Hmmmm Portland finished higher in the standings last year, right? Portland has a better record this year, right? Portland is actually ahead at half time, right?
This is just a better, smarter team IMO. Matthews is a much better bench scorer than either Webster or Bayless, Armon runs the offense and puts actual pressure on the ball without fouling, and they just feel like they've got some nice balance going on. EDIT: I'll freely admit I thought this team was going to really struggle with chemistry and they seem to have put that to rest, they've been playing really unselfishly.
Definitely. I'm most impressed with Johnson's defense. Bayless was always just really aggressive, but not smart about how he defended. Johnson has the aggression, but he's smart about it.
Because it's not about the Blazers getting easy baskets it is about the Thunder defense and the how they need big men. I can't believe the whole halftime and no talk about the Blazer team . . . wow.