And all teams struggle with the second game of back-to-backs. This is pretty standard. In addition, Portland was dealing with the thin air of Denver, that the Nuggets are much more used to. Being fatigued AND dealing with lower oxygen content...let me guess, bullshit excuses? Real men aren't bound by biology?
Okay, it is Friday, so I did the math and added it to the original post. Some interesting trends. Our first quarter point differential (-0.34) extrapolated to a full game would put us somewhere below Phoenix and around Milwaukee in terms of success.
Fatigue is real. But when we face teams coming off a back to back, most fade in the 4th quarter, not the first. Also, the trend of having horrible first quarters goes way beyond back-to-back games.
Your muscles have never been tight when you workout two days in a row and then once you get a sweat going you loosen up?
fatigue is a ridiculous excuse in my book. I've enough history working out to know that in shape guys do not lose their energy supply running and jumping for 30 minutes or so over a 2-3 hour period to the point they can't do it again the next day. Claiming to be tired is more publicly acceptable then calling out the biased officiating towards the home team that happens most every game. Adjusting to altitude on the other hand is totally legit. Denver players (and to a lessor extent Utah's) enjoy a huge advantage being acclimated. When I leave SF for mountaineering trips in the Sierras (see my pix) that first day or two in high altitude can be very humbling. STOMP
Fatigue is something I am quite familiar with. I am a marathon runner (2:54 this year, Boston next month) and face this on multiple days. You can warm up properly to get you going. Stiffness is a part of any athletic training. However, the fatigue of tired muscles sets in toward the end of the activity. If you are truly fatigued in the first quarter on the second night, then your fitness level and preparation is off. Most importantly, the point of this thread is not that fatigue isn't real, just that Blazers are a poor first quarter team and shouldn't be blaming continued poor first quarters on fatigue. What is their excuse for the rest of the season? It might just be the youth, but I think they need to examine their pre-game preparation. They are a mid playoff team who plays like a mid-lottery team in the first quarters.
Totally agree with this statement, but again, it doesn't excuse the trend of poor first quarter play for the rest of the season.
That travel will wear on you. They got in at 2:15 AM and weren't in there beds til 3:15! After a tight game. That can tire you out.
Fine. What about the rest of the season? I'm not talking about just last night's game, but this disturbing trend of playing like a bottom-dweller in the first quarter, and then having to catch up the rest of the game.
They've struggled at times in the past month or so, but it's hardly been any kind of season long trend. Christ people, try to enjoy the fact that the team is fifteen games over .500
I'd guess youth/focus is the likely culprit. As you alluded, experience can help teach the athlete what they need to do to prepare. Learning how to be closer to "the zone" as the ball drops is part of this too. btw... my buddy finished top 10 in the Hard Rock 100 this last year STOMP
NO damnit, if they don't win each and every of their remaining games, get HCA and advance to the WCF's than this season is a bust, worthless, not even worth the time to watch them. ok, sarcasm off. seriously, they struggle in the first quarter of quite a few games, but you know what, they play really well in the second half of games. and can we change the name of this forum from ripcitytwo.com to blazerfansarebipolar.com? it seems like it would be much more fitting.
Wow. I can't imagine doing that. I can go fast for about 26 miles, but my body shuts down after that. I do enjoy their record and am very proud of where they are. I just think there might be something they could do in game prep that would have netted them a couple more easy wins.
The amusing thing is that if the Blazers started games great, but lost games by fading in the second half, there would be threads demanding to know why this team chokes games away. The moral of the story: You should be the best all the time. If you're not, there will be an inquiry into why you chose to let all yours fans down by struggling at times. And if you are the best, you'd better not lose any games...because losing to a worse team is clear evidence of being mentally/emotionally weak.
Maybe the team can just appear to games in the 2nd half. Will also cut the laundry bills if they are only used 24 minutes each day, I suppose. A little bit like Formula 1's one engine for 2 races policy...
Most teams do not win all four quarters. So if you had to pick one of the four to play bad in, Which one do you pick? I pick the 1st. If you can pick one of the 4 qts to play well in, which one do you pick? I pick the 4th. (and statistically i think we do) Of course some games we just plain suck. That happens too.
The only running I really do is pickup hoops. I have done a few centuries bike riding and I'm with you... running 100 seems pretty insane. From your answer back I'm not sure you realize how outrageous this particular 100 mile race is. The first paragraph in this link starts to capture it. STOMP
One of my friend has illusions of doing this http://www.badwater.com/ Its only 135 miles in the dead of summer in Death Valley...i dont see the big deal Its so hot the runners have to change shoes during the race cause the pavement melted off the bottom of their shoes...no biggie
