GAME THREAD: BLAZERS @ CAVALIERS- 12/17/13, TUES, 4 PM (PST), CSNNW

I'll help you out: The Ducks are a power-bottom.

 

Power-bottom? Is that like Jennifer Lopez? She used to have a power-bottom.

 

She was a fullback in a world obsessed with quarterbacks, if you catch my drift.

 

I like a well-toned quarterback.

 

Great game.

But defensively, the Blazers need to tighten it up. As nice as the last couple of victories have been, they can't live and die with those kind of endings. I think they are a good defensive team but they are inconsistant. They need to quit playing only when they want to or when it's absolutely needed. If they keep up this level up defensively, they will lose more than they need to.

 

Just got done watching. Wow. Killard. Cold MF.

Bring on the egg-sucking-T-dogs.

 

To be fair, Cleveland was hitting some ridiculous shots. I do wish that Stotts would double team at times. We allowed Bynum to abuse us in the post, which could have been addressed fairly easily if we would have doubled him. The Cavs don't have the shooters that make me worry about doubling.

 

An article on NBA.com before the Cavs game, and interview with Mike Brown:


Ask Cavaliers coach Mike Brown what makes the Portland Trail Blazers so good and his long, long list of compliments starts with coach Terry Stotts and goes through LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Robin Lopez and Wesley Matthews all the way to Mo Williams.

It’s no wonder, either, since the Trail Blazers come into The Q on Tuesday with a shiny 21-4 record, best in the Western Conference. After an overtime victory at Detroit on Sunday, they’re even better on the road — 11-2 — than at home.

“Terry is a good coach first of all, but if you look at their roster, they have veteran guys on that team or guys in their prime,” Brown said after the Cavs practice on Monday at Cleveland Clinic Courts.

“They have very few young guys they’re asking to run or lead the ship. They’ve got a lot of veteran players on their team who know how to play the game the right way on the floor. A lot of those guys have had success. Maybe not last year, but LaMarcus has won before, Batum has won before, Matthews has won before there and even in Utah.

“I thought the Lopez kid was the right fit. They needed a big body that doesn’t need to score or anything like that who will do the dirty work because they have enough scorers when you look at the guys they rotate in and out of the game. Then on top of that you’ve got a veteran like Mo Williams who can shoot the 3, who can come off pindowns, who can play pick and roll. He’s fast with the ball, can play in transition, can make plays for himself and his teammates.

“That’s a nice mix of players they have who know how to score the basketball. Because they have size and because in my opinion they added a guy like Lopez, that makes them bigger. Lopez has great feet, so that makes them even better defensively than what they might have been in the past. Then you have Batum and Wes Matthews, too, on the perimeter. Those are two big guards who know how to defend.”

No mention of Dame? I bet he will mention Damian Lillard's name at least once for his interview when the Cavs come to Portland. lol

 

I just know they were ahead by ten with three minutes to play and it was 0 near the end of regulation. Just now watching the 4th quarter and will see if I can see what you are saying.

 

Dion Waiters reminds me of JR Rider

 

Things kind of came unglued when Dame took that hit from Aldridge. Plus, then Irving started just going off.

 

We started doubling Bynum in the second half, with Joel fronting him. Joel did an insane great job of fronting then quickly spinning around to defend or box out for the rebound. I think the Blazers may avoid double teaming in the first half but do it in the second half if need be. I like the idea of somtimes bringing a double but sometimes playing straight up so the offense is guessing. The Detroit game Josh Smith had similar success against us in the first half then we made adjustments and brought double teams in the second half.

I don't know if I can critique Stotts coaching, he is on such another level I trust him to do what he thinks is best. With Nate or Mo Cheecks I felt like I had ideas that would actually make the team better but now I'm just going to enjoy watching professionals.

 

Some of the comments in this thread on Reddit are just hilarious.

http://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/1t4zs3/damian_lillard_gamewinner_vs_cavs/

 

OK, just so Nate won't feel alone out there; I don't know the plus minus for this unit today, but I did notice that when Mo and Lillard were in there at the same time, Cleveland ran off 7 straight. Fix that combination or eliminate it please.

 

Lillard and Mo struggled defensively against Kyrie and Waiters. Waiters much bigger than Mo

 

That's because they don't actually turn the switch off. They play focused and tough, feel you out, then shift into overdrive to finish you off.