MIXUM
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lets just hope the blazers keep proving everyone wrong
They’ve done a marvelous job of compensating for all the injuries. But at a certain point, it’s almost impossible to consistently win games against teams that have better players than you do.
The Clippers put a lineup on the floor last night in Los Angeles that was more talented than Portland’s, quite frankly. With LaMarcus Aldridge out of action, the Trail Blazers are too small to battle teams with a big front line — such as tonight’s opponent, Memphis.
Even if Aldridge plays tonight, it’s going to be hard to win. The Blazers, on the second night of a back-to-back, are going to have to defend much better than they did last night against the Clippers. And you worry that with all the minutes the key players worked last night, a defensive improvement may be difficult. Fatigue is the enemy of good defense.
Brandon Roy played 40 minutes last night to score just six points. I can’t recall a team in the NBA so blatantly selling out to stop one man on another team — but it worked very well for the Clippers. Roy didn’t have a lot of room, got frustrated with the officials, himself and probably life in general. Rough night.
For Portland to keep those sorts of defenses from becoming commonplace, the Blazers are going to need to get their players moving a lot better. But it seems sometimes they’re so accustomed to just standing around watching Roy play that they don’t know how to go about helping him when he’s trapped.
Somebody has to come to the ball, other players must knife to the basket. Double-teams create offensive opportunities but you have to move if you want to take advantage.
As for tonight, it’s going to be an uphill battle. Zach Randolph loves to come in here and torture his former team and Marc Gasol was a tough matchup for Portland even when the team was healthy.
Until reinforcements begin to return to the lineup, things could get a little grim.
They’ve done a marvelous job of compensating for all the injuries. But at a certain point, it’s almost impossible to consistently win games against teams that have better players than you do.
The Clippers put a lineup on the floor last night in Los Angeles that was more talented than Portland’s, quite frankly. With LaMarcus Aldridge out of action, the Trail Blazers are too small to battle teams with a big front line — such as tonight’s opponent, Memphis.
Even if Aldridge plays tonight, it’s going to be hard to win. The Blazers, on the second night of a back-to-back, are going to have to defend much better than they did last night against the Clippers. And you worry that with all the minutes the key players worked last night, a defensive improvement may be difficult. Fatigue is the enemy of good defense.
Brandon Roy played 40 minutes last night to score just six points. I can’t recall a team in the NBA so blatantly selling out to stop one man on another team — but it worked very well for the Clippers. Roy didn’t have a lot of room, got frustrated with the officials, himself and probably life in general. Rough night.
For Portland to keep those sorts of defenses from becoming commonplace, the Blazers are going to need to get their players moving a lot better. But it seems sometimes they’re so accustomed to just standing around watching Roy play that they don’t know how to go about helping him when he’s trapped.
Somebody has to come to the ball, other players must knife to the basket. Double-teams create offensive opportunities but you have to move if you want to take advantage.
As for tonight, it’s going to be an uphill battle. Zach Randolph loves to come in here and torture his former team and Marc Gasol was a tough matchup for Portland even when the team was healthy.
Until reinforcements begin to return to the lineup, things could get a little grim.
