Are the Blazers "back"?

[Boob-No-More]

I'm happy with the way they've been playing but let's be honest they aren't exactly playing dynamic teams. The Bulls and Grizzlies are nice wins but they are both defensive minded teams with limited offensive firepower.

The Grizzlies and Bulls are two of the best defensive teams in the league, but have two of the best records in the league since January 1st. Both teams started the year with losing records, but until we beat them the Grizzlies were 30-12 since the first if the year, third only to the Spurs and Clippers, and the Bulls were 28-13, tied with the Thunder, and trailing the Rockets, for 5th best record since January 1st. So, we beat 2 of the top 5 teams in the league over the last 3 months. Those were two very impressive wins.

BNM

 

[TripTango]

Absolutely not. Well played, sir. I just wanted to make sure everyone on earth knew I got the pop culture reference.

It's funny -- I thought it was a Morphine reference. Turns out it's actually Dylan Thomas? TIL

 

[julius]

One thing I noticed on the post-game show last night was how Antonio was ripping on fans for getting upset about the losses. If you listened to his tone during the games, it was obvious he was upset with the teams play and losses. But if you listened to what he was saying during the post game show, he acted like he was never upset or down. The smugness of his voice sometimes gets old.

Fans were upset at how the team was playing, and if they had not gotten their shit back together, what they were saying would be true. They WERE playing like a team that didn't deserve to make the playoffs. They WERE playing shitty defense, and inept offense. If they continued to play like that (and it wasn't just a 1 or 2 game stretch), they WOULD HAVE been swept in the playoffs.

Denying that doesn't change the fact.

 

[illmatic99]

LA's impact has surprisingly (to me) been huge for our offense. I knew we'd get his 20pts back, but I didn't understand how much others' games would open up with his presence.

But, what's really encouraging is our D has gotten better too. It's baffling that just 6 days ago, we looked like the worst defensive team in the league. WTF happened? It's as if they finally realized the sense of urgency

 

[illmatic99]

One thing I noticed on the post-game show last night was how Antonio was ripping on fans for getting upset about the losses. If you listened to his tone during the games, it was obvious he was upset with the teams play and losses. But if you listened to what he was saying during the post game show, he acted like he was never upset or down. The smugness of his voice sometimes gets old.

Fans were upset at how the team was playing, and if they had not gotten their shit back together, what they were saying would be true. They WERE playing like a team that didn't deserve to make the playoffs. They WERE playing shitty defense, and inept offense. If they continued to play like that (and it wasn't just a 1 or 2 game stretch), they WOULD HAVE been swept in the playoffs.

Denying that doesn't change the fact.

How he still has his job is baffling to me. It's not like he provides any insight or anything because of his experience in the league.

 

[BBert]

I'm pleased to see Aldridge is back, appears to be 100%, and the team is playing really well. Chicago and Memphis are good (not great) teams.

Speaking of LaMarcus' back...did you see the fall he took last night at the end of the game?

Anybody have a status report on his back?

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Speaking of LaMarcus' back...did you see the fall he took last night at the end of the game?

Anybody have a status report on his back?

There was an article where LA said he's okay. It flared up the contusion a bit but he said he was okay.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

WTF was up with those refs anyway? When LMA took that fall he was certainly fouled, it was pretty blatant compared to some of the calls they made.

It's baffling, the non-call when Mo got hit on the elbow and lost the dribble happened right in front of the ref could be seen in real time on a TV. Yet, the ref standing 10 feet away directly in line with Conley reaching around and whacking Mo's elbow just goes blank. Some of these guys must be bad at their jobs.

 

[BlazerBeav]

WTF was up with those refs anyway? When LMA took that fall he was certainly fouled, it was pretty blatant compared to some of the calls they made.

It's baffling, the non-call when Mo got hit on the elbow and lost the dribble happened right in front of the ref could be seen in real time on a TV. Yet, the ref standing 10 feet away directly in line with Conley reaching around and whacking Mo's elbow just goes blank. Some of these guys must be bad at their jobs.

They absolutely swallowed their whistles the last 5 minutes - some of the fouls that went uncalled during that stretch were worse than the ones that had been called earlier.

 

[Pinwheel1]

The Blazers losses have been frustrating. They have pised me off. But when you reflect on them with a little logic, they aren't as bad.

Home and Away. That has always been a huge factor. I remember some very good teams of the past that won 55 games every year and lost half their games on the road. I remember a Laker team that won the championship and got blown out of almost every road game in the playoffs.

The fact that the Blazers were playing two 5 game road trips in the span of 3 weeks is a huge factor. Especially at the end of a season. Fans (myself included) don't always put things in perspective. If they finish strong and end up winning 8 of their last 10
games are they back? Or was it all to be expected over 82 game season?

Having said all that, the Orlando game still pisses me off.

 

[BBert]

WTF was up with those refs anyway? When LMA took that fall he was certainly fouled, it was pretty blatant compared to some of the calls they made.

It's baffling, the non-call when Mo got hit on the elbow and lost the dribble happened right in front of the ref could be seen in real time on a TV. Yet, the ref standing 10 feet away directly in line with Conley reaching around and whacking Mo's elbow just goes blank. Some of these guys must be in the pocket of mob bookies.

I took the liberty of a minor edit. Watching the last few minutes of 'game calling', it seemed kind of like the spread must have been in jeopardy.

 

[Charcoal Filtered]

How he still has his job is baffling to me. It's not like he provides any insight or anything because of his experience in the league.

I think it is just personal preference. The Mike's rub me the wrong way and I turn the TV on mute to listen to the radio broadcast. Tone is there to keep it light and works well with Wheels IMO. Every time I have interacted with him, it is hard to not loosen up a bit.

 

[RR7]

I took the liberty of a minor edit. Watching the last few minutes of 'game calling', it seemed kind of like the spread must have been in jeopardy.

Spread was well covered, and teams were already over the over. We were favored by 2, 2.5. They weren't going to get it that close. Over under was around 189, 190. That was covered with a good 3.5 minutes left, roughly. No real reason to get Memphis "back into it". Nothing to read into. We just got complacent with the game.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Spread was well covered, and teams were already over the over. We were favored by 2, 2.5. They weren't going to get it that close. Over under was around 189, 190. That was covered with a good 3.5 minutes left, roughly. No real reason to get Memphis "back into it". Nothing to read into. We just got complacent with the game.

We did, and it's a good lesson to learn; they were practicing their playoff game calling: nothing in the last 4 minutes. Physicality went up, and Memphis was more attuned to that style than Portland. We need to get ready for that sort of stuff.

 

[magnifier661]

These two physical games are so needed for preparing for the playoffs. This is the way it will be i the playoffs, so the blazers better get used to it.

 

[HomerLovesKoolAid]

These two physical games are so needed for preparing for the playoffs. This is the way it will be i the playoffs, so the blazers better get used to it.

You know, I kinda have a good feeling about that. Last night, after Mo got ripped off and T'd up, he played with a vengeance. I can see the same thing happening in the playoffs. I don't think we'll lose composure when we get bad calls. Often, it takes something like that to jump start Lillard and you know what can happen when he gets irritated.

 

[chris_in_pdx]

You know, I kinda have a good feeling about that. Last night, after Mo got ripped of and T'd up, he played with a vengeance. I can see the same thing happening in the playoffs. I don't think we'll lose composure when we get bad calls. Often, it takes something like that to jump start Lillard and you know what can happen when he gets irritated.

In years past, I would be the first to tell you that Blazers teams were mentally fragile, that a stiff wind would be enough to throw them off of their game, and force them into bonehead mistakes. This years team seems a bit different. Lillard, even though he's been struggling, hasn't lost that confident swagger, and somehow, someway, Aldridge turned into a quiet leader, which is amazing since he's been a follower his whole career.

I think that this team will handle the playoffs well, and won't lose because they self-destructed. They'll win or lose based on how they play and if the other team is better.

 

[KingSpeed]

Yer welcome. LaMarcus did finally pull a Willis Reed, didn't he?

Yep

 

[BBert]

Spread was well covered, and teams were already over the over. We were favored by 2, 2.5. They weren't going to get it that close. Over under was around 189, 190. That was covered with a good 3.5 minutes left, roughly. No real reason to get Memphis "back into it". Nothing to read into. We just got complacent with the game.

OK. Incompetence it is then.

 

[BBert]

In years past, I would be the first to tell you that Blazers teams were mentally fragile, that a stiff wind would be enough to throw them off of their game, and force them into bonehead mistakes. This years team seems a bit different. Lillard, even though he's been struggling, hasn't lost that confident swagger, and somehow, someway, Aldridge turned into a quiet leader, which is amazing since he's been a follower his whole career.

Did you notice in the team huddle after the game, LaMarcus told the team: "Three down, seven to go"? At least, I thought it was LaMarcus.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Did you notice in the team huddle after the game, LaMarcus told the team: "Three down, seven to go"? At least, I thought it was LaMarcus.

It was LA.

 

[Boob-No-More]

This is also the top story on ESPN's Daily Dime

"It's been a long few months since the Blazers were the darlings of the league, and they've opened themselves up to a host of questions, but all of a sudden they have a tenuous hold on health and something like momentum as the rest of the conference's middle class takes on water. If they can steel their resolve just seven games longer, the Trail Blazers may emerge, after months of looking like they peaked too early, as a team heading into the postseason at full strength."

BNM

 

[OneLifeToLive]

We will know more tonight.

This is a game they would drop in the past couple of months they have been struggling. And...I personally didn't like they way the finished that game last night. They let them back in the game when maybe they should have had the pedal to the metal with the intent to take them out.

But we know they don't do that.

 

[Pinwheel1]

We will know more tonight.

This is a game they would drop in the past couple of months they have been struggling. And...I personally didn't like they way the finished that game last night. They let them back in the game when maybe they should have had the pedal to the metal with the intent to take them out.

But we know they don't do that.

I would like to see them learn from this. They have a tendency as most teams, to think the game is over when they get up 20 in the 4th. They tend to relax on offense by taking a a poor shot, or by getting careless with the ball. Then they get conservative on D by not wanting to foul, and all of a sudden the other team hits a few threes, gets a steal for a layup and the lead is quickly single digits. It doesn't take much of a let down........

 

[Kaydow]

We will know more tonight.

This is a game they would drop in the past couple of months they have been struggling. And...I personally didn't like they way the finished that game last night. They let them back in the game when maybe they should have had the pedal to the metal with the intent to take them out.

But we know they don't do that.

It's been like that all year, even during the hot start. Back on Dec 1st we went down to LA & let a 20 point 4th qrt lead dwindle to 1, but held on. It wasn't pretty. The good news is there was no carry over to the next game. We played one of the most complete games of the year beating Indy 106-102 the next day. I'm not worried about the end of the Mem game.

I AM worried about what we saw the last time LA came to PDX. They pretty much gave us the 3 ball, especially in the corner. They had 32 fast break points, a lot of those on missed 3s in the corner where we didn't get back on defense. I'd like to think this team has turned the corner when it comes to defensive effort. The last 3 games have been some of the best defense we've seen all year. It's hard to imagine us losing tonight if we bring that same effort & determination. Even if we don't shoot well, we should win this game. This Laker team is easily discouraged if you don't let them run/score on you. They flat out play no defense when that happens. But when you allow them to run & shoot 3s in rhythm, they'll play SOME defense. We just need to come out tonight & break their will by not giving them anything easy offensively & they will fold. Lakers simply have no interest in "grinding" out wins.

 

[riverman]

I think a recent factor has been Damian playing much better defense and moving the ball instead of thinking he's in the 3pt contest every game. We beat the Grizz with him scoring 13 pts. Feeding Rolo just opens the game up outside and Mo Williams is a spark plug. 7 guys in double digits is going to win the lions share of games. Keeping the other team under 100pts is another factor. LaMarcus played some of the best defense he's played all season the last 3 games.

 

[BBert]

I agree Dame's defense has improved and he's working hard at it. I've been watching him on defense and he's been getting BEAT. UP. running through picks all game long. There's only so much a guy can do against the best players in the world when they get even a half step.

I also think Stott's has done a great job testing and developing his players, and working guys into the offense. TRob is noticeably better than at the beginning of the year. Even Mo has settled in and is giving us what I had hoped for when we signed him. Same with Wright.