Agree re Rudy. Dunno about Oden. I still say this series has exposed a fatal flaw in the Blazers future - aside from Roy, a number of their key scorers are addicted to launching contested 20 footers. Put another way, they are timid to go the rim. Put a third way, they are s-o-f-t. The horrible road record against quality western opponents was the first sign. This series has confirmed the diagnosis. Now, it is up to the Blazers brass to cure the disease in the off-season...which starts shortly.

+1 about Trout. Sheesh, a perfect bounce pass in the lane--to Ron Artest. Then a turn-around three-point attempt--why was he an option at all?

That game had so many mental errors by both teams at the end of the game I can't keep track. Shows how much stress is involved at this level.

If Travis can't figure out where he's supposed to be on defense, he needs to rejoin Zach Randolph somewhere.

If you're going to play Euro Jump Shot Basketball, and you have one of the best Euro jump shooters in the world on your team, he needs to be in there at crunch time.

Oden needs to be allowed to get all 6 of his fouls, every game. Yanking him with 5 when Przybilla has 4 points for the night and needs another two minutes' rest makes no sense.

Then a turn-around three-point attempt--why was he an option at all?

He also missed several defensive assignments in the last 7 minutes of the game. Watch the tape if you didn't notice. Travis has been in the league long enough -- you've got to conclude that he's never going to learn.

Seriously, I don't get the reason why we won't let Oden foul out, unless Nate was saving him for the OT that never arrived.

In a pure basketball sense it would be a crime if Yao didn't roll on in the playoffs.

Here's a man who could have relied on height alone but chose to become great offensively. Some of those soft hook shots were pure artistry.

The fact that he's their designated technical foul shooter at 7'6" is just remarkable. Imagine Shaq with those skills.

Having said that, I'm not quitting as a Blazer fan just yet. Let's win Game 5 and take it from there.

Dear Pritch, please get us a starting PG. Blake is a decent player and a solid citizen, but a back-up. As for PF, both Odom and Boozer are free agents this summer. They may or may not fit here, but it would be nice to have a PF that at least occassionally takes it to the paint. And finally, as other have cited here, Travis remains a liability. I'll keep the faith re Oden...at least for one more season. Thanks KP.

Here's a team that has Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, and Rudy Fernandez. And at the end of the two biggest games of the year, who's out there rushing up bad 3's? Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake.

Pritchard can't get you much more talent. At some point the losses are on the coaches.

Ditto for Oden's appalling lack of progress all year. It's the suits.

fouls called against Rockets: 18
called against Blazers: 27

foul differential in 1st half: Blazers +157%

percentage of Blazer fouls called by Monty McCutchen, regardless of court position: 78%

percentage of Blazer fouls called in Game 3 by Dick Bavetta, regardless of court position: 71%

but surely, fouls have absolutely little or no impact on a game.

Soft, jump-shooting teams don't get foul calls in the playoffs. Sure, the refs are biased. But all you have to do is get more points than the other team -- which Portland could have done Friday night and tonight.

Yes, by all means, let's panic at the first sign of adversity and fire the coach. This team is young and is learning an invaluable lesson in this series. That's the way it works in the NBA, folks. Veteran teams rule in the playoffs. The Blazers will get there, but to expect that it would all happen this year is pretty foolish.

Carlos Boozer? Really?

Yeah, the jazz really went places after boozer came back from injury. Namely, directly in the toilet.

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/90169/boozers_Life.jpg

The Blazers will get there, but to expect that it would all happen this year is pretty foolish.

They will not "get there" with Nate. They were already "there" in this series, but the coaching was too poor to advance.

It won't be any better next year -- especially since you can be sure that Rudy and Sergio are going to be either long gone or an incipient locker room cancer cell. And don't forget, next up is another year of waiting for Martell Webster to "get there." Golf on May Day 2010 is highly likely.

Oden is such a joke as a NBA player....

Ecohuman,

I like your consistency. If you think these calls are bad, then check the Cavs Pistons series where LeBron James had more free throws than the entire Pistons team.

The worst officiating was present when the Miami Heat won the championship back in 2006. Dwyane Wade had 96 free throw attempts...

I agree that officiating does impact whether a team will win a series or not. When a player gets 2 fouls on them in the first half will dictate the way they play the game. Players like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryan, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James getting phantom calls from 15 feet away is just utter baloney.

Fire Nate?

You gotta be out of your mind.

I don't know why, but there is a contingent of hoops fans out there who think that this team would be 65-17, and headed for the championship, if not for the coach holding them back. What rot.

There is a contingent of fans in town, who seem to credit any successes the team has on the players, and on the GM who acquired them--but then turn around and blame any failures on the coach. What nonsense.

There are contigents of fans who think that certain players past and present (Oden, Rodriguez, Blake, Telfair, Jack, Bayless, just to name a few) are being stifled by a moron in a suit who doesn't appreciate their talent and basketball genius. What poppycock.

They say that coaches in the NBA (and other sports leagues) are hired to be fired--and this attitude is a good reason why.

Look at this year's team. The improvement from the beginning of the year to the end has been noticeable. Many of the issues which caused coach griping earlier in the season--pick and roll D, etc....aren't issues any more. The Blazers have an excellent offense--despite having two starters whose offensive contribution is close to zero--and a defense which is improving; markedly so since the beginning of the year.

McMillan is easily among the top ten active coaches in the league. According to the voters for COTY, he's in the top five. And you think he ought to be fired? Twenty-five or so NBA GMs (those not employing Phil Jackson or Mike Brown) would be on his agent's phone in a microsecond.

Fire the coach because the team is one game from losing a playoff series, against a highly-talent team which happens to match up with the current roster? Get a grip, ladies and gentlemen. Thank the basketball gods that the team management is taking the long view, and doesn't follow the advice of the armchair point guards out there, who want to wipe the slate clean every time the team loses.

Recall the mayor, sure. But fire the coach?

That would be insanity of the highest order.

See you again here next year, where it will be the same story. Nate is not learning anything, he's not teaching enough to dummies like Outlaw and Oden, and my grandmother could have done a better job of substituting late in these last two games.

If you think the Blazers have an "excellent offense," you aren't paying attention. Their offense is Steve Blake passing to Brandon Roy and getting out of the way. There's no post game, high or low.

You want a string of first-round exits? Nate's your guy.

My nominees for Blazer coach are Jeff Van Gundy and Dwight Jaynes. Only half-kidding.

You know, Nate won a first round series in Seattle once already. Maybe you didn't follow basketball then?

Actually, he even got through the second round one year, as I recall. But he left the Sonics crippled, and P.J. finished them off.

Nate's been great up to this point. But now we are at this point. If he's going to keep pulling a red-hot shooter with actual basketball fundamentals for somebody like Travis Outlaw, game after game, it's time for Nate to move on.

I haven't yet mentioned it here, but let me add the atrocious lack of preparation for the first game of the playoffs, where the series was essentially lost in the first three minutes of play.

Football, and drag racing are my sports, not that well versed on "roundball", but I sure agree with a couple of folks here..ATTACK ATACK ATTACK,the rim,draw the foul, and scout China for a 6ft 7 inch eighth grader and start feeding him now, and defend every shot with a hand in their face.

One of the Houston guys was interviewed,their coach said go after Roy, every time....Rick did live here.

My line coach in high school told me Q-backs can't throw strikes if you have your hands around his throat, maybe we play a bit more like that and see what happens.

I'll agree with you that Rudy needs to play more and be in close games late, but fire Nate? That is crazy talk!!!!

you "recall" correctly. He took an underdog Seattle team and whumped Sac. Then he nearly pulled off a series victory against SA in their best years.

Rudy shot 40% on 3's this year. Outlaw 42.7%. Outlaw has been playing outstanding defense on Artest. Rudy has been getting creamed by Von Wafer. Outlaw was 2-3 on 3's tonight before the last possession; Rudy 1-2. Why was Outlaw a bad choice?

Have you just noticed Nate's problems this year or did you write blogs after each season as the team has improved by leaps and bounds?

And frankly, many didn't expect the Blazers to get this far this season. They are young and this is a learning experience. I will say the Blazers will win game 5 and I wouldn't be surprised to see this go 7 games. The Blazers still have alot of fight left!

I'll agree with you that Rudy needs to play more and be in close games late, but fire Nate?

It isn't just Rudy. It's giving up on Sergio and Bayless entirely after letting them cancel each other out; doing nothing to teach Oden anything; not having an even halfway-decent set of offensive plays; taking half a season to get a defense for the simple pick-and-roll; being wooden and predictable with substitutions; and botching the preparation for this series. Probably other shortcomings, too, but hey, it's late and we lost.

Have you just noticed Nate's problems this year or did you write blogs after each season as the team has improved by leaps and bounds?

I've been blogging about the Blazers for seven years; following them for about 33. Compared to what went before (the awful, awful Whitsitt-Cheeks years), Nate has been a real blessing. I really do like the guy. But he needs to pick up his game or move on to another project. The Blazers are no longer a project -- or at least, they shouldn't be.

But watch -- more Travis Outlaw-Martell Webster stupidity next year. Oden will stink up the place until he gets traded or finally breaks his legs. And wait 'til Rudy's playing for somebody like Utah or Denver -- no finals for the Blazers for a while. I'm sure by this time next week, he'll have formally demanded a trade.

Outlaw has been playing outstanding defense on Artest.

Now, that's funny.

"Fire Nate? You gotta be out of your mind."

Any candidates to replace him with?

I guess my issue as noted above is that we have turned the team into the Portland Roys. He is about the one for sure scoring threat we have. Then it's jump shooting.

Give them some credit though, they seemd to slow Yao down (even thuogh it cost a bunch of fouls.

In the pre-game TV show there was a pretty amazing statistic about Nate's time as a Blazer Coach. It showed a nice run up in games won every year since he's been a coach for the Blazers. Pretty hard to mess with those numbers - especially for the second youngest team in the NBA that virtually nobody thought would even make the playoffs. Does anyone here remember the thrashing the Blazers got in their first season game against the Lakers? The kids have come a long way. If most of these guys are here next season, they will continue to grow as a team.

Since Jail Blazers era, all the fans "wanted" was a competative team that represented the community well and were true role models.

We have that team now and much more.

So now we are back to "fire" this guy and "trade" this guy so we can win a championship.

And then we go right back to the era of win at all costs.

Rubish!

Nate not only has brought the team from the worse season to one of the best Blazer seasons ever in a very, very tough Western Division, but he has done so with the respect of his players and the fans.

I am absolutely happy with this season and if the Blazers lose on Tuesday or fail to advance, this fact should not detract from all the accomplishments this year.

First year in the playoffs with the league's youngest team and people want to fire coaches and trade players. Portland has had GREAT results in the past with that strategy!

And speaking of Oden, I'm tired of all the criticism this player gets in his first real season. For all the Yao lovers, anybody here bother to look at Yao's rookie season in the NBA and how many fouls he had? Give the kid a break already and let him grow up and mature.

To the Oden haters out there - in basketball terms, ODEN SHOULD BE FINISHING HIS SOPHOMORE YEAR IN COLLEGE! (After sitting out a medical redshirt year, granted.) If Oden had stayed in college, everyone here would be drooling over him and speculating over his awesome potential.

But since he left college early, you're still willing to kiss off the same guy.

If you expect a rookie big guy to lead his team to victory against Yao, I've got a tram to Mt. Hood to sell you. He's two years younger than Tim Duncan was during his rookie season. The kid's a project and one who's worth the wait. If you have doubts, watch tape of Shaq's rookie season.

Oden's no dummy, either. If anything, he's overthinking rather than reacting.

I also wonder why so many basketball geniuses are content to showcase their basketball genius on the Internet or ranting on sports radio. Last time I checked, basketball teams pay pretty well. C'mon guys - share your genius with the world and get into coaching!

Nate has taken an abysmal team and improved them every year. As long as the Blazers continue to improve, and I think they will, he deserves to be the coach.

But I agree, he's kinda sucked in the play-offs.

When the Blazer fan bear trap springs, there is nothing more entertaining than watching the acolytes chew through their ankles to escape.

By all means . . . carry on.

"When the Blazers actually get a low post game, they'll be scary." -- Charles Barkley.

Outlaw had a good first half but was stone cold again in the second half. But there's Nate, drawing up a play to get Outlaw a three shot at the end of the game. Of course, he missed. One or two possessions later Fernandez nailed a three with the defender right in his face.

From what I've seen of these playoffs, Nate has been out-coached every game. He' simply been a horrible game-day coach during this series.

As a devoted Blazer fan I hope they lose game 5 in Portland by a huge margin. They are a good team, but I don't think they can take the next step with the current roster (or current coach). Perhaps another humbling loss will make the front office take notice.

The Blazers are a jump shooting team that doesn't play solid team defense for consistent stretches of time. Roy is the only played that takes it to the rim on a consistent basis. One would think Travis or LMA would score more in the paint given their respective physical prowess'.

Too many perimeter players that don't (can't?) penetrate. Get rid of Travis while he has some value. Great guy, great athlete, but he looks lost at times on the court, and plays poor defense.

KP blew it by not using RLEC and Travis to bring in the pieces they need. The Blazers are a long way from the finals with this team unless JB, GO, and NB improve exponentially next year.

"From what I've seen of these playoffs, Nate has been out-coached every game"

Out-coached by Rick Adelman, who was fired by the Blazers and replaced by P.J. Carlesimo. How did that work out? Well, Geoff Petrie resigned in protest and the Blazers hired Bob Whittsit. How did that work out?

And shall we review the rest of the Blazer coach firings?

Jack Ramsey fired and replaced by Mike Schuler. How did that work out?

Mike Dunleavy fired and replaced with Maurice Cheeks at about the same time Brian grated was traded for Shawn Kemp, Jermaine O'Neal (the other young center drafted by the Blazers decried as over-rated, a lost cause, et cetera then turned out to be a 6 time all star) for Dale Davis, Steve Smith for Derek Anderson, and picked up Rod Strickland and Ruben Paterson.

And how did that work out?

Given this team's botched history with firings and trades, I simply do not understand why people have their finger on the panic button the first return trip to the playoffs.

Well, that was a pretty long response considering you didn't manage to rebut the one and only point of my comment, which is the unarguable fact that Nate has been seriously outcoached in this series.

I don't think he should be fired at this point, but I'm not about to bury my head in the sand and ignore reality. And I hope the Blazers front office isn't either. That's the quickest way to make sure nothing gets better.

The Blazers have a lot to improve on, but the bottom line is that THE PAST TWO GAMES have been very winnable, and the coaching let the team down.

I disagree with the post about firing Nate and Outlaw's poor performance. I think Travis is essentially living up to expectations. If people are dissapointed with his performance their expectations of his abilities shouldn't be so high. He is not a go-to-guy in clutch situations.

As far as him bombing the 3 at the end of the game, I thought he made the right decision. There was not enough time on the clock to do anything. The problem was he shouldn't have had the ball in the first place. This was Nate's fault. Rudy should've taken that shot.

In watching the series the area where I think the Blazers need to make a change it at point guard. Blake made so many errors - running down the floor in game 3 and airballing the 3 point attempt, then last night letting Artest come and strip him of the ball. Add on to those mistakes Aaron Brooks making him look foolish and having way more of an impact then he should've, I can barely stomach it.

Keep Outlaw, keep Nate, get a veteran point gaurd, and the Blazers will make some noise next year.

One more thing - What happened to Bayliss? I kinda thought he'd have a slashing to the basket attack which would have been useful.

It may be all for nought anyways - The Lakers would use either team for traction.

Firing Nate because of two games in Houston would be like firing a professor because a few of his students failed a test.

I'm not sure if Travis is stupid or if it's just the southern accent.

I didn't see last night's game - in fact, was umpiring softball games. But during Friday night's game, there was a short stretch when Blake was passing lobs into Oden, who showed quickness around Yao, dunked, then had a great grin on his face. Remember, not only is it his rookie season, he was out a number of games this year with injuries, and has been tentative, probably not entirely trusting his repaired knee, for much of the season.

Also remember refs never give rookies any consideration - even 7 footers.

I think the team has improved game to game. Remember, except for Joel and Blake, no one had ever played in a play-off game. On TV the viewer can tell the extreme difference in intensity - the players, most in their early twenties, may have been a bit overwhelmed.

And, coaching - coaches can prepare their teams, but the players have to execute as well.

Let's wait to jump off the bandwagon until next year - I want to see a team that doesn't wait two quarters to start playing, and that finishes games when they're ahead. I want to see Oden improve big-time. But I think that's what we should expect next year. If we don't see improvement, then call for changes.

I haven't watched a game in, oh, I don't know, 3 or 4 or 5 years, maybe 5 minutes split between two games each year, something like that, approximately zero. (For about 10 years I watched upwards of 400 games a year on satellite dish; kept logs of referees' travel and 'game results;' was part of the Blazer Broadcasting crew a few years; mad-insane NBA nut.) I've watched most of the last 3 games of this series.

I don't even know the players. It doesn't matter. I quit watching when it seemed obvious to me it is rigged (as pro wrestling 'sport') by NBA referees and whatshisname, Stern, for TV-market sales. Yawn. Adelman and old refs were the only ones I recognized from before, and the refs still tilt the playing court for the winner.

The only thing that (still) counts is how many TV addicts buy the 'cable package.' Who do you think pays those players' salaries, beer concessions?

Nate made some mistakes granted. However, that play was not run for Outlaw. Trout took it upon himself to hoist that one up.

I for one would love to see the Catfish move on in exchange for either a back up PF or a starting PG.

Blake, I love ya man but you are a back up at best and if Nate doesn't see that then you need to go too so we can develop our young talent.

Bayless not playing more this year is a crime.

Oden has improved significantly over the course of the year and will continue to do so. Remember folks, Amare Stoudamire and Kenyon Martin were said to be completely done during their first year back after Micro-fracture missed season. Both of them are playing at a high level now and both have 90%+ of their hops and explosiveness back. Mind you Amare was an established veteran all-star before his injury and Kenyon Martin was also a veteran so their first year back looked better then Oden's.

In the Chinese Newspapers Yao was giving Oden TONS of credit and saying he thought Oden could become better then Dwight Howard. He stated that Oden needed to get his fouls under control and develop a go to move and that he would be extremely effective. He stated that Oden's defense on him in game 3 was very impressive.

So fire Nate? Not unless Poppovich is available or Stan Van "Ron Jeremy" Gundy. Nate isn't the best coach in the league but there aren't many I'd rather have. I'd also add in Rick Adelman (sigh) and Tom Thibedeau the defensive assistant coach in Boston. I don't think any of these gentlemen are available however and the talent in coaching drops off quickly after that.

My biggest complaint about Nate is his inability to make decisions within the flow of the game and his substitution patterns that are baffling at times. If there are better coaches out there that I haven't mentioned please enlighten me.

Oh and Tenskwatawa I sadly think you might be right re: the refs tilting the game.

Tenskwatawa, the game rigging is too weird for most to believe. you'll hear people say--with a straight face--"oh, rookies don't get that break", or "that's a veteran call"--in other words, they're saying "refereeing is really biased".

call them on it, and they'll quickly say "oh, no, it's the coach/players/lack of mental toughness/shoes/uniforms/etc.".

at the very least, it's partly rigged. anybody that's willing to suspend disbelief for a few minutes see it. a few years ago, a ref even admitted it (and provided proof). anybody who thinks refs don't favor teams and carry grudges isn't paying attention. years ago, Dick Bavetta admitted there were several players he despised.

how can one referee call 78% of the fouls on one of the teams, but less than 20% of those on the other? and perhaps a third of that 78% from positions *across the court*? just the statistical absurdity of it should at least give someone pause.

for another example, how did the Lakers a few years ago get over 30% more foul calls than their playoff opponents? if you say "Kobe", you'd be wrong--most of the fouls were called on defenders of other Laker players. one famous foul was called by a ref standing 40 feet away, on a player 20 feet from the play. the ref refused to give up, and gave the coach a technical for complaining.

and so on.

If the Rockets win the series... it will be interesting to see what happens when Ron Artest and/or Shane Battier (especially Artest) tries to guard Kobe Bryant.

I'd bet money that either or both players will spend significant time on the bench, in foul trouble--for the same defensive techniques that have been employed against Brandon Roy.

It will be interesting to watch...