Blazers @ Pistons 11/30/08 Game Thread

Yeah the stat of the night is the starters had a +/- of +117, while the bench had -62. In the first half it seemed Nate kept the entire bench in the game a little too long, and lost the entire lead because of it. But in the second half to his credit he played the starters a lot more when the bench once again didn't perform. Our bench has been so good it's not hard to see why he kept them in so long in the first half, but Nate did play the starters for most of the fourth instead of going with guys like Rudy and Outlaw. It just wasn't their night.

 

Wow. Good info, man. Thanks. Pretty much sums up the game.

I wouldn't have yanked Joel, Rudy and Trav either, tbh. And Sergio really payed off in the 2nd half when Nate showed confidence in him through the 1st half.

I'm just so proud of our guys right now.

 

And by not playing the starters to much in the first half they had the legs to play well in the second.

 

Seems to me Nate just keeps a level head. No reason to panic in the first half and disrupt the regular rotations. Then, 2nd half, game on the line, he substitutes (or doesn't as the case may be) perfectly ... = Blazer's Victory

 

Got the Pistons broadcast and while I miss Mike & Mike, it was interesting to see their take on this team. They repeatedly praised Portland's ball movement, at one point saying "isn't it pretty"? This Blazer team continues to surprise out of towners. They know theoretically there are really good players on this team but have not yet awakened to the fact that the Blazers are a really good team. I see that over and over.

What impressed me a lot about the Blazers was the way they did not panic when the Pistons took a 4th quarter lead. They never let the game get away (I believe Detroit's largest lead was 4) and kept to their game plan. Detroit is IMO the 2nd best team they will face on this road trip and to start off with a big win is huge.

Got to go, time to take the cookies (apricot bars with chocolate chips and pistachios) out of the oven.

 

exactly!

 

You are joking right. How do the Blazer starters have a + 117?

 

Aldridge +23
Batum +28
Oden +26
Blake +21
Roy +19

Just simple math. I didn't say they outscored the Pistons by 117.

 

After todays win I think there is a real good chance we can go 4-1 on this road trip... would be awesome if we could beat Boston though and go 5-0!

 

The best part of the game to me was Oden DOMINATING the paint late in the game. He altered quite a few shots, and you could see the Piston players adjusting their drives whenever Oden was near.

This was the best Oden has played this year.

 

Plus he actually laughed on the court after Johnson hammered him. LMA said something to Oden, and Oden smiled and laughed in return. I'd love to know what LMA said to him.

 

I didn't see your post before I made a similar comment about Oden, but I feel exactly the same way. Now if Oden can stay away from the cheap fouls, he should be a closer from now on.

 

The New York game kind of scares me a little bit. We should win the game, but it'll be their first game post-Marbury after he gets his buyout on Monday as he's become just a total goofball and distraction.
They'll no doubt want to play well, but they only play seven guys a game. Golden State played absolutely no defense against them the other night.

Hopefully our bench actually comes to play so we can just wear NY down.

 

Batum continues to impress. Brandon Roy is a big part of his development, IMO. He keeps Nic relaxed and gets him the ball in positions to score.

Greg is looking better. He still has a lot of rust to shake off though. He looked great down the stretch.

Sergio cannot finish at the rim to save his life. His jumper is still stiff and rigid. His inability to score will hold him back, IMO.

 

Sergio was 3 for 3 from the field today, and had eight points. Sure, his jumper is still not consistent but I think his problem is more his desire to dribble for way too long and dribbling around the court for the first 15 secs of the shot clock.
He had 3 TOs today. He just needs to let the offense flow, and give the ball up and set up the play instead of taking it upon himself most of the time.

 

That's the first I've seen Greg smile on the court this year. I think if you asked him, Greg might answer this is the first game he feels his play impacted the win. Might be the reason he allowed himself to smile.

I think this is the first game LA, Roy, Oden, Blake, and Batum finished the game together. Might be the first time the Big 3 have all played together well and did their individual unique thing, in the same game.

Tough game for Rudy. I think we took the Pistons best shot, which makes this so much more satisfying.

 

Tough game for Rudy and Outlaw, yet still the team wins.

So many weapons...

 

Good videos up on NBA.com

Brandon Roy post-game interview
http://www.nba.com/video/games/pist...y_20081130_sot.nba/index.html?player=whatsnew

1st half highlights
http://www.nba.com/video/games/pist...20800247_1h_hl.nba/index.html?player=whatsnew

Game recap
http://www.nba.com/video/games/pist...20800247_recap.nba/index.html?player=whatsnew

Allen Iverson whining about not getting enough PT to get into a rhythm, and all about himself
http://www.nba.com/video/games/pist...n_20081130_sot.nba/index.html?player=whatsnew

 

You could have picked a better time to say this. He was 3/4 today I believe.