Listen guys. It is HIGHLY likely that we will be playing the Lakers in the first round so let's get used to the idea and get excited about it. Or we can act like our FUCKING STARTING POINT GUARD WHO HAD ONE FUCKING ASSIST LAST NIGHT and concede the series two weeks before it begins. Great. That's not the kinda shit I like to hear. Sounds like a jaded old loser who has been in the league 10+ years and never won a round in the playoffs so why should he bother trying. Horrible. You can't win a series like this if you don't believe it in your gut from the beginning. I'm not liking this at all. And Batum's already scared of the Jazz. Ridiculous. The whole point of the playoffs is to win the championship and if you're a champion, you should be willing to face anyone. It's not about winning a playoff series and then patting yourselves on the back. It's about proving you the best and holding the trophy up in the air.
He's a realist. There's zero chance we beat the Lakers right now. Hell, taking them to 7 seems like a stretch if they are playing solid defense.
A realist? Realists don't win in the playoffs. You gotta have heart. The 2004 Lakers were heavily favored, starting 4 future Hall of Famers but the Pistons disposed of them in 5 games. The 2007 Dallas Mavericks won 67 of their last 78 regular season games (yes 67 of 78) but the Warriors bounced them out in the first round in 6 games. The 1994 Sonics had the #1 seed and a 2-0 first round lead, but the Nuggets (thank god, they weren't "realists") came back and won the series. It is not CRAZY to think we can beat the Lakers. The Lakers have been playing bad basketball lately and we have always played well against them. Yes, they took one from us in the Rose Garden this season but Roy didn't play that game. When we had Roy, we whupped them. Our leader (Miller, the point guard) should have this belief in our team and it appears he doesn't.
Sure, why not blame the loss on Miller who was our best player. How about our "fucking" starting SHOOTING guard who SHOT fucking 3-13. You're worse than mixum. Actually, I take that back, since that's probably your goal.
Yea, but that's defeatist thinking. I mean the league wanted Cleveland in the Finals but the Magic found a way to get there. The league never wants the Spurs to win titles, but they've won 4 in the last 11 years. You can't go into a series believing you have no chance and then expect to win.
Miller had 1 assist. He was never looking for his teammates. He started the game shooting 1 of 8 when he should've been trying to figure out how to get everyone else going. He got to the line yes but then he couldn't make a decent percentage when he got there. It was a bad game for Miller.
It's funny you mention "heart" in this thread then try to pin this loss on Miller. He was one of the few guys out there playing with pride. Roy, LMA and Batum certainly weren't. W/o Miller we were are discussing who we are drafting in the lottery, not who we want to face in the 1st round.
Because Miller is a Vet. Roys shot wasn't falling and everyone else was standing around like retards, so he took it upon his own shoulders to keep the Blazers in the game. I'm sure he would have had assists had anyone else been playing with the same intensity as he did. The game would never have been as close as it was for as long as it was without Miller out there. Edit: Agree with CraigEhlo above.
Martell's head was screwed on straight from the moment he entered the game. He was active and Bayless got him two quick dunks. Then he sank a three. Then Miller came back in and even though Webster was WIDE OPEN and clearly in one of his good zones, Miller would not give him the ball. On several occassions, Martell would be open and instead of giving him the ball, Miller would force up some horrible looking shot that had no chance of going in. It was sad to watch. If Miller got it going with Martell like Bayless did, we would've won the game going away. P.S. Miller's a Vet who has never won a playoff series. And it sounds like he's already given up on this year.
You've got to be joking. Martells head is never screwed on right. (basketball wise) He looked just as lost as ever for the majority of the game.
Wrong. He came out. Got two quick dunks. Blocked Carmelo. Was constantly moving and working to get open. And made 4 of his first 5 shots. Last night, Lost= Batum. Webster was completely dialed in to the game at hand. If he ever looked "lost" it was you seeing him WIDE OPEN while Miller ignored him.
Yes, not letting Martell jack up 15 3-pointers was the reason we lost the game. It had nothing to do with our complete lack of defense or non-isolation offense.
We lost the game because we couldn't shoot straight. So why not give the ball to the one shooter who was hitting??? He shot 6 of 9!!! When Martell is having a good game, you get him the ball!
And you know what really gets me about Miller's quote? He should have a FIELD day against the Lakers. Farmarr and Fisher can't cover him at ALL. If anyone should be believing that we can beat the Lakers, it should be Miller.
He's saying the same things a lot of fans (including me) have said based on Donaghy and umpteen years of playoff observation... it's fixed. Thats why a large percentage of the fans have tuned out the league and it regularly is compared to pro wrestling. Fisher and Farmar can't cover Andre, but they will flop and be rewarded just like every other year. This is just an extension of Stern's star system which he openly trumpets as good for the league STOMP
Do you have difficulty with reading comprehension? It was a statement about NBA reffing and darling-favoritism, not about lack of confidence in his team. Maybe a tactical shot to try to get semi-fair treatment from the refs in the event that we do face LA.
