Overall it was a decent game during stretches, but there were periods during the game that where we looked lost and confused. Hopefully, the team is learning how to deal with changing defenses as the season goes on, because other teams will take much more advantage of that than Miami was able to. Wade got his 4th 30 point night and lucky for us, nobody else was stroking it.

Oden looked very mediocre tonight. I expected to see  much more. Other than a few blocks, he seemed a little out of position defensively and a step slow. I think there is too much thinking going on up there. He just needs to play basketball. I'd have to give a C for this outing. Note to Greg - pass out of the double team right away. He doesn't seem to appreciate the skill of the other teams defense. You aren't in Ohio anymore....this is the NBA.

The last 4 minutes were painful. What's the deal with trying to milk the clock and not lose. I'd like to know what Nate's game plan was at that time because 3 possessions in a row were: take the ball up slowly, dribble, wait for the shot clock to lapse to 6 seconds, take a contested desperation shot as the clock winds down......ahhhhhhh.

Can we now stop saying that Rudy can't create his own shot.....PLEASE! What's a Spaniard gotta do to get some shot creating love?

Did someone make a mistake on the boxscore? Nearly 19 minutes for Sergio! He looked pretty decent although he wasn't going up against any kind of "Championship Defense"

Roy and Rudy won this game tonight.

Cheers

Hello, Long time reader but infrequent poster as usually by the time I think of something to add or point out, one of you fine readers/bloggers beat me to it. What I haven't seen is much commentary on Ike. 

After the initial reports of his signing, the talk was that he would play a couple of games in the summer league. Now, we learn that he will not play at all due to a "tweaked ankle." Which isn't supposed to be serious but enough to warrant some rest.

What I noticed during the press conference yesterday was the Ike looked a bit overweight. You can see the excess in his face and stomach a bit. Granted, he might be able to burn this off quickly, but it leaves one to wonder about his offseason conditioning program. Could this be a factor in not playing summer league in addition to the ankle?

I'll be curious as to his game shape once training camp begins.

Thoughts on this?

Cheers

Roy was quoted as saying he has "a hundred things going through his head" after last night's road loss to the Mavs where Roy was still suffering through his playing slump.

Quick surmises that part of the point guard problem is that the guards are not sure if they should look to score, pass, etc. causing players to be hesitant.

I know I'm not the only one to notice many open shots by guards not being taken but passing off for more difficult shots. This usually happens early in the shot clock and perhaps the guards are looking for a better shot opportunity but rarely do we get a better look in what's left of that possession.

Last night epitomized our shooting woes and our lack of certainty. I can't count the open jumpers not taken in exchange for the horrible shots (many were so far off, I couldn't believe it. We could have built a 3 story hotel with all the bricks).

Now these is the same team who dominated some teams at home earlier. Is this just the other teams adjusting or has something happened?

We can't continue to give excuses like, "Roy's being guarded harder, double teamed, etc" Everybody's shot and confidence has fallen (exception of Aldridge last night). We had a poor shooting night. We are young. Blah, blah, blah.

We are a professional NBA team who at many time earlier in the year played much better and with a great amount of confidence. Usually, teams do go through the ups and downs of play but we are beyond that. I see a team playing less "together" than I saw two months ago.

I can't believe the players all ran out of "Jordan juice" a few weeks ago and are waiting for the next shipment in (where's Warner bros when you need them). I have to believe that part of this is game planning, substitution, and coaching. One of the jobs of the coaches (if not the main job) is to prepare the team to play for the night. Whether that be film study, warmups, shoot-arounds, lineup changes, etc. During the last few weeks I have not seen this team seem ready. We look confused, non-confident, and unsure where and when to shoot/screen etc.

It's not as if players lost all their basketball savvy and skills  in just a few weeks so how much is it mental on the players part, or how much of this slump is coaching/game-planning?

I'm of the opinion that coaching/gameplanning is having an effect and I'm never one to criticize coaches but we can't continually round up the same 'ol excuses night after night. Some heavy reflection is needed for the team to snap out of this.

Peace Out!

This has nothing to do with the Blazers but I think most fans would appreciate the game calling by the Mexican broadcasters. Granted, I'm as good as uderstanding Spanish as I am Klingon but it doesn't matter. On nearly every basket, block, dunk, or steal the broadcasters are so enthusiastic it's almost like hearing "GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLL" every 20 seconds. Hearig them call Lebron, "Senior James of the Cavaliers of Cleveland is priceless. Maybe we could learn something from their announcers as they sure seem to enjoy calling the game more than any american broadcaster I've heard (Imagine Mike Rice hopped on some meth and that would be close to the energy)

Peace P.S. the game is on the "soccer channel"...go figure