no excuses not to win both of these games. Just stick to Kleiza and Smith like GLUE! We have tendencies to let good 3pt shooters get open looks.
agree 100%...blazers have to win both games. it would be pretty sad to lose to the nuggets without melo
This helps us in the rematch in Portland. But it makes me uneasy for tonight. Teams always play that much harder without their star. The Blazers have to go into this game with the right attitude. Denver does not want to lose 5 in a row. So tonight's is huge for them.
That is going to be a big loss for them. With possible tie breaker scenarios need at the end of the season I would think he would nut it up and play these two games. Oh well, I will take the victories.
Wow... this is HUGE. Let's take first place in the NW Division! And who wants to bet MB and Rice talk about how this is so bad for us, that the Nuggets will play harder without Melo?
It will certainly change their scheme, making somebody else the primary option (Billups, Smith?) so to say that his absence should guarantee a win or make it definitively easier for the Blazers to win, I'm not convinced. In fact a healthy Kleiza vs. a banged up Melo could make them more effective than they've been the past few games.
Ohhhh, this is huge! Has anyone else been going crazy without the Blazers playing recently? I've been snowed in for a week now and I've been craving some hoops action.
I won't bet because I said it above as well. It is a fact. For short periods of time teams will play harder without their star. Especially at home. But don't get me wrong I am glad he is out. Melo has had some huge games this month. But Smith, Billups, Atkins, Nene, Martin amd Kleiza, Balkman and Jones will come to play.
