SB Nation User Blog: SabonisBonus

My Blazers Art Project

SabonisBonus — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:13:18 -0000

My Blazers Art Project

This is my art project for my interactive digital art class using an insanely confusing program called Processing, where you code in functions to make stuff. I had grander dreams for this, but compromised and am ultimately satisfied with how it ended up. Let me know what you think (working on more digital Blazers art soon)! Directions below:

Move the burning square around the pinwheel... for no reason! Click to go into spin mode. Click and press a key to go into hyperspin mode.

One View of an Epic Game

SabonisBonus — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:15:33 -0000

When yesterday began, I was looking forward to hanging out with my firends that night, watching the game on some woefully antiquated boob tube, stuck in Eugene. Then, out of nowhere, I saw SergioFTW's offer for two 300 level tix at face value (how can you turn that down?!?!) in the sidebar and my adventure was set in motion. I had to hurt some friends' feelings (one isn't talking to me anymore...) but eventually decided on a lucky partner and we set off with little time to spare. I met up with Sergio in Salem and got the tickets (cool dude and very nice) and battled the 205 traffic to make it to the Gateway Max station. In the end, the timing worked out perfectly and we sat down in our seats (center court looking at the benches; kind of like TV perspective but up higher) right as the lights dimmed for introductions. This was the first time I'd been to a Blazer game in six years, the first time I'd seen ANY of this group in real life, and my first time drinking at a sporting event (legally). Needless to say, I was pumped. What follows are my observations of events from the game that viewers at home might not have seen.

At the time of tip-off, there were still A LOT of empty seats all over the arena, especially in the lower level. Those filled out as the game went on, but there were still tons of empty seats, including my own row which was barely a third full. Kind of disappointed it turned out that way, but the people who did come made up for the others' absence.
It got LOUD! I didn't really notice it in the arena to be honest, probably because I was screaming so much myself. But as soon as I got in the open air, the lack of noise made me appreciate what went on in there.
Joey Crawford has as big an ego as any player on the court and it's disgraceful. All game long, Joey strove to make calls that would garner attention and thus put him in the spotlight. When he had to make a routine call, he would whip his arms around and make a big scene. What gave you the impression this game was about you Mr. Referee?
Yao however, understands the game IS about the referee. At one point in the second quarter while Yao was on the end of the bench, the Blazers scored and the ball kicked over to the Rockets bench. Crawford came over to collect it, but Yao jumped up from his seat and picked it up to hand over. It was a classy move and probably bought him a few calls down the line. Smart guy, that Yao.
Sergio = Pee Wee? I don't know if this was a new video last night or if they show it frequently at the RG, but I found it hilarious. During a timeout, the jumbotron showed footage of the team's reaction to a photo of Pee Wee Herman as they were asked to Identify it. Rudy's reaction went like this: "What? Is, Is Sergio... Rodriguez?" Followed by him laughing and apologizing as the entire arena laughed. Bet Sergio felt GREAT during that timeout.
Sergio and Rudy talk a lot on the court. Once during a set of Houston free throws in the midst of the GregZilla lineup, they walked all around the half court talking nonstop. I wonder if they were trying to distract the shooter, as they continued talking right through his attempts.
Speaking of GregZilla, I want to see more of that line up as I don't think it got fully realized in last night's foul fest. It's really a great concept: Put 2 guys who love to shoot out there (Trout and Rudy), 1 guy who can get them the ball (Serge), and 2 Amazing offensive rebounders (Joel and Greg). Brilliant!
The way Greg and Lamarcus control the ball with one hand is unbelievable. It's easy to take for granted, but when they snag those post-level entry passes and offensive boards with just one free hand, they're putting on display their considerable talents. Not many people have hands like they do.
Aaron Brooks is going to be an all star. And I'm not saying this because he hit all those late 3's. On a late drive to the hole, Brooks lost his balance and tipped the ball out of bounds. It was a crucial possession and you could tell he knew it as he stayed on the floor a moment, lamenting. But when he popped up, he was confident and cool and looked completely in the game, just like he did for every other one of his playing minutes. Very impressed.
The defense on Brandon Roy WAS good. Battier is a master of subtleties and Artest is aggression personified. But Brandon Roy is a divine wind and he breezed through them with no more regard than a strong gust has for a copse of trees. He had to work really hard to get where he wanted but he always got there.
I don't know if it was mentioned on TV, but Deke's final moments were very powerful in the Rose Garden. There was some initial childish finger wagging taunts from fans, but after the realization set in that we were watching a legend's last moments on the battlefield, the crowd rose up in support. Also, not to sound callous, but did it not seem a very natural ending to have the young Oden "replacing" the old Master?
Outlaw's finish on the breakaway struck me in a few ways. On the one hand, it was very professional and mature in a Scottie Pippen finger roll sort of way. On the other, where's my super TROUT monster dunk dammit?!

I feel really blessed for having been able to experience last night's game. Many great plays and terrific moments: A 40 point game from Brandon, Chalupas, Good company (even met a few BEdgers outside the Max station but I forget their names :-( ), Serenading Roy with MVP during his foul shots, the ridiculously intense opening video were just a few. But most importantly: This was the first playoff win for a group which looks to win many many more. It felt like watching Tiger's first Major win and it was beautifully epic.

Serious Love From Hollinger

SabonisBonus — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:35:03 -0000

In his PER Diem for today, ESPN's John Hollinger breaks down how he thinks the playoffs will shake out. And boy did he have some nice things to say about Portland. In a move that almost certifies John has a BE membership, he states:

"I expect the Lakers to advance, thanks to their home-court advantage and the return of Bynum, but this is going to be a much, much tougher series than people think, and I think I might be the only person outside Portland who wouldn't be shocked if the Blazers ended up prevailing."

I know, I know. He's still picking the Lakers (in 7)... but he's not calling it a sure thing. Far from it. He gives the Blazers a 12% chance of winning rings which is a lot more than what most "experts" expect from them.

Hollinger may be a bit too stat oriented (read: blinded) in much of his work and he often is incorrect because of it. But this really is the most reasoned playoff analysis I've come across thus far and I see it playing out much the same way he does (with the Cavs downing LA). As we know, anything can happen in the playoffs and John understands this. Reading this piece, you get the feeling that Mr. Hollinger has that same niggling idea in his head that we BEdgers share: that even though "we aren't supposed to win," we're just gonna'.

Poll

How's Mr. Stat's Analysis?

Dead On Nailed It.

80 votes

This guy's a Shammockery. I'm writing to ESPN to demand his resignation

2 votes

Decent, but I could do better...

9 votes

I don't have time for polls

22 votes

113 votes | Poll has closed

Portland 22nd best city to live in... IN THE WORLD!

SabonisBonus — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:20:12 -0000

Portland 22nd best city to live in... IN THE WORLD!

...and they don't even mention the Blazers.

Outsider Perspective on Blazers

SabonisBonus — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:18:41 -0000

So I watched the Cavs/Blazers game at my parents house and invited them to share it with me. Neither are familiar with the current team in the slightest (neither could tell me who Brandon Roy was... I felt like walking out at that point) as they became disillusioned with the team and the NBA during the Jail Blazer era, but both are big fans of the game of basketball. They agreed to watch the game as long as we listened to music (Rolling Stones and Phoebe Snow) instead of the commentary and I happily obliged as I hate TNT anyway. I was interested in getting their input on the team (both teams, actually) from an educated and unbiased perspective. Here were some of the highlights:

My mom LOVES Brandon Roy. Even in this game where he was being defended rather well, she recognized that he's a master of penetration. She claims his pull up jumper looks better than Lebron's. She says the best thing about him is the way he controls the pace and calms down the game. My dad referred to him as a "very cool customer." High praise there.
Speaking of Lebron... my parents actually had heard of him but still didn't know a whole lot about him and had never seen him play. My dad thinks he has too many tatoos (and likes the Blazers relatively clean look: "very professional") but an intimidating presence. Neither approved of his ball handling as they said it looked sloppy and he travelled way too much. On the whole, they "called" traveling A LOT and on pretty much everyone. They thought he was limited because he couldn't go left with that double team we were running (the one where he shaded him on his right and kept the help to his left). They were impressed with the way he passed the ball, saying he understands who to give the ball to.
They liked Channing and approved of his shot selection (it was weird hearing my mom chirp "good shot" while my mind was saying "wait, don't!"). They said he has great shooting form. Imagine what they would have made of LaMarcus.
Neither could tell the difference between Steve and Sergio which I thought was hilarious... although to be fair when you can't hear the announcers, they do look rather similar from the pulled back camera view. They thought the guards played great D individually but were disgusted by our defence on screens. A fan of the college game, my dad didn't understand why there isn't much effort put into popping out in front of the ball handler on screens up top to inhibit a drive. I didn't have a good answer...
They had few kind words for the Trout. I tried to tell them that he works better off the dribble like that but they weren't impressed either way.
They said it didn't look like the Blazers had played the night before which says a lot about how they presented themselves, I think.
On our offense, my dad wasn't impressed. He thaught the guards did a poor job of involving others. My mom thought brandon should be playing point. My dad said that was stupid because he's not fast enough. Even though they seemed to like Channing taking his jumpers, they thought we "cut corners" in manufacturing good shots. I asked him what they should be doing instead and he suggested running cutters through the key.
They weren't overly impressed with Przy which shocked me. I thought they'd love him, but they said he was just what a standard center should be and wasn't anything special. Whatever.
They thought Greg got screwed by the refs which brings me to their biggest gripe of the night:
Officiating. All night long they were wondering where the fouls were. It looked like just another NBA game to me, were the announcers saying anything?

Overall they thought the game was entertaining and impressive, considering the shots weren't falling. When I asked them if they would watch any Blazers games without me they said probably not, but they might go to one at the RG. They said the team looks like they really get along and all appear really pleasant but "it's still the NBA." Thanks for ruining them 'Sheed.

bench play for contenders

SabonisBonus — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:28:01 -0000

A post by Kevin Arnovitz over at TrueHoop takes a look at the benches of playoff contenders and has some rather nice things to say about the Blazers:

Few teams have a second unit that has sculpted a more distinct personality than Portland's core bench players: The Spanish Armada of Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez, the unguardable freakish jump shot of Travis Outlaw, and -- when Greg Oden is healthy -- the militantly efficient Joel Przybilla. It isn't a stretch to suggest that Portland has as many as nine players on its roster that would start for most NBA teams.

This depth affords Nate McMillan not only the opportunity to rest his starters, but a great deal of flexibility. Both Outlaw and starter Nicolas Batum are effective small forwards, but in entirely different ways. The same is true at point guard, where starter Steve Blake's steadiness is complimented by the creativity of Sergio Rodriguez -- to say nothing of rookie Jerryd Bayless' skills as a combo guard. Both Przybilla and Oden are strong defensive presences, and if the Blazers need to spread the floor, Outlaw has the length to play the 4.
If the Blazers aren't still playing on Memorial Day, it won't be because there weren't enough tools in the shed.

Now I know there hasn't been great consistency coming off the bench as of late, what with injuries screwing up the rotation and perhaps a bit of fatigue factoring in, but Arnovitz is right on with his analysis of the team. There is some fantastic talent riding the pine, the trick is just harnessing it and making the players perform. This means inserting them into the right situations and at the right time (looking at you here Nate). One thing about the bench (with the exception of Joel who i feel can fill in anywhere) is that they are not great all-around players; they're specialized for various styles of play and need to be managed well to be successful.

One issue not raised in the post is how this bench (which has struggled with confidence issues for a while now) will respond mentally to the challenge of the playoffs. If it ends up that the Blazers have a "throw away" game here at the end of the season (not likely, I know) where they can't help themselves by winning, I'd love to see some bench players get the start and see what they can do with it.

Also, this article backs my assumption that the team should be aiming for a first round matchup against New Orleans. That's probably the best bet of getting through the uncomfortable first playoff series for these guys. Thoughts?

Tough Loss

SabonisBonus — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:41:25 -0000

Tough Loss

that is all

Did tonight's foul on Rudy remind anyone else of this play? Lots of similarities here... perhaps...

SabonisBonus — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 06:58:39 -0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJZ6e2nwysA

Did tonight's foul on Rudy remind anyone else of this play? Lots of similarities here... perhaps it's a play they practice for when they're down big at the end of the 3rd at the Rose Garden.

Greg Oden Q & A with fans- He answered me!

SabonisBonus — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:38:20 -0000

Greg Oden Q & A with fans- He answered me!

Entire transcript here:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=25052

Oden fielded questions from fans today on espn.com and he chose a comment of mine to answer. Whole thing's worth a read - some funny stuff in there. Here's what he said to me:

Alex (Eugene, OR): Your dunks are so ferocious they leave the entire basket swaying. Have you ever broken a rim/backboard?

SportsNation Greg Oden: I have not. That's why my dunks are so hard, I've been trying to. I try hard every time.

Oden Q & A Friday 11:45 ESPN

SabonisBonus — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:20:27 -0000

Oden Q & A Friday 11:45 ESPN

You can send him your questions now if you want and I guess he'll be answering them around noon tomorrow