Game thread: Blazers vs. Mavericks

[chris_in_pdx]

Do you have a video of that? I don't recall that shot.

Wish I did. That was a hell of a game. I remember I was at Fry's Electronics in Wilsonville watching the game on the TV displays, and when Rasheed hit that shot I let out with a loud yell... and I was the only one in the store that was watching. Pretty low times for Blazer fans back then.

 

[PapaG]

Do you have a video of that? I don't recall that shot.

Love this quote by Rasheed after that game though.

"We just hoopin'," Wallace said. "Bottom line, that's all we can say. We just hoopin'. Y'all (media) and a bunch of other people do the talking. We just got to go out here and keep doing what we're doing."

 

[chris_in_pdx]

Or a 3 pointer with 1:05 left in a 4 point win.

http://www.nba.com/games/20030430/PORDAL/recap.html

Last second, last minute... who's counting?

 

[BrianFromWA]

(This is the part where I wonder if it's even worth the time...)

 

[bigbailes]

Bayless actually makes an effort to get through picks and it shows. Overall we are not very smart about playing defense as a whole, that might have to do with the fact we are basically the youngest team in the NBA. Defense is much harder to learn than offense. As for the coaching comment, it has been quoted numerous times that Nate does not want to switch on the pick and rolls. That is a player decision.

then where is nate on this? sit guys on the bench if they aren't going to fight through picks. honestly NONE of our PG's fight through picks. bayless has on occasion but it's very rare. at some point nate has to get his point across.

losing guys, come on. bayless lost kidd on a big three from the corner and outlaw loses guys all the time. it happens to everyone on the team but sergio gets it pointed out every time.

 

[KingSpeed]

Do you have a video of that? I don't recall that shot.

Sheed shot a three. Missed it and the rebound bounced right back into his hands so he shot again and we took the LEAD. We actually ended up putting the game away on a hook shot by Sabonis, I believe. But Sheed hit the big three.

 

[MARIS61]

It's not just that. I know Bayless and Blake switch on the PNR as well, but both their man defenses are better than Sergio's. Also, i like watching players play defense off the ball, and Sergio loses his man on almost every play. That's another reason why there's always someone open.

Sergio 1 stl, 1 to

Roy 0 stl, 5 to

Bayless 0 stl, 4 to

Sloppy ballhandling, way too much 1 on 1, and an inability to stop Terry is what killed us.

You don't win many, if any, games with a meager 16 assists to their 28 assists.

Nate brought a shooting guard to an assists fight.

 

[KingSpeed]

Wish I did. That was a hell of a game. I remember I was at Fry's Electronics in Wilsonville watching the game on the TV displays, and when Rasheed hit that shot I let out with a loud yell... and I was the only one in the store that was watching. Pretty low times for Blazer fans back then.

I had almost given up during that game. We were down 8 with just a few minutes left and then we came back and won! And then we won Game 6 in Portland by a ridiculous amount. A total rout to come all the way back from 0-3 to force a Game 7.

 

[ppilot]

then where is nate on this? sit guys on the bench if they aren't going to fight through picks. honestly NONE of our PG's fight through picks. bayless has on occasion but it's very rare. at some point nate has to get his point across.

losing guys, come on. bayless lost kidd on a big three from the corner and outlaw loses guys all the time. it happens to everyone on the team but sergio gets it pointed out every time.

So you sit one of your PG's the entire when you only have two to start with? That makes a lot of sense. Do you actually watch bayless play defense? He is our only PG with the speed and strength to fight through the picks right now as blake is not fantastic at it either. I am not saying he is the ultimate defender, but as a rookie PG that just started getting any playing time I would say he is doing pretty damn well.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Sergio 1 stl, 1 to

Roy 0 stl, 5 to

Bayless 0 stl, 4 to

Sloppy ballhandling, way too much 1 on 1, and an inability to stop Terry is what killed us.

You don't win many, if any, games with a meager 16 assists to their 28 assists.

Nate brought a shooting guard to an assists fight.

Don't give me that shit. You take stats and put them as you wish to try and make Sergio look better. Sergio played 14 minutes and only got 1 assist.

 

[KingSpeed]

Sergio 1 stl, 1 to

Roy 0 stl, 5 to

Bayless 0 stl, 4 to

Sloppy ballhandling, way too much 1 on 1, and an inability to stop Terry is what killed us.

You don't win many, if any, games with a meager 16 assists to their 28 assists.

Nate brought a shooting guard to an assists fight.

Huh? Bayless had 4 assts and shot a very high percentage. Sergio had 1 asst and shot 40%.

 

[ppilot]

Sergio 1 stl, 1 to

Roy 0 stl, 5 to

Bayless 0 stl, 4 to

Sloppy ballhandling, way too much 1 on 1, and an inability to stop Terry is what killed us.

You don't win many, if any, games with a meager 16 assists to their 28 assists.

Nate brought a shooting guard to an assists fight.

There was a good reason that Sergio didn't get much playing time in the second half...

 

[The Professional Fan]

I think Maris 61 is Sergio's agent.....for real.

 

[B-Roy]

then where is nate on this? sit guys on the bench if they aren't going to fight through picks. honestly NONE of our PG's fight through picks. bayless has on occasion but it's very rare. at some point nate has to get his point across.

losing guys, come on. bayless lost kidd on a big three from the corner and outlaw loses guys all the time. it happens to everyone on the team but sergio gets it pointed out every time.

Because he does it the most.

 

[hasoos]

There was a reason Sergio was sitting the whole second half. Because Bayless was making something happen by attacking the rim. You could even tell by the end of the game that Mike and Mike are starting to disagree on the issue because Mike Barrett continues to blow Steve Blakes horn. Mike Rice seemed to question it by the end of the game if the PG situation is so straight. Bayless is making some noise and throwing a wrench into the PG situation. You don't play all but 4.5 minutes of the second half unless the coach see's something as well.

As for Dallas, I am starting to wonder if they just aren't a matchup nightmare for us. The reason being, is since Portland seems to not be good at going to our bigs, which is our strength. Dallas just plays the perimeter game, makes open shots, and really attacked the rim very little in the scheme of things. If Portland would just play the inside game they would win. They would get Dallas players in foul trouble and be in position for rebounds. But they didn't. Lots of perimeter shots = lots of long rebounds which leads to easy transition points. Until the team figures that out, they will continue to struggle against teams like Dallas.

 

[hasoos]

Sergio 1 stl, 1 to

Roy 0 stl, 5 to

Bayless 0 stl, 4 to

Sloppy ballhandling, way too much 1 on 1, and an inability to stop Terry is what killed us.

You don't win many, if any, games with a meager 16 assists to their 28 assists.

Nate brought a shooting guard to an assists fight.

I think what bothers me about your post the most Maris is the fact that you seem to value your argument and love for Sergio over what is best for the team. You don't seem to care what gets wins or losses. All you care about is your argument for Sergio. If Sergio would do the things that would help the team win, I would have no problem supporting him. But I don't see that. I see a young point guard named Bayless doing that, at least the best out of the group right now.

 

[The Professional Fan]

There was a reason Sergio was sitting the whole second half. Because Bayless was making something happen by attacking the rim. You could even tell by the end of the game that Mike and Mike are starting to disagree on the issue because Mike Barrett continues to blow Steve Blakes horn. Mike Rice seemed to question it by the end of the game if the PG situation is so straight. Bayless is making some noise and throwing a wrench into the PG situation. You don't play all but 4.5 minutes of the second half unless the coach see's something as well.

As for Dallas, I am starting to wonder if they just aren't a matchup nightmare for us. The reason being, is since Portland seems to not be good at going to our bigs, which is our strength. Dallas just plays the perimeter game, makes open shots, and really attacked the rim very little in the scheme of things. If Portland would just play the inside game they would win. They would get Dallas players in foul trouble and be in position for rebounds. But they didn't. Lots of perimeter shots = lots of long rebounds which leads to easy transition points. Until the team figures that out, they will continue to struggle against teams like Dallas.

I'm struggling between the belief that Bayless should start, or Bayless should be the #2 PG. Either way, Sergio is now the odd man out, and there is no doubt about it.

I think a case could be made for making Bayless the starter at this point, but I *am* a Blake fan, and I do think he's solid for this team. But Bayless? Man....this kid is making me a believer, and fast.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Mike Rice said it the other night on courtside and I tend to believe him; Sergio, Blake and Jerryd can not all coexist, they all deserve PT of some sort or another, but it really does come down to Jerryd being a much different look from the other two and to what does Sergio or Blake do that makes one a better option than the other? Both can set up the base offense, both do a reasonable job taking care of the ball, but Blake can hit the outside shot at a bankable level.

I don't hate Sergio, but I do think he needs a new home. There is no way Nate is going to be able to split the backup minutes between Sergio and Jerryd or give one or the other DNPs, and have either be particularly effective since it seems that anything under 10 minutes a game for either kills their game -- that will equal two unhappy campers.

 

[hasoos]

Mike Rice said it the other night on courtside and I tend to believe him; Sergio, Blake and Jerryd can not all coexist, they all deserve PT of some sort or another, but it really does come down to Jerryd being a much different look from the other two and it boils down to what does Sergio or Blake do that makes one a better option than the other? Both can set up the base offense, both do a reasonable job taking care of the ball, but Blake can hit the outside shot at a bankable level.

I don't hate Sergio, but I do think he needs a new home. There is no way Nate is going to be able to split the backup minutes between Sergio and Jerryd or give one or the other DNPs, and have either be particularly effective since it seems that anything under 10 minutes a game for either kills their game -- that will equal two unhappy campers.

Sergio would be fine in a system, like Mike D'Antonini's offense inflating run and gun game where he doesn't have to defend. But then again, who isn't besides lard asses like Zbo and Eddie Curry.

 

[B-Roy]

Mike Rice said it the other night on courtside and I tend to believe him; Sergio, Blake and Jerryd can not all coexist, they all deserve PT of some sort or another, but it really does come down to Jerryd being a much different look from the other two and to what does Sergio or Blake do that makes one a better option than the other? Both can set up the base offense, both do a reasonable job taking care of the ball, but Blake can hit the outside shot at a bankable level.

I don't hate Sergio, but I do think he needs a new home. There is no way Nate is going to be able to split the backup minutes between Sergio and Jerryd or give one or the other DNPs, and have either be particularly effective since it seems that anything under 10 minutes a game for either kills their game -- that will equal two unhappy campers.

I think the thing that is so appealing about Bayless is that, as a rookie, he's already been much more of a difference maker than the third year veteran Sergio, and he is doing it with less opportunities as well.

 

[KingSpeed]

I think the thing that is so appealing about Bayless is that, as a rookie, he's already been much more of a difference maker than the third year veteran Sergio, and he is doing it with less opportunities as well.

Yep. Bayless has had 3 or 4 better games than Sergio has ever had in his career. Tonight, for example, was better than anything I've ever seen out of Sergio. He had some turnovers, yeah, but he made a lot happen out there. Team high 4 assists (tied with Outlaw) and 6 of 9 shooting. Who could ask for anything more?

 

[hasoos]

Yep. Bayless has had 3 or 4 better games than Sergio has ever had in his career. Tonight, for example, was better than anything I've ever seen out of Sergio. He had some turnovers, yeah, but he made a lot happen out there. Team high 4 assists (tied with Outlaw) and 6 of 9 shooting. Who could ask for anything more?

Two of those turnovers were bullshit. Sometimes I wish we had a coach who would stand up for the team and get a T every once in a while. Most of the best coaches get a T every game. They work the refs to the limit. Not in Portland.

 

[B-Roy]

Roy had a couple of questionable travel calls as well.

 

[bigbailes]

Yep. Bayless has had 3 or 4 better games than Sergio has ever had in his career. Tonight, for example, was better than anything I've ever seen out of Sergio. He had some turnovers, yeah, but he made a lot happen out there. Team high 4 assists (tied with Outlaw) and 6 of 9 shooting. Who could ask for anything more?

you confuse the hell out of me. on one hand you are willing to give TO and Bayless all the leeway you want but then you say sergio has never had a game better than bayless, and that GO is worthless. i just don't get it.

as for comparing sergio and bayless it's apples and oranges really. one guy looks to get his teammates involved the other looks for his first and others second. all this said i stand by my prediction that both will be here next season.

 

[B-Roy]

Sheed shot a three. Missed it and the rebound bounced right back into his hands so he shot again and we took the LEAD. We actually ended up putting the game away on a hook shot by Sabonis, I believe. But Sheed hit the big three.

Ah. It wasn't a buzzer beater. That's why I don't remember it.

 

[KingSpeed]

you confuse the hell out of me. on one hand you are willing to give TO and Bayless all the leeway you want but then you say sergio has never had a game better than bayless, and that GO is worthless. i just don't get it.

When has Sergio given us 23, 3, & 3? Or 16 & 6? Or like tonight, 14, 4, & 4?

I've only seen Sergio play one game that comes close and that was in Atlanta last season.

I never said Greg Oden is worthless overall, but he sure was tonight. He had zero impact on either side of the floor.

Outlaw does have games where he doesn't do that much but he is a BENCH player. Greg Oden is our starting center. He's 7 feet tall. Long arms. Very strong. Only grabs 4 rebounds??? Against the Mavericks????

 

[bigbailes]

When has Sergio given us 23, 3, & 3? Or 16 & 6? Or like tonight, 14, 4, & 4?

I've only seen Sergio play one game that comes close and that was in Atlanta last season.

I never said Greg Oden is worthless overall, but he sure was tonight. He had zero impact on either side of the floor.

Outlaw does have games where he doesn't do that much but he is a BENCH player. Greg Oden is our starting center. He's 7 feet tall. Long arms. Very strong. Only grabs 4 rebounds??? Against the Mavericks????

sergio had a game of 24 and 10 i believe, back in his rookie season, but again, for him it's not about his points, it's setting up his teammates and running the team. apples and oranges.

and for the record i have nothing against bayless, i just think most on here undervalue what sergio brings to the game when he gets to play. rice was talking about it tonight, bayless is much more agressive cause he's getting minutes, that works for both guys.

 

[hasoos]

When has Sergio given us 23, 3, & 3? Or 16 & 6? Or like tonight, 14, 4, & 4?

I've only seen Sergio play one game that comes close and that was in Atlanta last season.

I never said Greg Oden is worthless overall, but he sure was tonight. He had zero impact on either side of the floor.

Outlaw does have games where he doesn't do that much but he is a BENCH player. Greg Oden is our starting center. He's 7 feet tall. Long arms. Very strong. Only grabs 4 rebounds??? Against the Mavericks????

At the same time, if you analyze the stats, you will notice that Brandon Roy was Portlands leading rebounder at 7. Part of that has to do with letting Dallas shoot .551 from the field. There are not a lot of rebounds to be had when a team shoots that well, which implies the problem, is actually defensive. Oden had 4 rebounds in 21 minutes. All of the players who finished ahead of him rebounding except for Joel, who had 6, had way more than 30 minutes played.

Greg was not in foul trouble. He made some offensive headway in the second half. So why the fuck wasn't he in the game getting fed the ball? Our guards seem blind to passing the bigs the ball when they are open, and it is getting infuriating.

 

[BrianFromWA]

Someone tell me how effective Blake is playing with Rudy, Outlaw, Pryzbilla?

His 3 worst 5-man units (by win %) are:
#1) Blake/Rudy/Outlaw/LMA/Przy
#2) Blake/Rudy/Outlaw/LMA/Oden
#3) Our starters

Seems he plays best with Roy and Przy. If Bayless starts, (which I think he should, personally), playing Blake with the reserves will be like playing Sergio with the starters.
http://www.82games.com/0809/08POR1.HTM#5man

 

[PapaG]

I had almost given up during that game. We were down 8 with just a few minutes left and then we came back and won! And then we won Game 6 in Portland by a ridiculous amount. A total rout to come all the way back from 0-3 to force a Game 7.

I had free tickets to that game provided by someone and watched the game with eblazer plus few fans who I don't recall by name but would recall by sight.