There are loads of procrastinators known for their unrealized potential (at least in their lifetimes).  Apparently, Samuel Coleridge, buddy of William Wordsworth, was highly susceptible to procrastination, leaving fragments of work in his wake, never fully completing anything.  Similarly, Leondardo Da Vinci procrastinated so much that, according to some sources, contractors had to threaten to cut off his hand for him to finally finish a project.  Da Vinci also left piles of notebooks and other works that were never published, at least until after his death.  Both Coleridge and Da Vinci were pretty genius, and probably benefited from their ability to disconnect from productivity and focus on creativity.  But, both arguably could have created a better balance between their procrastination and productivity that would have made for better, and in the case of Coleridge less opium, filled lives.

When I apply the idea of procrastination (from the Latin pro (forward) crastinus (of tomorrow)) to the NBA, I start thinking about young teams (teams, “of tomorrow") and the art of comebacks and potential. I think New Orleans has failed to mature from a young, back to the wall kind of team, to that balance between procrastination and productivity, adrenaline and stability, tomorrow and now. I mean, you can only thrive as an underdog for so long.

(Unless, of course, the Hornets’ issues can all be attributed to a pompadour, some bird tattoos, and a Joe Dumars brain-glitch.)

So what kind of procrastinators are the Blazers?

I’m defining procrastination loosely-I don’t actually think the Blazers efforts have been counterproductive or needless, which is often associated with definitions of procrastination. I also don’t mean to minimize the complexity of a playoff series, or the impact of giving Rudy more minutes so he can spread the floor for Brandon and LA, or Steve Blake getting into the key and getting rebounds, Pryz dishing, or LA finally deciding that Yao was not a mountain too high to climb. (BTW, did anyone else enjoy the possession last night where LA squared up against Yao, decided against driving or taking the jump shot, passed the ball out, realized he’d been passive once again, got the ball back and went straight at Yao like Batum goes at Pau? That play, and the Oden/Wafer/Backboard incident made the game for me).  I am mostly just interested in how fast a young team should mature and how they learn to survive before, as Steve Blake put it, “it’s now or never.”

Last night I think the Blazers showed what they have shown all season, in whatever number of comebacks, down whatever number of points.  They have thrived on the pressure.  Back to the wall, they fought back, without making anyone spit blood or elbowing anyone in the head. Back to the wall, with the flu, with a sore elbow, with a coach fined 25k for standing toe to toe with the opposition, they fought back. And back to the wall, they didn’t lose by 58.   

Tomorrow (I hope, hope) the Blazers take it to the Rockets.  I hope Nate’s forehead stays at minimum crinkle level. I hope they push the ball and spread the floor, and make Battier fall down, unfouled/unprovoked, more times than he did in Game 5.  I hope the Blazers make sure the Rockets can’t settle into their Texas-style easy chairs and control the remote.  And tomorrow (or next year) I hope the Blazers will show everybody (even Kenny Smith) that they have grown up enough, that they understand the art of procrastination, and they are not solely procrastinators and the team “of tomorrow.”  But that they are ready to be a team of now.

Obviously, tonight’s game was a tough loss.  Probably the worst one of the season.  Watching Nate and Brandon in the post-game press conference, you felt your heart break a little.  It was one of the first times I have seen Nate lose his tough outer shell and look disappointed.  I was disappointed: Going into the playoffs, especially with all the crazy energy from the last few games of the season, I think it was easy to start thinking bigger, start thinking second round, or even conference finals. Tonight I think reminded me that the Blazers, despite an ever growing level of maturity and fight, still have a lot of learning to do.  On that note, I have two points:

First:

I was disappointed when we were seeded with Houston. We struggled with them all season, as everyone has talked about, and their strengths were many of our weaknesses.  But now, after four games of this series, I think it was for the best. Yup, the Blazers have to deal with Artest chest-thumping, and Battier’s hands all over everything, and a giant Yao hooking his arms around Oden or Pryzbilla and drawing frustrating (questionable) fouls.  Yup, you have to deal with Adelman chatting about the “physical play” of the Blazers to the media.  And you have to deal with a weird Von Wafer vendetta, and a whole team, that when you shut one person down, another steps up. But, in terms of any team the Blazers could have played, the Rockets will probably teach the Blazers about what it will take.  Battier will teach Rudy to get up on defense further late in the game, Artest will teach Brandon to take better care of the ball, Yao will teach Oden to move his feet, Scola will teach LA to use his body (and not his forearm) to get to the basket. This is what the Blazers got instead of these other series: New Orleans isn’t getting better playing Denver (just more crabby), Utah isn’t getting better playing the Lakers, San Antonio is just darn old.  The Blazers will get better from playing the Rockets.  And each Blazer, at one point or another throughout the year, has shown an amazing capacity to learn from their mistakes.  I think that’s an important thing to remember.

Second:

Tonight, I don’t think it was Travis’ shot that lost the game. That’s Steve Blake’s read, and Travis was open.  And this, in many ways, was Travis’ game to step up.  And maybe Rudy’s foxy self should be playing more minutes based on what he’s done the last three games, but at least from the basketball I’ve watched, successful playoff teams aren’t usually reinventing the wheel from the regular season.  Teams make adjustments, but they’re running similar plays (for, in the case of the Blazers, Brandon, LA, Travis, and sometimes Rudy). And, if you’re looking at individual performances, you could just as easily complain about Brandon’s decision to buy into Battier funneling him into Chuck Hayes and getting a charge.  Or you could complain about LA not taking a shot that he’s knocked down this whole season.  But it was turnovers and offensive rebounds that got the Blazers in the 4th quarter, and like most things in basketball, even NBA basketball, that has a lot to do with a team.  My favorite thing about each of these four games has been watching the Blazers learn and adjust each game. Maybe I am just attached, but I feel like this team really reflects on and improves upon their experiences (and seem to really support each other).  I guess I just thought it was important to acknowledge not only the weaknesses of the team (the PG issue, the small forward log jam, the “softness”, the “youngness”), but also the surprising amount of strength the team as a whole has shown in this series.  The Blazers are some smart and tough cookies (despite some things being a little rough and tumble the last couple games).  And they will be a very, very scary team in the near future.

I’m new to this whole posting thing, but I figured since I have been reading your stuff for the past five months, I probably should pay my dues.

Also, Sophia is right about the Blazer Dancers.