A big letdown

[Shooter]

I'm glad we won, but my God, that game was a letdown. Oden had a nice defensive game, but he still looks like a work in progress. Roy is still struggling mightily with his shooting. Aldridge looked like he barely cared. And we could barely hang on and beat a Rockets team without McGrady or Yao. Yikes. We better get our act together fast.

Sigh.

 

[chris_in_pdx]

A win is a win, anyone who is let down by a W has some pretty f'ed up expectations in my mind. Yes, the Blazers have things to work on to become "perfect", but that's what they pay Nate and his staff the big bucks to worry about.

 

[maxiep]

I thought there were a lot of great things going on. Travis looked good and so did Webster. When we went uptempo, we dominated them. When they were allowed to ugly up the game, we got frustrated. Aldridge got taken out of the game with foul trouble. We're still trying to integrate the new pieces. We let up at the end of the game and the game got tighter. That being said, we were never threatened.

I'm not worried, nor do I think it was a letdown.

 

[Shooter]

A win is a win, anyone who is let down by a W has some pretty f'ed up expectations in my mind. Yes, the Blazers have things to work on to become "perfect", but that's what they pay Nate and his staff the big bucks to worry about.

A win is a win, but some wins are "stinkers." This game was a case in point. 25 turnovers against a team without its 2 star players??? Abysmal shooting by Brandon Roy?? A total lack of offense from Oden??

I wasn't expecting a perfect game tonight, but this team should have looked a lot sharper than it did.

 

[maxiep]

A win is a win, but some wins are "stinkers." This game was a case in point. 25 turnovers against a team without its 2 star players??? Abysmal shooting by Brandon Roy?? A total lack of offense from Oden??

I wasn't expecting a perfect game tonight, but this team should have looked a lot sharper than it did.

Houston is just a team that frustrates us. The talent level doesn't matter. For example, we have been markedly worse than the L*kers (before last year) on a talent level, but we matched up well with them and had success against them even when we were getting badly beaten by much worse teams. Dallas is another one that really fucks with us.

 

[RoyToy]

Team was up by 19 at the end of 3. A late flurry by Houston is all it was.

 

[Mamba]

It was the 1st game of the season, dude...

 

[The Sebastian Express]

To be fair a Nate McMillan coached team hasn't looked sharp on opening night for the past three seasons.

 

[BlazerBeav]

We better get things together in a hurry - the playoffs start in 6 months!

It was a comfortable win, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Pritchslap Madness]

The game was actually about what I expected. Well, I did think Oden would do more on the offensive side. They are still working it all out.

 

[maxiep]

The game was actually about what I expected. Well, I did think Oden would do more on the offensive side. They are still working it all out.

I don't think the problem with Oden's offense is with Oden. I don't think they're putting him in a position to succeed.

 

[OddEnormous]

We better get things together in a hurry - the playoffs start in 6 months!

It was a comfortable win, nothing more, nothing less.

Yep.

Hardly broke a sweat. Only Roy played extended minutes. Portland's gonna to be a handful for most of the teams in this league.

 

[alex42083]

Yeah, I don't think the outcome was ever in question once we went up 20. There's still a feeling-out process when the first and second units are mixed together, especially Andre and Brandon, but there isn't any cause for concern at all right now after the first game.

 

[BengalDuck]

It's funny to me how often people mention how they want those "Defense and Rebounding" guys... but how frustrating they can be to fans who also want a 20/10 monster.

Oden has a long way to come offensively (he can start by not rushing things...), but he dominated the paint and was excellent tonight in two of the most important facets for winning.

 

[Buzz Killington]

Compared to last year's opening night, that was fucking amazing!

 

[Kaydow]

I'll be honest - I was a little bummed about how ugly we looked despite the win. However, we didn't win many ugly games last year. How many games did we win last year with Roy going 5-18 with and with 25 t/o's? Last year we usually found a way to lose a game like we played tonight.

At least we won. Dallas came out tonight and layed a stinker at home . . . and they LOST by 11 to the Wizards.

Things that stood out to me.

Oden. I can't decide if he played good or bad. 12 boards and 5 blocks is fantastic. but 7 t/o's? Come on Greg - protect the ball. Nobody should criticize the Blazers for not going to him. Every time he touched it - we were going the other way. He looked like he wanted it so badly and I love that. Sometimes last year I thought he'd rather be somewhere else. Jury is still out on his offense though. I don't think we can count on double figures from him just yet.

Webster. That back door flush was beautiful, he it his 3's, and his defense was solid. And he grabbed a few boards in traffic too. Maybe the best all around game I've seen him play.

 

[Ed O]

I don't think the problem with Oden's offense is with Oden. I don't think they're putting him in a position to succeed.

I think it's a combination. He didn't make the most of the times he touched the ball, but it's REMARKABLE how few times he touched it on the offensive end overall.

The team won and I know Oden will be better in the future, even if they don't give him the ball as much as many of us would like.

Ed O.

 

[Nikolokolus]

A win is a win, but some wins are "stinkers." This game was a case in point. 25 turnovers against a team without its 2 star players??? Abysmal shooting by Brandon Roy?? A total lack of offense from Oden??

I wasn't expecting a perfect game tonight, but this team should have looked a lot sharper than it did.

Why should they look a lot sharper? This is such typical first game for a team with so many new moving parts.

The first month of the season most teams look uneven and imperfect -- even the really good ones; if they are still this disjointed and out of sync come mid December then I can see being concerned and worried. All in all, we beat a team that has given us matchup nightmares for years because of the way they ugly up the game and we got the W. Take it and run as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Minstrel]

I don't think the problem with Oden's offense is with Oden. I don't think they're putting him in a position to succeed.

I agree with this. While I think Oden can and will develop a reliable back-to-the-basket game, I think the team would be better served playing to his strengths: getting him the ball in motion, where he can make better use of his athleticism. Pick and rolls, passes off of cuts, alley-oops. Things of that nature. Get him some confidence and rhythm putting the ball in the hoop with strong, decisive moves. Right now, the team doesn't need the offense to center around Oden and he isn't ready for that. He should just be one more weapon...not a "dump it down into Oden and play off him" scheme but "put the ball in Miller's or Roy's hands, let them create and let them set up some opportunities for Oden."

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I never criticize Nate, but when I watched the pace of the Rockets I couldn't help but wonder how the Blazers would look if coached by Adelman.

 

[Minstrel]

I never criticize Nate, but when I watched the pace of the Rockets I couldn't help but wonder how the Blazers would look if coached by Adelman.

Adelman is a coach I've really wished Portland could get. I think Phil Jackson is the best coach in terms of playing to his players' strengths, regardless of which players he has...but I think Adelman is also very good at that.

I'm not particularly unhappy with McMillan, but I don't think he's the best coach in the league or anything, so like any other position on the team, it's interesting to think about possible upgrades.

 

[maxiep]

I think it's a combination. He didn't make the most of the times he touched the ball, but it's REMARKABLE how few times he touched it on the offensive end overall.

The team won and I know Oden will be better in the future, even if they don't give him the ball as much as many of us would like.

Ed O.

I didn't mean to imply that Oden is David Robinson in waiting and we just ignored him. Clearly his offensive game is primitive. I just think we're crazy for not delivering him the ball in the restricted circle and forcing the opposition to foul him. Brandon shot 11 FTs tonight. I'd like to see GO shoot that many FTs, and there's no reason he shouldn't.

 

[Ed O]

I didn't mean to imply that Oden is David Robinson in waiting and we just ignored him. Clearly his offensive game is primitive. I just think we're crazy for not delivering him the ball in the restricted circle and forcing the opposition to foul him. Brandon shot 11 FTs tonight. I'd like to see GO shoot that many FTs, and there's no reason he shouldn't.

Hey--I agree. I think that he had jitters that just didn't go away tonight, maybe. I expect he'll settle down soon and the team get more faith in him.

At least they BETTER!

Ed O.

 

[maxiep]

I never criticize Nate, but when I watched the pace of the Rockets I couldn't help but wonder how the Blazers would look if coached by Adelman.

I think Nate is a better developmental coach, but Adelman is the superior strategist. Hell, he made Duck and All Star. He understood Clyde, Terry and Buck were going to get most of the attention, so he made them pay with #00's elbow jumper.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Adelman is a coach I've really wished Portland could get. I think Phil Jackson is the best coach in terms of playing to his players' strengths, regardless of which players he has...but I think Adelman is also very good at that.

I'm not particularly unhappy with McMillan, but I don't think he's the best coach in the league or anything, so like any other position on the team, it's interesting to think about possible upgrades.

Amen to that. Portland fans didn't appreciate what they had in Adelman. I can't tell you how many times I heard people claim that Rick just "rolled out the ball, and let the players play."

You'd think fans that had been exposed to control freaks like Schuler and PJ (and Nate, to a lesser degree) would understand the value of a guy who doesn't over-coach!

 

[Cake]

I'm glad we won, but my God, that game was a letdown. Oden had a nice defensive game, but he still looks like a work in progress. Roy is still struggling mightily with his shooting. Aldridge looked like he barely cared. And we could barely hang on and beat a Rockets team without McGrady or Yao. Yikes. We better get our act together fast.

Sigh.

Shut the fuck up.

 

[Kaydow]

I didn't mean to imply that Oden is David Robinson in waiting and we just ignored him. Clearly his offensive game is primitive. I just think we're crazy for not delivering him the ball in the restricted circle and forcing the opposition to foul him. Brandon shot 11 FTs tonight. I'd like to see GO shoot that many FTs, and there's no reason he shouldn't.

You might be right, but it just wasn't going to happen tonight. When they did go to Greg, he turned the ball over often. Now why would you just keep feeding a guy that keeps giving it to the other team? He will have games where he shoots 10 FT's - I guarantee it. Tonight he just didn't have it. We're not talking about 2-3 to's here - Greg had 7! For a guy who had limited touches that's not good. Not to mention Houston did a pretty good job of not letting Greg get deep position when there was a passing lane. Just wasn't his night & I don't fault the team or the coach for looking in other directions for offense.

 

[tbfan]

The biggest letdown for me was when TNT showed the Blazers getting Andre Miller in the offseason and the whole TNT crew said it wasn't even worth mentioning during the pregame celt/cavs.

 

[BlazersBlood]

At one point we had 19+ turnovers and we were still almost up by 20. Fuck, I guess you guys want perfection every game.

Yes there's things to complain about, but we won! 1-0. It's gonna take time to smooth things out. We've got new players starting and new guys on the roster and we're missing a guy from last year. These things take time. We're lucky we could grind out a win and play so sloppy. This just proves that we're good enough to win even on a bad night.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Look, I didn't see the game, but to answer your question in principle:

I want this team to win a championship. Pretty badly. I imagine most in here feel the same way, with varying degrees of impatience.

Last year, there were warning signs from about 2 minutes into Game One that showed we'd be in trouble if certain things didn't change. they didn't, and we lost in the playoffs---even with our magical 54 wins.

One game is way too early, but we can't turn the ball over 26 times and think it's ok by any stretch of the imagination. I think Nate said as much after the game.

Yes, we're 1-0. Yes, if we have a few games with low turnovers, this'll probably be forgotten. But there are too many smart basketball people who post here to think that stuff like 26 turnovers or 22FTAs won't get noticed--win or loss.