We were in all 4 games in the final minute. We basically played the entire trip without Brandon Roy and then lost Jerryd Bayless and still, we finish 2-2. Go Blazers!! I'm impressed! Oh and I'm lovin Andre Miller nowadays. I was a big proponent for trading him a month ago but now I absolutely want to keep him.
Me too. Especially when you consider this could have VERY easily been a 4-0 roadie. I just marvel at how these guys continue to be in every game this shorthanded. Sure, they didn't execute in the last 3 minutes against the Wiz. And they had chances last night in Beantown. But they ARE IN every game!
This isn't meant to be negative Nancy...I'm glad we got two wins out of this trip (what I was expecting). What frustrates me a bit is that it's not like these teams are beating us b/c of our injury situation. They're beating us b/c our 4th-quarter execution has started to be quite poor. I don't care if we're playing the Showtime L*kers or Russell's Celtics...you shouldn't lose a game when you have the ball, are up 2, and there's 40 seconds left.
I think that all the bemoaning of "we just do iso plays with Roy" and "We need to ship Outlaw" needs to be re-evaluated. Iso with Roy is a great tool - you do not realize how good it is until you do not have it, and Travis's ability to knock the ball in when plays break is a big, important tool...
Roy being out is big, sure. Roy having the same iso play and looking at the bench for when to start? Not a good plan.
That's odd. I don't seem to recall ANYONE in this forum ever saying we should TOTALLY ABANDON running ISOs for Roy. Perhaps you could provide a link. Yes, it is a great tool - as long as it isn't your ONLY tool. When you run it six times in a row it gets easier for the defense to stop each time. When all five defenders, the opposing coach, the ballboys and the cheerleaders all know exactly what play is coming it becomes less and less effective. After getting stopped six times in a row, perhaps it's time to give something else a try. Yes, by all means keep the Roy ISOs. Just mix them in with other plays to keep the defense honest. If the entire defense is allowed to key on Roy it makes him much less effective. With Miller, Aldridge, Bayless and Martell (the way he's been playing lately) we certainly have enough offensive weapons that we don't have to run the ICE play for Roy every time down the court over the last 3 or 4 minutes if the game. We have seen how that kills our momentum and allows the defense to focus on stopping one player. So, we can still run the Roy ISOs 50% (or more) of the time, but mix it up a little, use the talents of our other players and make the defense guard all five players, not just one. BNM
In which game did we run it six times in a row? In which game did we run it every time down the court over the last 3 or 4 minutes of the game?
Off the top of my head, the Memphis game comes to mind. We had an 8-point lead with less than 4 minutes left, ran nothing but isolation plays after that and ended up losing by 4. Roy didn't end up taking the shot every time. There were some turnovers mixed in and Memphis was keying on Roy, doubling him when he drove the lane, often forcing him to pass off to a teammate for rushed shot with the shot clock winding down as he couldn't get his own shot off. The point being, up until that point the Blazers had good ball movement that resulted in getting good, open uncontested shots. Once we went to the all ISO all the time offense, it killed the ball movement, allowed Memphis to focus on stopping one player and resulted in 13-1 run for Memphis to close out the game. BNM
Blazers' theme song..... [video=youtube;2Sd0W1RyMnE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sd0W1RyMnE[/video]
And maybe our 4th quarter execution is poor because the 5 man units out there have hardly ever played with each other in a close game???? Because so many of our players are INJURED??? If we had the same 5 player combo in their at the end of every game this season, then you could complain. Injuries have been a huge part of the problem. Never mind that OUTLAW has been one of best players in the 4th quarter of games and we got off to an 8-3 start with him this season. The best start since the 99-00 season.
