That was Difficult, Unbearable and Frustrating...
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SodaPopinski
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I hope you're right, but we have not looked like the better team at all in this series. Everything has been a struggle for us, and they seemingly get all the easy buckets.
Not to mention the officials are making it pretty damned tough for us to get into any sort of a rhythm.
-Pop
Not to mention the officials are making it pretty damned tough for us to get into any sort of a rhythm.
-Pop
AgentDrazenPetrovic
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We've played like crap and we're not learning. Nate can only say "play harder" so many times. He has to make adjustments....good ones, not the ones that con't work.
AgentDrazenPetrovic
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no. the blazers play has been the hardest part. The officiating sucks, but the blazers are frustrating when they can't even board, run their offense or manage the clock badly
Nikolokolus
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That's because we have one player who plays inside the paint. It's not rocket science, we need to get Brandon some help.
Shooter
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We could really use a guy like David West. I love his inside game.
AgentDrazenPetrovic
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yeah, having a backup PF would be great....
Haakzilla
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...that is a joke, right?!
SodaPopinski
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Really? At LMA's expense?
We need a starting quality SF. Someone like Tayshaun Prince would be a dream come true. Someone who will play hard-nosed defense, can actually rebound, won't take shots away from Brandon and LaMarcus but can hit an open jumper, and isn't indecisive in big moments.
You can also make an argument for an upgrade at PG, although that one is harder for me to gauge and I'm torn there. Yes, there are PG's out there who can defend better than Blake or who can penetrate and distribute better than Blake. But, if as an organization you have made the commitment to letting Brandon be the primary ball-handler in key situations, you're well-served to have another guard on the floor who can keep the floor spread.
If we replace Blake with another PG, one of two things has to happen:
1) It needs to be a guy who can hit threes at around a 40% clip; or
2) We need to change our offensive philosophy in key situations to let Brandon play off the ball and let the new PG handle and create plays for himself or teammates.
My sense is that Pritchard stands pat this offseason and simply hopes the SF situation clears itself up when Martell is healthy again.
-Pop
Fez Hammersticks
スーパーバッド Zero Cool
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How useless is Frye?
He's one of the worst bigs we've had in years. Stepania level.
He's one of the worst bigs we've had in years. Stepania level.
MAS RipCity
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we should trade for someone with the reputation for being able to get away with murder in the playoffs
BlazerBeav
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We should trade for Monty McCutchen!
Nikolokolus
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I think our bigs will be fine with a little more seasoning. What I was really referring to is the fact that we don't have another guard or wing who can create off the dribble (for himself or others) -- ideally this team needs a point guard in the worst way who can take some pressure and attention off of Brandon; defenses would have to stay a little more honest and couldn't do this constant double and triple teaming shit.
As the team's slogan for this year goes: KP, "Make it Better."
Nikolokolus
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If KP does stand pat this summer then he will have squandered his last opportunity for years to come to play around with cap room for free agent signings or lop-sided trades; doing nothing but letting this ride would be a choke that could eclipse Nash passing on Chris Paul.
Well let's take a look at the last two games:
Ron Artest: 2 fouls in 76 minutes.
Yao Ming: 4 fouls in 80 minutes.
Shane Battier: 3 fouls in 85 minutes.
Team Fouls: Houston 34, Portland 52.
Free Throw Attempts: Houston 46, Portland 27.
But you can't blame it on Portland not being aggressive. They have been. This, as well, is backed up by the "hustle" stats:
Steals: Houston 14, Portland 14.
Blocks: Houston 8, Portland 18.
And just think of all the other things in the background. Big market team vs. small market team. One of the biggest megastars from China vs. the youngest team in the league. Then you have the fact that Mccutchin was (supposedly) seen flipping off one of the Blazers as they left the court tonight. Pretty unbelievable.
Ron Artest: 2 fouls in 76 minutes.
Yao Ming: 4 fouls in 80 minutes.
Shane Battier: 3 fouls in 85 minutes.
Team Fouls: Houston 34, Portland 52.
Free Throw Attempts: Houston 46, Portland 27.
But you can't blame it on Portland not being aggressive. They have been. This, as well, is backed up by the "hustle" stats:
Steals: Houston 14, Portland 14.
Blocks: Houston 8, Portland 18.
And just think of all the other things in the background. Big market team vs. small market team. One of the biggest megastars from China vs. the youngest team in the league. Then you have the fact that Mccutchin was (supposedly) seen flipping off one of the Blazers as they left the court tonight. Pretty unbelievable.
MAS RipCity
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is the mccutchin thing legit, where'd you hear that from?
MAS RipCity
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can someone PLEASE send this into the Blazers organization, mail it to wheels or rice or barrett, this must be made public
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But Stephania was a good rebounder, something we could have used tonight in the 4th quarter. Parts of the 4th quarter actually looked like something scripted out of a holywood movie. Get 5 offensive rebounds in a row then drain the 3, next play get 5 offensive rebounds in a row and drain the 3. It was just ridiculous.
We really should have had this game. We'd be feeling a lot better about ourselves if we'd won and won back home court advantage, but now that we've lost, people want heads to roll.
Probably not, but two of those fans you saw tonight sitting courtside sporting Blazer gear are relatives of mine. They called me after things ended, and they both were yelling at how they saw "Ref 13" (they don't know the refs by name) giving the middle finger toward the Blazer bench. I looked up which ref that was, and it's Mccutchin. He also claimed that a few of the people sitting around him saw it too and reacted.
So yeah, not much to go on to say the least, that's why I put in "supposedly".
So yeah, not much to go on to say the least, that's why I put in "supposedly".
Shooter
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David West also has a mean inside game. The guy is huge around the basket in the games I've watched. And he always plays well against Portland, it seems. I think he's one of the toughest power forwards I've seen, and I'd love to have him on the Blazers.
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rocketeer
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those numbers really don't tell you anything, especially the steal and block numbers. when you think about it, if you're going for more blocks and steals you should also commit more fouls as well so that really doesn't help your point at all.
anyone trying to blame the game 4 loss on the refs is ridiculous. i can't commit on game 3 because unfortunately i was only able to see the last few minutes, but game 4 was an evenly called game(which doesn't mean there weren't some terrible calls).
Blaze01
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What I have seen do far in this series?
1) Scola is outplaying LA IMO...plain and simple....Even the most optimistic...but realistic fan could surely see that he is at least nuetralizing him (playing him equal)....
1a) LA is playing too soft...like him or not....Doug Collins (and the TNT gang) made some points that were spot on tonight....Who else besides Roy was putting ANY pressure on the Rocket defenders? LA is the 2nd wheel to this team currently, and he has settled for FAR TOO MANY jumpshots and seems hesitant to force the ball inside...and that is hurting this team's chances to win, you cannot expect Roy to be the only player to put pressure on HOU defensively....
2) Travis Outlaw has been horrible this series....and quite honestly Nate does deserve criticism for why he insists on playing Outlaw more minutes than Rudy.....32 minutes tonight to for Outlaw and 24 (31 to 24 on Friday night) for Rudy...and Travis gets\takes the last 3pt shot over Roy or Rudy...that is unforgiveable IMO.....Travis at least showed up tonight, but his play on the 1st 3 games came nowhere NEAR to justifying the near 30min per he saw in those 3 games....Even tonight Travis yet again made some really poor decisions down the stretch.....I don't think Outlaw is the answer at SF nor do I see this team having playoff success with him being counted on to be a "key" scorer off the bench.....His play has been way to inconistent, and that is being generous...
3) Blake is showing that he is not a starting caliber PG for a team that aspires to be an NBA champion....I give Blake credit for his moxie, but in both of these games in HOU he made some BIG mistakes down the stretch....getting the ball stipped from behind tonight, that 3pt shot with 10 seconds to go on Friday...We have to play him b\c Sergio and Bayless (at least not yet) are not better options, but if POR wants to push farther in the playoffs in years to come then Blake needs to be the guy coming off the bench not starting\finishing the game....
4) No one else can consistently be counted on to score outside of Roy....this is a real problem...LA is supposed to be that 2nd guy, but he has struggled with consistency, in part IMO b\c he has settled for too many jumpshots and allowed himself at times to be flustered (and passified) by HOU defenders...We need another few players to step up if POR wants to be a successful playoff team...Rudy could be that guy but he is not getting enough shot attempts (just 5 shot attempts tonight), nor is he getting enough minutes....Oden could be that guy down the road, but again his shot attempts are really limited....quite frankly now is not the time to try and feed the ball into Oden and let him learn on the job anyway,...that should have been done in the season but for whatever reason wasn't...and it is costing us a little now....
5) A veteran would have been very helpful right about now....How would having Vince Carter have helped this team right about now? Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have dealt Rudy or Batum for a vet, but the failure of Prithcard to land a vet for LaFrentz's contract is costing us in this series....this team needs a veteran presence and another scorer to relieve some of the immense pressure on Roy right now and down the road....If this series has revealed anything it is that the "let it bake" mentality is not the answer...all the right pieces are NOT on this team yet.....
6) This team needs some inside toughness...a low post rebound\banger b\u PF could have really helped this series....
7) Yao and the Rockets are getting away with thier physical play and POR bigs (Oden & Pryzbilla) are getting called for fouls on Yao for breathing on him....at least 2 of Oden's fouls were literally Yao banging into ODen and Oden getting called for the foul...very ticky tack fouls and ridiculus given the physicality of the playoffs and this series in general...and any HOU fan who says they weren't is a serious homer....I do think HOU is getting away with thier physical play and when POR tries to play physical back they are getting hit with fouls...part of this though, IMO is that this is the way HOU plays throughout the year, whereas POR has been a much more finesse team throughout the year...HOU more physical nature is allowing them to get away with some calls and POR seems out of character when they try and imitiate that sort of physical style of play...Well that and the "Don't touch Yao" memo that the refs this series apparently have been given......sarcasm aside, Yao is being called VERY inconsistently.....and Artest (and Battier) have gotten away with over physical play on Roy...but this is the time of year where a player's reputation has an effect....
1) Scola is outplaying LA IMO...plain and simple....Even the most optimistic...but realistic fan could surely see that he is at least nuetralizing him (playing him equal)....
1a) LA is playing too soft...like him or not....Doug Collins (and the TNT gang) made some points that were spot on tonight....Who else besides Roy was putting ANY pressure on the Rocket defenders? LA is the 2nd wheel to this team currently, and he has settled for FAR TOO MANY jumpshots and seems hesitant to force the ball inside...and that is hurting this team's chances to win, you cannot expect Roy to be the only player to put pressure on HOU defensively....
2) Travis Outlaw has been horrible this series....and quite honestly Nate does deserve criticism for why he insists on playing Outlaw more minutes than Rudy.....32 minutes tonight to for Outlaw and 24 (31 to 24 on Friday night) for Rudy...and Travis gets\takes the last 3pt shot over Roy or Rudy...that is unforgiveable IMO.....Travis at least showed up tonight, but his play on the 1st 3 games came nowhere NEAR to justifying the near 30min per he saw in those 3 games....Even tonight Travis yet again made some really poor decisions down the stretch.....I don't think Outlaw is the answer at SF nor do I see this team having playoff success with him being counted on to be a "key" scorer off the bench.....His play has been way to inconistent, and that is being generous...
3) Blake is showing that he is not a starting caliber PG for a team that aspires to be an NBA champion....I give Blake credit for his moxie, but in both of these games in HOU he made some BIG mistakes down the stretch....getting the ball stipped from behind tonight, that 3pt shot with 10 seconds to go on Friday...We have to play him b\c Sergio and Bayless (at least not yet) are not better options, but if POR wants to push farther in the playoffs in years to come then Blake needs to be the guy coming off the bench not starting\finishing the game....
4) No one else can consistently be counted on to score outside of Roy....this is a real problem...LA is supposed to be that 2nd guy, but he has struggled with consistency, in part IMO b\c he has settled for too many jumpshots and allowed himself at times to be flustered (and passified) by HOU defenders...We need another few players to step up if POR wants to be a successful playoff team...Rudy could be that guy but he is not getting enough shot attempts (just 5 shot attempts tonight), nor is he getting enough minutes....Oden could be that guy down the road, but again his shot attempts are really limited....quite frankly now is not the time to try and feed the ball into Oden and let him learn on the job anyway,...that should have been done in the season but for whatever reason wasn't...and it is costing us a little now....
5) A veteran would have been very helpful right about now....How would having Vince Carter have helped this team right about now? Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have dealt Rudy or Batum for a vet, but the failure of Prithcard to land a vet for LaFrentz's contract is costing us in this series....this team needs a veteran presence and another scorer to relieve some of the immense pressure on Roy right now and down the road....If this series has revealed anything it is that the "let it bake" mentality is not the answer...all the right pieces are NOT on this team yet.....
6) This team needs some inside toughness...a low post rebound\banger b\u PF could have really helped this series....
7) Yao and the Rockets are getting away with thier physical play and POR bigs (Oden & Pryzbilla) are getting called for fouls on Yao for breathing on him....at least 2 of Oden's fouls were literally Yao banging into ODen and Oden getting called for the foul...very ticky tack fouls and ridiculus given the physicality of the playoffs and this series in general...and any HOU fan who says they weren't is a serious homer....I do think HOU is getting away with thier physical play and when POR tries to play physical back they are getting hit with fouls...part of this though, IMO is that this is the way HOU plays throughout the year, whereas POR has been a much more finesse team throughout the year...HOU more physical nature is allowing them to get away with some calls and POR seems out of character when they try and imitiate that sort of physical style of play...Well that and the "Don't touch Yao" memo that the refs this series apparently have been given......sarcasm aside, Yao is being called VERY inconsistently.....and Artest (and Battier) have gotten away with over physical play on Roy...but this is the time of year where a player's reputation has an effect....
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