Roy's Pistons vs Gordon's Blazers Official Game Thread

I second everything you wrote.

 

Epic meltdown??? It's mid-November...

 

The funny thing is, if Portland had had the crap stretch in the third quarter and come back to win close, the board would be bursting with admiration for the great comeback and how poised and clutch the team was.

I guess the team hasn't found the right timing, yet, for when to have its runs and slumps during the game. Right now they're winning, but eventually they'll learn to win the right way: get outscored in the second and/or third quarter and be good in the first and fourth quarters (can't start slow or end slow, both are signs of being losers...winners time their bad stretches for the middle of the game!).

It's a long season. Ration your panic. Save some angst for actual losses, don't burn yourself out on mere moral defeats.

 

We played like shit down the stretch and almost gave this one away.................... BUT we didn't. 9-4 and we will go down and blow out a garbage G State team and then come home and beat a weak ass Minny team. I'm very content with 11-4, are you kidding me.

 

Now that's some funny shit right there, I don't care what ya say!

 

I would still be troubled by any stretch of play that reduced a 20 point lead to 2 in 10 minutes no matter when it happened.

I am glad they won but the team doesn't look all that great right now. I am hoping they are just playing down to the level of the competition and will raise their game when they play someone who is for real.

We won't know that for a while yet. They don't play a half way decent team until next Monday (Bulls), then have a cush schedule until the following Saturday (Utah).

I saw on Blazersedge that Roy, when asked what he felt his role was, asked that same question to the reporter.

Does that sound like something to be thrilled with?

 

Ouch.

Roy at SF in Nate's scheme is a misuse of our best player. Start Miller, Roy and a SF (Martell). At the very least, start Miller, Roy and taller guard (Rudy). But really, play Roy at SG and start a SF. Please. Throw Dante to the wolves for a few minutes with the second unit, and give Roy a few SF minutes against the other team's backup, but Roy should play SG in the starting lineup. Please.

 

You look at this game, the Atlanta game, and even some of the previous games before that. The problem is a lack of a killer instinct. The Blazers get to the 4th quarter, and they start standing around and not doing the things that got them there in the first place. We have many repeated incidents now of them blowing 4th quarter leads. We have many incidents where Aldridge is smoking in the first half, and then in the 2nd half, they just quit going to him, or as i this game, don't even have him on the court for a lot of the 4th quarter where the lead was blown. They quit attacking the paint, stand around and shoot jumpers. Way to play into the other teams hands. Way to lack the killer instinct.

 

Why? Basketball is a game of runs...every team in the league is going to have games where they have a big lead which then evaporates, including the eventual champion. It's annoying when it happens, but being "troubled" implies that it's a bad sign for the team which I just don't see.

I don't see a trend. Did they play to the level of Minnesota or Memphis? They beat San Antonio by double digits, barely lost to Denver and split with Houston (who has, so far, been playing like a good team). They don't look perfectly in sync, but they also don't look like a team lucky to have the record they do, IMO.

No, but it also doesn't sound all that alarming. I think Roy will figure it out, and the team will figure out the best way to play to maximize the talents on hand. It's not like Roy has been a non-factor so far. A little confusion while they recalibrate their team offense is not that big a deal. If they were 4-9 during that stretch, it would be a problem. I don't think they're playing their best basketball and yet they're in perfectly good position to contend for one of the top seeds, through the early going. Sure, there's been an assist from the schedule, but even when the schedule toughens, the team is likely to be better due to more experience playing together.

Mainly, I've realized over many years of watching the NBA that you can't discern season trends or stories from how a team is winning (or losing) games over a short stretch early on. The dynamics keep changing. You just want to see wins over any particular stretch of games. If later in the season, they still seem to be out of sync, it'll be a bigger worry...especially if it is translating into losses. Until then, though, enjoy the wins...they count for the same in the standings no matter how they come. I don't think you can translate how they beat Detroit into how they'll play against the Lakers or Celtics.

 

One problem with your statement Minstrel. You act like the best teams have leads evaporate every game. They dont'. They kick the shit out of teams most games, and have the occasional lapse. Right now, Portland has lapses every game. In fact, it is forming such a pattern, I am pretty sure most scouts have noticed it. Portland tightens up and lets down in the 4th quarter instead of powering through the 4th quarter like past years. It all comes down to stopping playing the clock and keep playing basketball in the 4th quarter.

Good teams don't play for 3 quarters. They play for 4.

 

I didn't say anything of the sort. The Blazers also don't have big leads evaporate every game. They had a bunch of blow-out wins last year. This year, they've had several blow-out victories already and have won some other games by double-digits.

If you define "lapse" as "being outscored over any segment of the game" then every team suffers them every game.

Two games isn't a pattern.