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As I have mentioned in a few other posts the Blazers have a taken in interest in our forum. Last night this interest took the form of media credentials for Nate and myself. At first my immediate reaction to getting media credentials was akin to winning a golden ticket to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. I would have a up close and behind the scenes look at this vast and great Blazer basketball factory. After the initial excitement wore off a sort of panic set in. Press credentials also mean I have to write something so incredible that I not only entertain you guys but also make the Blazers want to give us an ongoing presence on press row.
Oh holy hell what have I gotten myself into...
In a 109 to 105 preseason win against the Sacramento Kings the Blazers gave us an exciting insight into what this upcoming season can offer.
While 4 out of the 5 starters remain the same the Blazers are a drastically different team this year. Last year we saw this pattern of playing our starters to near exhaustion and then cringing as we watched some truly not ready for the NBA players be substituted in. It was painful for the fans to watch and I'm sure it was painful for the starters.
This preseason it has been enjoyably different. With the addition of Robin Lopez the Blazers start a traditional NBA unit, PG, SG, SF, PF and CENTER! No more playing a PF out of position as our center. And more importantly when it's time to substitute the Blazers do it cleanly. What I mean by cleanly is that there were so many times last year that one substitution meant up to 3 players on the court having to change positions. This season a pf subs for a pf, a center for a center, a sf for a sf. It's makes it easier for players to stay in their traditional positions but more importantly it makes it clearer to evaluate which bench players work better with the starting unit and which starters work with the backups.
Looking at last night's box score one of the things that jumps out is the 19 turnovers. It's not a giant concern at this time. Most of the turnovers were a result of players lack of familiarity with each other instead of being careless or trying to do too much with the ball.
Batum: First game back after his concussion and had an all around great performance with a team leading 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a very efficient 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting including 3 for 6 from the 3pt line. More importantly when the game was getting close in the 4th quarter he stepped up and hit a clutch 3pt shot with 2 minutes left to give us a 9pt lead.
Lopez: Like Batum he also had an efficient 14 points and 7 rebounds but his contributions go far beyond that. Lopez has an almost Joel Pryzbilla like redass snarl around the basket that instantly transforms into a Patty MIlls like cheerleading for teammates on and off the court. When he's not in the game he's pulling players aside, coaching and talking with them. It's unusual but fun to watch and if he keeps it up he'll quickly become a fan favorite.
Lillard: While leading all players with 28 points some people will focus on his 8 of 19 shooting and only 3 assists . To those people I can only say watch the 3rd quarter of last night's game. Lillard suddenly, effortlessly and amazingly took over the game. He wasn't just the best player on the floor he showed superstar potential.
TRob: See Nate's excellent write up.
Matthews: He's having a puzzling preseason. Not sure if it's injuries, conditioning or what but he's looking a step slow and has no lift.
I'm going to wrap this up for now. Hopefully I'll have time later on to add a little more.
Thanks for reading and Go Blazers!
Oh holy hell what have I gotten myself into...
In a 109 to 105 preseason win against the Sacramento Kings the Blazers gave us an exciting insight into what this upcoming season can offer.
While 4 out of the 5 starters remain the same the Blazers are a drastically different team this year. Last year we saw this pattern of playing our starters to near exhaustion and then cringing as we watched some truly not ready for the NBA players be substituted in. It was painful for the fans to watch and I'm sure it was painful for the starters.
This preseason it has been enjoyably different. With the addition of Robin Lopez the Blazers start a traditional NBA unit, PG, SG, SF, PF and CENTER! No more playing a PF out of position as our center. And more importantly when it's time to substitute the Blazers do it cleanly. What I mean by cleanly is that there were so many times last year that one substitution meant up to 3 players on the court having to change positions. This season a pf subs for a pf, a center for a center, a sf for a sf. It's makes it easier for players to stay in their traditional positions but more importantly it makes it clearer to evaluate which bench players work better with the starting unit and which starters work with the backups.
Looking at last night's box score one of the things that jumps out is the 19 turnovers. It's not a giant concern at this time. Most of the turnovers were a result of players lack of familiarity with each other instead of being careless or trying to do too much with the ball.
Batum: First game back after his concussion and had an all around great performance with a team leading 11 rebounds, 5 assists and a very efficient 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting including 3 for 6 from the 3pt line. More importantly when the game was getting close in the 4th quarter he stepped up and hit a clutch 3pt shot with 2 minutes left to give us a 9pt lead.
Lopez: Like Batum he also had an efficient 14 points and 7 rebounds but his contributions go far beyond that. Lopez has an almost Joel Pryzbilla like redass snarl around the basket that instantly transforms into a Patty MIlls like cheerleading for teammates on and off the court. When he's not in the game he's pulling players aside, coaching and talking with them. It's unusual but fun to watch and if he keeps it up he'll quickly become a fan favorite.
Lillard: While leading all players with 28 points some people will focus on his 8 of 19 shooting and only 3 assists . To those people I can only say watch the 3rd quarter of last night's game. Lillard suddenly, effortlessly and amazingly took over the game. He wasn't just the best player on the floor he showed superstar potential.
TRob: See Nate's excellent write up.
Matthews: He's having a puzzling preseason. Not sure if it's injuries, conditioning or what but he's looking a step slow and has no lift.
I'm going to wrap this up for now. Hopefully I'll have time later on to add a little more.
Thanks for reading and Go Blazers!
