But on the plus side it looks like they're maybe starting to morph a little bit and learn to play in the clutch without him ... and Brandon looks like he might be starting to let things go a little bit.
Yeah, I guess we won't have an All-Star this year. I wonder how Roy is coping with his fall from All-star level status.
Tomorrow's game against the Suns will be the biggest of the game so far. We are in a fight for the 8th and final playoff spot with Phoenix and if we win this one, we will have the tie-breaker over them, which may prove important when the season ends.
Very impressive win! Fun game to watch. When we got down by 14 I was worried we were going to get blown out. They keep this up on the road and I might have a easier time of selling my tickets for the next home stand!
Roy will be fine. It will take time. Right now it looks more mental than physical considering all the talk is about his knees. But the bottom line is he is missing a lot of open shots. Maybe not wide open, but open enough. Interesting that we easily beat the second best team in the east, and LMA and Roy were 9-37. That is an encouraging sign. Wes, Andre and Nic were the only ones to shoot well. On another note I continue to laugh at those who wanted to trade Batum (plus) for V- Insanity. Dude continues to show no heart.
Wes breaking out (8 out of the last 11 games with 20pts or more) is making Roy's steep decline somewhat palpable. Win the season tonight. And I found it hilarious that the announcers were making excuses for the Magic about how they were under the weather. Gimme a break! We're missing our starting center. Our star SG has 2 bad knees. Our backup center can't run. And our replacement center and starting PG are entering the twilight of their respective careers. Kerr (especially), you're better than that.
I don't think the Magic are the second best team in the east. EDIT: I know currently have the 2nd best record in the east, I just think Miami is actually better.
Actually Kerr is not better than that. I really don't like him. But it was annoying listening to them ramble on about the poor Florida Teams schedules. We have to be the only city who's closest city is a 2 hour flight.
Wesley is putting up old Roy like scoring numbers and efficiency to go along with MUCH better defense. I would argue he's been almost as valuable as Roy as been the past few years.
I agree. Every player outside Dwight is absolute garbage. I always laughed at those rumors of Orlando trading for CP3. They have exp. contracts but NO talent to package along with those exp. deals.
It's a bit different. Roy was so good even with teams doubling/trapping him, and he was a very effective playmaker. Wes has not yet seen defensive coverage like Roy did, and he still can't pass. But one thing (I, and a) lot of people are forgetting is that he's just 24 and in only his second season as a pro. The best is yet to come, I believe, but he has to have the ability to adjust his game according to defenses.
Well you know I have been a Wes fan since June, and he is playing great, but until he can close games then he is not as valuable as Roy has been the last few years. He is just an awesome role player.
Wesley scores differently than Roy. He takes advantage of opportunities and mistakes the other team makes. I don't think he'll ever be the iso scorer that Roy was, but then again, that's not really his game. He still manages to score a comparable amount of points though, and his efficiency is excellent as well. One major disadvantage is not really being able to go to him in the clutch, but like you said, the guy is young, and the best is probably yet to come. I think playing with a good point guard is really helping him though. I doubt he'd be as efficient without someone like Miller. I love him though. He does so much without any plays called for him. And he hustles on both ends of the court.
On a related note, it was hilarious to see Orlando double Roy off the ball on every possession in the fourth. He was just walking over to the weakside with two guys shading him, leaving 3 Magic players to defend 4 Blazers. That's the kind of stuff you'll likely never see with any other Blazer currently on the roster.
One of the things that jumped out at me tonight was the fact that in the second half Nate didn't play any of the backup PG. It looked to me like Nate had enough of the backup PG play from both guys, and decided he couldn't chance it with them on the court in the second half. I credit a huge part of the comeback by the Blazers on Joel Pryzbilla and his physical presence out on the floor. Howard could not knock him out of position and when Howard did get inside, Joel fouled him hard and sent him to the line. It was really nice to see Batum figuring out that if he wasn't having a good offensive game that he could still contribute by playing defense, rebounding and putting out an effort. Almost all of his points tonight were from effort on the defensive end or by rebounding. But he got a double double out of hustle. Roy was having a hard time moving, but he was playing hard, probably playing more minutes then he should have, but he wanted the win. Nate finally went big for a while tonight, and it worked. A vast portion of the second half was played without a true PG. Then he followed it up with the 5 smalls for a bit. He was really mixing it up tonight, and I think we saw some increase in the pace of game because of it. Most likely because Andre Miller is running the team more and more. I also think part of it has to do with guys like Wesley Mathews, who is getting steals and getting out on the break. He is probably one of the few players on the team that can finish in traffic on the break competent.
johnhollinger Qualitatively, this is the most Blazer-like I've seen the Blazers look in some time. Przybilla return does wonders for big man rotation. about 2 hours ago via web
