Yes I get that Oden is hurt.  Yes I get that he covers up a lot of our weaknesses.  But prior to his injury we weren't playing well.  We continued that trend tonight.  Is this post a reaction to this game?  No, it is more a reaction to how we have been playing the whole season.  Here is my main question:  Why aren't the Blazers as fun to watch this year as they have been over the past three years?

Is it our expectations?  Is it the injuries?  Is it coaching?  Is it integrating new players?  Is it a combination of all of the above or something else?

Here is the secondary question if you are up for it:  If you were a GM/coach what would you do to right the ship (if you think it needs it)?  There are a ton of thoughtful posters out here and I would love to hear your thoughts (and not just bench Blake or start Miller unless of course you think that will fix the problem and then how would it fix the problem).

Might be kind of fun to put yourself in Nate or Kevin's shoes.  

Travis and Bayless

A bit blurry but good to have him back!  We were excited to see him warm up!

The tender side of Bayless

 

This is how his jump shot looked all night.....should have seen it coming.

JOEY!  Temper temper.......

Unfortunately with a low end camera, these were the best of the bunch.  The videos he shot were much better.  Tried to get some kick pix but they all were too blurry to publish.   

Not much of a crowd and saw about another 10-15 Blazer fans prior to the game.  Mike Barrett shook all of our hands and remembered us from last year's Atlanta game (or at least he lied about it to make us feel good, either way all good for us!).

Funny moment prior to the start of the game.  I assume you can do this at the Rose Garden as well, but they allow you to text messages to the scoreboard that are replayed.  Well one of the text message was as follows:

" The lady in purple directly under the scoreboard is hott".  The spelling is verbatim.

Any guesses?

Wrote up a little blurb in Dave's recap about game observations.

Better luck next year I hope!

 

Why even bother?  To get experience?  Too experience a 4-0 sweep or 4-1 shellacking?  Not for me.

What I want is a team that can compete in a playoff.  How can we compete?  By forcing Greg to be the player that he can be.  By getting him the ball.  By centering the offense around him.  By letting him foul out in games.  By letting him learn to play by PLAYING him.  I don't care if we lose now and don't make the playoffs as long as we are developing Greg.  What is happening now certainly isn't helping him nor our team.  It's time to get him 10 touches a half.  It's time to let him play in the first half.  Don't pull him until he has three fouls.  Play him in the second half until he picks up five.  Play him the last six minutes after that.  Give him 10 more touches down low in the second half.  Let him make turnovers.  Let him get his shot blocked.

 

Let him play.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3371544

 

Not too bad for the local. He even got 9 first place votes. It's hard to argue against either Hedo or Rudy although strong cases could be made for all of them.  I'm just glad we have LaMarcus as he is the best fit for our franchise.   Maybe he can get this award next year!   Or maybe Martell!  Or maybe we can sweep all of the awards.  Or maybe I can keep dreaming.

 

 Also Roy finishes third in Sportmanship award :

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3368014

Now before everyone freaks out, I don't mean play, I just mean suit up and take warm-ups.  This is our last home game of the year.  Can you imagine the buzz that would be created by doing this?  Would you not go crazy if you were at the game?  Wouldn't this give Oden a little pick me up to get ready for a long off season of rehab?  Think about the effect on his teammates however small it may be.  Can you imagine all of the smiles on us as fans just watching him warm-up.  Maybe get a little national publicity at the same time.  What fun!

Bill Simmons has a nice mailbag devoted to the Sonics potential move to OKC and the fans reaction to that move.  I can only imagine the heartache I would go through if that ever happened to my beloved Trailblazers.  I think this is well worth the read and makes me sad and mad at the same time.  I know the NBA is a business, but it is crud like this that makes you not want to be a fan.  Read it and be thankful that it isn't us.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080228&sportCat=nba

Due to a death in the family.  Read Mike Barrett's blog for more information.  Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with Brandon and hopefully the team can step up and get a victory tonight to help ease his pain.  Martell will start in his place.  Hopefully he will rejoin us in Indiana, but no mention of that.

http://mikebarrettsblog.blogspot.com/

Nice interview with Brandon, where he discusses the team, Zach, Movies and a little bit about politics.  LZ's Cafe, breakfast with Brandon Roy.  At a local Shari's in Tualatin.  Fun listen.  

Our future as we know is in great hands.  Does he ever do or say anything wrong?

Here is the link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/index

Let me preface my title by looking back a bit.  Remember late last year and early this year when Nate insisted on having Travis Outlaw on the floor late in the fourth quarter.  Remember how many mistakes Travis made and how many bad shots he took.  Remember how frustrated we as fans were with Nate for having Travis in the game?  Now look at Travis!  Other than Roy who else do you want shooting in the fourth quarter?  Now we have two great options at the end of games.

So thinking about that, and knowing that we have another youngster blossoming before our eyes, does the James Jones injury force create an opportunity for Martell Webster to add to our fourth quarter arsenal?  Should Nate force feed Martell into some late game shots irrespective of how it turns out for the team?

I think he should.  I think this accomplishes a few things, 1) Nate going to Martell would instill confidence in Martell, which we know to be a big component of his game (being confident). 2) He is a pretty good defensive player when he wants to be.  I thought he did a competent job against Carmelo in the last game. 3) Can you imagine if Martell hits a couple of game winners?  What would other teams do?  Let Roy go to the hole?  Double team him and leave Travis and Martell open?  Travis for a jumper or a drive?  Martell for the same?  Oden and Aldridge to clean up any misses?

I know this may be painful for the rest of the year, but let's be honest.  Jones isn't our future, Martell is.  Jones is a great complimentary player, but Martell could become a good to great player who can carry your team in stretches.  I want that person, and I am willing to sacrifice a win or two this year for that opportunity for the next 5 years.

So I say, Nate play Martell in the fourth!  Ride him at times.  Call a play or two for him late.  Forgive his mistakes, let him grow!  Imagine the possibilities....

My son and I attended the game today and I thought I would share some of my thoughts from Phillips Arena.

Arrived about an hour early but not early enough to see the Blazers work out.  Jack was the only one on the floor and he was getting quite a bit of play from the fans who fondly remember his Georgia Tech Days.  Kevin Pritchard was pounding away at his Blackberry (wouldn't you love to see some of those missives!).

Game under way and the starters looked like they had lead in their shoes.  Atlanta was very aggressive both on the defense and the offensive ends of the court thus the early lead.  We went to the zone defense late in the first and you could see it changing the course of the game.  Things still didn't look good for the good guys.

Second quarter was all about the reserves.  Travis hitting, Sergio driving and taking a page out of Roy's book, by being patient and taking what was given him, including shooting!  Jones was hitting, Channing looked better than he has in a few games and the zone defense confused Atlanta except for Tyronne Lue.   Balance restored at halftime with a Blazer lead.

Comparing the Atlanta crowd to ours really isn't a comparison.  I can't remember any extended cheers from the home crowd even when the Hawks were playing well.  All (and I mean All!) of the chants, cheers etc... were brought on by prodding from the Jumbtron operators.  Made me appreciate the Rose Garden even more.  Also the graphics in and around the arena were dismal compared to the Rose Garden.  Be very thankful of what we have, it is amazing!

Second half started just like the first.  The starters were half a step slow, Martell couldn't hit from the broad side of the barn and Lamarcus continued to be abused by Josh Smith.  I wonder if Lamarcus has hit the Rookie wall (I know he isn't a rookie, but he missed so many games last year and wasn't a factor in quite a few others).  Seeing Josh Smith in person is quite a treat.  He needs work on his shot, but he really got into Aldridge's head and blocked quite a few of his shots.  His hustle was great as well as evidenced by his 17 rebounds.

Martell found his stroke at the end of the third and we crept back into the game.

Fourth quarter and the white unit lead by Sergio (yes I said Sergio) took control of the game.  Roy was Mr. 4th quarter with some strong drives and the game was ours to take.  3:50 seconds to go and we are up 94-87 (I think) and the fans started to leave.  Yes they started to leave.  Even when we were up 100-96 they were still leaving.  This isn't a bad young team and they weren't playing that bad, yet they seemed to know their fate!  I didn't and was having Toronto flashbacks....Atlanta ties and we are in overtime.  

Travis takes over and we jump out quick.  The fans in front of me were amazed at Travis.  Super Trout to the rescue!  But then Josh Smith rebounds like a fiend, they pull ahead and it is back and forth.  When Travis got the ball, I was a bit surprised, but I knew he could do it (really I was thinking he would).  He did and we win!

Stayed after the game for a bit and my son was able to get Mike Barrett and Mike Rice's autograph.  Both were very gracious and commented on Sergio's strong game.  We thanked them and headed home with the sweet taste of victory guiding us through the nightmare of Atlanta traffic.  Another beautiful day!

So much of the game is mental and right now Brandon is a mess.  I have never seen him look so lost and tentative in a game.  We had decent efforts and aggressiveness from Aldridge (best game of the year on both ends), Outlaw and Rodriguez.  Roy was very deferential and when he drove (other than the one slam attempt) he was ineffective.  His body motion spoke volumes.  My question is how does Nate and the team get Brandon out of this funk, or is it something he will have to figure out on his own?  Do we run clear outs?  Spread the floor and let him drive?  Give him a game off?  Post him up and spread the floor (that's my opinion, we never post him and he is so strong he would overpower most of the opposition and if the doubles come he could easily kick it out).  We have had a few games this year where if Roy scored 15 we win.  Somehow this needs to be a priority.  Get Brandon involved where he can be successful!

This is the first game I haven't seen in total.  I caught the last two minutes.  Looking at stats only for this game, yet watching all of the rest of the games, I wonder, is Brandon hurt?  While his rebounds and assist numbers look Kidd like, I really doubt that he had the same effect on the game that Jason does.  I know his basketball IQ is extremely solid, but I am really beginning to wonder if he is hurt.  I know that he is being double and triple teamed, but at the same time is he really making his teamates better?  I know he can, but does he have the springs and explosion to make this happen.  Is this a mental issue, a physical issue (i.e. injury) or is he just not as great as we hope (think) he is.  I think (and hope unfortunately) that he is not 100%.  I know he wants to do well, he means to do well, he wants his team to do well, but it isn't necessarily happening.  Or is it just a sophomore slump?  Or is it he doesn't have the proper teammates surrounding his talent.  Please discuss and speculate.  

Our confidence is obviously shot.  Our talent isn't where we thought it would be.  Our effort is lacking.  We are young.  We are being properly scouted.  Now that we have seen 14 games (5-9) what is our final win total.  My prediction is 26 wins.  That may be generous.  What is your revised prediction?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/the_bonus/11/27/paul.allen1203/

Don't know if this link will work, but it has some very interesting insight into Paul Allen and his immense wealth and love of the Blazers and to a lesser extent the Seahawks.  It's on SI's website so some more exposure for the Blazers!

Every team knows how to defend us and we aren't that adept at running this play.  Sergio runs away from the pick. Aldridge doesn't roll to the hoop (maybe by design, and he has a sweet stroke, but it sure is easier to defend).  Blake runs it, but can't finish at the basket so not effective.  Przybilla runs it effectively but between him and Aldridge they pick up 3 or 4 fouls a game that we don't need!  Even Brandon has trouble with it.  I think it's time for the coaches to go back to the drawing board.  I don't have the answer, but I do know that other teams sure do!  I cringe every time I see it as I know not a lot good comes from it.

After 10 games, here are my observations on the Blazers:

1. We don't run or trap.  Why is that?  We don't have any quick players and other than Joel we don't have any inside presence.  If I am a scout I trap Portland at least 25% of the time as we have NO CLUE how to break the trap nor do we have any individual who is capable of breaking it by themselves. We don't run because we don't rebound well and even if we did I don't see the speed nor court smarts to effectively run a fast break.  I help coach my son's team and we got steamrolled this morning by much the same problems as Portland had against Philly (it was a horrible flashback from less than 12 hours prior).  
2. We have no strength or bulk nor do we have good technique when it comes to defense or rebounding (caveat:  Except Joel).  Contrary to what Dave thinks about LaMarcus, I don't see him being even an adequate defensive player yet.  A good defensive player blocks shots, stays in front of his man, plays good help defense and most importantly blocks out and rebounds.  I have yet to see most of that from LaMarcus.  While I love the progress of his offensive game he still needs a lot of work on the defensive end.
3. Desire is lacking on the road.  Plain hustle can make up for a lot of sins.  Ask Philadelphia that.  Ask Washington that minus Arenas.  Did you see the forwards and centers for Washington attack the Portland picks?  Once that occurred we were lost in the wind.  We had no second options.  NONE!
4. We have a few basketball players (Aldridge, Joel and Roy) and a few athletes (Martell, Outlaw) but we don't have the combo athlete-player.  That being said, this is a good start to pair with a healthy Oden who can make up for a lot of our weaknesses.

I love where we are going, but we have a long way (and I mean a loooonnnnnngggggggg way) to go before we can be considered a force to make and do well in the playoffs.