- Joined
- Oct 5, 2008
- Messages
- 127,017
- Likes
- 147,626
- Points
- 115
By Jason Quick | jquick@oregonian.com
DALLAS -- The Trail Blazers lost an important and painful game here Friday night, but they just might have gained something more important, something more lasting.
Amid a torturous game that saw the Blazers fall behind by 30, go up by four, then trail by two and go back up by seven, only to see it all unravel into a 103-98 loss to the Mavericks, there was Thomas Robinson.
He had 11 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and played active and harrassing defense on Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki. It was so noticeable, so inspiring, that his teammates couldn’t help but dream what this roster could do if he did that more often.
“That takes this team to a whole another level,’’ Wesely Matthews said.
Matthews called Robinson’s 20-minute performance “impactful.” LaMarcus Aldridge said he was the reason the Blazers got back in the game. And coach Terry Stotts said he felt the team played off the energy Robinson brought to the game.
If you’ve noticed, that has been happening more and more of late. Little bursts here. A big moment there. Some promise and hope seemingly always waiting around the corner. But the gaps between his performances are getting closer together. Each impact becoming more emphatic.
And that’s why this loss, so bitter when taken only for its final result, can end up being so important to the rest of this season. The positive reinforcement he received from his coach and teammates after the game is important not because he put up numbers, but how he did it. They were “garbage” points, done inside with some muscle and dirty work. They were energy rebounds. And he was a mostly disciplined defender, drawing a charge and staying grounded amid Nowitzki’s tantilizing pump fakes.
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...inful_loss_but_thomas_robin.html#incart_river
DALLAS -- The Trail Blazers lost an important and painful game here Friday night, but they just might have gained something more important, something more lasting.
Amid a torturous game that saw the Blazers fall behind by 30, go up by four, then trail by two and go back up by seven, only to see it all unravel into a 103-98 loss to the Mavericks, there was Thomas Robinson.
He had 11 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and played active and harrassing defense on Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki. It was so noticeable, so inspiring, that his teammates couldn’t help but dream what this roster could do if he did that more often.
“That takes this team to a whole another level,’’ Wesely Matthews said.
Matthews called Robinson’s 20-minute performance “impactful.” LaMarcus Aldridge said he was the reason the Blazers got back in the game. And coach Terry Stotts said he felt the team played off the energy Robinson brought to the game.
If you’ve noticed, that has been happening more and more of late. Little bursts here. A big moment there. Some promise and hope seemingly always waiting around the corner. But the gaps between his performances are getting closer together. Each impact becoming more emphatic.
And that’s why this loss, so bitter when taken only for its final result, can end up being so important to the rest of this season. The positive reinforcement he received from his coach and teammates after the game is important not because he put up numbers, but how he did it. They were “garbage” points, done inside with some muscle and dirty work. They were energy rebounds. And he was a mostly disciplined defender, drawing a charge and staying grounded amid Nowitzki’s tantilizing pump fakes.
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...inful_loss_but_thomas_robin.html#incart_river
moral victory 
