SB Nation - Juwan Howard

Orlando Magic 92, Portland Trail Blazers 83

Ben Q Rock — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:35:09 -0000

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

The Orlando Magic's team-wide effort and energy proved to be enough for them to defeat the undermanned Portland Trail Blazers, 92-83, on Saturday night. The Magic, for the most part, executed their offense and got the looks they wanted, but the shots tended not to drop. Just ask Vince Carter, who missed 13 of his 14 shots en route to a 9-point night. Rashard Lewis led Orlando in scoring with 15 points, while Dwight Howard scored 12, blocked 4 shots, and grabbed 20 rebounds, propelling Orlando to a decisive 54-35 edge on the glass. Brandon Roy scored 33 for Portland, including 15 of the Blazers' 20 in the third quarter as they unsuccessfully tried to maintain their halftime lead. Andre Miller was the only other Blazer to make more than 3 baskets; he finished with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Curiously, the Blazers finished wth 7 assists on their 29 made field goals, with 7 different players tallying 1 assist each. For a team that, as Magic coach Stan Van Gundy noted earlier today, can play 3 point guards at a time--Steve Blake, Miller, and Roy--that's a jarring stat.

Team	Pace	Efficiency	eFG%	FT Rate	OReb%	TO Rate
Blazers	91	91.2	39.1%	28.2	16.3	13.2
Magic	90	102.6	48.0%	25.0	32.5	21.2
Green denotes a stat better than the team's season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's season average.

Van Gundy emphasized energy, effort, and focus at shootaround today, but early on, it didn't look like his team responded. Orlando opened the game in an 8-0 hole, coming up empty on its first 7 possessions, which included 3 turnovers. Jason Williams then accounted for 7 straight Magic points to bring them to within 1 point of Portland, which got the Amway Arena crowd, eager for any excuse to go nuts, at least engaged in the game.

Williams' streak seemed to ignite a spark in the Magic, and they played hard, albeit not particularly well offensively, the rest of the night. In his post-game remarks, Van Gundy said his team tended to play too much one-on-one basketball in the first half, and then added, "but we played really, really hard." That really was the story. The same Magic team that couldn't be bothered to play defense Thursday night against the Miami Heat managed to shut down the Blazers' offense, while acknowledging that Portland is short several key players at the moment. Van Gundy's most telling statement of the night?

As a coach, I'm pretty proud of what they did tonight.

And later:

I know we didn't play real well offensively, and I know we turned it over way too much, but there's really a lot more positives in this game than negatives.

Chief among those positives, at least from my point of view, was the fact that all 10 guys who played tonight contributed meaningfully. Carter shot poorly, but drove the ball to the rim, played the facilitator role a bit, and battled on defense. Mickael Pietrus gave Roy about all he could handle defensively. Matt Barnes sat the entire first half, but immediately made an impact in the second, gamely defending Roy with Pietrus in foul trouble while adding 8 points and 4 boards in just 14 minutes. Van Gundy praised Barnes' work this evening as "professional," which is apt. J.J. Redick gave the Magic "a huge lift," in Van Gundy's words, with some timely shooting and playmaking ability. It goes on.

If you want to take the "one play defining the whole game" angle in discussing the Magic tonight, it'd surely be Ryan Anderson's blown fast-break dunk early in the 4th quarter, which he simply rimmed out despite the fact that no Blazer was in sight. Barnes followed up the play and flipped the ball in to knot the score at 70. Barnes' tip just barely made it over the front of the rim, making the play that much more exciting. The teams continued to trade baskets until Pietrus hit a three-pointer to give Orlando a 79-76 edge; the Magic scored 8 straight points after that 3 for an 87-76 lead with 3:32 to play, putting the game well in hand. 4 of the 8 points in that stretch came after offensive rebounds, a further indication of the team's hustle tonight. They also tied a season-high with 11 steals, with Johnson contributing 4 thefts.

I'll try to sum it up this way: were it not for the superstars and the high payroll, you might have mistaken this team for the scrappy "Heart and Hustle" unit of the 1999/2000 season, which won 41 games without any standout players under coach Doc Rivers' leadership. If that sounds like high praise, it's meant to be. Apart from the lax first 4 minutes, Orlando went hard for the entire night, which wore down the Blazers.

But onto the sloppiness and offensive issues: they could have done a lot of damage. Plenty of unforced errors for Orlando tonight, such as Johnson's trying to throw a silly crosscourt jump-pass to Redick in the left corner, or Lewis passing to the tops of Howard's new sneakers with Howard not even looking on one transition possession. Portland, for its part, was opportunistic. On 2 occasions LaMarcus Aldridge was able to strip Lewis, who's usually surehanded, cleanly while Lewis surveyed the defense at the top of the key.

Aldridge, though, struggled offensively. The man Van Gundy deemed the most underrated player in the league missed 5 of his 6 shots and scored 3 points in 30 minutes, while mired in foul trouble. Throw in Martell Webster's awful night (1-of-11 shooting, 2 points) and Joel Przybilla's usual offensive inactivity (4 points, 2-of-2 shooting, 29 minutes) and you've got a situation in which Howard outperformed the other team's entire starting front line by himself.

I give Blazers coach Nate McMillan credit for trying to make things work with the limited assets at his disposal. Not counting the cameos appearances Juwan Howard and Dante Cunningham made, the Blazers had a 7-man rotation. McMillan even went Don Nelson-style bonkers when he shifted Aldridge to center and surrounded him with four guards: Blake, Miller, Roy, and Jerryd Bayless, who probably would rather not see this game tape again. Orlando successfully limited the Blazers not named Roy, as Miller was the only other one with at least 5 made baskets. No one else had more than 3. I asked Johnson what that fact meant about the Magic's defense:

They made an effort to get Brandon Roy the ball in places where it's hard to double [team]. Coming down the stretch, he basically took a majority of their shots, and kinda played into our hands with them being a one-person team. Once he missed a few shots we were able to take advantage of it. He's a great player. But when one player has to carry the load, whenever they have a stretch of missing two or three shots, then hopefully the team can take advantage of it.

More on Bayless, Van Gundy's strategy, and scenes from the locker room after the jump.

Bayless shot 3-of-13 for 10 points, which isn't so great, but that's not why I think he'll be upset after this one. Nope, it's that the Magic picked on him defensively, running isolations for whomever Bayless guarded... even Johnson, who's probably the Magic's 11th-most-talented healthy offensive player. Worse yet for Bayless, it worked. By my unofficial count, the Magic either scored or drew a foul every time they cleared out to attack Bayless. Process that: a team with Carter, Howard, and Lewis--three All-Stars--on the floor, along with the corner three-point specialist Pietrus, is running plays for Anthony Johnson.

Something worth noting from the locker room: Carter's poor shooting night didn't seem to faze him, and I mean that in a good way, not in a "he doesn't care about playing well" way. When asked how players respond to shooting slumps, he said he likes to "just keep shooting," and added that some players tend to over-think and adjust their shooting form when mired in them; he described how he tried to "take a little off" one of his shots tonight because he missed long on his previous one. For him, it was just a poor shooting night, and one that's not likely to repeat itself. Van Gundy agreed, saying "there's not gonna be many 1-of-14s in him" and praised Carter's work on the defensive end.

On why Johnson, and not Williams, closed the game out at point guard:

A.J. was playing well, we had a group on the floor that was playing well, so we just went with it.

This point guard situation reminds me of what happened in 2007/08, when Van Gundy doled out backup point guard minutes to either Carlos Arroyo or Keyon Dooling, depending on how each one had played recently; there wasn't a clear 2nd or 3rd-stringer, as Van Gundy preferred to ride the hot hand, so to speak. With Jameer Nelson due back as early as Wednesday, it appears as though Williams and Johnson will have to do battle for backup minutes. It's quite a departure from training camp, where Williams thoroughly outplayed Johnson and claimed the backup role with apparent ease.

On Matt Barnes' ability to play through a left hand injury he re-aggravated tonight, and what he would have done if Barnes had to come out:

Thank God [he stayed in], because at that point we had Vince with 4 [fouls], M.P. with 4, we're still in the third quarter, and I didn't have another wing guy. It was a tough night to slide Rashard back to the three because they were small anyway. I would have gone with A.J. at the two, but then that still leaves us with no size on Brandon Roy at all at that point. So him toughin' it out and stayin' in the game at that point was huge for us, and a big, big, part of the game.

Matt Barnes, doing the little things. Like staying in the game. Does that qualify as "little"? Probably not, if it means not having to play your third-string point guard at shooting guard against one of the league's best players.

On the back-to-back tip-ins during the decisive 11-0 scoring run in the 4th quarter:

That's what you have to do when you're struggling offensively is you have to make plays like that. You gotta play defensively. I thought guys stayed on the boards, I thought we really defended hard. I know we need to play better, probably, a lot of nights but as a coach I'm pretty proud of what they did tonight.

This is high praise from Van Gundy, who was clearly in good spirits after the game. The locker room, too, was boisterous, which caused Andrew Melnick of Howard the Dunk to wonder aloud if it's the best mood the players have been in after a game all year. Anderson had a laugh about his blown dunk and implored Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel to list him at 6'09" in his game story; Anderson's listed at 6'10". In addition, Howard wandered around shouting nonsense like "LEGION OF DOOM!" (which makes transcribing the players' remarks a tough task), cackled like a mad man, and so on.

The best Howard moment came when he borrowed a media member's tape recorder and leaned into Redick's locker, furrowing his brow in mock concentration on Redick's comments. Redick played along with the gag, turning toward Howard and saying, "You had a question," opening the door for Howard to continue his charade (although I suspect he would have plowed through that door regardless). Howard asked a rambling, incoherent question of Redick--something about Van Gundy's consistency with berating referees for poor calls--who responded with hearty laughter while mocking Howard's interview skills: "Was that a three-part question or a four-part question?" Howard defended himself by saying the media's questions aren't much better.

With the Howard and Redick Comedy Juggernaut still assembled, one of the media members asked them to discuss Anderson's blown dunk. Howard smiled and said, "That's why they're never in the dunk contest."

To which Redick responded, "They?! THEY?!" before excusing himself in mock outrage. Howard offered a sheepish "Oops!" as Redick left.

Game 28 Recap: Blazers 83, Magic 92

Dave — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:48:12 -0000

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

What's missing in this picture?

Browse more photos »

Well, this was actually a game for three whole quarters. That's better than it had to be but it was disappointing not to be fighting tooth and nail for the win down the stretch.

The Blazers started out the game doing plenty of things right. They rebounded well. Their defense was superb: quick-footed, covering the right people, forcing turnovers. Portland jumped out to an 8-0 lead, setting Orlando back on their heels. Then wildcard Jason Williams canned a couple of jumpers and Dwight Howard got a monster dunk setting up off of a semi-break. Anyone who wants to know what Greg Oden should do when he runs down the floor should rewind the Tivo to 7:13 left in the first period and watch. Smashy smashy. Those buckets got the Magic rolling and it was on. The Blazers offense, as it would most of the game, started and ended with the guards. Portland scored 83 points total tonight. Roy, Miller, Blake, and Bayless had 70 of them. The offense wasn't all deep shots at this point though. Roy and Miller did a lot of work in the lane. In fact Brandon made a living playing the old "Around the World" game tonight where you get shots from various points at the edge of the key. Portland managed to attack this way while avoiding Dwight Howard's grubby mitts. Unfortunately as soon as Joel Przybilla sat down the Blazers lost their coverage. The second unit had to scramble too much and Orlando scored 6 points in the final 1:05 of the period. Still Portland exited the period with a 2-point lead, 21-19.

The second unit continued to struggle at the outset of the second period. They couldn't score and the rebounding that had been going well at the opening of the game started going south. That reserve lineup is also smaller up front and Orlando's forwards started scoring. The Blazers kept juggling the lineup trying to find a match that worked. They went three-guard for much of the period, even trying Miller, Bayless, and Roy together for a 7-minute stretch. All three of the guards got some offense in but it was generally at the expense of each other, as Andre Miller all but disappeared for the latter half of the quarter. This is not surprising since most of the shots generated were contested jumpers. Portland got bailed out by Bayless, however, as he hit shot after shot to total 10 points in the quarter. He scored 6 in the last 1:37 alone, matching the Magic's run at the tail end of the first quarter. 44-39 Blazers at the half.

The Magic made a couple of adjustments at the half, the chief of which was the determination to go with players who had natural mismatches. Dwight Howard was one of those. They went with him right out of the gate. But the second was Rashard Lewis, who heretofore had been fairly quiet. In a 3-minute, 30-second span Lewis hit two threes and two short jumpers. Portland countered with their natural mismatch, Brandon Roy, who scored 9 in a row for the Blazers in a 4-minute, 30-second span. (You starting to get the idea this was a game of streaks?) Miller interrupted Roy's scoring streak with a couple trips to the free throw line but Roy also finished the period with 6 straight, 15 for the quarter. Curiously enough Portland decided if a three-guard lineup was good a four-guard lineup had to be better, so they played for a while with every double-figure scorer on the team in the lineup at once plus Aldridge or Przybilla. Again the mid-size players for the Magic took advantage. The final straw was a brain-dead defensive stand which saw the Magic inbounding the ball with a little over a second left. Portland let J.J. Redick, whose main claim to fame is shooting threes, get a wide-open look from beyond the arc. It went through and the teams were tied after three.

The Blazers continued to go small through most of the fourth. Brandon Roy scored again and Steve Blake came alive and did some damage from three-point land. But the Blazers couldn't rebound and guys like Matt Barnes and Anthony Johnson worked their size/strength advantages to score. As Portland fell further and further back they got more and more desperate, shooting threes and praying. Unfortunately Blake was the only one whose hotline was working. One streak that continued unabated throughout the evening was Portland's inability to hit deep. They finished 3-18 on the night from distance. Orlando never really exploded. They just edged the Blazers out in the final period and walked away with the win: 92-83.

A lot of things went right for Portland in this game. The energy was good through most of the night. Guys were hustling out there. They held Dwight Howard to 12 points and kept everybody else out of the paint. Vince Carter made it his personal mission to scrape every bit of orange off of the rims with his jumper. The Blazers got more free throws than Orlando as the road team and they remained on the good side of the turnover margin by 7. This game was there.

But a lot of things went wrong for Portland too. They shot 37% from the field and got obliterated on the boards. Howard had 20 rebounds to go with those 12 points. Martell Webster looked like he was trying to outdo Carter in his rim-scraping, going 1-11. LaMarcus Aldridge was running around the perimeter on defense but he barely touched the ball on offense, shot 1-6 for the night, and ended up with 3 points and 1 rebound. The Blazers had 7 assists on the evening which pretty much shows you how well the offense flowed.

The bottom line is that everything has to go right if you're going to win while scoring 83 in this league, let alone against one of the best teams. Some things went right, but not even close to everything. It wasn't the worst game of the season by far but it wasn't a game we were going to win without shifting gears, which we never did. When your only adequate response to a team making adjustments is to get smaller life is going to be hard.

Individual Observations

Brandon Roy did everything he could offensively to get this team over and for a while it looked like he would succeed no matter what the Magic did. But when nobody over 6'6" scores more than 4 points on the night it's hard to find enough help to turn that superstar run into a team victory. There weren't many people to trust out there tonight. Thus 27 shots for Brandon, 33 points, but only 1 assist.

Joel Przybilla played a fantastic game and continues his streak of wonderful outings. This guy just doesn't back down lately. 10 rebounds and a lot of body-throwing against Dwight Howard. Whatever he wants on the team plane he gets.

Andre Miller scored 16 and shot 5-10 but he was taking the same approach to the offense as everyone else: shoot, drive, or punt. I was actually surprised to see he scored that many and shot that well because the shots he was getting weren't that great and it didn't look like his offense was that effective. 1 assist, 4 rebounds.

LaMarcus had 3 steals to go along with his 3 points, 1 rebound, and 1-6 shooting. You can talk about his teammates not looking for him. You can talk about him not demanding the ball enough. However you describe it, it's not good for the team when this happens and everybody needs to realize it. Maybe there was an injury that I didn't hear about but short of his foot being about to fall off his frame he's got to be more involved. Due credit for guarding a lot of perimeter players tonight though. He does that well.

Ohhhhhhhh Martell. OK, 7 rebounds, 2 steals. That's good. 1-11 from the field, 0-6 from the three-point arc, 0-2 from the line...it was like he brought his own personal cross-wind to the arena.

Jerryd Bayless played 30 minutes tonight but outside of that run in the second period the offense wasn't clicking. The types of shots the Blazers were getting aren't the type he should be taking generally. He made a couple nice passes early but nobody who received them hit the shot. After that it was every man for himself. 3-13 from the field, 4-4 free throws, 10 points. He also had some defensive difficulties. It wasn't a bad game but it wasn't a tour de force either.

Steve Blake played 27 minutes and was one of the few Blazers hitting his shots, though he hardly took any. He also had some defensive difficulties thought not quite as pronounced. 3-5 from the field, 2-3 from the arc, 11 points.

Juwan Howard tried to fill in for Przybilla for a while. Not the night for that.

Dante Cunningham played 7 minutes and missed 3 of 4 shots.

Final Thoughts

We better see more LaMarcus tomorrow night in Miami. Michael Beasley needs to worry about defending him or Beasley will just have a field day. Also, new team rule: no shooters get their eyes dilated during exams on game day.

Boxscore

See what they thought of the game at OrlandoPinstripedPost.com

See your scores for this game in the Jersey Contest here and submit tomorrow's guesses here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Wednesday Practice Report

Ben. — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:00:22 -0000

Santa Przybilla. c/o Ben Golliver (Blazersedge)

View full size photo »

Blazers Make It Better

Just about every media outlet in town was at St. Mary's Home For Boys this morning, documenting the Blazers' open practice in front of the school's residents. The players went through a few plays briefly before engaging in a full court scrimmage against the school's basketball team. The kids played hard and the Blazers enjoyed themselves: Przybilla was launching threes, Patty Mills went up and down the court, and Juwan Howard and Jeff Pendergraph tried a little bit too hard in competing for scrimmage MVP honors. Pendergraph threw down 3 consecutive dunks, much to the crowd's delight, while Howard blocked a child's shot, which drew some good-natured heckles from his teammates on the sideline. Howard then traded place with a St. Mary's player, giving the child an opportunity few kids will ever receive: sharing the court with four professional basketball players. You better believe he was excited.

This morning's practice was the most genuine, well-received interaction with the community that I've seen the players participate in over the last two years. The St. Mary's students were hanging all over the Blazers, clutching their arms as if they didn't want to let go, cheering their every move during the game and looking as excited as you might imagine when the team emerged from a hallway with hordes of presents -- a gift bag for every single resident -- and larger gifts like a flat screen television, Playstation 3 and a Nintendo Wii for the school's recreation room. School officials happily pumped the players' fists, the players looked at ease and relaxed in their Santa hats, and a number of adults choked back tears or smiled ear-to-ear.

In terms of positively impacting the lives of children, doing the right thing for the right reasons, and executing a complicated event flawlessly, you couldn't ask for anything more. The Blazers' Make It Better staff is consistently excellent and this morning's event was a crowning achievement.

Here are a few pictures I took from the event. Certainly there will be much more written and photographed from various media outlets shortly. I'll link when available.

Brandon Roy handing out a flat screen television for the school's game room.
Another improvised foot rest for Nate McMillan.
This framed Detlef Schrempf autographed jersey hangs in the lobby of St. Mary's gym.

-----------------------

Update (8:00PM):

A great photo gallery from Blazers.com is available here. A must view.
Here's Brian T. Smith's report.
Here's Joe Freeman's report.

-----------------------

Lessons From Last Night

After everything was said and done, I chatted briefly with McMillan about what lessons he took from last night's game. With a night to reflect and watch tape, is he still comfortable with continuing to transition from a rigid rotation to a looser approach? How did he gauge Bayless's impact on the game? Is the team's three guard lineup a viable option defensively down the stretch? Here's what he had to say....

Did it surprise you how well the team performed defensively down the stretch with Blake, Bayless and Roy as the three guards?

That's why we stayed with it. I felt like defensively that team got us back in the game. They had a good rhythm. It's not a team that we go with or we had gone with. We stuck with it. We were going to try to finish it out. We made some adjustments defensively with putting Brandon on Evans who was hurting our small guards. It worked out for us, we had scoring, defensively we were a little better.

When you start to think about combinations, you had to make adjustments earlier in the year when you went with Blake, Miller and Roy together. Do you have to make different adjustments when you go with Blake, Bayless and Roy?

It just depends on the game. And depends on the team that we're playing. Right now we're so shorthanded we could be going through this a lot. Where the lineups are different at the end of the game. It's like, whoever has a rhythm you may ride that lineup and stick with it. That's just the flow of the game, feeling the flow of the game and trying to make your adjustments as you go.

Is it fair to say you haven't done that a lot in the past few years, in terms of riding who is hot rather than sticking with set rotations?

Normally you would get back to your starting lineup. Even though the second unit would have something going we would normally get back to our lineup.

Do you think the team's increased effort and hustle maybe helped pull Steve Blake out of his recent slump?

The thing Blake has to do, as I told him, is keep shooting. That's the only way you're going to get out of it. I thought Bayless got him a good look, he was ready, he shot it and knocked it down.

Tomorrow you are facing another high-tempo team with solid guards. Do you stick with the same strategies and lineups from last night?

Well, you know, we want to run but we don't want to run and gun. We want to attack. The big thing that we need to see is our guys attacking the basket. Last night we shot 26 free throws and made 19 or something like that. I like the fact that we got there 26 times. That tells me that we were aggressive going to the rim.

Is Bayless's ability to get to the free throw line developing into one of your better offensive weapons?

That added to the free throws. Bayless shot, I think, 10 free throws. He was definitely a big part. Normally it's Brandon, Miller a little bit, penetrating. We need more guys attacking the rim.

Honestly today wasn't really about chalk talk. With the general sense of uncertainty about the future caused by the team's rash of injuries, McMillan seemed extremely happy to get away from the pressures of coaching and expectations for the morning. McMillan has enjoyed a years-long relationship with St. Mary's and was beaming as he addressed the assembled students and faculty after the scrimmage, pledging to continue that relationship into the future. In what's been a tough few weeks for McMillan -- he coached the scrimmage while seated, his leg elevated to help relieve the pain from his recent Achilles surgery -- it was clearly an emotional high point.

While the St. Mary's children will likely be on cloud nine for days and weeks, if not months, the Blazers are forced to snap back to reality tomorrow night against the Phoenix Suns. The children obviously didn't want the event to end. I got the feeling the Blazers didn't either.

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

10 YEARS OF STIFFDOM: A Decade Retrospective...

Andrew Feinstein — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:04:03 -0000

Who knew that at the beginning of the '00s - with none other than Dan Issel in charge - that the Nuggets would end up having a successful and often thrilling decade? Here's a look back at the last 10 years of Denver Nuggets basketball...

At the conclusion of the 1990s, the Nuggets were in utter disarray. As documented in detail here at Denver Stiffs, this once proud and respected franchise had been turned into an NBA laughingstock thanks to a lethal combination of ineptitude, incompetence, and ignorance. Between 1990 and 1999, the Nuggets made the playoffs just twice and Nuggets fans were forced to endure seasons with win totals under 40 games eight times (including the lockout shortened 1998-99 season in which the Nuggets would likely have "won" about 25 games had an 82-game season been played out). We witnessed five seasons in which the Nuggets won less than 24 games, and in 1997-98 the 11-win Nuggets won less games than the Broncos that year.

Making matters worse throughout the 1990s, the Nuggets never caught a break. Even though they participated in eight NBA Draft lotteries, twice sported the worst record in the NBA (1990-91 and again after that infamous 1997-98 campaign) and had a bottom-four record five total times, the highest pick they were ever rewarded was third (which Issel promptly screwed up by drafting Raef LaFrentz over Vince Carter, Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitzki and Antawn Jamison). We missed out on all the game-changing draftees of the 1990s: Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Webber and Tim Duncan. And a freak knee injury sustained by rising star LaPhonso Ellis in 1994 would prove to be the undoing of the Nuggets only good team of the decade: the 1993-94 squad that had just stunned the NBA world by beating the number-one seeded Seattle Supersonics in the playoffs before taking the Utah Jazz to seven in Round 2.

But make no mistake about it, the Nuggets problems throughout the 1990s were self-inflicted. Cartoonish figures such as Peter Bynoe, Bertram Lee, the Comsat "Corporation," Paul Westhead, Bernie Bickerstaff, Allan Bristow and finally, Issel, made every wrong/bad decision possible, leaving the Nuggets organization in tatters until Stanley E. Kroenke rescued the franchise in 2000 with his purchase of the team. Upon arrival, Kroenke made it clear that he wanted to win and win now, and thus set in motion a series of events that produced one of the better decades in franchise history...

2000-2001 (40-42, no playoffs)

In an increasingly tough Western Conference, the Nuggets remarkably won 40 games but were still seven games off the eighth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. While a 40-win season would normally be a good thing having come off a 35-win season, team "president", "head coach" and dictator Dan Issel had already mortgaged the Nuggets future by sending away numerous first round picks in order to build that 40-win team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Antonio McDyess

Coming off a gold-medal winning performance in the Sydney Olympics, McDyess was a stud in 2000-01. The quiet, dignified power forward averaged 20.8 ppg, 12.1 rpg and 1.5 bpg and even made the All-Star team.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

The aforementioned Issel had previously (and foolishly) traded away the Nuggets own first round picks for 1999, 2000 and 2001 - all lottery picks, mind you - and after an assortment of complicated, even more stupid deals, for those picks he essentially brought back Tariq Abdul-Wahad, Kevin Willis (on the very wrong side of his career), Voshon Lenard and Tracy Murray. But that was just off-the-court. On-the-court, Issel was a tyrant with his players and the refs. At one point, his players were so fed up with the way he was treating Raef LaFrentz (a draft bust of Issel's own making) and others, that point guard Nick Van Exel led a player boycott of practice.

2001-02 (27-55, no playoffs)

After years of overpaying for mediocre players and parting with valuable first round picks in exchange for nothing, the wheels finally came off the Issel Administration and the Nuggets fell apart in 2001-02, precipitated by a major knee injury to McDyess that caused him to miss all but 10 games of the season. Prior to the season starting, Kroenke - either sensing that Issel had too much power, was too incompetent or both - astutely hired Kiki Vandeweghe as GM to a five-year contract.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

After Issel "resigned" the day after Christmas (more on that shortly), Vandeweghe gutted out the roster and made a controversial move that would put the Nuggets on the path of success they still enjoy today. Knowing the Nuggets were going nowhere with the expensive roster he inherited, Vandeweghe boldly shipped out Van Exel, LaFrentz, Abdul-Wahad and Avery Johnson (another overpayee thanks to Issel) to Dallas in exchange for Juwan Howard, Tim Hardaway, Donnell Harvey and a future first round pick. When the Nuggets eventually met the Mavericks in the 2009 playoffs second round, I detailed how that major trade actually brought the two once dormant franchises together.

Stiff of the Year: Dan Issel

"Go drink another beer, you Mexican piece of shit!" Those nine words - uttered by Issel towards a heckling Hispanic Nuggets fan after a December 10th loss to the Charlotte Hornets - were exactly what Kroenke and Vandeweghe needed to kick Issel out the door. Issel, a Nuggets legend as a player, had built up so much great PR in the community (he still has some...note Woody Paige's ludicrous suggestion that the Nuggets bring Issel back to the organization last year) that he would have been tough to fire otherwise. After serving a four-game suspension, Issel "resigned" on December 26th, 2001 and unfortunately for Issel, things haven't exactly worked out for him since.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Tim Hardaway

Unlike Howard who - knowing playing in Denver would be a brutal, losing situation - accepted the trade to the Nuggets and behaved like a total professional during his time here (it helps when you're getting paid $18.8 and then $20.1 million per season!), Hardaway was a petulant, angry brat who never got over leaving Dallas where he was hoping to gravy train his way into an NBA Championship. After starting 14 games for the Nuggets, Hardaway unleashed his anger on a TV monitor by throwing it onto the floor and getting himself suspended two games.

2002-03 (17-65, no playoffs)

Entering the 2002-03 NBA season, Vandeweghe purposefully compiled the worst roster in modern NBA history in hopes of tanking enough games to win the first pick in the draft (knowing that on the horizon was one of the better drafts in NBA history). The Nuggets starting back court of Vincent Yarbrough and Junior Harrington couldn't crack a 14-man roster the following season, and the rest of the roster was littered with names you already don't remember. Armed with two lottery picks - thanks to a great trade that sent McDyess to New York in exchange for Marcus Camby and the Knicks lottery pick - Vandeweghe drafted Nene and some skinny kid from Georgia, and I'm not talking about the university (more on him shortly).

Non-Stiff of the Year: Jeff Bzdelik

In spite of being dealt the worst hand ever dealt a coach in modern NBA history, rookie head coach Jeff Bzdelik refused to make excuses, worked his ass off and was able to get 17 wins out of our Nuggets. I'd argue that was 17 more wins than they should have had and Bzdelik should have gotten Coach of the Year consideration. The Nuggets were awful talent-wise, but they played harder than their opponent almost every night.

Stiff of the Year: Nikoloz Tskitishvili

Drafted fifth overall out of the Republic of Georgia, "Skita" has since gone down in history as the worst fifth overall pick of all time (and believe me, there have been some bad fifth overall picks). Given ample opportunity to succeed in his first season, Skita - listed at seven-feet tall - shot 29.3% from the field as a rookie. At a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers, I once saw Skita shoot a wide open shot in which the ball hit the shot clock first before getting anywhere near the backboard or rim.

2003-04 (43-39, 1-4 in the playoffs)

A full 10 years after upsetting the Sonics in the playoffs, the Nuggets finally got their act together and Coloradoans cared about basketball again. Unable to shake the Nuggets streak of bad luck with the Draft Lottery, Vandeweghe got lucky nonetheless thanks to Detroit GM Joe Dumars' stupidly drafting Darko Milicic (i.e. Skita 2.0), leaving Syracuse star/stud Carmelo Anthony available with the third overall pick. And with Howard's giant contract coming off the books, Vandeweghe was finally able to spend Kroenke's money. Free agent signees Andre Miller, Jon Barry and Earl Boykins joined Melo, Nene and a healthy Camby. Under Bzdelik's stewardship, the Nuggets won 43 games and put up a respectable fight against the Timberwolves in the playoffs first round. As fans, we were happy just to be in the playoffs!

Non-Stiff of the Year: Carmelo Anthony

For the first time since Alex English last donned a rainbow jersey, the Nuggets had a perennial All-Star caliber player in Melo. As a rookie, Melo averaged 21 ppg and 6.1 rpg while giving fellow rookie phenom LeBron James a run for the Rookie of the Year Award. But more importantly, Melo led the Nuggets back to the postseason in a hyper-competitive Western Conference, whereas LBJ couldn't do the same in Cleveland in the weakened Eastern Conference.

Stiff of the Year: Rodney White

Playing for his next contract after his rookie deal was due to expire in two seasons, White gave the Nuggets next-to-nothing in 2003-04 even though he appeared in 72 games and received 14 minutes of playing time per game. Just a few years removed from being the ninth overall pick to Detroit (ahem...Joe Dumars again), White would be out of the NBA completely after the 2004-05 campaign. But hey, at least he was nominated for the Denver Stiffs Hall of Fame!

2004-05 (49-33, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Wanting to build upon the Nuggets newly found success (and at Kroenke's alleged insistence), Vandeweghe spent the entire 2004 offseason shopping for a big name free agent to bring to Denver. After being turned down by Manu Ginobili and Brad Miller, Vandeweghe panicked and got duped into sending three number one picks to New Jersey for Kenyon Martin in a sign-and-trade deal. K-Mart's price tag? $90 million over seven seasons. Under immense pressure to win more games, Bzdelik and the Nuggets floundered out of the gate, starting out 13-15 before Bzdelik got sacked and replaced by a former WNBA coach (Michael Cooper) who went 4-10 as coach of the team.

Non-Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Inheriting a 17-25 team loaded with talent but without any direction and big egos to boot, Karl's no-nonsense, "my way or the highway" approach immediately turned the Nuggets fortunes around. With only 40 games to work with, Karl guided the Nuggets to a 32-8 record (the best in NBA history after a mid-season coaching switch) and had the Nuggets playing the best basketball in the NBA down the stretch of the regular season.

Stiff of the Year: Kiki Vandeweghe

By acquiring K-Mart, Vandeweghe essentially panicked while throwing away all of the salary cap flexibility he had worked so hard and smartly to cultivate. But worse than that, Vandeweghe was eerily silent while Bzdelik was left to twist in the wind as the Nuggets struggled early in the season. Vandeweghe never publicly defended the one man willing to coach the dreadful 2002-03 roster that Vandeweghe had assembled, and Kiki made matters worse by bringing in Cooper to take over as head coach. The Cooper hire cost the Nuggets a higher playoff seed.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Carmelo Anthony

Melo couldn't stay out of trouble in 2004. First, he was cited for marijuana possession at DIA that his cousin conveniently took the blame for (the old "that wasn't my pot!" excuse). Second, he feuded with Olympic coach Larry Brown in Athens and found himself benched on the 2004 Team USA that embarrassingly finished with a bronze medal. Third - and perhaps the worst/dumbest - Melo was caught on a "Stop Snitching" DVD in which alleged drug dealers explain what happens to people who cooperate with the police. Melo didn't improve much on the floor, either, and found himself (rightfully) in Karl's doghouse early and often.

2005-06 (44-38, 1-4 in the playoffs)

Unable to build off the team's incredible run under Karl to conclude the previous season, injuries ravaged the Nuggets and they limped their way to a 44-38 record. K-Mart and Camby missed 26 games apiece and most tragically, Nene succumbed to the Nuggets power forward curse and was lost for the season with an ACL and MCL tear after just one game. At the time, the Nuggets marketing and PR team spun the season as as success under the guise of "Northwest Division Champs" and that the Nuggets were a three-seed entering the postseason. But this was before the NBA properly seeded division winners who have mediocre records. The Nuggets were such a weak three-seed, that the Clippers purposely tanked games to face them in the first round...and when they got their wish, the Clippers clocked the Nuggets in five games. Oh, and that was the Clippers only playoff series win since becoming the Clippers in 1978. Overall, the season was a mess from from the top down (as chronicled in detail at the time by the Denver Post's Thomas George). Vandeweghe would be let go at season's end and was replaced by Mark Warkentien (and eventually Rex Chapman, too). Dysfunction, egos and injuries had set the Nuggets back a few steps.

Non-Stiff of the Year: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and Andre Miller

Melo and Miller played in 80 and 82 games, respectively, and carried the Nuggets in 2005-06. Melo improved his scoring average by over six points per game and his field goal percentage went up, as well. Miller - the modern day NBA "iron man" even if he doesn't condition well in the offseason - was a steady hand as always, starting in all 82 games and dishing out over eight assists per game.

Stiff of the Year: Kenyon Martin

Recovering from microfracture surgery and frustrated by knee tendinitis, K-Mart was pretty surly for much of the season and was morphing into a locker room cancer. He allegedly didn't get along with coaches or teammates (according to George's article, K-Mart's teammates questioned his commitment to recovery and work ethic) and it all came to an ugly head during halftime of Game 2 at Los Angeles, when K-Mart went at it with Karl and several teammates. K-Mart was benched for the remainder of the game and eventually su spended for the duration of the series.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: Reggie Evans

As perhaps a microcosm of the dysfunction and lack of respect for the game that was taking over the Nuggets, "The Joker" grabbed Clippers center Chris Kaman's testicles while fighting for a rebound during Game 1 of the Clippers series.

2006-07 (45-37, 1-4 in the playoffs)

In spite of it being K-Mart's turn to succumb to the Nuggets power forward curse (he would play just two games all season) and losing their first three straight games by a total of five points, the Nuggets would win 12 of their first 21 games with Melo playing the best basketball of his career. That all changed abruptly on Saturday, December 16th, 2006. In New York facing the Knicks (who had embarrassingly beaten the Nuggets in Denver in Game 3 of the season), the Nuggets found themselves up 19 with 75 seconds to go. Karl - alleged by some to want to rub the victory in Knicks coach Isiah Thomas' face (Thomas had recently sandbagged Karl's good friend Larry Brown) - left his starters on the floor, prompting Thomas to send in his "goon squad" and make the Nuggets pay. What began as a hard, unnecessary, dangerous, around-the-neck foul on J.R. Smith by the Knicks' Mardy Collins erupted into a full-scale brawl...culminating with Melo's cheap shot punch on Collins. Melo would be suspended 15 games and Smith 10, prompting Nuggets management to attempt to salvage the season by bringing in super star guard Allen Iverson from Philadelphia in exchange for Miller, Joe Smith and two first round picks. Little did we know that the fun was just beginning.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

Welcomed with open arms by Nuggets fans and his new teammates, Iverson made an immediate impact on the Nuggets (on and off the floor, in good ways and bad). But with Melo out 15 games, Iverson was able to keep the Nuggets afloat and competitive almost by himself. When Melo and Iverson finally got to play together for a long stretch, the Nuggets reeled off nine straight wins and 10 of 11 to finish out the season strong as the hottest team in the NBA.

Stiff of the Year: Isiah Thomas

In addition to sinking the Raptors as an incompetent vice president, sinking the CBA in a summer as an incompetent commissioner and sinking the Knicks as an incompetent president/coach/alleged sexual harrasser (hell, Isiah was an incompetent broadcaster, too), Isiah would sink the Nuggets season in one fell swoop by commandeering his players to take out the Nuggets starters in that game.

Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith

Even though Isiah "started it," Melo and J.R. were unable to keep their heads cool and unnecessarily exacerbated an already ugly situation, ruining the Nuggets entire season as a result.

2007-08 (50-32, 0-4 in the playoffs)

Entering 2007-08, the Nuggets would finally have a training camp with their full roster participating from the get-go. With Melo and Iverson having ample time to play together, optimism in Denver was higher than it had been since entering the 2004-05 campaign. So high was the optimism, in fact, that Kroenke had over $83 million invested in the team's payroll (second or third highest in the league at the time) and Melo and K-Mart started floating out "60 wins" as a realistic goal. But even with Iverson appearing in all 82 games, Camby playing 79, Melo 77, K-Mart 71 and vast improvements seen in the games of bench players J.R. Smith and Linas Kleiza, the Nuggets weren't able to secure a playoff spot (an eighth seed no less) until the 79th game of the season with a big win at Golden State. As an eighth seed, the Nuggets got worked over by the Lakers in an embarrassing four-game sweep: a series which saw Melo bark at Karl "don't just sit there!" and the benching of Iverson early in Game 3 that didn't go over well. Prior to the Nuggets final regular season game, Melo would get arrested on suspicion of a DUI. It became evident that the A.I. experiment was an expensive failure.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Nene

After being diagnosed with testicular cancer and undergoing surgery to remove his right testicle, Nene remarkably returned to play again on March 27th against the Mavericks, giving the Nuggets a much needed emotional boost that helped them secure a playoff spot down the stretch.

Stiff of the Year: George Karl

Stuck in an admittedly tumultuous and difficult situation, Karl spent much of the 2007-08 sitting on his hands during games while the Nuggets unraveled on the court. While the Nuggets head coach got called for just one technical foul all season (second to last in the NBA), his players finished in the top two in personal fouls, technical fouls, flagrant fouls and ejections. The inmates were running the asylum as Karl's coaching record in Denver got extended to a paltry 3-16 over four years. Karl would later admit to SI.com that "...the last couple of years, I was confused." Watching Karl's Nuggets routinely take nights off that season, so were we.

2008-09 (54-28, 10-6 in the playoffs)

Disappointed with his lack of return on investment, Kroenke gave an edict to management to slash payroll during the 2008 offseason. Camby would be shipped out to the Clippers in exchange for a trade exception, coach and fan favorite Eduardo Najera would not be re-signed, Iverson's contract wouldn't be extended and things were looking grim entering the 2008-09 campaign. But what loomed as a disaster instead became a season of reformation and rejuvenation. Karl came into training camp as "Fiery George" again, Melo won a gold medal with Team USA and learned a thing or two from Kobe Bryant on what an NBA work ethic really is and K-Mart, fully healthy, came into camp with an apology to his coach and teammates and a vow to work harder and play better. With former NBA castaways Chris "Birdman" Andersen and Dahntay Jones added for next-to-nothing (by NBA salary standards) and Nene in real basketball shape for the first time ever, the Nuggets were quietly confident that they had a special season on their hands.

The lone chink in the Nuggets newfound armor would be Iverson who, upset by not receiving a contract extension, showed up to camp out of shape and several steps slow. Remarkably, Nuggets management was able to pull off one of the great trades in Nuggets history by shipping Iverson to Detroit for Chauncey Billups. By adding Billups to a roster primed to take off, the Nuggets would shock the basketball world by tying a franchise record with 54 wins and going toe-to-toe with the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Simply put, it was the greatest full season of Nuggets basketball since the 1984-85 Nuggets made it to the conference finals and hopefully a sign of more good things to come in the decade ahead.

Non-Stiff of the Year: Chauncey Billups

The Denver-born Billups - who had been cast off by Issel years earlier without ever given a fair hearing as a Nugget - immediately proved to be the perfect leader for the Nuggets. Coming off six consecutive conference finals appearances with the Pistons, Billups would make it seven when he led the Nuggets there.

Non-Stiff of the Year Runner-Up: (tie) Nuggets Management and George Karl

After years of placing talent over character, the Nuggets GM "troika" of Warkentien, Chapman and team adviser Bret Bearup had assembled a roster stocked with good character guys and also deserve credit for not panicking after the 2008 playoff debacle. Warkentien would be rewarded with the NBA's Executive of the Year Award, but it should have been shared by all three guys. Karl, meanwhile, turned in one of his finest performances as an NBA head coach while bridging whatever gap had existed between him and his mercurial stars Melo, J.R. and K-Mart.

Stiff of the Year: Allen Iverson

The NBA will soon be announcing their "All Decade Team" and it will be fascinating to see if A.I. makes the squad. One of the greatest players of the decade, Iverson ultimately proved to be a bad fit for the Nuggets and a bad influence on Melo and J.R. This became painfully clear when the Pistons imploded after bringing Iverson on board in exchange for Billups.

Overall, the '00s were a great decade for Nuggets basketball: six straight playoff appearances, two 50-plus win seasons, All-Star players and thrilling performances (how many game-tying and game-winning shots has Melo made?!). And while it would have been nice to see a few more playoff series victories prior to last season, the memories of the Bickerstaff and Issel Administrations are still prominent enough for me to appreciate what's been going on recently.

Fortunately for Nuggets fans, four of our best players - Melo, J.R., Nene and rookie Ty Lawson - still have many seasons ahead of them and hopefully will remain in a Nuggets uniform into the next decade. At the very least, we're guaranteed that the new decade starts out reasonably well and it will be fascinating to see where this franchise is standing in 2020.

Thanks for the memories and Go Nuggets!!

Photos courtesy of AP and NBAE/Getty Images

Game 24 Recap: Blazers 99, Cavaliers 104

Dave — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 07:00:20 -0000

More photos » by Garrett Ellwood - NBAE/Getty Images

This is not going to end well.

Browse more photos »

Well, if you're going to lose that's not a horrible way to lose. The Blazers played an inspired first half in this one. Gone was the listless play we've become semi-accustomed to lately. This team had more list than Santa. One of the things I sometimes forget is that the current incarnation of the Blazers has a little "Big Time" in it. They seemed to know they were on national TV. They knew who they were playing. They played with energy from the tip, taking a lead on the shocked Cavaliers (perhaps feeling a little entitlement to a home win themselves) and protecting it through the first half.

How did the Blazers do it? The supporting cast had a fantastic half. Martell Webster started the game on fire, hitting everything he threw up. It's not like he was taking it one-on-one. The Blazers attacked with Roy early, he drew attention, Martell and LaMarcus were the beneficiaries. In fact nobody but those three scored in the first quarter. When the stars didn't have a shot, Martell stepped up. But the Blazers also threw a few more screens in the offense, with both Roy and Webster curling off of them and hitting briefly-open jumpers as a result.

As the second quarter and the second unit (such as it is) rolled around we saw a ton of off-ball movement. The four players without the rock made it easy for the dribbler to find an outlet. Unsurprisingly the two players who benefitted the most were the two players who know how to function in that kind of offense: Juwan Howard and Andre Miller. Both of those guys have a sense of spacing that their younger counterparts lack. Howard all but killed the Cavaliers all by himself at the start of the second quarter doing nothing but raining down open mid-range jumpers. Miller ramped it up at the end of the second quarter, hitting all kinds of shots including a couple threes. Except for one Roy jumper, one Cunningham jumper, and a couple of Bayless free throws nobody but the geezer twins scored in that second period.

As you can imagine, Cleveland was a little flummoxed. Worse, the Blazers' energy on offense evoked similar play on defense. Joel Przybilla keyed the early momentum with a couple of MONSTER blocks. He was way into this game. Cleveland helped by steadfastly refusing to utilize LeBron James. He destroyed the Blazers every time he touched the ball but he was getting fewer touches than a broke guy at Déjà Vu. It was as if Cleveland had a fully gassed and insured Ferrari in the garage but elected to take the old Taurus instead. Add in that the Blazers weren't turning the ball over much and weren't allowing the Cavs offensive rebounds and you can see why Portland took a 9-point lead into the third quarter. They had outscored Cleveland 31-19 in that second period. Things were looking good.

Except you didn't need Paul Harvey to know what the rest of the story would be.

The Cavaliers announced their presence in the second half by throwing on a full-court press. The intention wasn't so much to stop Portland as rattle them. Perhaps it was also designed to light a fire under their own players. It worked on both counts. Wherever Portland threw the ball a defender seemed to beat it there. Where the Blazers had been playing free and easy, maybe even with a spritely tempo, in the first half now shots started coming later and later in the clock. The same jumpers that were golden early started missing late.

When LeBron hit a three-pointer on Cleveland's first offensive possession, approximately 37 seconds into the half, it was clear that Elvis had arrived at the clam bake. He proceeded to score 9 points in 3 minutes, hitting jumpers over shorter guys. The Blazers threw a zone which worked for a possession or so. Then it was the old "put out the fire" drill which saw Portland defenders running at him from everywhere. All of a sudden here come Anderson Varejao and Shaquille O'Neal.

Pause for interlude.

Shaq was huge in this game. Like around four bills huge. Seriously, you can now see the fat roll underneath the armpits of his jersey. The Cavs wear an "XL" patch on their uniforms. In his case it's missing about six "X's". I'm thinking the plan is to improve his free throw shooting by eventually being able to roll the ball down his stomach and into the hoop. Some guys become broadcasters after their career is done. I guess he's angling to be a blogger.

Now back to your regularly-scheduled programming.

Varejao and Shaq took advantage of Portland's inability to contain LeBron by scoring repeatedly at the cup. Portland eventually tried a smaller, quicker lineup both to protect Przybilla from foul trouble and to move men over to LBJ in a more timely fashion. That made it worse. Przybilla eventually put an end to the Shaq run with a classic heel move: poking him in the eye. Shaq went to the locker room and never came back. Unfortunately the same could not be said of Varejao, who proceeded to kill us with his energy on both ends. He bottled up LaMarcus Aldridge, rebounded all over the place, created turnovers, finished easy plays...he basically gave the Cavs all of the opportunity points they had lacked in the first half.

Meanwhile the Blazers' offense was in confusion. As jumpers missed we became more Roy-centric which had the dual effect of creating points and telegraphing to the Cavaliers where their defense should concentrate and exactly when the ball was coming up. It's not like Roy was hogging it. His teammates couldn't finish what they started early in the game. Martell Webster made like one of those drag racers starting with a huge boom but then blowing out his engine and coasting down the track. Steve Blake never hit anything in this game. LaMarcus got Varejaoed. The only guy who was any help was Andre Miller and that was at the cost of his offense running the same way Roy's did. It wasn't quite enough. Cleveland played sharper. The Blazers turned it over more and got fewer offensive rebounds in the second half. Oh...and LeBron was still cooking.

Portland made it really close, cutting it to 4 with 13 seconds left on a LaMarcus Aldridge three and then scoring again 1 second later off of a Roy steal of the inbounds pass. But Cleveland hit their free throws and Roy couldn't hit the contested, off-balance three that would have kept hope alive. It was as good of a performance as you could have expected but it wasn't good enough for the miracle win.

Here's hoping the Blazers build on tonight. They showed themselves and their opponent that they can be dangerous when they play right. The early offense was something to behold...everything you'd hoped for out of a perimeter game. The total lack of paint points rendered it unsustainable but if the Blazers can pair that movement and unselfishness with even a marginal inside presence they're going to be just fine. And by just fine I mean great. In the meantime while they're waiting for the post presence and more people who can actually hit outside shots to heal they should continue to work that hard. Good things will happen.

Click through for Individual Observations, the Boxscore, Links, Jersey Contest Results, and Final Thoughts.

Individual Observations

Brandon Roy had 23 points but never got steady offensive production until he blitzed the fourth quarter. Even then his run was short-lived. Cleveland figured out what the plan was and that made life too difficult. He was no better than anyone else on the team when matched up against LeBron James. In fact the three-guard lineup in the second half was a defensive disaster, especially when Przybilla wasn't in with them. But he looked more active on defense than he has in some outings. He had 6 assists as well.

LaMarcus Aldridge had three-quarters of a great offensive game tonight. He couldn't get anything going in the fourth. They just shut him down whenever he tried, which in any case probably wasn't often enough as the offense became guard-dominated. He drew 5 free throws and hit them all, which is good. He had 2 rebounds on the night...this on a night when he was one of two guys above 6'9" who saw significant minutes. That's not so good.

Andre Miller played tough out there on offense. He drove, dished, and hit his shots. I have a vague impression that he looks more confident against Eastern Conference teams but that's just an impression. He sure knew how to bake Cleveland's cookies. 8-13 shooting, 20 points, 6 rebounds. He had only 3 assists, taking a more shooting-guard-ish approach to the evening.

Steve Blake had 8 assists. Unfortunately that was about the only obvious good thing that came out of his night. He had 4 turnovers. Although he put himself in decent position many times he also got burned for being too slow or too short on defense. He also missed all 4 shots he took, including 3 three-point attempts. First of all, with the roster the way it is we can't afford to have a guy playing 36 minutes and only attempting 4 shots unless that guy's name starts with "P" and ends with "rzybilla". Discretion is good but you have to be a threat. Second of all...you goose-egged the evening. I hate to presume too much but have a handy piece of advice for both Blake and Webster. If the three-pointer isn't falling your choices are not limited to keep bricking or stop shooting altogether. Specifically there are shots available from 2-4 feet further in which are more comfortable. Obviously you can't step in if defenders are closing out on you but in many cases they're leaving you all alone. Take an easier shot, get it to fall, then try the hard stuff.

Speaking of Martell, 13 points in the first quarter, 0 for the rest of the game. 4 rebounds and 4 fouls otherwise. Obviously defending LeBron can be a discouraging experience. But you've got to keep involved and you've got to work for better shots instead of relying on the ones that the defense gives you most easily. On fire or cold as a witch's bras-trap won't do it.

Joel Przybilla...you made this game for us. 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, including a SPECTACULAR rejection of a Shaq alley-oop dunk. The guy had 2 assists when the offense was flowing freely too. He set the tone.

Hey Juwan...15 points in 16 minutes? Who are you, Jerryd Bayless? I guess this is the one situation where you're glad that the old-guy power forward you got also used to score with some proficiency instead of just rebounding and defending. With half the roster blown away you need the points.

Hey Jerryd...8 minutes? Who are you, Juwan Howard? No, seriously, I thought Jerryd looked pretty good out there tonight. He made a couple of nice assists and stayed turnover-free. More importantly the Blazers intentionally called the last play of the first half for him, giving him the ball to finish the period. He penetrated even when everybody knew that would be coming. He drew two foul shots and converted them. The fact that they set the play for him is a sign of respect. Of course more than 8 minutes would also be a sign of respect. I am not huge on bandwagons as I think we tend to jump the gun and/or not see some subtle things that keep our favorite guys from playing as much as we think they should. However in this case I tend to agree with my colleague Ben. I'm seeing Jerryd hit the few jumpers he takes. I'm seeing him drive with effect. I'm seeing him in the nascent stages of passing the ball and getting the offense. I do understand his effectiveness will be greatest with certain combinations. I understand that those combinations probably won't include Roy or Miller--let alone both--and that you have to give the nod to Brandon and Andre both over Jerryd right now. (In other words it's not just a matter of subbing in Jerryd in Blake's spot.) However no matter what the combinations may be I think you have to find the guy some more playing time, particularly if the other team has no choice but to send a weaker defender against him. Maybe not 30 minutes. Maybe he doesn't even move up in the rotation officially. But if Blake's not hitting his shots anyway, if Miller or Roy can handle the passing, and if Jerryd can do a few other things that Steve can't you have to sneak him in there for a few more minutes.

Final Thoughts

Pretty much said it all above, but I'll reiterate that I appreciated the effort. If the Blazers played every game this way, even with the evening not being perfect, there wouldn't be much cause to complain.

Boxscore

Check out what Cavs fans think at FeartheSword.

See how you did in tonight's Jersey Contest here. (We had some good scores!) Enter tomorrow's form here.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Poll

How'd you feel about this game?

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)

Abe Pollin reminded us that sports fandom is about more than winning

Mike Prada — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:27:33 -0000

More photos » by Ned Dishman - NBAE/Getty Images

Browse more photos »

There have been so many incredible things written about Abe Pollin by people that know of him far better than I for me to have too much to add. (In fact, here are some of them). But since it's Abe Pollin, possibly the most influential non-politician in Washington over the last 30 years, I feel compelled to add this to the discussion.

I don't think I need to list several of Abe's great attributes right off the bat. We all know them. In short, he was a great man, the type of person who "every little child hopes he grows up to be and every old man wished he had been," according to one of his former employees. And yet, Pollin was also derided by many for running a "mom and pop" organization. He was too loyal, too unwilling to let people off the hook for poor job performance. He was criticized for being cheap and for valuing character over talent. He was lambasted for his treatment of Michael Jordan and for his previous unwillingness to go over the luxury tax.

Pollin essentially was bashed for not possessing a single-minded pursuit of winning. In all other walks of life, his adherence to higher principles would be universally praised. In sports, it was a reason to criticize him. That should tell you something about how sports is perceived to be simply about winning. It was never about that for Abe Pollin, and the more we think about it, it really isn't about that for any of us either.

See, Abe Pollin used the Washington Bullets/Wizards as a vehicle for social improvement. As far back as the 1970s, when racial discrimination in sports was still rampant, Pollin was hiring African Americans such as KC Jones (just four years removed from his playing days) to high positions in his organizations. He brought his championship-winning club to China in 1979 in an attempt to help improve U.S. relations there, an action that seems common now, but was anything but then. He rewarded those who were loyal to him, standing by them whether they were upper-level management or the equipment managers. He renamed his team because he was concerned that he was promoting violence in some way. (For the record, this site's name is not in protest of Mr. Pollin's decision, but rather as a rallying cry uniting the two eras of the franchise). And, of course, in the most stunning example of social consciousness of all, he moved the team downtown and built a stadium in a downtrodden area of town on his own dime in an attempt to revive the surrounding neighborhood.

There are many wonderful people owning sports teams who do good deeds. Pretty much all of them do, unless they are Donald Sterling. But nobody else ran their sports franchise that way. Mark Cuban may do all sorts of wonderful ancillary things to help people in Dallas and everywhere, but the bottom line for him is that he'll do everything he has to do to win. And lest you think I'm singling out Mark Cuban, he's not the only one. There are so many owners in this world who possess and are praised for a single-minded pursuit of winning, for putting themselves and their resources out there to field a winner. Abe Pollin was not like that. He instead put himself and his resources out there to make the world a better place, with his team as the vehicle.

That's not to say Pollin didn't want to win. He cared about his club tremendously, and made that well known. Contrary to popular opinion, he was not cheap. Just ask Juwan Howard and Gilbert Arenas. In case I needed any more reminder of that fact, the one-on-one interview 106.7 did with Ernie Grunfeld drove the point home. During it, Ernie mentioned how once the economic crash occurred, he brought up whether it would be prudent to cut costs. Mr. Pollin's response? No way. I can afford the hit more than they can. It almost makes me feel really bad for desperately trying to think of ways to shed salary last year because I was sure Mr. Pollin would be unwilling to pay the luxury tax to field a winner.

But for Abe Pollin, winning wasn't how he felt fulfilled. He wasn't about the glamor, the flashiness that is associated with winning and running a big-time sports franchise. SB Nation's Andrew Sharp probably expressed this best. He attended last night's game, which, like any other NBA game today, featured loud intro music, luxury suites, cheerleaders and fire coming out of a massive Wizards logo, and commented how this all felt so out of character with Abe Pollin. It's true. Abe Pollin stood for something more than all of that.

It's enough to make me think about why we are drawn to sports. The easy answer to this question is because it gives us a chance to win at something. There's no feeling like being a fan of a winning club. But there are so many elements of sports fandom that have nothing to do with winning. Being a fan of a sports team means breaking down boundaries with people. It means finding common ground with others when everything else about you is different from them. It means supporting your city, your family, your legacy or something else that may be far more personal. It means being a part of a critical mass of people that maybe isn't changing the world, but is still cultivating relationships that you may need for the rest of your life. It can even mean finding something worth smiling for when everything else in life gets you down.

For Abe Pollin, owning the Washington Bullets/Wizards was about all those other aspects of sports fandom. He broke down boundaries with his employees. He found common ground with fans and partners. He supported and dramatically improved his city. He held true to his friendships so much that a single death of one of his closest friends (Yitzhak Rabin) was enough to convince him to change the team's nickname. He headed a critical mass that helped him both change the world and maintain incredible personal relationships all the way until his death. He even used his team to lift himself up from depression when health problems beset his family.

That is Abe Pollin's legacy for me more than anything. Anytime I get too bogged down in the team's struggles, I remember how winning was never the only thing for Abe Pollin. It gives me perspective. It makes me realize how much the Bullets/Wizards have meant for me even when they aren't winning. How much they've given me even as they slogged through yet another non-playoff season.

Now that he has passed away, I strongly encourage everyone to step back, as he did his whole life, and think about all the reasons you root for your sports team besides the prospect of victory. Chances are, Abe Pollin embodied those reasons.

Blog Season Preview

Ben. — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:33:14 -0000

More photos » by Rick Bowmer - AP

Hey there, I'm balling again. That's why Ben uses me for literally every post that needs a picture. Call me Giggles Oden.

Browse more photos »

Every year, Blazersedge participates in a national network of blog season previews. This year is no exception. For regular readers, there's not going to be a ton of new stuff in this preview, although I do make a win prediction at the end for your mocking and criticizing pleasure.

Team Name: Portland Trail Blazers

Last Year’s Record: 54-28

Key Losses: Channing Frye, Channing Frye’s Blog, Shavlik Randolph, Shavlik Randolph’s Valued Blazersedge Contributions, Mike Ruffin, Mike Ruffin’s Minivan, Raef LaFrentz’s Expired Contract, Sergio Rodriguez

Key Additions: Andre Miller, Juwan Howard, A Healthy Martell Webster, Greg Oden’s Confidence, Dante Cunningham, Jeff Pendergraph, No Sergio Rodriguez

Click through for the rest!

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

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

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.

Ironically, Miller, the team's third choice, addressed its biggest need – an upgrade over Steve Blake at the point guard position – better than either of the other two players. Optimists see this as fate intervening on Portland’s behalf. Pessimists might see this as Pritchard’s broken clock being right twice a day. Either way, Miller’s addition gives the Blazers one of the best 3 deep point guard rotations in the league and provides the team with another proven player who can create his own shots and help develop young, budding stars like LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden.

Everything besides Dre was peanuts. Juwan Howard might fight for the scraps of backup minutes behind LaMarcus Aldridge. The rookies might get some Developmental League burn. Portland-area zoologists probably miss Mike Ruffin's exotic animal collection. Rudy needs to find a new wingman when he hits Aura late night. That's about it.

It wasn’t the best offseason – perhaps not the offseason that Pritchard envisioned when he decided not to trade Raef LaFrentz’s Expiring Contract back in February – but the Blazers roster is better this October than last, without question.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

Rebounding, offensive efficiency, depth, versatility, late-game execution. Take your pick, there’s a lot to like about this group, a squad that will run 15 quality players deep once the roster is finally set. The front line is anchored by centers Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla, who combine to own the boards like Crockett and Tubbs owned South Florida criminals. LaMarcus Aldridge’s 7 rebounds per game look soft by comparison and Travis Outlaw seems to gather roughly half of his rebounds by pulling them out of the arms of one of his centers. All those rebounds add up to extra possessions and second-chance points for the Blazers, who are loaded with solid shooters like Steve Blake, Rudy Fernandez, and Martell Webster.

But the Blazers also enjoy a strength that not many teams can match: a proven, reliable, consistent and intelligent late-game ball-handler, Brandon Roy, who draws fouls and gets into the lane better than all but a few NBA players. Roy’s penchant for late-game heroics – he claims with a straight face that he enjoys pressure – made for many memorable moments last year. A two-time All Star who inked a max extension this summer, Roy is playing for hardware from here on out. He knows that better than anyone.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

Although it might sound surprising on a team with such little roster turnover from last year, the team’s biggest weakness through 2 weeks of the pre-season is cohesion. Adding a new big-minute point guard to the rotation has everyone adjusting. Greg Oden’s continued development has everyone from the coaching staff down re-thinking his role with the team. Are there enough touches? Who meshes best with whom? What’s the optimal number of guys – from 8 to 12 – to play on any given night? These are the core questions for Coach Nate McMillan.

Another weakness – which will likely continue to be a weakness for years to come given the personnel – is team defense. While McMillan has committed his team to hard-and-fast rules and a specific system, asking his players to play pick-and-roles in a consistent manner and to religiously close out on shooters in hopes of decreasing their opponent’s field goal percentage, it’s unclear whether this group – from the top down, including Brandon Roy – has fully bought in. Some nights they do, some nights they don’t. Some plays they do, other plays they don’t. It was a problem last year in the playoffs, as Aaron Brooks and Yao Ming were a lethal one-two punch, and Luis Scola looked all-world. The players claim that they took to heart the importance of defense from that series, but there hasn't been a ton of evidence to support that during the pre-season.

4. What are the goals for this team?

Anything short of a division title and the second round of the playoffs would be a disappointment. Management, coaches and players have all set the bar that high, and they’ve done so with a confidence that borders on cockiness. Management feels they have assembled the right personnel (and lots of it!), the coaches feel they’ve added experience and savvy to a talented group of youngsters, and the players feel like they have something to prove after getting booted out of the first round by a tougher, more determined Houston Rockets team.

Pretty simple, really.

There are other goals: Aldridge and Oden want to make the All star team, Roy wants to be all-defense, a few Blazers reserves could be in the running for 6th man of the year, but those awards and accolades aren't the focus.

5. What’s up with Greg Oden?

Greg Oden, a player who has been off the national radar for the past 2+ years, has consistently been the brightest spot during the team's lackluster pre-season. During multiples stretches of play, he’s been the best player on the court, something that was never said about him during the 60+ games he played last season. He’s confident again, trimmed down and well-balanced on his legs, finishing with authority, and trusting his off-season work, which included the development of a number of simple, go-to moves around the basket. His offensive game is less robotic and more diverse; his defense is less choppy and more instinctive. He’s altering more shots while committing less fouls, exactly what every single fan, no matter how intoxicated, wanted to see from him last season.

I have privately taken to calling him Giggles Oden, as he seems to crack up at every question or comment I make to him regardless of the setting: pre-game, post-game, after practice, or anywhere else. Maybe I just look funny or talk funny (definitely a possibility)? Or maybe Greg just has his mind right, after an up-and-down season spent, at times, sulking on the bench and consulting with a sports psychologist. What’s clear this fall is that Greg is back to enjoying the game. He still has work to do, there’s no question about that, but he’s back to being a player you can’t help but root for.

While top draft picks are expected to provide big time contributions, production from Greg Oden has been an added bonus rather than a staple necessity for the Blazers over the last few years. 2010 is shaping up to be the year that starts to change, with the potential to be the big, breakout season everyone has been waiting for.

6. Bottom Line

There are plenty of reasons to be bullish on the Blazers and it seems darn near every analyst is. They’re protected against injury better than almost every team, going at least two deep at every position. They’re built to execute well in the halfcourt but they can run a little bit when needed, thanks to Miller. They’ve got big guards and little guards, athletic wings and physical wings, long 4s and big 5s: thanks to this depth and versatility, they’re far more prone to creating mismatches than getting exploited by them. They’re coming off a 54 win season, didn’t lose a single major piece and are a year more experienced than they were last season.

But entering this season, things aren’t quite clicking yet. And it seems like it could take some time.

At this point, a little more than halfway through October, I’ll get on board with a playoff series victory (possibly 2): all the pieces are there. Although they started the summer as likely Division favorites, I’m not sure I see the Blazers emerging on top of what will surely be a heated 3-team chase for the Northwest Division title.

That said, last year’s Blazers surpassed my expectations by 5 wins; this year’s Blazers are certainly capable of doing the same (if not better).

A trade deadline move to find that still-missing piece and to cut loose some expiring salaries could be what this group needs to make the full, deep post-season push that it desires. Trade or no trade, the team’s offensive efficiency, rebounding prowess and the presence of Brandon Roy should make for an entertaining year.

Predicted Record: 52-30. 2^nd in Northwest Division. 4^th Overall.

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

Tuesday Practice Report

Ben. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:28:54 -0000

Tomorrow night's starters: Miller, Roy, Webster, Aldridge, Oden.

Other than that, Juwan Howard got his head bandage off and I came away with the following tidbits.

Brandon Roy and Greg Oden

There are a lot of topics that have been lost in Andre Miller's wake the last week but one of the biggest has to be the developing relationship between Brandon Roy and Greg Oden. I've maintained since early in camp that Oden will be this team's starting center. After the first exhibition game, Jason Quick quoted Brandon Roy practically endorsing Oden for that starting spot and nothing that's come out in the last week -- either on the practice court or in discussions afterwards -- leads me to believe that will change. Indeed, as Joe Freeman tweeted this morning, Oden will be starting again tomorrow night.

There have been a few lines of thinking regarding this team that I'm surprised haven't converged. The first states that Brandon Roy needs the ball in his hands to succeed and the rest of the team will play off of him. The second states that Greg Oden will benefit from playing with (presumably starting alongside) Andre Miller. We should probably put two and two together here: an improved relationship between Brandon Roy and Greg Oden should both allow the team's offense (Nate's system) to run at peak efficiency and to further Oden's development. I would even go so far as to argue that Roy could ultimately be a bigger deciding factor for Oden than Miller, simply because of how Nate McMillan has focused his offensive philosophy around Roy and Aldridge (but especially Roy) up to this point.

Although Roy is a skilled passer who puts up respectable assist totals, there wasn't a fantastic connection between the two players last year. In fairness to Roy, I'm not sure Oden had a fantastic connection with any of his teammates. In fairness to Oden, he was injured for portions of the season and was removed from the starting lineup so the possibility for that connection to develop was limited.

Those excuses are so 2008. With a new season comes new expectations for both players.

On paper, these two guys -- versatile guard and physically imposing big -- should be perfectly suited for each other offensively. Healthy now, Oden covers a remarkable amount of court space quickly. He has a huge body and sets reasonable picks. As I mentioned on a recent podcast, the team looks to be extending his range during camp scrimmages, even giving him the ball near the top of the key on occasion so that he can be a moving target once he swings the ball around the perimeter. While McMillan still considers LaMarcus Aldridge an offensive option nearly as potent as Brandon Roy, he's no fool: he knows dunks are better than jumpers -- even Aldridge's jumpers. He's surely looking to integrate Oden into the offense as quickly as Oden's development allows.

As Roy and Oden have started to log more playing time together over the past week, it seems Roy is starting to truly realize that too. Asked today about his developing relationship with Greg Oden, Brandon Roy told me...

We've played together a lot this week. It's been good. Getting our rhythm.

Today we were going over bounce passes up high. I was asking him where he likes it. And then with me on screens, he was asking me 'how do you like the screens? You want me to trail you?'

It was good to conversate with him and talk.

I'm looking forward to these next games, man, just to play hard and try to build a rhythm for the regular season.

These answers, while promising, were a little surprising: despite all the progress Oden made this summer -- and there was a lot of it -- he's still at square one when it comes to the little things that end up turning good big guys into great big guys. The ability to intuitively know where his guards are headed. The ability to make space for his guards. The ability to make himself a target in as many situations as possible. The ability to demand the ball and get it.

In two years, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Oden is doing all of those things. But today? He's not there yet.

But if there have been two areas of promise with Oden's development so far this camp, it's been his passing ability and -- this one might surprise you -- his hands. I wrote about his passing after the Kings game but I haven't yet really written about his hands, partially because I'm a little wary of trusting my eyes on what was a touchy subject last year and partially because he's committed 9 turnovers in 72 minutes of preseason action.

Numbers and self-doubt aside, there does seem to be progress. Last year, lacking in confidence and balance, Oden was regularly careless with the ball, unsure of when and where to dribble, getting stripped when he brought the ball down below his waist, fumbling passes, and even getting the ball taken out of his hands during shot attempts. So far at camp and practice, we've seen less of that. I would attribute this primarily to his new-found confidence and conditioning: less concerned about whether he can trust his legs and manage the pace of the game, Oden seems better able to focus on doing what he's supposed to do with the ball.

He also seems like a better target than last year. His hands are up more and he's digging in deeper for position (something Nate has praised). He's also doing something else better, something that Brandon pointed out to me today when I asked him how he thought Greg's hands stood in comparison to other bigs around the league...

He has good hands. He seals so well it's like he's the only one that can get to the ball. That's the great thing. When I throw to him I feel really comfortable. It's like you throw it inside to Greg and nobody else can get to it. He can seal really well. I think Greg has good hands.

I never really played with too many other big men. LaMarcus has good hands. I think both of them have really good hands.

To Roy, the two ideas are synonymous when it comes to Oden: sealing well = good hands. By virtue of his size alone, Oden could already seal adequately last season; it seems like half his points came from uncontested dunks, doesn't it? But with his improved balance and court awareness, this skill could prove to be a true, consistent weapon for Oden and the Blazers, particularly if someone like Brandon -- who already appreciates the skill -- proactively helps Oden exploit the advantages it creates. Sealing shouldn't just lead to dunks. It should lead to hooks, drop steps and, inevitably, it should draw more double teams as well.

Tthe relationship between these two players is something I'll be watching closely throughout the early part of this season. Development is needed and should be expected. In a best case scenario, it could get really exciting.

Brandon Roy's Weight

As has been well-documented, Roy isn't off to the best start this pre-season. Cross his weight off the list of possible explanations. Talking with him today, he made it quite clear he likes where he is at physically.

Nah, I weighed in yesterday at 208. I went up to about 210 but I'm back at 208. I like it though, I feel good, my legs feel really good. I think I'm at the right weight. Especially for my knees and my joints and things like that. I feel good. When I weighed in at 208, I was like great. I thought I had went up, but I didn't. The important thing is not going [up and down a lot], 205, 210.

208 was the exact weight he entered camp at. So after roughly 2 weeks of around the clock work he's settled in pretty precisely weight-wise.

Pritchard on Udoka vs. Collins

We heard from Nate McMillan the other day on what he's seen from Jarron Collins. KP was at practice again today so I asked him briefly how he sees the race for that last spot shaping up. If you trust the whispers, Udoka would seem to be the odds-on favorite and some sources have even implied that he's Nate's choice. Here's the text of my brief chat with Pritchard. Parse away.

Will that last roster spot be your decision, Nate's decision or a group decision?

It's all of us. Tom [Penn] will have an input, assistant coaches, Mike Born our director of NBA scouting, we'll all get in a room and talk about it. We'll figure out what we think is best. We probably won't all agree, which is a good thing.

I heard that not everyone reached the same conclusion about who to keep last year, Shavlik Randolph or Steven Hill. . What's it like during those roster discussions? Contentious?

It's not contentious. We have too good of a relationship with all of us to make it contentious. We just get in a room, debate the plusses and minuses and look to add the best player.

With the spot this year are you looking at anything in particular? Experience? Depth at a position?

It's a combination of all those factors. It's who is the best player. Who can fill in and help us. Who can help the young guys adjust to the NBA level. It's all those things. It's very all-encompassing.

Udoka has seen quite a bit more playing time than Collins. Nate says he's seen enough from Collins to make his assessment. Have you seen enough to fully evaluate what he might bring to this team?

Absolutely. We know Collins. We're seeing him here every day at practice. Knows how to play. Good competitor. Very smart. Played with good systems, played with great coaches. He's an NBA player, no doubt.

Nate praised Collins' work with Greg in the video room. Is that potential relationship a factor here?

We like our experienced players helping our younger players. That's part of a good culture and what we want those guys to do.

Pleasantries aside, it doesn't seem like a particularly positive indicator when you are barely playing during the preseason and yet your Coach and General Manager both agree they've seen enough. Although the line, "he's an NBA player" did stand out.

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

Monday Practice Report

Ben. — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:21:59 -0000

Turn Back The Clock Night

It was a relatively quiet day at Blazers practice as the television stations were out in full force to get soundbytes in preparation for Wednesday's game against the Phoenix Suns that will be played in the Memorial Coliseum. It was a real head-scratcher watching reporters prodding 20-25 year old players who didn't grow up in Portland for their favorite Memorial Coliseum memories. I'm shocked Greg Oden wasn't sure if Clyde Drexler played in the arena. I'm amazed Brandon deferred questions about the MC to his father. I just can't believe Martell Webster isn't able to give us a 20 minute speech about this beautiful landmark. Most of the guys copped to never even being inside the building which led to some television anchor anguish. Gotta love it.

Nate McMillan, on the other hand, certainly remembers the Memorial Coliseum and he sounded genuinely excited to be "on the other sideline" this Wednesday. It's been an interesting transition for Mr. Sonic as he's adopted this Blazers franchise. To me, one of the best hidden gems in that interview yesterday was when Nate referred to the 1977 Blazers as "our championship team." For guys like Nate who have vivid memories of the Memorial Coliseum's heyday, Wednesday should be a treat. Personally I can't wait.

Juwan Howard

Juwan Howard got scratched on the head today (no stitches needed, he said after practice) which led to this rather hilarious picture.

Pick and Roll Defense

This is a holdover from yesterday's extended chat with Nate McMillan but it's pretty interesting. Dwight Jaynes asked Nate for his thoughts on the team's defensive progress. Nate stuck to his guns with his typical answer -- "We need to get better" -- but broke things down into a fair bit of depth when it comes to how the team will handle pick and rolls this season.

Essentially, Nate's base defensive schemes call for small forwards and power forwards to "show hard" when their man sets a pick for the guard. The idea is that everyone in this group -- Martell, Nic, Ime, Travis, LaMarcus, Howard, Cunningham -- has the physical tools (sufficient quickness and length) necessary to impede the ballhandler's dribbling progress until the guard gets through the pick completely, and then recover back.

On the other hand, Nate's schemes require centers to handle things in exactly the opposite way: centers (Oden, Przybilla) are expected to collapse off of the ballhandler. In Nate's words: their job is "dropping back and zoning up and corralling." The goal is to eliminate ticky-tack fouls by the big guys and keep them from getting stuck out on an island in unfavorable mismatches.

Here's where it gets tricky: if the Blazers decide to go with a smaller lineup -- using either LaMarcus Aldridge or Juwan Howard as their center -- which they very well might do, potentially even in late-game situations -- both those guys will be expected to play the pick-and-rolls as if they are 5s rather than 4s. In other words, LaMarcus and Juwan must be well-versed in both ways of handling the pick-and-roll and cognizant of what position they are playing at all times. Additionally, their guard teammates won't be able to rely solely on verbal cues to know how to play a pick and roll. For example, if Andre Miller or Brandon Roy hears LaMarcus shouting that a pick is coming left or right that won't be enough for him to know how LaMarcus will play it, he would also need to recognize whether LaMarcus is at the 4 or 5 spot at that moment. Of course, the Blazers have verbal play calls on defense to account for this, so assuming everyone is communicating properly, there shouldn't be any mix ups. But it's just another thing for the players to remember to talk about on defense and it's an extra responsibility for LMA and Howard to constantly remind themselves about.

McMillan acknowledged that this might cause some confusion for the casual observer but was fairly adamant that the Blazers do, in fact, stick pretty tightly to their defensive rules most of the time. "You may see Howard and LaMarcus [play it] different if they're at the 4 and the 5," Nate warned. But just because they play it differently doesn't necessarily mean that they are playing it inconsistently.

Dwight Jaynes was quick to raise the counter-approach to this philosophy: the Blazers players are not interchangeable parts at every position. Some guys are quicker, some are stronger, some might excel playing pick and rolls one way while others might favor a different approach. I love the idea of a long, quick, smart LaMarcus hard showing on small guards, making their lives difficult and blinding their passing lanes with his long arms as he recovers. Indeed, I wrote about that very thing earlier this summer. But do I like that setup for Travis? Would I fully trust his footwork and recognition? I'm not sure. Nate did acknowledge that players have different strengths but that the overall strength of the defense was increased by sticking to the team schemes that he believes in. Here are his full thoughts on the matter...

It doesn't make a difference who the guys are. They shouldn't be playing a guy different. Not in our schemes. We are going to play the pick and roll defense whether Blake or Miller is guarding the ball. We're going to play the pick and roll defense whether Joel or Greg is into it. Now Joel and LaMarcus play it different because they are 5 and 4. But all of our 4s play it the same as each other. It shouldn't make a difference the combination of players because we're not changing where we have 4 or 5 smalls in the game. That shouldn't change. We're going to shadow and pick up with Blake and Miller and Bayless.

Our 5s, we don't go out aggressive and send them out to hard show. Our 5s we drop them back and let them zone up. When LaMarcus is at the 5, he plays it as a 5 because our rules will allow him to defend it and we can help him if he plays it that way. You're dropping back and zoning up and we're corralling. We still want you up but you're not coming out.

LaMarcus and our fours should be able to jump out and show and that guard gets through. With the 5 man, we don't want him running out on these little guards. It's a different defense that our guys know. Our 3 and our 4 play the pick and roll the same way. They hard show. They don't automatically switch.

Pick and roll defense was one of the team's weakest points last season. Why? Because way too often the players "automatically switched." At the end of the day, there's no ideal, set-in-stone way to play the pick and roll. It depends on who is running it. It depends on your personnel defending it. And it depends on the match-up between the two sides. No scheme is perfect. But if Nate's defensive rules and the responsibilities that go with them can eliminate some of the lackadaisical defending everyone saw last year, I think he will be satisfied.

Jarron Collins Update

Through 3 pre-season games, J. Collins hasn't found much playing time. It's too bad, too, because he looks very much the NBA player in the practice gym. I asked Nate for his assessment of Collins up to this point and whether he'd seen enough of the Stanford grad in game action to render a verdict on the final roster spot. Here's Nate's assessment.

He's smart. He picks up things fairly quickly. We'll give [Udoka and Collins] an opportunity to play. But there are going to be 10 guys in rotation that I want to -- probably by that Denver game -- to start to play. Whether we have rotations with a starting or backup unit, I won't say that. But those 10 guys, I want to look and play them and not play 12, 13 guys [after the Denver game].

Collins knows how to play.

It's just the fact that he's over there in that video room with Greg so that he can talk. He knows what he's doing. He knows why he's here.

At that point, Nate gave kind of a longing look across the gym to the video room, where the two centers were sitting huddled around a monitor looking at game tape. I'm not sure if Nate's look meant, "What a great influence he is on Greg!" or "Man, I'd like to have that guy around all year but there's just no room." Either way, it was clear that Collins' pre-season contributions are appreciated by his Coach, even if his playing time doesn't reflect that at first glance.

Meanwhile, Ime Udoka was one of two players staying late at today's practice, getting in some extra jumpers.

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