. It wasn't that obnoxious, but all you need is two whistles to turn a 30-minute, 4-foul night into a 15-minute ejection.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a rough offensive night at 4-11 and 11 points, losing the scoring duel to Diaw. It didn't matter because the guys surrounding him were better and because he kept active despite missing. I like the energy LaMarcus has been putting out during this streak. He's a guy who could be demanding 18-20 shots per game but he's working for the team. Don't lose sight of that despite the rocky offensive start to the season.

Brandon Roy was on tonight and played a fairly complete game. You never noticed him taking over. He pretty much did it in the flow. 25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 turnovers. His teammates helped him with Wallace too.

Andre Miller played an aggressive game tonight, doing everything from driving to hitting baseline jumpers to taking D.J. Augustin in the post and making him look about 4'9" tall. He helped spearhead the much-needed lane attack. 5-12, 5-5 from the line, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist. Don't let the assist worry you. It wasn't that kind of night.

Steve Blake shot 10 three-pointers tonight and hit 2. Every field goal attempt was from beyond the arc. He did dribble-penetrate though and he picked up a couple of assists to go along with his 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Rudy Fernandez provided a lift in the fourth when everybody else looked tired. The game almost looked like it was going south until he stepped in. Like Blake, every field goal attempt came from beyond the arc but he hit 2-5 instead of 2-10. 10 points, 7 rebounds in 26 minutes.

Joel Przybilla tried to keep the middle safe and picked up 6 boards in 26 minutes. It wasn't his greatest game but he didn't hurt us either.

Martell Webster missed all three of his shot attempts in 11 minutes. At least he collected 2 rebounds. Juwon Howard played 12 minutes, hit a shot and a free throw, and got 0 rebounds...same as Charlotte's DeSagana Diop. Except Diop didn't dress tonight.

Final Thoughts and Links

4-0 on a five-game road swing. 4-1 is the worst that can happen. I don't care who you are, that's fine work. I'd give equal chances for a Blazer win or a huge blowout in Atlanta's favor Monday. Portland also has to watch on that first game back home as the tendency will be to relax. But none of that takes away 4-0 on a five-game road swing.

Boxscore

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See your Jersey Contest scores here and enter Monday's game at the form page. NOTE that we have a TRAVIS OUTLAW'S MINUTES QUESTION in that form. Just put "0" and take your 10 points.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Media Row Report: Blazers 96, Rockets 87

Ben. — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:34:45 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy, right, runs with a basketball glued to his hand while Travis Outlaw, left, sets a screen on Houston Rockets guard Trevor Ariza during the first quarter of their NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009.

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Tonight's game could serve as exhibit 1A for those who dismiss the preseason as meaningless.

Many things we saw during the preseason -- offense from Greg Oden, dominant stretches from LaMarcus Aldridge, a passive Brandon Roy, a clueless Travis Outlaw -- disappeared into thin air. Other things missing during the preseason -- team defensive effort, cohesive play from the second unit, an under-control Martell Webster -- suddenly appeared. Other than reports of problems with the Blazers.com online stream -- with multiple fans demanding a refund due to choppy video play, lack of audio and a host of other problems -- it was a positive opening night for the Blazers thanks to solid game plan execution on both ends.

A 20 point second half lead withered to single digits thanks to a hot-shooting 4th quarter from the Rockets, but Portland wound up victorious over Houston 96 to 87 in the Rose Garden.

The Blazers weren't truly tested. To put it bluntly: the Rockets are not an overly talented or overly deep group. They compete hard because they have to. Tonight they competed hard and still got drilled. The Rockets looked like exactly what they are, a team missing three dependable scoring options. The Blazers did a much-better-than-expected job of containing Luis Scola and, despite giving up regular penetration to Aaron Brooks, made life difficult by committing to their defensive rotations and helping aggressively from the weakside. With no real, hot shooters to spread the floor for the Rockets, seven Blazers managed a blocked shot, many coming from behind the play on shooters who thought they were single-covered.

The team defense tonight roughly resembled what Nate McMillan promised at the beginning of training camp, guards looking to pinch angles when the ball was moved out to the wings and quickly closing out when the ball was swung from side to side. It wasn't perfect, but it was leaps and bounds above anything the Blazers showed during the preseason. The Blazers held the Rockets to 37 percent shooting, just 28 percent from distance, and won the rebounding differential by nearly 20 (51-33), grabbing 39 defensive rebounds. All numbers Nate will be happy with.

The obvious red flag: 26 turnovers. Last year's high for the entire year was 23 in a February loss to the Golden State Warriros. All 9 Blazers that played committed at least one turnover; Greg Oden led the way with 7. Oden's miscues were so regular in the second half that Kevin Pelton took to databasing games looking for a similar combination of scoring impotence, rebounding prowess and ball-handling sloppiness. Needless to say, there weren't many comparables.

As Nate commented succintly during his post-game session: "That's probably the last game we win with 26 turnovers." In theory, yes, but this group has every characteristic that you need to overcome that kind of night: a significant talent advantage, outside shooters, offensive rebounders, good ball movement (23 assists on 33 field goals), etc. For most teams, on most nights, 26 turnovers is a deal breaker. For the Blazers tonight, it was an after-thought. Kind of crazy to write that.

A few of the major storylines and post-game conversations...

Greg Oden

With the Rose Garden (nearly) full, the television cameras rolling, all four local television stations in the house, and the games counting, Greg Oden played nervously. Period. Frustratingly so. He got called for offensive fouls, had the ball poked out of his hands, threw a bad pass, traveled, the list goes on. It was unfortunate to see because, in most people's minds, his solid preseason offensively (which no one saw) gets wiped away just like that.

But after the game, Greg "Giggles" Oden seemed more concerned about whether fashion paragon Jerryd Bayless approved of Oden's unusual aviator-esque sport coat than he did about his offensive struggles. For the record, Bayless didn't approve, prompting LaMarcus Aldridge to jump to Greg's defense, joking that Oden's one-of-a-kind jacket was "Changing the game!" This cut everybody up, Oden included.

When asked, Oden admitted that he was subject to opening night jitters. "But it's the first game of the season, everybody has nerves." As if to remind himself, he continued, "You can't get nervous every game, you have to go out there and play and be ready." Oden went on to describe feeling differently on offense and defense. "Tonight it was a lot easier [to play with confidence] on defense." His reason for playing with confidence on defense surprised me. "I thought it was all of us playing help side, playing with a lot of energy," Oden told me. "Helping each other. It was good for all of us. One guy comes over, gets a help side block, you know all those guys see how excited everyone gets, how it brings up the energy of the team."

That answer was quite revealing. First, it reinforces that Oden grasps the team's defensive principles and buys in. I hadn't questioned that but, in a mess of fouls and weird mismatches against smaller players, that can get lost. Second it seemed to hint that Oden feels like he's part of a unit on defense whereas he might not have been part of a unit on offense. Indeed, it felt like the Blazers forced it awkwardly to Oden when posting him up and his catches were further from the basket than you would like (Credit Houston's defense). The ball moved for the Blazers but it didn't seem to move to Oden, he wasn't making catches on the move, he wasn't making catches in space, the easy finishes that were prevalent all preseason (and so necessary to get him going) were simply not there. Rather than find new ways to get Oden involved, the team reverted to what it's more comfortable with: hitting jumpshots, getting Brandon Roy to the free throw line, and allowing Travis Outlaw to get his own shot. Those things worked tonight swimmingly and Oden's offensive struggles were rendered irrelevant.

Over the course of 82 games, it will be interesting to see if the team continues with this strategy. Oden seemed perfectly fine finishing with 2 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks. And for that, despite the sloppy play, you've got to love him if you are Blazers coach or management.

Roy, Miller and Blake

Nate McMillan acknowledged during the post-game session that he more or less was winging it when it came to his rotation. A number of factors influenced this: Nic Batum's absence, Martell Webster's first regular season game back, Travis Outlaw's strong play on both ends, and Rudy Fernandez's fatigue after coming back from some time off due to back spasms. That left the Blazers playing some interesting lineups: Blake, Roy and Miller saw time together, even late in the fourth quarter. Roy's response to the question about that trio, a group I can't remember seeing together during the preseason, was also quite interesting. Roy told me, "It worked fine for me. I'll play just about anywhere. The biggest adjustment is probably going to come from [Blake and Miller] a little bit, just when I have the basketball [they're] playing off the ball. Two point guards off the ball. We'll learn it. We'll figure it out."

The sense from Roy when discussing his playing with Miller seems to be a one way street. Things revolve around Roy. The ball is in Roy's hands. Other players need to know their spacing in relation to Roy. Ballhandlers will not handle the ball and will instead play off the ball. Roy speaks honestly about these things and I believe his statements reflect not only his own point of view, but Nate McMillan's as well. McMillan has also stated repeatedly that the ball goes to Roy late in games and everyone else works off of that.

It's funny, though, that Roy seems to have a blind spot in relation to how that strategy worked (or failed to work) in the playoffs. Stagnant, ugly, forced play was often the result.

For the time being, expecting other players to "play off him" protects Roy's status quo: he likely continues to be paired with Blake, he continues to get maximum touches, and he continues to do what he does best, score and create. But is sticking so firmly to this philosophy the best long-term and post-season strategy? Is there a better, hybrid approach that more actively includes Miller late in games?

That's a top question I'll track as the season develops.

The Lineup Who Finishes

The saying has been, "It's not who starts but who finishes," right? Well, guess who finished the game?

Steve Blake not Andre Miller.

McMillan subbed Miller out with roughly 2 minutes to play putting Oden in for a slightly bigger closing lineup. Aside from the positive sign of getting Oden some run during late-game minutes that really counted (Oden responded with his only bucket of the game in the final minute), the move showed a continued comfort level with the game in Blake's hands. When asked about the move to keep Blake over Miller, Roy told me, "I think Coach wanted to go that last two minutes with the lineup he was comfortable with, the lineup he felt we were comfortable with, just trying to secure the win."

Indeed, one can make a strong case for playing Steve Blake over Andre Miller when protecting a lead. Blake shoots the ball better and he is a less risky player. Generally speaking, he can hit his free throws too (tonight he missed one of two when fouled late). Roy did go out of his way not to exclude Miller from late-game scenarios, though, telling me, "Dre came in and gave us some big baskets, especially in that fourth quarter. He's going to be a big part of what we do." The answer was generic -- and accurate -- but nice to hear from Roy as it seems to signal an open mind about how the closing lineups might come together. It appears from both his substitutions and his post-game comments that McMillan has not yet made any firm decisions on this front. Another very interesting thing to track. For example, will McMillan opt for Miller over Blake when trying to mount a late-game comeback?

Outlaw

Hats off to Travis Outlaw. The shot was falling. The effort was there on defense. The mental mistakes were reduced. If any single player flipped a switch tonight, it was Outlaw. After enduring a bunch of criticism from fans during the preseason, Outlaw had his night tonight. Batum's absence requires much more from Outlaw and, as we know from his "get paid like out of this world" summer declaration, he's on board with that.

Positive indicators across the board tonight. Consistency is the name of the game.

Tonight's Random Interaction with an NBA Player

On the way to the team bus after the loss, Trevor Ariza was moving arduously, taking slow step after slow step, as if weighted down by the road loss.

He looked over as I rushed by and, to break the silence, I offered the first thought that came into my head, "Nice Dre Headphones!"

Ariza replied, quietly, "Thank you."

You can now forgive him for fouling Rudy Fernandez last year.

The Line of the Night

Grabbing a Gatorade from the locker room fridge, Hersey Hawkins smiled and said aloud, "We're tied for first place."

Indeed. We shared a chuckle. What's next, Hawk, "82-0!!!!"

It's nice to have the first one out of the way, for everybody.

Nate's Postgame Comments

First game

I saw some good stuff. We did a good job of running our offense and defensively trying to control this team. Other than the turnovers, we fouled early, which they marched to the free throw line in that first quarter. After that we made our adjustments, we kept them off the line, 26 turnovers, you're not going to win... that's probably the last game we win with 26 turnovers. We had control of the game and we lost the ball and turned it over and they were able to create some points off of that.

Defense in first half

It's still a work in progress with our guys. That's a commitment. Defensively, getting involved in the game on the defensive end of the floor, not the offensive end of the floor. Some teams have a tendency, offensive players want to see that ball go in the basket before they get into the game. We want to change that thought process this year and get into the game on the defensive end of the floor. I thought our guys did that. Early we got into foul trouble. That second group came in, made some adjustments, didn't turn the ball over and was able to create some points off some misses.

Travis

Thought it was good. I wanted to get him in at that four position, he had his shot going tonight. Defensively I thought he did some good things, working hard on the defensive end of the floor. Playing the 3 and the 4. We'll be able to use him like that. We'll be able to score as long as we play defense. I thought that group came in and forced some misses and was able to get out and get some easy baskets.

Nic's Absence

We have a lot of guys that we'll rotate. Tonight I didn't know exactly how that rotation would go. A couple of times we had Blake and Miller and Brandon on the floor and that wasn't a bad lineup. Miller and Rudy and Travis and Martell on the floor was a pretty good lineup. We just want to go in and outwork teams. Keep the pressure on for 48 minutes.

Rudy handling the ball

He wasn't at point, we just move him around. We move him around and give him the ball some. Miller was at the point when he was in the game. We will mix it up and give him some opportunities to handle the ball. He was a little fatigued, his wind, his conditioning, he h asn't played in over a week, he got winded, turned the ball over once or twice but I like what I saw today.

Greg Oden

He got in foul trouble. Those guys are small but they are good defenders. They are smart defenders. Hayes, Scola, Landry, they do a nice job, they baited our bigs. Our bigs I thought rushed at times, turned the ball over. That will come. We got a good opportunity to look at some film tomorrow, look at how that team played us and a lot of our turnovers came on our bigs. They'll learn.

Second Unit

We'll see. I didn't know exactly how I was going to rotate tonight. [Andre] came in and I thought the tempo was exactly what I was hoping for with that group. Rudy, Travis, Joel, I got Martell back in the lineup with that group. They forced some turnovers, some quick shots, got some steals, were able to turn that into points. That was a 31 point quarter and it started when that group came into the game.

Offense

You have some options. Tonight we let Miller run the group when he was out there. Rudy had the ball a little bit. Brandon. We couldn't get anything going in the paint so we ran Martell off some screens. He was able to make Battier work. We have some options, as long as we defend, we'll find a way to score. Because we have some guys that we can go to. We just gotta commit to defending this year and we'll eventually find a way to score.

Turnovers

I thought it was ok. Brooks is quick, does a good job. They pounded us in the paint, a lot of that came from turnovers. Other than that we did a good job of recovering, getting out to their shooters, they didn't hurt us there and we take care of the ball. 26 turnovers is a lot of turnovers. My goodness. We take care of the ball I think the score is a lot different.

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

Game 1 Recap: Blazers 96, Rockets 87

Dave — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:59:01 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

No. Try it again against Golden State tomorrow.

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One down, 81 to go.

General Observations

This game was decent by opening night standards. The Blazers were sloppy, somewhat inconsistent, and seem to get distracted for stretches but they executed the basics on both ends of the court, they kept their heads, and they never came anywhere close to falling apart or even getting rattled. They looked like a team that was finding itself but they also looked more mature than in years past. It was the kind of win you'd hope to see on an imperfect night.

The evening began decently enough with Portland relying on LaMarcus Aldridge for early offense while trying to make the Rockets work hard for outside looks on the other end. LaMarcus came through, scoring 7 points in the first three minutes of the game. Brandon Roy bolstered him with a couple of buckets off of nice passes from teammates and the offense was rolling. On the other end the Blazers did a nice job of shutting down the middle but they had to rotate and swing so much that they left the perimeter wide open. The Rockets took advantage by hitting threes. When Portland tried to get out and cover those they couldn't recover back to the middle quick enough when the Rockets drove. Houston didn't get actual buckets off of penetration as much as free throws. Houston had 12 free throw attempts in the first quarter to go along with their 7 three-point attempts. Between the two ranges they hit enough shots to stay even with the Blazers. Neither team was ecstatic with their start but both survived it just fine.

The pivotal moment of the first half came when LaMarcus Aldridge picked up his second foul with 7:30 left in the first quarter. That's when he came out in favor of Travis Outlaw. At first this looked like a bad deal for the Blazers, as Aldridge was their main scoring threat to that point. But Travis went all wang-dang diddly wubba SPROING wow-wow on everybody as soon as he hit the court. You could see it in his step as he walked out there and in his early defensive movement. He looked assured. And then he started hitting. And hitting. And hitting. These weren't Travis Specials from years past either. There was little dribbling involved and almost no spinning. It was catch, step, shoot OR catch, drive, float OR catch, hit that three all night long. Nobody on Houston's end had an answer for him. When Andre Miller came in and pushed the pace right on through the second quarter everybody started scoring. For a while it didn't look fair. Houston wanted to run but Portland wanted to run A LOT. The Blazers never sat with the ball and seldom walked it up. The extra time allowed them to run more cuts and screens, leading to some nice, easy points even when the fast break wasn't producing. They balanced that by draining multiple threes, stretching the defense and opening up the lane even more. After being tied at the end of the first quarter Portland found themselves up 13 at the half. Everybody who had hit the floor outside of the centers had scored a bunch. It was happy time.

The third quarter saw the Blazers attack the rim even harder. They eschewed the outside game and generated points in the paint. They even drew a few foul shots, which was the only part of the arsenal that had been silent (providing Houston a lifeline). They continued to protect the lane on the other end, daring the Rockets to generate points any other way they could. Houston ended the quarter down 19 and would fall to the full 20 points behind early in the fourth.

At that point the Blazers let up. They started walking the ball up, going one-on-one, and letting the Rockets get to balls first. Defending single players and hustling are two of Houston's strong points this year. The Rockets kept chipping away at the lead and the Blazers failed to respond consistently. Houston cut the lead to 9 with seven minutes to go before Andre Miller stepped in and hit a couple of nice shots, one an open three. Everyone figured the game was in the bag at that point but again the Rockets refused to fold. They trimmed the margin to 6 with two minutes left but at that point everything had to go right for them. Brandon Roy, Travis Outlaw, Steve Blake, and Greg Oden scoring wasn't right for them. Even with the let up the Blazers ended up with a 9-point victory.

Several things looked good on the Portland side of the ledger tonight. Chief among those was the rebounding. Houston can bang and board but the Blazers obliterated them, finishing with a 51-33 edge. Portland also patrolled the middle with intensity. The Rockets never got uncontested shots close to the basket unless they were on a flat-out break. And they didn't even get that many of those. The offense looked good on the run and when the ball was moving. The Blazers looked like they knew each other and they played unselfishly. You didn't see very many forced shots nor did it look like Houston could contain the Blazers to a certain area or type of shot. As mentioned above, cuts through the lane were pretty. Portland also set picks and used them pretty well, especially when compared to years past. The offense as a whole looked more professional as well as coming easier to the players. Everybody seemed to have confidence in everybody else. Obviously the team depended on Brandon and LaMarcus more than anybody else but it didn't look like it was a stars-or-bust affair. In fact the bench players carried the night for much of the game. The Blazers made their second unit count...working around Houston's defensive strong points and wearing them down. Finally I'll mention again the complete lack of panic, desperation, or rattling. Composure was the order of the night.

On the other hand, some things raised concerns...or at least left unanswered questions. Much of the masterful paint defense came down to the centers. This is certainly part of the Portland game plan and has been for some time. But let's face it...the big guys had a night off against the Houston centers and had defensive attention to spare. The individual defense on the perimeter wasn't consistent and the Blazers never were able to stop the ball moving or contain the dribble for long. If that doesn't change more accomplished offensive teams are going to bring us woe. In general, and especially in the early part of the game, Portland seemed content to start their plays outside. It looked like everything from the post to the perimeter would be more effective if started 3-5 feet closer to the hoop. But few of the Blazers were able to muscle into position. Until the game neared its conclusion and Brandon Roy started driving the Blazers lacked strong finishes around the hoop. Yes there were a couple dunks but in general aggression at the rim was lacking. This also contributed to the relatively low foul rate compared to decent shots generated. And, of course, Game 1 is a little too early to be assuming wins after three quarters, even for a good team. That's not likely to be repeated, but it does show how composure can sometimes slip into complacency.

This was a nice shakedown cruise for the team. Most things worked well. Whatever bugs showed up can be worked out. There's no reason for overconfidence and even less for disappointment. It was right down the middle which is just where this team needs to be right now. You don't want to stumble out of the gate but you can't complete an entire season on October 27^th either.

Individual Notes

Brandon Roy had a 5-18 shooting night but he was also the only Blazer scoring from the foul line, hitting 10-11. It wasn't the perfect game for him but he didn't overcompensate either. He played solidly within the team framework for the early part of the game, asserting himself only to provide some scoring support for LaMarcus. Later in the game he took over the ball more and drove hard. That's mostly what you want to see out of your star.

LaMarcus Aldridge seemed to relish the early scoring role and owned his matchup until fouls took him to the bench. He's the spike that the Blazers are going to try to hammer in to crack the opponent's façade. After that his teammates will exploit those cracks. It's a good enough battle plan and he's more than capable. He shot 5-10 on the night for 11 points. He started grabbing some rebounds late and ended up with 6. He also had 4 turnovers but it's not like he was killing the team with them. He played only 24 minutes.

Travis Outlaw was the superstar of the evening. The Rockets just didn't know what to do with his compact, efficient, yet deadly-athletic offense. He ended up 9-14 for 23 points in 33 minutes. He also played some decent defense, grabbed 4 rebounds, and notched 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block.

One of the big questions of the evening was how well Greg Oden would do. It depends on which end of the court you were watching. He really played a controlled (and controlling) game defensively. He looks so much lighter on his feet than he did last year. He's quicker to jump and quicker moving sideways. His arms and feet are moving but poised. That increased mobility makes him look a ton more experienced, as he's able to hit his spots on time. He earned 5 fouls in 26 minutes but only one of them was a head-scratcher. He intimidated the Rockets with 5 blocks. The was also a Hoover on the boards. Anything he was near he grabbed, finishing with 8 defensive rebounds and 12 total. His offense was timid, however. On the good side he set some strong picks, which is great to see. On the other hand he's still not accomplished at getting position in the post. He's setting up farther out than he needs to and it leads to harder shots than he should be taking. When he did really grind down low he was never able to stand still long enough to make a pass possible. All night he was radiating that "don't pass it to me, please" vibe, which is not what you want to see out of your low post trigger guy. When he did receive the ball he got it stripped as often as he got a shot up. He ended up with 7 turnovers on the night. Not all of them were in post situations but enough were. He scored 2 points on a dunk off of an offensive rebound. There's little doubt he was a net positive for the team, though. They didn't need his missing offense but they sure prospered from his lane patrol. They'll take 12 boards and 5 blocks any night.

Martell Webster looked pretty good tonight. You could tell he was shaky at the start of the game, but he had the wisdom not to do too much. He played respectable defense, made a couple nice passes, and hit the three when he was open. In fact he hit a couple shots that Nicolas Batum would not have been able to make in his place. He looked smarter than the Martell we remember from years back. He doesn't look like he's going to hurt you a bit and his shooting can sure help. 14 points on 4-7 shooting, 4-4 from the free throw line, 2-4 from the arc, 3 manly rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, a block, and a couple turnovers. Welcome back, Martell!

You can pretty much ignore Andre Miller's 3-11 shooting night. Two of those three shots stifled the Houston run in the fourth quarter. The misses didn't matter as much as the way he pushed the pace and found his teammates diving down the lane. He made a couple of Tivo passes tonight...as in, "Rewind it so I can see how that happened!" He was the second-unit catalyst, affecting the game almost as much as Outlaw but in a different way. 9 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds in 26 minutes.

Steve Blake had a good night with the set-up three, hitting 2-5 from distance to earn 7 points overall. He also had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. But when he wasn't draining it his game looked pedestrian. You know Blake well enough not to judge based on a single outing but on the other hand you also know that once he puts the ball on the floor his part of the possession is essentially done. Blake got some time with Miller as well as Roy. I wonder how long that will last.

Joel Przybilla spent 16 minutes cleaning up after Oden. He did a good job in the interior and snagged 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. (That's 22 rebounds and 7 blocks for our center tandem if you're counting.) He had some trouble catching the ball and collected 6 fouls, but what the hey. Like Oden, his defensive work more than compensated for brief moments of consternation elsewhere.

Rudy Fernandez looked rusty but managed a nice 8 points on 2-3 shooting from distance (quick-draw style too) and added 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block. He looked pretty much like the Rudy you expect: a little out of position on defense, a serious knack for being in the right position on offense, a couple of inspired plays plus one or two that should have been more basic. Between him and Webster, though, the shooting was deadly. Teams are going to have a hard time covering them while still watching the main guys. Rudy tried bringing the ball up the court and setting the offense a couple times to mixed results. It's early though. You could tell he hadn't seen time in the pre-season.

Final Thoughts

You expected the Blazers to win this game. They should be able to win again Saturday in Houston but I am curious to see if they actually will. Games like that are going to be the test of the season.

Boxscore

Don't forget to read the other side of the story at TheDreamShake. And don't forget Ben's report from press row is forthcoming.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Portland Trail Blazers Previews

Jeff Clark — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:49:04 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Will Oden finally live up to the hype?

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Consider this an understatement: Portland fans are over the top passionate about their team. The bloggers are no different. When the C's play the Blazers, our comments blow up because the Portland fans stop by to chat. They typically don't cause trouble, but they just descend upon the blog like a swam of bees. Not a complaint, just an observation. Anyway, here's the preview links (a couple days late).

Blog Season Preview - Blazersedge

It was a relatively quiet offseason for Kevin Pritchard, quieter than many fans had hoped for. No splashy draft day trades, unless you count the Sergio Rodriguez dump to Sacramento. The true excitement came in a trio of moves and non-moves: the failed courtship of Hedo Turkoglu, the cap-busting toxic offering of Paul Millsap, and the rebound relationship scoop up of Andre Miller.

Portland Trail Blazers Season Preview 2009-10 | Blaze of Love

Last season, Portland was one of, if not the most, efficient teams in the NBA. This season, they should be as efficient plus even more explosive. Andre Miller adds something the team has been lacking for years and that's a point guard who is a match-up nightmare for the opposition. And with Oden showing mass improvements in preseason contests and a lack of proven centers in the west, the Blazers should find buckets coming even easier.

RCP Blazers 2009-10 Season Preview | Rip City Project | A Portland Trailblazers blog

If you haven’t heard, Oden is having a fantastic preseason. He’s in good shape, staying on the floor, displayed better offensive skills and playing more mobile defense. The consensus is that he looks like a completely different player.

NBA 2009/10 Season Preview : Portland Trail Blazers

As with many teams on the rise, some of the Blazers' biggest strengths are also their biggest weaknesses. Unhappiness with lack of minutes may become an issue as the season wears on. This all comes down to how well coach McMillan can manage his players and their expectations. He has a bevy of fine young players who all want to win, but who will also have one eye on their future careers, whilst the other eye is on the road to the title. The key areas for concern: Rudy Fernandez and Travis Outlaw.

Portland Trail Blazers Preview 2009-10

The most significant move of the off-season had to be the acquisition of Andre Miller. The Blazers needed a pass first point guard with experience and Andre Miller provides that. Portland also signed him to a relatively short term deal (two years with a third year option). At 33 years old, Miller is reaching the decline of his career but he hasn't shown any signs of declining numbers yet. His impact will be more than just numbers though, it's his ability to run a team and contribute to an already stacked roster. Andre comes in with a ton of experience on a team dominated by youth.

NBA Blog Preview: Portland Trail Blazers - Trail Post

What are the team’s biggest weaknesses? Youth and inexperience. This has been the main weakness for the last half of the decade (aside from that 20-win team, whose weakness was probably just sucking really, really bad), and it continues going forward. Our season depends on the development of guys like Aldridge and Greg Oden. Sure, Oden’s been tearing it up in the preseason, but we still have to see if he’ll do it when it counts. We just don’t know what we’re going to get. If Oden doesn’t play like we hope he can, we’ll be a continual good-but-not-great team, much like the Utah Jazz.

NBA.com's Annual Survey of General Managers

Dave — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:30:11 -0000

In the midst of discussing the Blazers' inaugural pre-season contest you might be interested in checking out NBA.com's annual survey of NBA General Managers. Much like the census bureau or an over-eager first date, they put a ton of questions to the league's GMs. Then, much like the census bureau or an over-eager first date, after it was all over they blabbed about it to everyone in the universe.

Not every GM responded to every question. Percentages are based on the responses given, not the number of GMs overall. I believe the Honorable Mention occurs if even one GM (~~possibly your own~~ Edit: Can't do that. I'm relieved.) puts your name down, so bear that in mind. Still, it's as good a look as we can get at the collective wisdom of a bunch of guys who base their livelihoods and reputations on knowing the game inside and out.

A few of the general questions to whet your appetite before we talk about the Blazers specifically:

Which team will win NBA Finals 2010?

L.A. Lakers - 60.7%

Boston - 17.9%
Cleveland - 17.9%
San Antonio - 3.6%

Last year: L.A. Lakers - 46.2%

Which team will win the Eastern Conference?

Boston - 50.0%

Cleveland - 42.9%

Orlando - 7.1%

Last year: Boston - 74.1%

Which team will win the Western Conference?

L.A. Lakers - 75.9%

San Antonio - 24.1%

Last year: L.A. Lakers - 66.7%

Who will win the 2009-10 MVP?

LeBron James, Cleveland - 69.0%

Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers - 17.2%

Dwight Howard, Orlando - 6.9%

Also receiving votes: Tim Duncan, San Antonio ; Dwyane Wade, Miami

Last year: LeBron James - 55.6%

Which team made the best overall moves this summer?

San Antonio - 71.2%

Orlando - 17.3%

Also receiving votes: Cleveland , Toronto , Washington

Last year: Philadelphia - 51.9%

Which team will be most improved in 2009-10?

Washington - 48.3%

L.A. Clippers - 17.2%

Oklahoma City - 13.8%
4. Toronto - 6.9%

Also receiving votes: Boston , Memphis , Minnesota , San Antonio

Last year: Miami , Portland - 25.9%

As you can see, the Blazers got no mention in any of these categories. Where did Portland show up?

The biggest category was Northwest Division victor, where the Blazers edged out the Nuggets 42.9% to 39.3% (which is pretty much 1 vote). The Jazz ended up with 17.9%.

As you just saw, nobody predicted the Blazers to win the Western Conference Finals nor (obviously) the NBA Championship.

The Blazers got no votes for best offseason acquisition but they did tie for 4th (with five other teams) for the most underrated offseason acquisition in Andre Miller.

Portland finished 3rd with the L*kers behind Cleveland and Utah for best homecourt advantage.

The Blazers got no mention for best offensive or defensive schemes. In fact they did not show up anywhere in the defensive categories period, team or individual,

On the plus side Portland got an honorable mention as the team that's most fun to watch.

The Blazers fared a little better in the individual categories, but not much. The most striking result was three Blazers getting honorable mentions as being the most likely to have a breakout year. Those three were Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Brandon Roy. One wonders how much farther Roy can break out, or whose notice he has escaped.

Brandon Roy also got honorable mention for best shooting guard in the league, which was probably the most prestigious individual accolade a Blazer received in this survey.

Rudy Fernandez didn't get any votes for best international player but he did finish first in the Most Likely International Player to Have a Breakout Season category. Nicolas Batum got honorable mention in that same category. Evidently somebody somewhere thinks everybody on the Blazers will bust out big time this season. The only thing missing was a Przybilla vote.

Six coaches were listed as possibilities for best coach in the league but Nate McMillan was not among them. Nate did get an honorable mention vote in the category of Best Manager/Motivator. 14 names were listed as possibilities for most valuable assistant coach but no Blazers were among them.

Brandon Roy made honorable mention in Best Basketball IQ. Nobody cast a vote for him as the player you'd want shooting with the game on the line though...which seems like a significant omission from here.

No Blazers got any votes in the categories of Best Leader, Best Finisher, Player Who Forces Opposing Coaches to Make the Most Adjustments, or Best Pure Shooter. Depending on your definition some Blazer shooting guards could have certainly qualified.

And that's about it. If nothing else it's interesting to see the forest perspective when we've all but chained ourselves to the trees. If you had to sum up an impression of the Blazers from this survey it would probably read "Interesting...perhaps intriguing...but not yet distinctive or elite." Portland certainly got more mentions than average or low-end teams but not as many as Blazer fans would want. Overall it seems like a reasonable assessment given where the team is and what it's accomplished. Perhaps next year's survey will feature more (and higher) mentions.

The link above will take you to the survey index page from which you can peruse all of the questions and responses.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Breaking Down the Udoka Invitation

Dave — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 06:20:05 -0000

More photos » by Layne Murdoch - NBAE/Getty Images

Blazer fans were abuzz about the possibilities of getting one of the guys in this photo this summer. Which name ended up in Kevin Pritchard's briefcase? (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

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The mailbox is full of questions regarding the Ime Udoka signing and its significance. The responses range from mystified to excited to concerned. So let's clear it up and break it down.

First of all, this is a training camp invite. The contract is non-guaranteed, meaning the Blazers and Ime can part ways at any time the team chooses. Technically it's not different than any of the other invitations the Blazers have issued. Kevin Pritchard will be visiting a few guys between now and mid-October to let them know he appreciates them, respects them, and could they please clean out their locker now. Ime may well be among those.

Second of all, this is a competition for what ends up being the 15^th roster spot and no higher than the 13^th spot in the rotation. Only 12 guys suit up on a given night. You're not exactly looking for a franchise-altering move here. And this isn't one. Ime averaged a respectable 15.4 minutes per game in 67 games for the Spurs last year but his production slipped significantly from his prior seasons. His shooting, free throw shooting, and most importantly three-point shooting percentages tanked. ~~His defensive rating went down as soon as he left Portland.~~ (Edit: Never mind that. I was BRILLIANTLY going by the wrong data. Aplogies to you and Ime. --Dave) Basically he played half the minutes you remember from his tenure with the Blazers and didn't play them nearly as well. He's wading onto a roster stocked with players at his position, meaning he either really, really loves his hometown and is willing to risk an opportunity to stay in the league and any salary raise he could get playing more minutes elsewhere for a long-shot chance here OR he didn't get any decent offers. This should color expectations somewhat. He really is in the lower roster now if he makes the team and his chances of rising above that are slim.

I can already hear the choruses of, "That's what people said LAST time he signed with the Blazers!!!" so let me cut you off at the pass. This 2009-10 Blazer team is far different than the 2006-07 team that Ime contributed so much to. Outlaw and Webster were younger and even less tempered than they are now. Aldridge and Roy were rookies. The old-timers on the team were Jamaal Magloire, Raef LaFrentz, Juan Dixon, Fred Jones and Dan Dickau and the main guy was Zach Randolph. Udoka played the 4^th most minutes of anybody on the team that year because there existed both opportunity and desperate need for his steadiness, his defense, and his three-point shooting. Nobody was solidly in front of him at small forward. Nobody in the starting lineup or really anywhere in the upper rotation knew how to sell out on defense or how to play hard while being a contributory player instead of a main focus. Half the team was too young and the other half just didn't sport that kind of player. The differences between the names listed above and a mature Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Miller and Steve Blake, Nicolas Batum and Rudy Fernandez should be obvious.

Ime is like that really nice pizza you had as a kid. (Mine was the now-defunct Manhattan's Pizza...one in the Hollywood District and one up on Palatine Hill as I recall.) It was delicious and you loved it for good reason. But then you moved to Chicago or New York and started sampling pizza and while none of them held the place in your heart that the childhood favorite did, slowly you got attuned to a different style and quality. Then you return home and you find that while your childhood pizza is still good, maybe your memory or experience gave it a fonder spot than it strictly merited. You loved it as much for what it did for you and meant to you as its inherent quality. The latter made it decent, the former made it special. You still like it, but you wouldn't replace any of your new favorite pizzas with it.

So what does this training camp invitation mean? There are three possibilities. After chewing the fat with some people who usually know what they're talking about I'm going to list them in order from least likely to most.

There's a small, small chance this really is a significant event heralding the next Blazer move which is to trade away a small forward or two. Perhaps Ime did have significant offers elsewhere but somebody telegraphed to him (or he cleverly intuited) that the Blazer offer was the one to take. In this case Ime becomes a lower rotation player and the move makes wonderful, magical, and exciting sense.

There's a somewhat larger chance, but still not huge, that the Blazers don't have complete faith in Martell Webster's foot yet. In that case the choices at backup small forward range from Outlaw to Fernandez to Roy, none of whom are completely suited for the job. Ime would be an acceptable insurance policy in that instance, though one wonders what he gives you (besides experience) that Batum doesn't.

The overwhelmingly likely explanation is that this is just what it appears to be. Ime worked out in Portland this summer. He has positive history with people in this organization. He didn't get any good offers to go elsewhere. There's no harm in the Blazers bringing him into training camp under those circumstances nor is there harm in him accepting. This is the right percentage move for both parties. Udoka probably doesn't make the team but he might attract notice elsewhere. If he does make the team he's waiting for an injury or a trade to play.

We'll have to see how it works out. I have as much fondness for Udoka as the next guy and I'd not be sad to see him make the squad. He's another one of those players that you'd never regret having on your team. But I'm not expecting miraculous, or even steady, contributions even if that happens.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)