can someone PLEASE send this into the Blazers organization, mail it to wheels or rice or barrett, this must be made public
But Stephania was a good rebounder, something we could have used tonight in the 4th quarter. Parts of the 4th quarter actually looked like something scripted out of a holywood movie. Get 5 offensive rebounds in a row then drain the 3, next play get 5 offensive rebounds in a row and drain the 3. It was just ridiculous. We really should have had this game. We'd be feeling a lot better about ourselves if we'd won and won back home court advantage, but now that we've lost, people want heads to roll.
Probably not, but two of those fans you saw tonight sitting courtside sporting Blazer gear are relatives of mine. They called me after things ended, and they both were yelling at how they saw "Ref 13" (they don't know the refs by name) giving the middle finger toward the Blazer bench. I looked up which ref that was, and it's Mccutchin. He also claimed that a few of the people sitting around him saw it too and reacted. So yeah, not much to go on to say the least, that's why I put in "supposedly".
David West also has a mean inside game. The guy is huge around the basket in the games I've watched. And he always plays well against Portland, it seems. I think he's one of the toughest power forwards I've seen, and I'd love to have him on the Blazers.
those numbers really don't tell you anything, especially the steal and block numbers. when you think about it, if you're going for more blocks and steals you should also commit more fouls as well so that really doesn't help your point at all. anyone trying to blame the game 4 loss on the refs is ridiculous. i can't commit on game 3 because unfortunately i was only able to see the last few minutes, but game 4 was an evenly called game(which doesn't mean there weren't some terrible calls).
What I have seen do far in this series? 1) Scola is outplaying LA IMO...plain and simple....Even the most optimistic...but realistic fan could surely see that he is at least nuetralizing him (playing him equal).... 1a) LA is playing too soft...like him or not....Doug Collins (and the TNT gang) made some points that were spot on tonight....Who else besides Roy was putting ANY pressure on the Rocket defenders? LA is the 2nd wheel to this team currently, and he has settled for FAR TOO MANY jumpshots and seems hesitant to force the ball inside...and that is hurting this team's chances to win, you cannot expect Roy to be the only player to put pressure on HOU defensively.... 2) Travis Outlaw has been horrible this series....and quite honestly Nate does deserve criticism for why he insists on playing Outlaw more minutes than Rudy.....32 minutes tonight to for Outlaw and 24 (31 to 24 on Friday night) for Rudy...and Travis gets\takes the last 3pt shot over Roy or Rudy...that is unforgiveable IMO.....Travis at least showed up tonight, but his play on the 1st 3 games came nowhere NEAR to justifying the near 30min per he saw in those 3 games....Even tonight Travis yet again made some really poor decisions down the stretch.....I don't think Outlaw is the answer at SF nor do I see this team having playoff success with him being counted on to be a "key" scorer off the bench.....His play has been way to inconistent, and that is being generous... 3) Blake is showing that he is not a starting caliber PG for a team that aspires to be an NBA champion....I give Blake credit for his moxie, but in both of these games in HOU he made some BIG mistakes down the stretch....getting the ball stipped from behind tonight, that 3pt shot with 10 seconds to go on Friday...We have to play him b\c Sergio and Bayless (at least not yet) are not better options, but if POR wants to push farther in the playoffs in years to come then Blake needs to be the guy coming off the bench not starting\finishing the game.... 4) No one else can consistently be counted on to score outside of Roy....this is a real problem...LA is supposed to be that 2nd guy, but he has struggled with consistency, in part IMO b\c he has settled for too many jumpshots and allowed himself at times to be flustered (and passified) by HOU defenders...We need another few players to step up if POR wants to be a successful playoff team...Rudy could be that guy but he is not getting enough shot attempts (just 5 shot attempts tonight), nor is he getting enough minutes....Oden could be that guy down the road, but again his shot attempts are really limited....quite frankly now is not the time to try and feed the ball into Oden and let him learn on the job anyway,...that should have been done in the season but for whatever reason wasn't...and it is costing us a little now.... 5) A veteran would have been very helpful right about now....How would having Vince Carter have helped this team right about now? Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have dealt Rudy or Batum for a vet, but the failure of Prithcard to land a vet for LaFrentz's contract is costing us in this series....this team needs a veteran presence and another scorer to relieve some of the immense pressure on Roy right now and down the road....If this series has revealed anything it is that the "let it bake" mentality is not the answer...all the right pieces are NOT on this team yet..... 6) This team needs some inside toughness...a low post rebound\banger b\u PF could have really helped this series.... 7) Yao and the Rockets are getting away with thier physical play and POR bigs (Oden & Pryzbilla) are getting called for fouls on Yao for breathing on him....at least 2 of Oden's fouls were literally Yao banging into ODen and Oden getting called for the foul...very ticky tack fouls and ridiculus given the physicality of the playoffs and this series in general...and any HOU fan who says they weren't is a serious homer....I do think HOU is getting away with thier physical play and when POR tries to play physical back they are getting hit with fouls...part of this though, IMO is that this is the way HOU plays throughout the year, whereas POR has been a much more finesse team throughout the year...HOU more physical nature is allowing them to get away with some calls and POR seems out of character when they try and imitiate that sort of physical style of play...Well that and the "Don't touch Yao" memo that the refs this series apparently have been given......sarcasm aside, Yao is being called VERY inconsistently.....and Artest (and Battier) have gotten away with over physical play on Roy...but this is the time of year where a player's reputation has an effect....
