Great game, loved the ball movement. The Lakers definetly didn't win the game, we lost it. All in all it was a good showing of what this team is capable of. And it was a hard but good lesson for the Blazers to learn, you don't make FT's or execute late your not gonna beat any elite teams.
The book on stopping the Blazer has been out for a while. Trap the guards to get the ball out of their hands and then double team LMA. I think all the teams above us in the standings are more than capable of executing that plan right now.
It's the morning after and I still can't believe we lost to the Lakers. When you lose to the Lakers you know you suck. We've beaten them what, 27 of the last 28 at home?
IMO, it's time to raise expectations for this team for this season and the playoffs. The Lakers stole what should have been a comfortable Blazers win last night. Yeah, Jackson played it smart in the 4th and denied LaMarcus the ball with a lot of holding and double-teaming, and dared the Blazers to win from the perimeter. With a healthy Camby and with Roy able to play more than 15 minutes a game, neither of those strategies is going to work. If Cho is able to shore up the backup PG spot by getting Ford, and especially if he's able to turn Joel into Wallace, this team can compete with anybody in the West. Even if neither of those two things happen, I still believe that this team will at least push any of the top 4 teams in the West to a game 7.
Agreed. To play this well against the Lakers with so many injuries this year is pretty good. It was disappointing to see us go cold down the stretch, but we played very well, on the whole.
Maybe in the playoffs, but they haven't been that in games here. We should be the King of our own Castle, and they the jesters when on our territory.
This game (just like the PHX series last year) showed what a big part of the Blazers success Roy is - and how much people underrate his supreme ability to close games and force the other team to adjust. ISO/Shmiso - to be successful in this league you need an elite guy that can not be stopped. The Blazers had that guy in Roy. Let's hope he can be playing more as time goes on - because if he can, this is a very, very good team. You can see that the Lakers still have a problem with Roy, even a slightly sluggish, rusty Roy.
I see a big elephant in the room that no one seems to want to comment on... Roy and Aldridge cannot play together effectively, IMO. The mostly invisible Roy of the first half was ok, but when he began controlling the ball in the 4th quarter, Aldridge immediately reverted back to the pick-and-pop LMA of old and never recovered. It's only the first game back for Roy, so maybe they'll figure it out. I doubt it, though. Their styles aren't complementary. If this team is going to build around Aldridge, it looks like Roy's only use to the team is in the last couple minutes when they need a perimeter closer. The question is, can he quickly establish a rhythm in that role?
With hope that he can regain it for 20-25 minutes a game. He looked better to me last night than I expected, so there is hope there. But, there is definitely a need for this team to upgrade on the perimeter. Love Batum, love Wes - but we need a better slasher than Miller (as great as he has been these last couple of years).
You already forgot how he looked at the start of the year. He was trying his old moves but with no lift he was getting blocked or simply missing pointblank shots because of his lack of lift. If you think cleaning out more tissue from his knees is going to give him his 2008-2009 lift back, I find that REALLY hard to believe. Like it or not, he's a jumpshooter now.
It was a fun game to watch. It sucked seeing us lose, but overall I found it more encouraging than discouraging. Aldridge got his 29 ultra-efficient points against a team that may be the most qualified in the league to contain him. All that size and he still scored. Roy's first 5 minutes were awful, but overall he looked pretty good out there. He was trying harder on defense than I've seen him in probably two years. His patented step-back jumper was nice, and he hit a three. Book is still out on whether he can really fit in, but it's obviously a massive upgrade over the minutes we used to give to Patty Mills. He's taken the first step to put him on track for a Ginobili role off the bench. Przybilla had his best game since returning. Batum and Matthews both got decent scoring productivity, and they made Kobe a volume shooter for most of the game. They just ran out of gas, while Kobe didn't because Kobe is simply a superior athlete with a different kind of motor. I hate losing to the Lakers, especially at home. But if we do, I like doing it in overtime with our understaffed guys just finally running out of steam.
I have no idea how Brandon's knees are going to be the rest of the season and how much lift he's going to have, but I'd expect that it's going to be better than when they were totally inflamed. I prefer to get more than a 15 minute sample before coming to any conclusions, but that's just me.
Well maybe if Batum didn't play so soft on the offensive end of the court, we wouldn't have results like this. Batum has a lot of tools, but the facts are on offense he plays soft. His passes are soft and slow, and easy to pick off. He rarely finishes around the rim with a dunk when he could do much more often, instead throwing up some soft shot that often does not go in. He was physically abused by the Lakers on many occasions last night, literally thrown out of the way for rebounds. One reason that Miller is so easily shut down is because Batum is not a threat to score for the most part. You can hide bad defenders by putting them on him. Since Batum literally has no post game and finishes soft around the rim, it is much better to take a chance with a bad defender on him and shut Miller down, which effectively hammers the rest of the team.
Well, Aldridge was battling all night two seven footers plus Odom. Against that much size there's only so much you can expect a guy to battle for position in the post, especially when he's got such a sweet jumper. I'm hoping that LA sensed he was getting tired and just transitioned to a style which is less wearing so he'd have energy at the end. The Roy-and-Aldridge habits have been well-established over four years, though. It'll be critical to see if they can break out of that rut and find a new style that recognizes both Aldridge's increasing low post dominance and Roy's waning athleticism.
I think we're fine as long as we make the playoffs. I'd look to avoid the Lakers as much as possible, but honestly, the seeding in the west really isn't as important. I feel as if our team has a shot against any of the top 4 teams.
