Przybilla Rejects Knicks
By Henry Abbott
ESPN.com
NEW YORK -- The game story is filled with tales of Brandon Roy's offense, Rudy Fernandez's 3-pointers, and Greg Oden's single bucket in his Madison Square Garden debut.
But as an in-person witness, I'm here to tell you that the game was decided not by any of those things, but instead by a gutsy play by a big Polish-American kid from Minnesota.
Blazer backup center Joel Przybilla not only got nearly every rebound that mattered with the game on the line (he finished with a game-high 14), but he also starred in what, to me, was clearly the play of the game.
The Blazers had shot abysmally all night -- the offense was working correctly, but nobody could hit those open shots -- and it had seemed like the Knicks might just hang around long enough to win. They had several decent leads, even though everyone knew the Blazers were supposed to be the better team.
A few minutes into the fourth quarter, the Blazers' shooting percentage had finally normalized somewhat after starting out in the 20s. Without doing anything brilliantly, the team had a meaningless one possession lead at 78-75.
Al Harrington -- who has looked rejuvenated since joining Mike D'Antoni's squad -- took the ball hard to the hole. A make would mean a very close game, and an "and one" almost seemed like the most likely outcome.
But Przybilla stuffed the layup attempt. Just blocked it beautifully. The Blazers recovered the ball, and a few seconds later Rudy Fernandez drained a three. Suddenly, what had been a scant fluke of a lead became a meaningful six-point advantage with 9:37 to play. New York called timeout, and never really competed again. Moments later, Knick fans were streaming for the exits.
Przybilla is a no-frills player. He only attempts simple things. But he achieves nearly all of them. He has made nearly 84 percent (46 of 55) of his shots this season. The 13-6 Blazers have a lot of players sharing the spotlight as they return to NBA respectability: Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, Greg Oden, Nicolas Batum ... but for my money, one of the most essential ingredients has been a big man who protects the rim, gets big rebounds, and doesn't make mistakes. A tip of the cap to Joel Przybilla.
By Henry Abbott
ESPN.com
NEW YORK -- The game story is filled with tales of Brandon Roy's offense, Rudy Fernandez's 3-pointers, and Greg Oden's single bucket in his Madison Square Garden debut.
But as an in-person witness, I'm here to tell you that the game was decided not by any of those things, but instead by a gutsy play by a big Polish-American kid from Minnesota.
Blazer backup center Joel Przybilla not only got nearly every rebound that mattered with the game on the line (he finished with a game-high 14), but he also starred in what, to me, was clearly the play of the game.
The Blazers had shot abysmally all night -- the offense was working correctly, but nobody could hit those open shots -- and it had seemed like the Knicks might just hang around long enough to win. They had several decent leads, even though everyone knew the Blazers were supposed to be the better team.
A few minutes into the fourth quarter, the Blazers' shooting percentage had finally normalized somewhat after starting out in the 20s. Without doing anything brilliantly, the team had a meaningless one possession lead at 78-75.
Al Harrington -- who has looked rejuvenated since joining Mike D'Antoni's squad -- took the ball hard to the hole. A make would mean a very close game, and an "and one" almost seemed like the most likely outcome.
But Przybilla stuffed the layup attempt. Just blocked it beautifully. The Blazers recovered the ball, and a few seconds later Rudy Fernandez drained a three. Suddenly, what had been a scant fluke of a lead became a meaningful six-point advantage with 9:37 to play. New York called timeout, and never really competed again. Moments later, Knick fans were streaming for the exits.
Przybilla is a no-frills player. He only attempts simple things. But he achieves nearly all of them. He has made nearly 84 percent (46 of 55) of his shots this season. The 13-6 Blazers have a lot of players sharing the spotlight as they return to NBA respectability: Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez, Travis Outlaw, Greg Oden, Nicolas Batum ... but for my money, one of the most essential ingredients has been a big man who protects the rim, gets big rebounds, and doesn't make mistakes. A tip of the cap to Joel Przybilla.
