Honestly-who is excited about the next game

[The_Lillard_King]

I couldn't bring myself to read the paper or watch any news basketball related (except for 1 game) for the past two days.

Some of the hardest die hard fans are on this site . . . are there posters pumped up for Tuesday's game? I've got great seats for Tuesday and hopefully will be pumped by the time tip off starts . . . but right now I'm catatonic and really don't even want to think basketball. Tough way mentally to go to my first Blazer playoff game in 6 years.

Hope I get out of this funk . . . and after reading the board it looks like a lot of fans aren't in a funk. Got any kool-aid I can drink . . . I need it before tip off.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I am.

I don't, nor have I thought all year, that the Blazers had a chance in hell at winning a playoff series. I would like them to come out and not be embarrassed however.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

I am.

I don't, nor have I thought all year, that the Blazers had a chance in hell at winning a playoff series. I would like them to come out and not be embarrassed however.

I guess that is why I'm not looking forward to it . . . I really can't take another embarassment like that. It affects me more than I should let it.

 

[MAS RipCity]

I just PRAY that this is not the last home game for the 2008-2009 season, I want Game 5 to mean something!
I think if we can just win one, our confidence will rise again and we can steal a game 3 or 4.
IF the series is tied at 2, coming home for Game 5, we win the series.
Gotta take 2 of the next 3!
RISE UP!

 

[Further]

like you, I have not read almost anything on bball related since the loss. I am looking forward to the game however because it is the only chance I have to get this terrible taste out of my mouth. I don't know if the Blazers will win the next game, but I have a hard time believing they will get killed like they did last game.

 

[BrianFromWA]

I am excited. I think the Blazers have a good chance not only to win this series, but to push the L*kers to 7. And anything can happen in 7

Look, I see a few angles in this. One, Nate makes adjustments and they blow up in his face, we go down 2-0, and life sucks, but we tried.
Two, Nate makes adjustments, they work great, we win and go to HOU 1-1 guaranteed to come back home for Game 5.
Three, Nate doesn't make adjustments, we just play the way we have the last month of the season, we win b/c we didn't let HOU do whatever it wanted against us offensively. We go to HOU 1-1 guaranteed to come back home for Game 5.
Four, we don't make adjustments, we play like we did Saturday.

#4's the only one that I'll be upset about. But I will be upset, and PA and KP should, too.

 

[Wheels]

We got this guys.. I understand that we have been brought back down to earth.. but were we honestly expecting easy series? Its the Western Conference.. it will be a Battle no matter who we face right now. They are gonna need us behind them and I will be rocking the Mother Bleepin House!

 

[RR7]

Hell yes I'm excited. Can't wait to get in the Garden tomorrow night. Team is going to be fired up for this one. We'll be back next Tuesday in the Garden for game 5.

 

[Wheels]

Hell yes I'm excited. Can't wait to get in the Garden tomorrow night. Team is going to be fired up for this one. We'll be back next Tuesday in the Garden for game 5.

And it will be a pivotal game because the series will be tied!

 

[Shooter]

I've got great seats for Tuesday and hopefully will be pumped by the time tip off starts . . . but right now I'm catatonic and really don't even want to think basketball. Tough way mentally to go to my first Blazer playoff game in 6 years.

Hope I get out of this funk . . . and after reading the board it looks like a lot of fans aren't in a funk. Got any kool-aid I can drink . . . I need it before tip off.

I need the Kool-Aid, too. I have to admit I've been a little depressed for the last couple of days. I'm hoping for a miracle, but I'm afraid that Game 1 loss is going to spell our doom. Even if we win Game 2, it's a tough mountain to climb to get the homecourt advantage back.

 

[LittleAlex]

Yes I am excited. I want to see how the team responds to this loss. I believe I will see much better effort.


I am hoping to see Yao get smacked every time he tries to shoot the ball.

And I am really hoping to see Arron Brooks get laid out by a nice hard foul when he goes to the hoop.

Portland was too nice in the last game. I am looking for that to change.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

Why would you not be excited for it? It's a Trail Blazer playoff game!

 

[blazerboy30]

I'm very excited, but that loss affected me more than it should. I haven't read much Blazer stuff, or watched much of the other games.

So, I'm excited, but don't want to let myself get too involved since I'm nervous about another back-alley beating.

 

[tlongII]

I'm pumped. I still think they can win this series.

 

[LameR]

I am. I'm curious to see how they respond, and am thinking their going to come out pissed.

 

[alex42083]

Why would you not be excited for it? It's a Trail Blazer playoff game!

Hell yeah! I may have been depressed for the last couple days, but I think we all have invested a lot of time this whole season talking about the Blazers and one game isn't going to damper my excitement. There have been too many times this season where I think we're out of a game, only to come back and take it.

 

[MARIS61]

It was just a horrible performance by our team, not so much that Houston did anything spectacular.

Offensively, they shot mostly from the perimeter and were fortunate to shoot waaaaaaaaaaaaaay better than their average for a long stretch.

Defensively they shut us down with some obvious help from poor officiating and we simply failed to respond.

It has happened maybe 4 times this year total and was forgotten by the next game's end.

I expect we will crush them the next few games, hopefully the next 4.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

I am completely pumped up. It's the waiting that I don't like. But, I'm trying to just take it all in. Process. This team found out what won't work. They won't repeat it. It's all a learning experience. Like all season long they'll prove the doubters wrong. That team we saw on Saturday is not the team that will play tomorrow.

 

[MIXUM]

WE WILL WIN GAME 2!

 

[The Professional Fan]

Of course I'm excited. We walk away with a "W" on Tuesday. That Houston team isn't full of GODS or something. Hell, they finished with a worse regular season record than us. We shit the bed on Saturday. I have no doubt the Blazers bounce back.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

WE WILL WIN GAME 2!

Oh my god how things have changed.

it's_Mixum_time just hopes we don't get embarrassed this time. A competitive game where the outcome is still in question in the second half is all I ask for.

But reading this board is slowly getting me up for the game tomorrow. I agree with the idea in GOD's post that maybe the only thing that will get me out of a "getting killed on your home court in the first game of a playoff series funk" is a competitve game 2.

 

[crandc]

Oh my god how things have changed.

it's_Mixum_time just hopes we don't get embarrassed this time. A competitive game where the outcome is still in question in the second half is all I ask for.

But reading this board is slowly getting me up for the game tomorrow. I agree with the idea in GOD's post that maybe the only thing that will get me out of a "getting killed on your home court in the first game of a playoff series funk" is a competitve game 2.

Nah, GO time, things have not changed. By "we" Mixum means the Lakers.

 

[Shooter]

I expect we will crush them the next few games . . .

Really? Seriously? You're not just talking smack?

I don't see us crushing this Houston team, but I hope I'm wrong. They kicked our butts so bad on Saturday night that we looked like a high school team. I think we have a chance to play a very, tight competive game with them, but I'm not looking for a blow-out by any means.

I would love to "crush" them, if we could. That would be sweet revenge for Saturday.

 

[Further]

But reading this board is slowly getting me up for the game tomorrow. I agree with the idea in GOD's post that maybe the only thing that will get me out of a "getting killed on your home court in the first game of a playoff series funk" is a competitve game 2.

I'll tell you one thing, no matter how bad the smackdown was, or even if it happens again which i doubt, I will still watch every Blazer game possible and in the heat of battle, the past is erased and I root on our guys to my fullest. Having some $ issues so I will be at home/bar and not at the games this playoffs, and that sucks, but I still wouldn't miss a second of our first playoffs with this exciting crew.

And then there is looking at the metagame aspects. Almost nobody, even homers, expects us to win it all this season, this is just getting our feet wet for the big battles that should happen over the next half dozen or so years. And if we lose to Houston and get knocked out in shockingly short time, then at least PA, KP and NM will be able to more clearly spot the flaws in the Blazers game and get the required pieces for the future. No matter what happens, we know that the Blazers have a ton of guys who hold good value around the league and can be used to bring us whatever we are missing.

But, as I said, all is not lost, not against Houston. This was just one crappy game and the Blazers, headed by our hero Roy, will hopefully figure out how to put a little hurt on the Rockets and deliver us a second round. If I were to make a bet, I would would place in on the Blazers for game two. I'm looking forward to see the competitive spark that has made this current Blazer team my favorite Blazer squad ever (second fave is Drexler, Duck, Buck, Porter, Kersey and Cliff).

Go Blazers, kick some humid Houston ass.

 

[Crimson the Cat]

Look, if we can crush the teams we've crushed this season, we CAN CRUSH THIS TEAM. Abso-freaking-lutely!

 

[GoBlazersGo]

*raises hand*

FUCKING STOKED--"Blazers in 7!"

 

[KingSpeed]

I can't WAIT for the game. I really really want it to start now. I need us to win so badly. I need us to win the next two, really, until I can fully exhale.

As for those of you who need encouragement, it's already all been posted but here it is again:

1) I know it was a different team but in 2005, the Rockets won Games 1 & 2 in Dallas but ended up losing in 7 games. In fact, they lost game 7 by 40 points! Lesson? Losing the first TWO games of the series doesn't kill you even if they were at home.

2) In the 1985 NBA Finals, the Lakers got crushed by the Celtics in Game 1, known as the Memorial Day Massacre, but they ended up winning the series in 6 games. Lesson? You can get blown out in Game 1 and still win the series.

3) In Game 2 of the 2000 WCFs, the Lakers lost to the Blazers 106-77. It was the worst playoff home loss ever for the Lakers, but they recovered, won the series in 7 games, and won the championship.

4) The Spurs lost Game 1 of the playoffs at home in 2003, 2005, & 2007. All three years, they recovered, won the series, and won the championship.

5) Batum has guaranteed that we will win Game 2.

The point is... it's a 7 game series. There is a margin for error. There are lots of opportunities to turn the series around. Look at our last playoff series. We lost the first three games but then won three straight and were up 2 going into the final quarter! We lost the series, but the opportunity to win it was there. We can win tomorrow and we can win the series.

Go Blazers

 

[GrandpaBlaze]

I am excited for the next game and seeing how the team responds.

Yes, the Blazers have smacked a lot of teams this year but as others have mentioned, Houston just seemed to be a team that had the Blazers number. I was hoping for pretty much anything except Houston.

I think we can still take the series but we need to do another round of growing and maturing. Over the season, the Blazers went from being a team with potential to a team that played very well together. As many have pointed out, the playoffs is another level of intensity as compared to the regular season and the boys have to adjust. I think [hope?] they will adjust quickly and take game two and put give Houston something to think about.

At the beginning of the season, my hope for the Blazers was the playoffs. As they did better than I expected and finished the season strong, I dared to raise my hopes that they would advance (heck, I'll be honest, I have, way in the back of my mind, dreams of them going on a roll and taking it all). Overall though, they've reached the goal I had for them and even if they don't get past Houston, I think the experience of playoff basketball will better prepare them for next year.

During the regular season they probably all note things they could do to improve. During they playoffs, they may find new or additional items they need to improve.

I'm hopeful but won't be crushed if we don't advance. In spite of the outcomes, I'll look forward to each game.

Gramps...

 

[Nikolokolus]

As they say, 'hope springs eternal.'

I'm excited, but more to see how they respond than worrying about the scoreboard. But then again my expectations have already been far exceeded by this team just by making it to the post season so I haven't been all that down the past couple of days.

My advice is to look at this series are more of a test run than anything, sure you hate to see an opportunity squandered to advance (assuming it's there) but try to keep it in perspective and it will do wonders for your blood pressure.

 

[KingSpeed]

. In spite of the outcomes, I'll look forward to each game (although I'll be on a plane for Thursday's game - grr!)
.

We don't play on Thursday. We play on Friday.