Tonight's loss is squarely on Nate's shoulders. despite shooting poorly, the Blazers stayed int he game because of defense. But in the fourth quarter when they needed to surge past Houston, he took out the hottest hand in the game, Rudy, and put in Outlaw when Travis hasn't done anything for the past three games.

That was some shockingly disappointing coaching.

It surely was. Nate is so wooden with his substitutions.

Totally agree about that late sub of Trout for Rudy being a dumb idea. With a data set of three games, however, I'm not quite ready to declare forevermore that Trout is terrible in the post season.

He was so lost on both ends of the floor -- it won't take too much more of this to make a data set large enough for me.

BTW, Rudy was pretty obviously p**sed to be taken out when he was winning the game for the Blazers.

Outlaw is the least of the Trailblazers problems. Their biggest problem is a lack of inside penetration to open up the outside shooting. The penetration from Landry and Brooks is a big factor in Houston's wins.

Oden, Oden, Oden...Man, you have to get over the pressure to succeed as the #1 draft pick. Keep your hands up when a guard penetrates, let the offensive game come to you, do not force yourself to the paint getting a stupid foul on the way, and lobby Allen to hire a retired big man like Ewing to develop your offensive repertoire.

After watching Oden tonight, all that is holding him back is himself. Let the pressure go and just play.

Travis's offense stunk last night, but the Blazers were +13 points while he was on the floor. No other Blazer was higher than that.

I don't blame Nate. I blame the assistant coaches. How many of them are there? 6, 7, 8? The coach has the most pressure - makes the most decisions, etc,...so if Nate misses something fairly obvious as it appeared last night, it's up to one of the other coaches to come to him and say, "Uh, Rudy's going off coach. Rudy can win this game. He's locked in."
Maybe tell the players, "Look if Rudy launches a clutch 3-point shot that Larry Bird would have been proud of, and then we have a chance to tie with seconds left, instead of Blake rushing an air ball, let's find Rudy again."

I don't like to see a player show anger when he's yanked out of a game, but my God, the guy was totally in the zone and 8 guys in suits stared at it and apparently didn't get it.

Who doesn't get it? The Blazers aren't supposed to win.

fouls
-----
Rockets: 16
Blazers: 25

foul shots attempted
--------------------
Rockets: 24
Blazers: 10

two losses, both with an absurdly lopsided foul ratio.

the impact of that is more than points.

Outlaw is the least of the Trailblazers problems. Their biggest problem is a lack of inside penetration to open up the outside shooting. The penetration from Landry and Brooks is a big factor in Houston's wins.

You've got it backwards. The lack of penetration comes in large part because our shooters (like Outlaw) aren't threatening Houston enough to keep them honest on defense. Whenever LA or Roy get the ball in a threatening position to score around the hoop, Houston can clog the middle because our shooters (EXCEPT Rudy) aren't hitting.

Rudy and Roy are the only two who look comfortable playing on the big stage of the playoffs.

I don't think it is so much coaching as much as just team play. Both teams weren't setting the world on fire outside of Houston doing OK in the firat half.

About the only thing I could say was not giving Rudy more time since he seemed to be the only hot hand. BRoy was pretty off and Blake (shades of CLyde) once he hit one 3-pointer thought he could drop every one.

Portland still has a chance since Houston in the past two games hasn't really played that strong, but the Blazers are going to have to figure some consistent inside scoring.

Even the key three-pointer that Aldridge made late in the fourth happened because of Rudy's hot hand. As soon as Houston saw Rudy with the ball beyond the three-point line, two Rockets charged at him, freeing up Aldridge for his open three.

There were a lot of things going wrong for the Blazers and mant things they can imporve, but THAT game was very winnable. The team didn't win because the coaches blew it.

Bayliss "Shoestore" should be getting some time on the court as well.

Ecohuman,

The lopsided foul ratio is an indicator of who is pushing the paint. Aaron Brooks, Yao Ming, Carl Landry, and Ron Artest were taking it to the rack every time, while Steve Blake, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw and Brandon were hucking up 15+ footers as their first option.

So long as the Trailblazers play European where their first option is a jump shot, then they will not have the opportunity to put up as many foul shots as Houston.

The lopsided foul ratio is an indicator of who is pushing the paint.

oh, i couldn't disagree more, especially given who drew the fouls in this game. it wasn't a result of strikes into the paint at all.

Aaron Brooks, Yao Ming, Carl Landry, and Ron Artest were taking it to the rack every time

you watched a different game than me. the commentators pointed out several times that Yao wasn't, in fact, doing much posting up or driving. or Artest. if anyone, Wafer drove more times than anybody.

So long as the Trailblazers play European where their first option is a jump shot, then they will not have the opportunity to put up as many foul shots as Houston.

they did in game 2.

Very, very few games are decided by the refs. The Blazers are a jump-shot-happy team - even that noted genius Charles Barkley can see it.

The Blazers are young, and their execution generally suffers as a result. Giving up an offensive rebound on a missed free throw - to the shooter! - when you're down by 3 is a microcosm of the Blazers' mental preparation for these playoffs. In games 1 and 3, these Blazers didn't come out ready to play playoff hoops, where you cannot coast on any given possession.

Here's hoping Nate can channel the Blazers of Game 2 and the second half of game 3 - where we played a much better brand of basketball.

Too early to peg Trout with the "Uncle Cliffy" moniker--and it probably doesn't apply, anyway.

Cliffy, in the mid 90s, was the star of the team in between the Drexler years and the early Jail Blazer years. He was the team's best player--an elite defender, and a dangerous scorer.

Except in the playoffs.

Outlaw? At his best, he's a bench sparkplug; one that's forced (by lack of forward depth) to play more minutes then he often warrants, especially on those nights his shot is off, or he's being covered by an elite defender like Battier or Artest. If the Blazers had more depth, especially at the 4 (where there is a steep dropoff in talent when Aldridge goes to the bench), Outlaw could play when he's hot, and sit when he's not. That should be his role.

But he's not the star of the team; far from it. And even if Outlaw proves to be a frequent choker, that will still keep him from the fate of Uncle-cliffy-dom. (That, and Trout doesn't smoke weed like a chimney and beat up lady cops in bars; at least not to my knowledge).

Very, very few games are decided by the refs.

prove it.

The Blazers are a jump-shot-happy team

what does that mean? every NBA team shoots a fair number of jump shots. no team, in fact, shoots a majority of jumpers.

a microcosm of the Blazers' mental preparation for these playoffs

assessing a pro players' "mental preparation" is an odd (and likely impossible) thing for a fan to do.

assessing a pro players' "mental preparation" is an odd (and likely impossible) thing for a fan to do.

much like proving a negative. how would one prove that "Very, very few games are decided by the refs"?

much like proving a negative. how would one prove that "Very, very few games are decided by the refs"?

no, for the obvious reason: one can be at least partially observed, the other can't.