From Hollinger Chat Jeff (Phoenix):Can Portland get some love in how well they played against the Heat? It seems that the media has the story to be "How the Heat lost" versus "How the Blazers won". John Holllinger (2:16 PM):Agreed. Two underrated story lines from that game are 1) Heat played really well on offense and still lost because of how well Portland played, and 2) Portland now has a crunch-time lineup with two All-Stars, Andre Miller, LaMarcus Aldridge, and either Matthews or Camby. Together in the 4th of that game, they looked downright scary.
More Hollinger Chris (OKC) What do you think the Thunder's playoff ceiling looks like this season, and next? John Holllinger This season I have trouble seeing them beat San Antonio in the second round, but they have a great shot of getting out of the first as a No. 4 seed with homecourt advantage. If I'm OKC I'm really pulling for Denver, not Portland, to get the No. 5.
John Holllinger (2:34 PM) Sorry folks, computer crashed on me big time... John Holllinger (2:35 PM) As for the question, I too had been resigned to a non-competitive first round but now am much more excited by possibility of Portland, Memphis and New York making things interesting. Of course, we often seem to get good playoff series in places we aren't looking, so maybe this is a contrarian indicator.
He was the sports editor for OregonLive for three years. He developed PER during that stint. He then became an editor for Sports Illustrated and then went to ESPN.
Having clutch players like Roy and Miller in the lineup at the end of games to bolster a lineup that already features streakmeister Matthews, a low-post threat in Aldridge to keep defenses worried, and a slasher/rebounder/strong wing defender like Wallace to balance it off really does seem like the epitome of the "sum greater than the parts" theory of team ball. Look at the abilities of the lineup: Low post - 2 (Miller, Aldridge) Mid Jumpers - 5 (Even Miller has 21ft range in the 4th it seems) 3-pointers - 3 (Miller and LMA can get lucky though) Slashers - 3 (Matthews will get better as he gets older; LMA is a bit iffy) Free Throws - 4 (only LMA seems to choke a bit in the 4th) Defenders - 4 (only Roy really gets burned; Miller gets timely steals so I counted him) Ball Handlers - 2 (really 2.5; Matthews is a little scary with the ball) Most teams have 1-3 in each of those categories. Really good teams have 4-5. If Matthews or Wallace learned a low post move or two, and LMA got range out to the 3-point line, that lineup would be pretty tough to beat. As it is, it'll win a lot of games if every player is used properly.
We still haven't seen the full defensive potential of this team. I want to see a lineup of Wes/Nic/Crash/LA/Camby. (Maybe switch either Nic or Wes with Dre for offense) for a few stretches.
I don't think motivation is an issue. He's always seemed to work hard in his Blazers career, both on the court and (sadly, in terms of amount) rehab. I just want the guy to get healthy and stay that way for a while. Adding him to Aldridge 2.0 and Miller/Wallace/Batum/Matthews/Roy....would be awesome.
It's the "over" part that confuses me. I understand what "our season" means. But when that is followed by "is over", I take that to mean it's done. No more games or no more reasons to play games. But the Blazers are in the middle of the playoff race, so I must not be understanding the statement correctly. Is "over" a slang term for exciting? Or is it short for over the top. If it is, I would agree . . . our season is so "over".
Ian (Portland) Can the Blazers contend with a healthy Oden or do they still need another piece? John Holllinger (2:56 PM) Still think they need another shooter. But a healthy Oden makes them a monstrous force defensively. Picking up his qualifying offer for next year seems a lot more reasonable if they finish with a win total in the high 40s and have three All-Star caliber players (L.A., Wallace, Roy) and Miller to put around him and guys like Batum, Matthews, Camby and Rudy as "help." then Gerardo (AZ) You mention all the key Blazer players in your answer to the Oden question. I don't know their cap situation...are they actually able to keep all of them for next year (including Oden)? If so...YIKES! John Holllinger (3:03 PM) Yes, in fact they're all under contract. Blazers' only FAs are Oden and Patty Mills, although Miller has an option year the Blazers could decline if they get skittish about money.
I hope Roy can be that other shooter that we need. I think that if he puts his mind to it and makes it his focal point, he could potentially shoot 40% from 3, which would be awesome.
