Meter updates every 30 seconds. Click here for
an instant update.
Our complete Portland debt series linked here.



Clearance sale
The bojack bumper sticker -- only $1.50!

To order, click here.







Excellent tunes -- free! And on your browser right now. Just click on Radio Bojack!






E-mail us here.

About

This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on April 19, 2011 9:26 PM. The previous post in this blog was Latest cop snoop breakthrough. The next post in this blog is Joke of the Month. Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

Links

Law and Taxation
How Appealing
Bag and Baggage
TaxProf Blog
Mauled Again
A Taxing Matter
TaxVox
Tax.com
Josh Marquis
Native America, Discovered and Conquered
The Yin Blog
OrCon Law
Ernie the Attorney
Conglomerate
Above the Law
The Volokh Conspiracy
Going Concern
Wealth Strategies Journal
Jim Hamilton's World of Securities Regulation
myCorporateResource.com
World of Work
The Faculty Lounge
Lowering the Bar

Hap'nin' Guys
Tony Pierce
Parkway Rest Stop
Utterly Boring.com
Dwight Jaynes
Bob Borden
Dingleberry Gazette
The Red Electric
Iced Borscht
Positively Glorious
The Rural Bus Route
Another Blogger
Jeremy Blachman
Dean's Rhetorical Flourish
Straight White Guy
HinesSight
Onfocus
AntSaint
Jalpuna
Rise Above
Beerdrinker.org
As Time Goes By
Dave Wagner
Jeff Selis
Alas, a Blog
Scott Hendison
Sansego
The View Through the Windshield
Mikeyman's Computer Treehouse
Appliance Blog
The Bleat
Rosenblog

Hap'nin' Gals
My Whim is Law
Lelo in Nopo
Attorney at Large
Linda Kruschke
The Non-Consumer Advocate
10 Steps to Finding Your Happy Place
A Pig of Success
Attorney at Large
Margaret and Helen
Kimberlee Jaynes
Cornelia Seigneur
Evidently
And Sew It Goes
Mile 73
Rainy Day Thoughts
That Black Girl
Posie Gets Cozy
{AE}
Cat Eyes
Kerianne
Melissa Lion
Rhi in Pink
Althouse
GirlHacker
Ragwaters, Bitters, and Blue Ruin
Heather Bea
Gina Rau
Chantel Williams
Frytopia
I Count to 4 (Nth of Pril)
Rose City Journal
Ready or Not
Lao Ocean Girl
Type Like the Wind

Portland and Oregon
Isaac Laquedem
StumptownBlogger
Rantings of a [Censored] Bus Driver
Jeff Mapes
Another Portland Blog
The Portlander
Gail Achterman
South Waterfront
Amanda Fritz
O City Hall Reporters
Guilty Carnivore
Old Town by Larry Norton
The Alaunt
Bend Blogs
Lost Oregon
Cafe Unknown
Tin Zeroes
David's Oregon Picayune
Mark Nelsen's Weather Blog
Travel Oregon Blog
Portland Housing Blog
Portland Daily Photo
Portland Building Ads
Portland Food and Drink.com
Dave Knows Portland
Idaho's Portugal
Alameda Old House History
MLK in Motion
LoveSalem

Retired from Blogging
Various Observations...
The Daily E-Mail
Saving James
Portland Freelancer
Furious Nads (b!X)
Izzle Pfaff
The Grich
Kevin Allman
AboutItAll - Oregon
Lost in the Details
Worldwide Pablo
Tales from the Stump
Whitman Boys
Misterblue
Two Pennies
This Stony Planet
1221 SW 4th
Twisty
I am a Fish
Here Today
What If...?
Superinky Fixations
Pinktalk
Mellow-Drama

Wonderfully Wacky
Dave Barry
Borowitz Report
Blort
Stuff White People Like
Probably Bad News
The Dullest Blog in the World
Worst of the Web
The Ultimate Insult
Scrabo's Mad World
Lancow's E-mail

Valuable Time-Wasters
My Gallery of Jacks
Litterbox, On the Prowl
Litterbox, Bag of Bones
Litterbox, Scratch
Maukie
Ride That Donkey
Singin' Horses
Rally Monkey
Simon Swears
Strong Bad's E-mail

Oregon News
KGW-TV
The Oregonian
Portland Tribune
KOIN
Willamette Week
KATU
The Sentinel
Southeast Examiner
Northwest Examiner
Sellwood Bee
Mid-County Memo
Vancouver Voice
Eugene Register-Guard
OPB
Topix.net - Portland
Salem Statesman-Journal
Oregon Capitol News
Portland Business Journal
Daily Journal of Commerce
Oregon Business
KPTV
Portland Info Net
McMinnville News Register
Lake Oswego Review
The Daily Astorian
Bend Bulletin
Corvallis Gazette-Times
Roseburg News-Review
Medford Mail-Tribune
Ashland Daily Tidings
Newport News-Times
Albany Democrat-Herald
The Eugene Weekly
Portland IndyMedia
The Columbian

Music-Related
The Beatles
Bruce Springsteen
Seal
Sting
Joni Mitchell
Ella Fitzgerald
Steve Earle
Joe Ely
Stevie Wonder
Lou Rawls

E-mail, Feeds, 'n' Stuff

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Blazers fall apart

They lose Game 2 in Dallas, convincingly, and there's no sign that they'll be able to win a game there. The Blazer players don't seem fully prepared for the post-season level of competition. Rudy Fernandez is the new Cliff Robinson -- a nonfactor -- and Brandon Roy wasn't given much of a chance to play his way out of his funk. The defense against the outside shot continued to be terrible. The referees were not to blame.

Given Coach Nate's inability to come up with playoff-caliber strategies, it surely looks like another first-round exit for the Portland team, with no prospect of any better outcome any year soon. They may not get swept in this series, but they aren't going to prevail.

Comments (17)

Coach Nate ain't taking the shots; he is putting the players on the floor.

Patty Mills minutes at the end of the 3rd quarter made me cringe. Bad decisions. 2 times he drove to the post and the Mavs ended up with the balls. The other time he turned it over.

Also, with Brandon Roy playing on robot knees, we have no closer. No go to man to be depended on in clutch situations.

Looking at the box score. Dallas' bench showed up and put up 39 points. Portland's bench scored 11 with Batum taking credit for 10 of them.

Farewell Rudy. Don't let the door hit you on the way out and please give the bottle of vinegar to former Trailblazer coach Nate McMillan on your plane flight back to Spain.

I'm working on a theory for judging NBA talent. After you factor in the normal stuff - for example, the game a good 6 ft. 4" to 6 ft. 8" regulation NBA player has - you have a separate category called "Degree of Unusualness."

On the Blazers, the person who scores highest in this category is Nicolas Batum, but Andre Miller has a lot of it too. It's the unlikelihood of being great in a way that's different from the norm. With Nic, it's his quickness combined with his height and length. With Andre, it's being a great guard without really jumping.

This leads back to Dirk Nowitzki. It's not that he's tall and yet can shoot from outside. I've seen that before. In fact, one of Bill Laimbeer's unusal qualities was being able to shoot from outside, while also being a tough guy in the paint.

It's not that Dirk can draw fouls. Lots of big men can draw fouls. What sticks out with Dirk is that he's very tall and yet automatic at the freethrow line. That's what jumps off the chart. That's what gives him the big Degree of Unusualness. It's sort of profound how he's designed to get fouled - his awkwardness heading to the rack looks like he's already being fouled, even before he really is. It's also profound how his outside shot is so good that you can't stay off him, and he has you right there to go around and get hit time after time.

Still, all that I've seen before. But I don't remember seeing someone so tall and yet so automatic at the line. It's unusual, and being unusual can be its own form of greatness.

Dirk has had 3 seasons over 90% at the line and last season he hit .915! Here's a blurb from sometime ago:

"Color commentator Hubie Brown noted that the best free-throw shooting 7-footer in the history of the NBA was Dirk Nowitzki. Not far behind the German superstar was Yao Ming, who hit his first 17 free throws this season before settling down to ~86% this season.

Here’s the breakdown:

Highest Free Throw % for 7-footers in NBA History:

1. Dirk Nowitzki 87%
2. Yao Ming 82.6%
3. Brad Miller 79.9%
4. Steve Stipanovich 79.6%
5. Joe Kleine 79.4%"

Meanwhile Kevin Durant scores 41 in game one for the Thunder and Denver has no choice but to try and double team him in game two.....Just sayin

And Nowitzki leads the NBA in drawing non-contact shooting fouls.

They looked great in the first half. My biggest disappointment was how they seemed to just be standing around at the end of the game compared to how they played earlier. It was like they had no will to fight for it any longer and just started jacking up bad shots. I'm not really very excited to watch the rest of this one.

Gibby, picking Oden over Durant was an epic failure. But it's done, over, no going back. We're not going to reverse the Durant non-pick, and we're not going to reverse the Jordan non-pick. So let's move on.

The Blazers are a good regular season team that isn't able to step up in the post-season. I don't know if that's coaching or player will or bad conditioning or what, but it's obvious. And frustrating. And absent a miracle, we get to start thinking about this all over again next season.

Bill McD,

Joe Kleine was reliable, productive, and popular with Celtics aficionados during the later years of the Bird era, but he is now largely forgotten:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Kleine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Celtics

And, speaking of the Cs, in the contest cablecast prior to the local squad's debacle, impatient 'Blazers fans waited while the Boston team closed decisively to purloin another one from the Knicks, who were playing in the unfriendly Garden without former Celtic Chauncey B and wounded Amare Stoudemire:
http://news.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/2011_0420baby_fourth_for_sixth_valuable_off_bench/srvc=home&position=recent

Melo was nearly unstoppable but he could not do it alone.

Yet two victories do not a series win:
"Bird returned in 1989–90 to play in 75 games and he led the Celtics to a 52–30 record. In the playoffs, after winning the first two games of a Best of 5 series against the New York Knicks, the Celtics collapsed, losing 3 straight, including the decisive 5th game at the Boston Garden."

The Knicks are done, just like the Blazers.

Ahh, the Durant issue. First though, here's the Degree of Unusualness Theory as applied to another player: Kareem. Did he have great all-around basketball skills? Yes. That's the baseline stuff they all have to have even to contemplate greatness. But what made him a game changer was his Degree of Unusualness and that was the Sky Hook. You'll see Dwight Howard or Garnett do a little bunny hook sometimes, but Kareem had his own unblockable shot. A jump-hook shot from range. Nobody else does it to this day. He was a one-man half court offense. Very unusual and it produced great results.

To be fair to Oden, he did have unusual mobility and quickness for a big man. When healthy he is a force field. He doesn't clog the paint. He can dart from one side to the other in time to block a quick guard doing a lay-up. He's like Brandon now - his injuries took away his Degree of Unusualness completely. I hope he gets it back. You could say though, that he didn't have the baseline regulation NBA greatness to go with it - which is why we were still teaching him to shoot short jumpshots, etc, before he got hurt.

So what's my point? Okay, Wes Matthews is a very good player but there's nothing unusual about him. He's tenacious and streaky but you can find that. I actually thought this next idea before seeing it elsewhere. I know Dwight Jaynes covered it, as did others: Why not start Nic Batum as the 2 guard?

Do you notice when Batum has a good stretch, the stats just flow to him: Blocks, steals, and yes, jump shots. But he also applies his Degree of Unusualness to the other team and disrupts them. Why? Because you face a player like Wes Matthews quite often in the NBA. He's a great character guy and I love him on the Blazers, but he's a regulation NBA player.
In his own way, he is great, but it's not his own way. It's a very normal way to be great, which is why he wasn't drafted. There are just a lot of people great in the same way.

You must find players who are great but have a Degree of Unusualness. Then once you have them, you must get them on the floor. It's the best way to win in the NBA. Start Batum at shooting guard.

So where does Bill Walton show up in this chart?

Inquiring minds want to know!

As I've written before, the playoffs are much different than the regular season. A seven game series can and does exploit a team's weaknesses.

My biggest issue is Nate's overuse of Rudy Fernandez and (gasp) Patty Mills. Anybody who substitutes Mills over Roy should look for a job in the WNBA.

What has killed the Blazers, and not just this year, is a lack of consistent outside shooters. Look at the teams that have won over the past several years - Robert Horry for the Lakers and Rockets, Stojakovic for the Mavs, Fisher for Utah and the Lakers. We're also thin on the bench. Really, there are only Batum (or Matthews if Batum starts, which might not be a bad idea), Roy and Fernandez. Roy doesn't look right, don't know if it's physical or mental, but he looks like he did early in the season when his knees must have been killing him. And it's not so much what the bench gets you, it's can they be in the game long enough to give players like Aldridge a breather so he can be effective the full 35-38 minutes he's in the game.

Oh, and we need a true point guard to back-up Miller and eventually take his place. That COULD be Mills - I think the jury is still out on that one - but he's too green to be consistent during the play-offs.

This series will be tied come Saturday.

Perhaps. I certainly hope so. But the Blazers are not going to win four out of five games against Dallas.

Ha, the gauntlet's down. c-mon Blazer's prove BoJack wrong. The Blazer staff & coach (the front office) have dealt with a half dozen different teams (due to key personnel changes) which have all played respectably. That alone is a unique (McDonaldism) accomplishment. The personnel have been top notch, and able to build chemistry and adapt to new teammates quickly. There is an extra element (a spark) to a champion. The extra level of confidence that gives one permission to push the envelope to the limit. The belief that no one can stop their march to the top. The motivation and belief in themselves is the only thing standing in the way of the Blazer's & Greatness.

Tied. It feels good to be a Blazers fan


Sponsors







We accept advertising through Blogads. If you're interested, click the "Advertise here" link above, or go here to place your ad through Blogads. For assistance, e-mail me here; I'd be glad to help. Reach lots of viewers -- we're up to about 3,800 unique visits a day, and more than 61,000 page views a week (as of November 4). Our rates are dirt cheap for the exposure you'll get! If you'd like to advertise without going through the Blogads system, that's do-able, too. Just e-mail us here for more information.

As a lawyer/blogger, I get
to be a member of:

In Vino Veritas

Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
Cameron, Chardonnay
B.R. Cohn, Cabernet, Silver Label 2006
Graffigna, Cabernet 2005
Palo Alto, Reserve Red 2008
Menguante, Garnacha 2008
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Felsina Berardenga, Vin Santo 1997
Anne Amie, Pinot Gris 2009
McKinley Springs, Bombing Ramge Red 2007
Vieux Papes Red
Dionysius Chardonnay 2009
Haden Fig, Pinot Noir 2009
Vega Montan, Mencia 2008
Chateau la Vernede, Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Mount Defiance, Hellfire (White) 2008
Root: 1, Cabernet 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Pinot Grigio 2009
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 White, 2008
Columbia Crest, Two Vines, Vineyard 10 Rose, 2007
Abacela, Grenache Rose 2009
Avia Cabernet 2004
Lemelson Pinot Noir, Thea's Selection 2007
Chateau de la Roulerie, Rose d'Anjou 2009
Casal Garcia, Vinho Verde Rose
La Ferme Julien, Rose 2008
Cana's Feast, Bricco Red, 2006
Hogue, Genesis Merlot, 2008
Owen Roe, Sharecropper's Cabernet, 2008
Kim Crawford, Unoaked Chardonnay 2008
J. Scott, Pinot Noir 2008
Edmunds St. John, White, Heart of Gold 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2006
Stevenot, Cabernet, Sierra Foothills, "Stanford" 2000
Portuga, Vinho Rose 2009
Taylor Fladgate, First Estate Reserve Porto
Franciscan, Cabernet, Napa 2006
Chaparral de Vega Sindoa, Garnacha 2008
Quinta da Aveleda, Vinho Verde 2008
St. Francis, Chardonnay Sonoma 2008
E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, 2007
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Noir 2008
St. Innocent, Pinot Noir 2006
Jigsaw, Pinot Noir 2007
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Merlot, Indian Wells 2007
Charles Shaw, Chardonnay 2008
Edmunds St. John, Bone-Jolly, Gamay Rosé 2009
Cameron, Willamette Valley Chardonnay
Il Valore, Sangiovese, Giovane, Puglia 2008
Duck Pond, Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope 2007
Kim Crawford, Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008
Domaine du Pesquier, Cotes du Rhone 2005
Cantina Zaccagnini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2006
Domaine Matrot, Chardonnay, Bourgogne 2007
David Hill, Oregon Sparkling Wine, Brut
Chandler Reach, Monte Regalo 2006
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2008
Kirkland, Columbia Valley Merlot 2008
D'Aragon, Old Vine Garnacha 2008
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2005
Pavin & Riley, Merlot 2006
David Hill, Estate Pinot Noir, Barrel Select 2006
Castle Rock, Paso Robles Cabernet 2006
Magnificent, Cabernet, Steak House 2008
Conundrum 2008
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1998
Saint Cosme, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
La Granja, Tempranillo 360, 2008
Santa Rita, Mendalla Real Cabernet 2006
Columbia Crest, Grand Estates Merlot 2006
Andezon, Cotes-du-Rhone 2007
Collegiata, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Troon, Druid's Fluid 2008
La Granja, Tempranillo 2008
Monte Antico, Toscana 2006
Vieux Papes, Blanc de Blancs

The Occasional Book

Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt

Road Work

Miles run year to date: 54
At this date last year: 50
Total run in 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269


Clicky Web Analytics