Blazers vs NYC 3/14/13.......

[magnifier661]

One other thing about tonight. WHatever people think about Camby and how he left here, he is a great guy!!!! I mean it. He is my son's favorite player (for some random reason) and they had got to know each other while he was here. Always took the time to say whats up to my boy and talk to him whenever I brought him to work. When he got traded my 10 year old son cried when he found out.

Halftime in the back hallway that leads between the court and the media room, Marcus was heading back out to the court with Kenyon Martin. When he looked over and saw me, he headed straight over to me to say whats up. He asked about my son and chatted for a minute. It's guys like that, that remind me that these guys are just normal people. To bad they get a bad wrap on the whole.

There wasn't a single fan at the rise garden, including myself, that gave him a single boo. Same goes for Thomas too.

One thing I've noticed about Thomas though. He looks like he gained a bunch of weight/

 

[THE HCP]

He did look out of shape huh? He is another great guy. Looks like he'd kill you in a dark alley, but he is very nice.........for a black guy.

 

[THE HCP]

Now THIS is funny

 

[Natebishop3]

He did look out of shape huh? He is another great guy. Looks like he'd kill you in a dark alley, but he is very nice.........for a black guy.

Kurt Thomas has one of the all-time best scowls in NBA history.

 

[WillG]

Fantastic game from Lillard - He's looking even more poised if that's possible.
Props to Aldridge for a great game, especially with the migraines.

Batum was passive yet again - so disappointing (Where's the guy that used to hold up the fingers to count how many times he'd dunked on someone? - and can we have him back please?)

And finally - Fuck you Felton you Fat turd. Expect the same next time back in the Rose Garden.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Batum was passive yet again - so disappointing (Where's the guy that used to hold up the fingers to count how many times he'd dunked on someone? - and can we have him back please?)

I get what you're saying, but I also disagree. He was completely invisible for about three quarters...but think about when was he aggressive. He scored 8 of our first 17 points, to help the team get off to a not too horrible start, and then he was the catalyst for our run that answered the Knicks' 14-2 spurt. Nic had 5 points and 4 assists in 3 minutes during that 15-0 4th quarter run that basically put the game away.

It seemed to me that he picked his spots, and chose great ones. If we get aggressive Nic in the 1st and 4th quarters, I'm OK with that.

 

[WillG]

I get what you're saying, but I also disagree. He was completely invisible for about three quarters....

Credit where credit is due. He was more aggressive than he has been of late + he did have the nice and one drive.
My grievance with Batum is that he just seems totally unengaged in most games and only comes to play/gets aggressive when he feels like it. (Bolded part in your post).
One active quarter doesn't make up for disappearing in mutlitudes of games of late.

And I don't buy that his wrist is the reason. His shot doesn't look affected, everyone has niggling injuries and he wouldn't be stepping up to take some of the free technical free throws if his wrist was that bad.

Ultimately he's being paid at a tier where we cant afford for him to just show up when he feels like it. We need the aggressive Batum who's going to count out how many times he's dunked on the purple & piss.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

My grievance with Batum is that he just seems totally unengaged in most games and only comes to play/gets aggressive when he feels like it. (Bolded part in your post).
One active quarter doesn't make up for disappearing in mutlitudes of games of late.

I get that, and don't disagree. Last night's game doesn't make up for the past...month(?). What I am saying is that last night's game is not really the greatest example of the problem with Batum, because he did provide aggressiveness, and did so when we needed it. If we got performances like yesterday out of him on a regular basis instead of just sporadically, I don't think anyone would be complaining about his contract.

Batum had about 10 minutes of basically spectacular play last night. It would be ridiculous (IMO) to expect that kind of production out of him over a full game (that would equate to about 40 points and 15 assists in a game). Last night's Batum wasn't a disappointment to me at all--he was exactly what I want to see out of him every game, with maybe just a little more activity during the middle sections.

 

[WillG]

PtldPlatypus, I can agree that one game was decent. He did show up for this one.
What I do find frustrating, is that it shows what he is really capable of - when he chooses so -
and then we get to watch him turn into a ghost for the subsequent 3-6 games after these types of games.

Batum would be something to behold if he could put it all together to consistently to fully realize his potential.
I'd love to see Batum take the initiative, get aggressive, and make a few more cuts, leaving the coziness of the three point line & mixing it up closer to the key a bit more.
Basically add some diversity instead of jacking so many threes or looking pass first, pass second, pass third all of the time.

 

[crandc]

The NY Times take on the game.

 

[mook]

The NY Times take on the game.

Nice. I liked this part:

Felton, who has never been an All-Star — or even a particularly noteworthy player — enjoyed his curious moment in the spotlight. He dribbled through the boos and smiled puckishly after hitting an early jumper. The boos kept coming. And when Felton shot a 23-foot air ball, the fans howled in delight.

“It was my first time ever,” Felton said of the constant booing. He smiled wide, almost proudly. “First time ever for my career, man.”

Considering his Blazers career lasted just 60 games, Felton had to chuckle a bit at the outsize reaction.

“I guess I did make a big impact, if they booed me like that,” he said.

I think guys like him and Turkoglu just don't think of themselves as mattering enough to be worthy of that kind of anger. Must be pretty weird for them.

But you can pretty much count on Felton getting booed at every Rose Garden visit for several more seasons, even if he's consigned to bench role player.

 

[magnifier661]

Fantastic game from Lillard - He's looking even more poised if that's possible.
Props to Aldridge for a great game, especially with the migraines.

Batum was passive yet again - so disappointing (Where's the guy that used to hold up the fingers to count how many times he'd dunked on someone? - and can we have him back please?)

And finally - Fuck you Felton you Fat turd. Expect the same next time back in the Rose Garden.

I'm gonna say that Batum actually looked very assertive this game.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD