Going nowhere fast
The Blazers just lost another one on the road. They haven't won an away game yet, in five tries. This one hurts worse than some of the others, because this was a contest that they had well in hand and let get away at the end. They lost the fourth quarter by a 36-15 margin, and lost the game by 4 points.
The refs did not help -- typical NBA mystery behavior down the stretch. But I'll tell you, until Nate McMillan figures out how to coach an offense, the Blazers are going to be a mediocre team at best, with or without Greg Oden.
| Posted at 6:30 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (11)
Looks like B.Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge did they job.
Posted by none | November 16, 2007 7:31 PM
As long as they win all their home games, who cares how they play on the road? That's sure to continue, right?
Posted by None | November 16, 2007 7:33 PM
.500 ball with Aldridge and Roy in their second years is an o.k. performance, I guess.
Posted by Jack Bog | November 16, 2007 8:16 PM
Meanwhile, in Atlanta...
Posted by Jack Bog | November 16, 2007 8:46 PM
Jack, sometimes you definitely revert to the Grumpy Old Man that's hiding inside you. Last nights loss sucked. But considering that most experts have the Blazers only winning 25 games, we're still playing very well.
Posted by Justin | November 17, 2007 7:01 AM
No, "we're" not. 0 and 5 on the road is not playing "very well" by any stretch.
Posted by Jack Bog | November 17, 2007 11:54 AM
Jack, I'm not sure it's a coaching problem. I think Nate's got the rotation figured out and that the second unit does a good job of presenting a different look than the starters, particularly with Joel Pryzybilla's (sp?) defense and energy in the post.
It seems to me Steve Blake and LaMarcus Aldridge are developing a familiarity with one another on the high pick and roll play, which really takes advantage of Aldridge's range from 18-19 feet.
I think the biggest problem at this stage is immaturity, and by that I mean the benign, product-of-inexperience kind rather than the Rasheed/Bonzi character flaw kind. They absolutely gave the Sixers that game last night!
Posted by John | November 17, 2007 3:43 PM
The Blazers just got crushed by the Washington Wizards (109-90). Unlike the giveaway to the Sixers, the Blazers never put on any sort of game. They got creamed from start to finish.
Now everyone in the NBA is going to be playing trap defense against Portland because they can't figure it out.
That was truly a pathetic performance.
Posted by none | November 17, 2007 6:26 PM
I second grumpy old man...
Posted by Soulcoughin | November 17, 2007 8:58 PM
I'm not sure anyone's expectations of the team are realistic. I think about where they were last year is about right. But, I do think the love of Durant and the Sonics is funny considering how bad they are (2-9) and how many shots he takes to get to 19 ppg. He's shooting 38%, I believe. Not really blowing the doors off the league.
Posted by Ken | November 18, 2007 8:37 AM
They've got a long way to go. Especially when it comes to locking teams down when it counts. The Philly game was bad.
On the bright side, they're probably where they should be given the changes, and they seem to be improving. This is absolutely world's better than watching a squad of aging vets slowly crumble.
Posted by Sebastian | November 18, 2007 6:07 PM