Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there.

[SlyPokerDog]

The fawning has to stop at some point, because the Blazers essentially played Dallas to a draw on Portland's home court, and a little butterfly flap could have sent the game in the Mavericks' direction, and we'd be fawning over them just the same. If the Blazers continue to play like this, though, I can't imagine things would be much different should these teams (scheduled to meet in the playoffs as things stand) play in Dallas. And that's an accomplishment, considering all that Portland has been through.

The story here is the late-game heroics of Brandon Roy(notes) (21 points), who would have us giddy even if his shots weren't falling because of the way he looked while bounding up and down the court. I'm not going to promise you that it lasts, but for one night at least his hops were back. And with that Portland crowd cooing and LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) knocking in 30 points, the Blazers were on. And it was great to see.

The issue for Dallas was clearly turnovers. 15 miscues (including a killer on an entry pass to Dirk Nowitzki(notes) late) in a game this slowly-paced is just a recipe for a loss, even if you try to counter it (as the Mavs did) with 60 percent shooting and a 9-21 mark from long range.

Beyond that? Just a fantastic game between two terrific teams. Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there. More, please.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ba...core-where-Portland-stayed-toge?urn=nba-wp212

 

[magnifier661]

Re: Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there

Great win any way you look at it. I can't say one thing that I think we really did wrong. I mean Dallas had a high percentage shot, but they can't do this every game. It wasn't like our players left them wide-open. They just couldn't miss contested or not.

 

[Natebishop3]

Re: Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there

I'm still waiting for Wallace to get comfortable. I think when he does, we'll be pretty scary.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Re: Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there

I'm still waiting for Wallace to get comfortable. I think when he does, we'll be pretty scary.

Yeah, he has a skill set different enough from Dante or Nicolas that Nate has to learn how best to apply him to the offense/defense. I think he'll be there by the end of the regular season (perfect timing).

 

[Shooter]

Re: Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there

"The fawning has got to stop"? What the heck does that mean? Who's fawning--and over whom: Dallas or Portland?

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Re: Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there

"The fawning has got to stop"? What the heck does that mean? Who's fawning--and over whom: Dallas or Portland?

I think there's been some fawning over Portland lately by the Chris Webbers in the media. I don't think it's a bad thing though!

 

[Entity]

Re: Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there

What is this? I'm allowed to feel good about Portland when they beat a good team? I don't know what to do anymore...

 

[The Professional Fan]

Re: Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there

Fawning? We were on suicide watch after the ATL game.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Re: Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there

Fawning? We were on suicide watch after the ATL game.

I think he means among the national media, not our little tidepool of a forum.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Re: Portland played its butt off, it has loads of talent, and the chemistry was there

I'm not sure what he means by "chemistry".

If he is refering to team-work and ball movement....he's crocked. That only appears about 1 game in 4.

As for effort....anybody who watches the team can see how inconsistent that is.