SB Nation User Blog: Ben.

Christmas Comes Early For Jeff Pendergraph

Ben. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:12:38 -0000

Being injured in the NBA is no fun: constantly answering questions about how you feel at that exact moment, constantly estimating how long it will be until you return, constantly receiving all sorts of treatment that may or may not be working, constantly on your way to rehab appointments. You're only able to watch practices as guys develop on-court cohesion and, often, you're left home on long road trips when the rest of your team bonds away from the court. You can't move around very well and there's way, way too much down time.

When you're a rookie like Blazers backup power forward Jeff Pendergraph, who went down with a hip injury that required surgery before playing his first minute as a pro, it's doubly frustrating. Not only are you sidelined from playing but you're sidelined from making a first impression on your team, coaching staff and fans.

By all accounts, Pendergraph is eager to please. The scouts say he will run through a wall for Nate McMillan. Kevin Pritchard praised his personality during pre-draft workouts and rewarded him with a contract this summer, despite his injury. Pendergraph gamely showed up on Media Day with a big smile, hopped around on his crutches and said all the right things. In recent weeks, Pendergraph put aside the crutches and got a few shots up after practice. Still, it's a slow recovery and his return to the court remains months away (January is one recent guess).

That's why it brought a smile to my face this morning as Pendergraph seems to have found something to occupy his downtime... Click through for details...

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

At midnight last night, the hotly-anticipated update to the popular Call of Duty video game series was released.

As you can read from his twitter stream, Pendergraph stood in line through the night to be one of the first people to own a copy. He then appears to have played the game for almost the entire morning, taking breaks for rehab work and to tweet about how awesome the game is. Hilarious.

Ike Diogu would be proud.

When it is said that "NBA players are just like you and me" sometimes that is true and sometimes that is really, really false. In this case, I think Jeff Pendergraph has proven himself to be a man of the people.

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

Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Miller Make All Star Ballot

Ben. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:33:52 -0000

This just in from the Blazers...

Four Trail Blazers were named to this year's ballot, including two-time All-Star Brandon Roy (guard).

LaMarcus Aldridge (forward), Andre Miller (guard) and Greg Oden (center) all seek their first All-Star appearances. The 2010 NBA All-Star game will be hosted by Aldridge's hometown of Dallas on Feb. 14, 2010.

Click through for a full NBA press release with information about how to vote and to read the full ballots. Here's a link if you'd like to start voting now.

Be sure to vote in the poll below and list your selections in the comments.

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

2010 NBA ALL-STAR BALLOT PRESENTED BY T-MOBILE UNVEILED TODAY

-- First Time in Balloting History Fans Can Text Their All-Star Votes --

-- Fans Can Vote on NBA.com, via Wireless Ballots, and in NBA Arenas --

DALLAS, Nov. 10, 2009 - The 2010 NBA All-Star Ballot was unveiled today during a special tip-off event in Dallas, the Official Host City of NBA All-Star 2010. NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile will begin this afternoon at 12:30 p.m. ET. The 2010 NBA All-Star Game, which will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the U.S., and reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, will be played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, before an expected crowd of more than 80,000 - the largest group ever to witness a live basketball game, on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010.

2010 NBA All-Star Balloting presented by T-Mobile, with associate partner 2K Sports, allows fans around the world to vote daily for their favorite players as starters for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. For the first time in balloting history, fans can vote for All-Stars any time by texting a player's last name from their mobile phones. Fans can cast one SMS vote per day, per phone number.

There are several ways fans can cast their votes, including: at each NBA arena; in 20 languages on NBA.com; and through mobile phones by texting the player's last name to 6-9-6-2-2 ("MYNBA"), via Web2Go® on T-Mobile phones or wap.nba.com for any wireless carrier. A T-Mobile-branded All-Star Balloting widget will also be available on NBA.com so that fans can "grab" the widget and place it on their blogs, social network pages, or personal Web sites allowing others to vote directly from the widget. Paper balloting will continue through Jan. 10, while wireless balloting and voting on NBA.com will conclude Jan. 18. Starters will be announced live on TNT on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010.

The NBA All-Star ballot lists 120 players - 60 each from the Eastern and Western conferences - with 24 guards, 24 forwards, and 12 centers from each conference comprising the list. Voters select two guards, two forwards and one center from each conference. The 120 players on the ballot were selected by a panel of media who regularly cover the NBA: Mike Breen (ABC/ESPN), Eddie Sefko (Dallas Morning News), Doug Smith (The Toronto Star and President, Pro Basketball Writers Association) Marc Spears (Yahoo! Sports), Marc Stein (ESPN.com) and Ian Thomsen (Sports Illustrated).

NBA All-Star 2010 in Dallas will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league's history for a global celebration of the game. The week leading up to the 59th NBA All-Star Game will feature a full slate of community-enhancing activities and fan festivals, including NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by adidas and the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam. This will be the second NBA All-Star in Dallas. The city also hosted the event in 1986.

In conjunction with All-Star Balloting, 2K Sports will give fans the opportunity to experience Dallas and the best of basketball by entering the NBA® 2K10 Sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to NBA All-Star 2010 and have their likeness as a digitized player incorporated in next year's game, NBA® 2K11.

The following is a complete listing of the players as they appear on the ballot:

2010 NBA ALL-STAR EASTERN CONFERENCE BALLOT

EAST GUARDS (24)

Allen, Ray, Boston
Arenas, Gilbert, Washington
Bibby, Mike, Atlanta
Calderon, Jose, Toronto
Carter, Vince, Orlando
Crawford, Jamal, Atlanta
Duhon, Chris, New York
Felton, Raymond, Charlotte
Ford, T.J., Indiana
Gordon, Ben, Detroit
Hamilton, Richard, Detroit
Harris, Devin, New Jersey
Hinrich, Kirk, Chicago
Johnson, Joe, Atlanta
Lee, Courtney, New Jersey
Nelson, Jameer, Orlando
Redd, Michael, Milwaukee
Robinson, Nate, New York
Rondo, Rajon, Boston
Rose, Derrick, Chicago
Salmons, John, Chicago
Stuckey, Rodney, Detroit
Wade, Dwyane, Miami
Williams, Mo, Cleveland

EAST FORWARDS (24)

Beasley, Michael, Miami
Bosh, Chris, Toronto
Brand, Elton, Philadelphia
Butler, Caron, Washington
Deng, Luol, Chicago
Diaw, Boris, Charlotte
Garnett, Kevin, Boston
Granger, Danny, Indiana
Harrington, Al, New York
Haslem, Udonis, Miami
Iguodala, Andre, Philadelphia
James, LeBron, Cleveland
Jamison, Antawn, Washington
Lee, David, New York
Lewis, Rashard, Orlando
Murphy, Troy, Indiana
Pierce, Paul, Boston
Prince, Tayshaun, Detroit
Smith, Josh, Atlanta
Turkoglu, Hedo, Toronto
Varejao, Anderson, Cleveland
Villanuava, Charlie, Detroit
Wallace, Gerald, Charlotte
Warrick, Hakim, Milwaukee

EAST CENTERS (12)

Bargnani, Andrea, Toronto
Bogut, Andrew, Milwaukee
Chandler, Tyson, Charlotte
Dalembert, Samuel, Philadelphia
Horford, Al, Atlanta
Howard, Dwight, Orlando
Lopez, Brook, New Jersey
Miller, Brad, Chicago
O'Neal, Jermaine, Miami
O'Neal, Shaquille, Cleveland
Perkins, Kendrick, Boston
Wallace, Rasheed, Boston

2010 NBA ALL-STAR WESTERN CONFERENCE BALLOT

WEST GUARDS (24)

Barbosa, Leandro, Phoenix
Billups, Chauncey, Denver
Brooks, Aaron, Houston
Bryant, Kobe, L.A. Lakers
Davis, Baron, L.A. Clippers
Ellis, Monta, Golden State
Ginobili, Manu, San Antonio
Howard, Josh, Dallas
Iverson, Allen, Memphis
Jackson, Stephen, Golden State
Kidd, Jason, Dallas
Martin, Kevin, Sacramento
Mayo, O.J., Memphis
McGrady, Tracy, Houston
Miller, Andre, Portland
Nash, Steve, Phoenix
Parker, Tony, San Antonio
Paul, Chris, New Orleans
Richardson, Jason, Phoenix
Roy, Brandon, Portland
Sessions, Ramon, Minnesota
Terry, Jason, Dallas
Westbrook, Russell, Oklahoma City
Williams, Deron, Utah

WEST FORWARDS (24)

Aldridge, LaMarcus, Portland
Anthony, Carmelo, Denver
Ariza, Trevor, Houston
Artest, Ron, L.A. Lakers
Boozer, Carlos, Utah
Duncan, Tim, San Antonio
Durant, Kevin, Oklahoma City
Gasol, Pau, L.A. Lakers
Gay, Rudy, Memphis
Green, Jeff, Oklahoma City
Griffin, Blake, L.A. Clippers
Hill, Grant, Phoenix
Jefferson, Richard, San Antonio
Love, Kevin, Minnesota
Marion, Shawn, Dallas
Martin, Kenyon, Denver
Millsap, Paul, Utah
Nowitzki, Dirk, Dallas
Odom, Lamar, L.A. Lakers
Randolph, Anthony, Golden State
Scola, Luis, Houston
Thompson, Jason, Sacramento
Thornton, Al, L.A. Clippers
West, David, New Orleans

WEST CENTERS (12)

Biedrins, Andris, Golden State
Bynum, Andrew, L.A. Lakers
Camby, Marcus, L.A. Clippers
Gasol, Marc, Memphis
Hawes, Spencer, Sacramento
Jefferson, Al, Minnesota
McDyess, Antonio, San Antonio
Nene, Denver
Oden, Greg, Portland
Okafor, Emeka, New Orleans
Okur, Mehmet, Utah
Stoudemire, Amar'e, Phoenix

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

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

Poll

How many Blazers are All Stars this year?

Full Court Press

Ben. — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:11:24 -0000

In case you missed them, the Blazers won both their games this weekend. On Friday, they topped the Spurs. Here is a Game Recap and a Media Row Report. On Sunday, they destroyed the terrible Timberwolves. Here is a Game Recap and a Media Row Report.

The big news of the weekend, of course, was Nate McMillan's new 3 guard starting lineup: Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, Steve Blake, LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden. Congratulations to Brian T. Smith of The Columbian for scooping everyone with the news of the lineup change on Friday night.

Congratulations also to Blazers Broadcaster Mike Barrett (and his father Duane Barrett) for being inducted into West Albany's Sports Hall of Fame. (link via DwightJaynes)

Here's the single best basketball story you'll read all week: Pete Thamel of the New York Times goes to Israel to check in on high schooler Jeremy Tyler's progress.

As you read that piece I imagine you'll start thanking your lucky stars for Greg Oden.

Click through for this week's trip around the internet...

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

Brian T. Smith on the lineup...

Miller stated that "there was a good flow," with a strong mix between half-court and fast-break basketball.

Meanwhile, Blake said he simply enjoyed the ability to sprint up the court and play side by side with Miller and Roy.

"It's new for me to not be bringing the ball up and just to run the floor," Blake said. "It was fun. I enjoy playing with Andre in that capacity. And it's nice to have a lot of guys that can handle (the ball) and make reads."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the start of Friday's game that the Blazers would be "smarter" by having Blake and Miller on the court at the same time.

Brian T. Smith on Rudy's uncertain role in the new lineup...

"Right now, I don't know my situation in the team," said Fernandez, who dealt with back spasms during training camp and missed four preseason games. "Blake play in the 2 (guard) position. For sure (that) is one more player in that position. Right now, I'm focusing in my work and taking (care of) my back. And when I'm on the court, play hard to help my teammates."

Fernandez, a native of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, added that he is losing money by playing in the NBA, rather than starring in his home country.

"For me, it's wait my turn ... and play hard," Fernandez said. "It doesn't matter if it's five minutes, 10 minutes or 35."

John Hollinger (insider) on last night's game...

Suggestion from a friend at last night's Blazers-Wolves game: that I keep track of so-called "flaming bag" passes, when a guard delivers the ball to a player who isn't open with two seconds or less on the shot clock. My spy swears one Blazer in particular did this at least four times last night. We'll take it up with the league office.

On a more serious note, the Blazers' shift to a three-guard lineup seems to be paying dividends based on our admittedly limited two-game sample. Portland shredded San Antonio and Minnesota over the weekend, and more importantly, the Blazers played the kind of defense they'll need to in order to challenge the West's elite.

The Blazers now rank 10th in the NBA in defensive efficiency, and while that's based on five home games in their first seven contests, it also came against one of the league's most difficult slates if you buy the early-season results.

Dwight Jaynes on the lineup...

I believe this is some sort of transitional lineup - a way to ease into putting Blake on the bench. Well, OK, but if that's the case, the team would be better off going to it right away, to get the bugs out of it.
A lot of people will dismiss this post as the rantings of a grouchy old cynic. But the deal is, the whole idea of this season is to IMPROVE. Get better - not win 54 games again. Portland should be thinking about what it needs to do to beat the Lakers, the Mavericks and the Nuggets.

And really, this new lineup is not going to accomplish that.

Dwight Jaynes on Roy's touches...

What Roy needs to recognize is that if he has the ball in his hands LESS OFTEN he might end up scoring more. That 1-4 set Portland has relied on so much late in games isn't working against good teams that are well prepared. Just as we said all along it wouldn't work forever. At some point, the league adjusts - and watching what Houston did to Roy and the Blazers in the playoff series last season taught everyone a lesson.

What Portland needs to do is get the ball in Miller's hands and let him create for EVERYONE, not just Brandon Roy. Run Roy off picks and get him moving without the ball. Put him in some different spots on the floor - make it harder to lock in those double teams.

Kevin Pelton on last night's game...

For the second straight game, Greg Oden was effective on offense for the Blazers, scoring 11 points in 22 minutes and showing off hooks and floaters in the post. While beating Jefferson one-on-one is not exactly as impressive as how Oden was able to hold his own against Tim Duncan in Friday night's win over San Antonio, it was encouraging nonetheless to see Oden continue to make use of his opportunities in the post. The ability to score down low is obviously there, as Oden demonstrated during the preseason, but something held him back early in the regular campaign. Now, he's playing smart, controlled basketball--he did not have a turnover--and gives the Portland offense a different dimension. Also worth noting: Oden, who had one game of four fouls and five with five coming into Sunday night, picked up just one personal in 22 minutes of action. He can't show off those budding post skills if he's on the bench, so staying out of foul trouble is a must for Oden.

Mike Barrett on last night's game...

Make no mistake, this style of play is extremely contagious. This team that's always looked built to run, was flying up and down the court, racking up highlight after highlight. Even after the occasional turnover in the open court (something that's bound to happen when you play this way), they would go right back and run again. If you know me, you know I've never really cared about the turnover total when it's balanced by other positive numbers. It's risk-reward, and I love the fact that they were willing to roll the dice.

This is why Andre Miller chose Portland, and why McMillan decided to go to this new starting lineup. It won't work this way every night, obviously, but there's no going back now. Well, hopefully we continue to see this, even when other teams make an effort to take it away. And, they will. Everyone scouts the heck out of everyone, so adjustments will be made to try and find weaknesses in this new system.

Joe Freeman with Andre Miller's play-calling duties...

For the first time in his coaching career, McMillan allowed his point guard to call most of the plays as the Blazers defeated the Spurs 96-84 at the Rose Garden on Friday. After McMillan yelled out the first set of the game, Miller essentially took over from there.

"I was a point guard who called my own plays ... so I'm OK with that," McMillan said, referring to his days as a player with the Seattle SuperSonics. "If you know the reads and you have a feel, I don't have a problem with that. There will be times when I will call some sets, but I thought 'Dre did a nice job ... observing what the defense was doing, figuring out who's on who and getting (guys) involved."

Jason Quick with the Blazers pushing the tempo...

The Blazers can, and will, get better at running.

How?

"Defense," Miller said. "Defense can create easy baskets on offense. A lot of people think you can just fast break after a basket, but defensive teams are up there in fast breaks by forcing turnovers."

Ever since coach Nate McMillan arrived in Portland in 2005, he said he wanted the Blazers to run. But Portland has always been among the most deliberate half-court teams in the NBA. McMillan said they didn't run because they didn't get defensive stops. Or that he didn't trust his young point guards to take care of the ball. Or that the players were better suited for halfcourt sets.

Henry Abbott on last night's game...

This season the Blazers have been a bit underwhelming. Brandon Roy is part of the reason -- for whatever reason, he has not been his regular self. Last night the whole team's energy level seemed higher when he was out of the game. That's concerning. There has been a lot of discussion in Portland about Andre Miller not mixing well with Roy, and that could be a factor. But a simpler explanation is that Miller is a guy who has the ball a lot, and Miller has spent most of the season missing shots. One of Miller's great gifts is to get into the paint. But I just watched video of every shot he has taken this season, and a huge percentage of them have been misses. He has also been a very bad spot-up shooter in the young season too. That does three things to Roy -- takes the ball out of his hands, makes his team's offense inefficient, and emboldens defenders to help off Miller onto Roy. Last night, however, when Miller finally hit some shots, the Blazers' offense rolled, even if Roy couldn't hit more than one field goal before taking an early seat in the blowout.

Coup from Rip City Project on last night's game...

Since this wasn't a complete basketball game and it was such a team offensive effort, I'm not going to single anyone out. Everyone gets to go to Roundtable Pizza tonight and have their coach say something nice about them.

Torrid Joe of Loaded Orygun on last night's game...

With Miller in there, the options seem to explode: he can distribute, drive or sometimes pop. But when he distributes to Blake there is a different tree of options for where it goes from there, as opposed to when Miller feeds Roy as the beginning of the play. And god love 'em, but just having Miller on the floor seems to prevent the intermittent sinkhole a Travis/Webster pass becomes, at least to start halves. It almost forces the ball all the way inside, because there's no intermediate step between guard and big man at the forward position to start taking ill-advised long range jumpers.

Runyon of Trail Post writes...

One last stat-head stat: Oden has a PER of 18.5. His opponents average a PER of 6.6. That net of nearly +12 is total and complete domination. Anyone who still wants Joel Przybilla as the starter should see a therapist.

Cory on Bust A Bucket lists his top 10 Power Forwards...

7. LaMarcus Aldridge - Aldridge is a budding star in the league, and he has some God-given abilities that nobody else in the league does. The ultra-high release on his shot makes him difficult to defend in the post, and not many big men in the league are as good with the mid-range jumper. The criticism of Aldridge thus far has been that he is soft. It may be true to an extent, but I don't think he is any more "soft" than other finesse players in the league. He just plays a finesse game, not a power game. He could stand to improve as a rebounder, and let's all hope he doesn't keep drifting more and more to the outside, like Rasheed Wallace started doing throughout his career.

Power Rankings

Marc Stein: Blazers are 10th (down from 9th)
John Schuhmann: Blazers are 9th (up from 12th)

Drop anything I missed in the comments. And be sure to frequent the FanShots.

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

Media Row Report: Blazers 116 Timberwolves 93

Ben. — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:35:29 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Portland Trail Blazers guard Andre Miller, left, shoots as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Oleksiy Pecherov, from Ukraine, pretends to play defense during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. Miller led the Blazers in scoring with 21 points as they beat the Timberwolves 116-93. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

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Interesting basketball game this evening in the Rose Garden. It's hard to really, um, isolate the keys to tonight's Portland Trail Blazers victory.

As I look through the box score I am noticing a few things that stand out.

The Blazers scored more points in the first half, scored more points in the second half, shot better from the field, shot better from the free throw line, shot better from the 3 point line, got more offensive rebounds, got more defensive rebounds, had more assists, committed less fouls, had more steals, committed less turnovers, had more points in the paint, had more second chance points, and had more fast break points.

Other than that, you know, it was a fairly even match up.

Big time kudos to the Minnesota Timberwolves for blocking more shots (4 to 3) and committing less defensive 3 seconds (0 to 1), which really kept things close.

The final score was 116 to 93 which implies that this was a respectable contest, which is incorrect. Playing at 3/4 speed the Blazers ran out to a 28 point lead against a Timberwolves squad that is most likely the least talented professional basketball team I have seen in the last three years. Aside from Jonny Flynn, who is already an elite point guard from a "pure joy to watch play basketball" perspective, this team was just bad. Really, really, really bad. They conducted themselves with class and dignity through the pre-game, game and post-game, much to their credit, but there is simply not enough talent on that roster to be competitive on most nights in the NBA.

If I charted this game it would read: possession 1, bad; possession 2, bad; possession 3, bad, etc.

Let's focus on a few Blazers bright spots...

Dante Cunningham

In his seventh NBA game, Blazers rookie power forward saw his first action, stepping confidently into the game (surrounded by players he probably recognized from Las Vegas Summer League) and hit 3 of 4 field goals in 6 fourth quarter minutes.

His first NBA bucket was especially memorable, as he banked in a 16 footer. I asked Dante after the game how it felt to get his first run and whether the bank was intentional...

How'd it feel..

It was good. It felt real good. Get out there, get the jitters out. Go out there and have fun and play.

Did you call bank?

Yeah, yeah, I yelled it before I let it go. (smiles)

You gave it some extra juice...

It definitely was, it was a little nervousness, you hear all the time about rookies airballing their first shot, I really didn't want that to happen. So you know I kinda just let it go you know... It went in so you can't be too mad at it.

Was it a different feel out there from the preseason?

I mean, honestly it really wasn't. I took it as whenever you get your shot, take advantage of it. That's all I could do.

Be sure to read Nate McMillan's thoughts on Cunningham's performance below as well.

LaMarcus Aldridge

It was nice to see a little more assertiveness and a little less fadeaway from Aldridge, who quickly recognized that he over-matched his competition and did some nice work in the first half. Given the relatively-weak caliber of opponents on this upcoming 5 game road trip, hopefully Aldridge uses tonight's game as a turning point and a building block.

3 Guard Lineup

As expected, Nate McMillan went with it again tonight and was very forceful in his praise for its results. The Miller/Roy/Blake trio is hear to stay, at least in the short term. Be sure to read Nate's comments on the subject below.

Brandon Roy

One thing to keep an eye on, though, will be Roy's mood as this three guard lineup continues to play out. Tonight, in a blowout, he didn't seem to have any problem scoring just two points and sitting and watching the bench guys mop up an easy win for most of the second half. But one obvious effect of more ball movement is less touches (and shorter touches) for Roy. Overall, in theory, this is a good thing. The Blazers assist to buckets ratio (35 assists on 41 field goals) was out-of-this-world good. But tonight wasn't a true test. The true test comes when the Blazers lose a close game and Roy's touches/shots are less than he'd prefer. At that point, the feasibility of the new starting lineup will really get put to the test.

As long as Roy buys into the greater good -- and reaps the benefit of some of Miller's outstanding passes and the easy buckets that go with increasing the tempo -- there shouldn't be a problem. Easier said than done, I would assume.

Nate's Post-Game Comments

Best thing about a game like this...

Well, the thing tonight, we wanted to be about business. Go out and try to work and improve and get better. Build off the last game against San Antonio, just play the game the right way. Matter of fact, we had 35 assists tonight. That's always a good sign when the team is moving the ball because it will get everybody involved. I thought defensively we did a nice job of setting that tone right from the start, creating some easy opportunities and then the white group went in there and did a better job. They had an opportunity to practice a little bit and they looked like they had a little better rhythm. Be about business and just play the game and try to improve and I thought they did that.

Fast break points...

Yeah, that came off of getting stops and running out. I liked the tempo, the movement that we're getting from this group. You've got to get stops and then you can run out and get some easy baskets.

Prepared for a road trip...

We'll see. We've only been out there one time. Now I think we'll play 4 games in 5 days. Some back-to-backs. We split the last road trip. This is another challenge for us. To be better on the road this year. It starts in Memphis and we take that game and, again, try to improve, get that game, and look to do better on the road this year.

Andre Miller and his influence on fast break points...

A lot. No question. A lot of that is he will look up, see the floor and I think he's one of the... he's creating some of that off the defense, coming up with steals and rebounding the ball. Then our guys are learning to bust out and he'll throw it ahead. He sees all of that. He sees the floor. He's delivering the ball.

Second unit...

I thought it was better with them tonight. When I went to that lineup in the San Antonio game, they practiced a little bit but we went over some plays yesterday for that group and what we were looking for. Better ball movement, more spacing, better spacing, with them, defensively I thought they did a nice job. Bayless getting up on the ball. Martell and Rudy, Travis and Joel, being aggressive on the wings, busting out and running again. I think they'll get better as they play together more.

Brandon with only 2 points...

I told him I like the fact that he did other things. He had 6 rebounds and he had 7 assists. These are things that those guys will have to learn to do. Where Greg and Miller and some of these other guys have some things going but don't take yourself out of the game by assuming that you can't do some other things. Later in that game we may need you to score. He kinda allowed the game to come to him and he did some other things. Which is what you need to do. Rebounds, he had the opportunity to distribute the ball. And he did that.

Do you expect to see more balanced scoring...

I think what you do is play the game, take advantage of what the defense gives you and tonight our post-ups were good. They were double-teaming, we were getting something off of that. They take away the post and the perimeter will open up. So I thought our guys did that and tonight they shared the ball, which was great. 35 assists. Everybody gets involved that way.

Aldridge's first half..

I thought he did a better job of getting deep. He's still learning to play against a double team. And they're learning to play off of Andre. He does a great job of moving and getting to the open spot when teams double team. Started to pick up on Andre, where he was at, where he will be and did a better job of attacking the basket, I'd like to see that more.

Line up

I like it. It's moving. You've got two guards out there that are moving and working. That combination is working together. I like the flow that we're playing with.

Dante's first mintues

He's worked hard. I told the guys, let's try to get everybody in this game. I thought that both groups went out there and played hard. Didn't play the scoreboard and stayed solid on the defense. Offensively, kept attacking. Which gave us an opportunity to sit some guys and allow some guys to play. Dante stepped right in and did well. Knocked down a couple of shots. Defensively, I thought he was in the right position. He's a young guy that can play.

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

Media Row Report: Blazers 96 Spurs 84

Ben. — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:36:57 -0000

More photos » by Don Ryan - AP

Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy, right, exacts revenge on behalf of PETA on San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, from Argentina, during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Portland, Ore., Friday, Nov. 6, 2009. Roy scored 24 points as they beat the Spurs 96-84. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

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Before the game started, the gameplan was labeled a "gimmick" and derided as "desperate," the idea met with scoffs and outright laughter. Miller and Blake in the starting lineup together? Really?

In the countless starting lineup polls that we've run here over the past few months, not once did Miller/Roy/Blake/Aldridge/Oden appear as an option. The idea of going small -- that small -- to start off a game was so unconventional and so risky given the Spurs' height at the 2 and 3 positions (both Michael Finley and Richard Jefferson are 6'7") that it even caught Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, master tactician, off guard.

Popovich scrambled to inform his guards of the switch shortly before the game and then watched the Blazers run out to a 8-0 advantage in just over 2 minutes of game time, despite spending a 20 second timeout less than a minute into the game to get his defense right.

The quick start was keyed by Steve Blake's energy -- he was playing like he knew his job was on the line -- and Brandon Roy, who had 7 first quarter points and finished with 24 on an efficient 9-15 shooting. The team's ball movement was the best of the season (8 Blazers scored in the first quarter) and yet the ball control was also solid (just 2 turnovers in the first 12 minutes). It was by far the Blazers' best overall first quarter this season: the team scored a season-high 29 points and maintained a season-high 15 point lead after the first quarter.

From there, an ankle sprain that knocked Tony Parker from the game made life pretty easy. The Blazers executed just enough down the stretch to maintain a firm grasp on a game they led the entire way. The final margin of victory -- 96 to 84 -- was both comfortable and comforting: a return to normalcy for a Blazers team used to winning handily on its home floor.

Asked about his downsized starting lineup after the game, Nate McMillan said that he had already eyed the upcoming schedule and plans to stick with that Miller/Roy/Blake over the next couple of weeks. The big question mark with this grouping is on the defensive end: a large, potent backcourt trio could present serious mismatch problems for the undersized Miller/Roy/Blake.

Yet surveying the team's upcoming opponents it's easy to see why McMillan might feel fully confident with this lineup for at least the next five games, if not longer.

Minnesota Timberwolves: one of the weakest teams in the league features rookie Jonny Flynn (nice potential, not there yet), Corey Brewer (barely an NBA player), Ryan Gomes (nothing to write home about), and Ramon Sessions (not physically imposing).
Memphis Grizzlies: Undersized starting guards Mike Conley and OJ Mayo plus the Charmin soft Rudy Gay.
Minnesota again.
New Orleans Hornets: a little bigger with Chris Paul (All-World), Mo Peterson (Meh) and Julian Wright (Still waiting for this guy to develop...) but they're off to a terribly slow start and have been reduced to a one-man show.
Charlotte Bobcats: Not exactly an overpowering offensive juggernaut (held to 59 points... for an entire game... by Boston) with Raymond Felton (hit or miss), Raja Bell (aging defensive specialist) and Gerald Wallace (nice player, not going to carry a team).

After that, it's Atlanta, Detroit, Golden State and the Timberwolves again. At this point, Atlanta (with good sized wings in Marvin Williams and Joe Johnson plus explosive scoring from Jamal Crawford off the bench) seems like the worst matchup for Miller/Roy/Blake. Detroit has been juggling lineups (starting rookie Jonas Jerebko at the 3!), the Warriors are basically the Oakland Raiders of the NBA and the Timberwolves were covered above.

So with the exception of that game in Atlanta on November 16, which could give Nate McMillan some pause, there's a chance McMillan talks himself into this starting lineup for the next 9 games.

Who would have thought we'd be here?

It's not clear whether anyone did, outside of McMillan.

Asked after the game what he thought about the new starting lineup, Brandon Roy said, "I'm fine with it. Whatever we go with, my thing is to continue to be aggressive. Defensively we can't have a drop off."

That's the spirit! Roll with it. If you're going to go with something new, might as well embrace it with open arms and an open mind. It's different, it's weird, it probably won't win a playoff series but it's something. This team -- lackluster through five games -- needed something, and tonight it got it.

Just a few notes late on a Friday night...

Rudy Fernandez

The biggest loser with this new lineup juggling? Rudy. He played just 11 minutes (less than 2 minutes during the fourth quarter) and despite attacking the bucket a little bit more than he has in the past, and throwing an absolutely spectacular backdoor pass to LaMarcus Aldridge for a dunk, he was a shell of the Rudy Fernandez that electrified the Rose Garden last year.

If and when he returns to form, it will be game-changing. Because right now, he's giving McMillan as close to nothing as possible.

Jerryd Bayless

Rex got some run! Interesting that his first playing time of the season would come against San Antonio and George Hill, a team and player he dominated during Las Vegas Summer League. In perhaps his best performance of last summer, Jerryd hung 19 and 5 (and, yes, 7 turnovers) on Hill and locked him down pretty well on the other end, holding Hill to 6 and 3.

Tonight Bayless did what we've seen him do before -- attack the basket, draw fouls -- and didn't do what we haven't seen him do before -- truly run an offense, make his teammates better. It's clear that a Bayless/Fernandez backcourt is not the best pairing to maximize the strengths of both players.

Nevertheless, you can't help but be happy to see Bayless in the rotation rather than rotting on the bench. Bayless even has the potential for steady first-half minutes as long as McMillan continues to start both Miller and Blake. How quickly fortunes change.

Greg Oden

You guys thought I was lying through the preseason, didn't you? Greg Oden making shots? Playing calmly? Dribbling the ball without travelling? It all sounded preposterous, didn't it? Well tonight a television audience finally saw the offensive flashes that Oden treated the Rose Garden crowd to during the preseason. He drew oohs and ahhs during the game and big-time post-game kudos from Nate McMillan (not to mention a number of writers) for how he stood toe to toe with Tim Duncan, getting the best of Duncan physically on a number of occasions down the stretch.

Both Duncan and Oden finished with 14 and 8. McMillan will surely take those numbers 100 times out of 100 this season. And I didn't even mention the four blocks, 3 of which came during the fourth quarter.

Nate's Post-Game Comments

Do you feel like a genius?

No, I'm happy to see the movement. That felt more like a flow, more like a rhythm on both ends of the floor. What we wanted to see I thought we saw. I thought Dre, we got more from him. He got everybody involved. A lot of communication, just looking in sync, even though that team hasn't played a lot together. I thought we got the ball movement, we were attacking. When we stopped attacking, and started back isolating and going one on one, they were able to get back into the game.

When you started to sputter in the 4th quarter did you intentionally put the ball back in Brandon's hands?

Yeah because we were in the penalty. So we were going to drive the ball and we went with the power set to drop the ball low, ended up getting a 3. I think Blake hit a big 3 off of that. For the most part, having that lead with Tim being in the game, basically we were going to spread the floor. I went with Travis, Blake...

But before that, when you had five straight possessions where you didn't score. Andre was bringing it up and then Brandon was bringing it up, did you make that call?

I did. I did.

They adjusted after the early energy. Late in the game you pounded it into Oden. What are you seeing from him offensively?

What I was hoping for was with Miller in that game, he would be able to get Greg the ball. A lot of the calls tonight, Dre called those sets. He did a nice job of mixing it up. He got Blake involved. He got Greg involved, deep post position. He called the right sets. Greg had deep post position, they were playing him straight up, a couple of times he got himself in trouble trying to beat him with speed as opposed to just taking his time and going over the top. I thought he was, for the most part, patient and did a nice job establishing himself down there.

Does that give you another option?

That is an option. We want to take advantage of that option. We don't want to be stagnant and just pound, pound, pound. I thought we had movement, with pin downs and pick and rolls that led to the post ups as opposed to coming down and just pound it. Sometimes the best way to get into the post is starting with the pick and roll to get some movement to get it there, then that defense is not set. Normally when we try to pound it, they trap us, they're set defensively and they take it out of the posts' hands.

What does this win mean?

It's a good win for us. We're trying to find our rhythm. I felt like we haven't played well. Even though we have two wins. Tonight I felt like we had a good rhythm. The offensive execution, the movement was better. We got the tempo we wanted. Defensively we did all the things we wanted to do. It was a game we needed. At home, against a very good team. This game, games like this, you want to take and build off of it. It should give us some confidence that if we do those things again, against any team, play together, move the ball, play defense, you can win ballgames. It's something to build off.

Will you go back to the three guard lineup again to start?

I looked at the schedule. The schedule that we're playing here in the next week or two, we can stay with that. I'm going to look at that lineup. I'm going to stay with that for awhile and we'll see. I thought it was good. It was what I was hoping for. Some movement with those guards being in there. We were able to get the ball to the bigs when they were open. It was a good unit tonight.

What happened during the 4th quarter dry spell?

We stopped moving. We stopped reversing the ball and getting into our pick and rolls. We became stagnant, trying to play just an option. It was a lot of dribbling, holding the ball, and not that quick swing, run out into a pick and roll. That team is too good and most teams are to just go isolation, raise up. Pretty much the way we were beat the other night against Atlanta. You gotta have hot shooting to do that. We got a little stagnant, we were able to knock down some shots and get a little more movement and eventually put it away.

Greg's defense.

I thought he did a nice job. I thought he did a real nice job of being big and getting him off the block and for the most part we played him straight up. Andre was quarterbacking that defense and doing some things that we don't normally do. With his communication we double-teamed a couple of times and got out of those rotations and was able to cover the perimeter. We did some nice things. It started with Greg, just getting him off and being big.

Rudy.

He hasn't knocked down... his shooting is off right now. He has to keep shooting the ball, getting some movement, attacking the basket, getting something easy would be good for him.

Bayless.

Bayless I wanted to try to get him somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes and see how he went. They cut into that lead going into the fourth quarter and I wanted to get the first group back out there. We'll keep doing this. The guys, they go out there and make some things happen, we'll keep them on the floor.

Scoring balance.

Yeah, I was hoping to get that, more movement with that group. It's been one or two guys scoring. Brandon and LaMarcus, or Brandon or Travis. Tonight we had four guys in double figures, a guy with 9 and a guy with 8, we do have some balanced scoring, and more guys putting the ball in the basket.

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

Gameday Open Thread - Spurs (Post-Game Thread)

Ben. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:30:14 -0000

As you wait for Dave's recap and my Media Row Report, vent and/or celebrate here!

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

Gameday Open Thread - Spurs (2nd half)

Ben. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:29:22 -0000

Second half talk goes here!

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

Gameday Open Thread - Spurs (First Half)

Ben. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:27:59 -0000

First half talk goes here!

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

Gameday Open Thread - Spurs (Pre-Game)

Ben. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:24:45 -0000

Will Nate McMillan change his starting lineup? Will the Blazers be able to slow down Tony Parker? Will Manu Ginobili kill any bats? Will DeJuan Blair grab 84 rebounds in a single game? Pressing questions that you should discuss here.

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

Stein: Rival Executives Suspicious That Miller Signing Will Lead to Trade

Ben. — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:43:25 -0000

Stein: Rival Executives Suspicious That Miller Signing Will Lead to Trade

In his Daily Dime column, ESPN's Marc Stein starts up the Andre Miller trade talk...
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• 0: Andre Miller has zero starts in his first five games as a Blazer and is averaging just 25 minutes, only adding to the suspicion held by several rival executives that the Blazers signed Miller purely to make sure they acquired a tradable asset with their salary-cap space after failed free-agent bids for Hedo Turkoglu and Paul Millsap.

• 39: Miller becomes eligible to be traded in 39 days, on Dec. 15, along with the rest of the league's free agents who signed this past offseason.
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I've heard other writers suggest this possibility off-the-record but this is the first time, I believe, that it's in print. As you might imagine, there's been no indication from any team source that this is a serious possibility at this point.

The obvious question: Is there any demand for Andre Miller? His contract is short but he received little interest as a free agent this summer and nothing that's happened between then and now suggests his perceived value has risen. Is he even tradeable?

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