the next 4 games define this teams post season hope. this is their chance to get some good distance. Beat Utah, Dallas, and Oklahoma. Not having blake really hurts but lets hope for the best...i say 2-2 but if we go 3-1...that would be huge. im counting a loss in hornet ville if we lose to utah..we are in major trouble btw
I think it depends on what the goal is. If the goal is to make the playoffs, then I don't think these games are determanitive. I think one or more of the teams below us in the race will continue to fade at a faster rate. If the goals is to win the NW or get home court and go into the second round, then that might be affected.
Last time I checked Utah still only counts as 1 loss of 82 games. I'd be more concerned with Oklahoma City, they've won 8 of their last 14.
like i said...tough tough stretch it will hurt the thunder losing mason though. he could hit the three. we dont match up well with teams with those combo guards like OKC has tons of
Against lower level teems. Going up against Utah in Portland will be a good test for Sergio and Bayless.
Blake would have been torched by D-Will... but I'm interested in seeing how Bayless does while guarding Williams.
Not having Blake doesn't "really" hurt. He's a solid reserve-quality player, but not so good that the team falls off much with Bayless and Rodriguez sopping up his minutes. Mostly Bayless. I've really liked his play...even when he has periods of not generating stats, his defense is a good contribution. And he gives the team one more player who can carry them offensively in bursts.
Bayless has his mental breakdowns, but like you said he can put points up on the board in a hurry. I think his passing has been underrated too.
So at what point is management going to start to notice that the guys doing the medical evaluations on the Blazers aren't doing a thorough job and sending guys back in early? First Martell, and not taking an xray before he stepped on the court, and now Blake hurrying back, when we didn't even need him for that game at all. What was the hurry? That makes me really worry for when a more important cog gets hurt, are they going to do the right thing?
Is it the medical staff, or are the players hurrying back on their own? If Blake says "I feel fine coach" when he's not really ready to return, what do the Blazers say? No? What if they have no other way of gauging a players status? With a shoulder injury, I would guess that it would be up to Blake to tell them when his shoulder stops hurting. I think that's what Quick was trying to say in his chat. The players are rushing back because they want to help. Either that, or they don't want to get left behind. You don't think Blake sees that Bayless is playing well? Maybe he's worried about losing his spot.
I think the offense has been a lot more fun to watch since Blake has been out, I don't mind at all. We make a lot more mistakes, but those will fade, and we're getting a ton more action, motion, and easy buckets, which won't fade. It's no coincidence Oden's playing much better w/Sergio than Blake, he did earlier in the year too!
Blake just really isn't a very good passer. I've always thought he was mediocre at making the entry pass into the post.
Hopefully not foul out in fifteen minutes (my fear). If he can avoid cheap fouls, I think Bayless will do fine.
Williams is kind of a bruiser. He has so much size for a point guard, I'm really hoping that Bayless can get in there and bother him. Bayless strikes me as the kind of player who likes physical contact, much like Oden. If Williams tries to man-handle him, he'll find that Jerryd doesn't back down easily. It should be a good matchup.
his biggest asset is that he doesn't try to do anything he's not capable of, his worst asset is that he's not capable of all that much. Blake is serviceable next to aggressive guards (AI, Dixon in college, and Roy sometimes) but playing with passive players he's revealed as not much.
Utah kind of counts as two games because if they win, they get the season series from us. That could kill our chances at the end because they would have the tiebreaker.
