And it bit him in the Ass. when interviewed at the beginning of the 4th, Nellie said they (meaning him) found a chink in the Blazer D. He gave a little cocky/smug look and then proceeded to watch as his team scored 9 points in the 4th. That had to hurt the old ego. Nice counter by Nate and great job keeping the Blazers focused when they looked dead in the water. Nice zone D down the stretch. Usually a zone does not work against the three point shooting warriors.
As much as MIXUM will say the Warriors lost (and they did make some awful plays) we played really smart in the 4th, and aggressive. Nate rode Rudy's hot hand early in the 4th, and Andre was awesome late in the 4th... that foul? He totally baited his defender into bumping him. It was totally pro. Teaching this team to play like they're behind even when they're up is tough when they're mentally tired like they are (how can you get terribly excited about the playoffs after this fucking season?), but at least we play like we're behind when we're behind, and it's helping us win.
There's a first time for everything. We shouldn't have been in the position in the first place, if Nate had actually prepared the team. And give credit to GS for that glorious tank job. KP in 05 would have been proud of that one.
This was retro-Nate. He used to have a reputation for having really good instincts when to switch defenses from man to zone. We haven't really seen that this season. Thankfully, he pulled it out of his back pocket at the right time.
I have to agree somewhat. But I will give Nate some credit for finally making an in game adjustment against Nellie that played to his own team's strengths vs. going small and playing into Nelson's hands. I should feel better that this team finally broke the drought they had in GS, but for some reason this win brought me little happiness and instead I found myself saying "what the hell took so long"
Absolutely right. Miller is a very smart player, and he knows how to maximize his strengths. I'm a little surprised that people on this board don't sing his praises more. The guy is a stud.
The D was a factor in them getting cold. The zone took away the one on one dribble penetration that was killing, it also got us into the passing lanes more. (Several passes were tipped or nearly stolen) It is true that they cooled off from their 75% clip they were shooting for 3 quarters, (as usually happens with jump shooting teams) but the defensive energy was dramatically different in the 4th. Goldenstate did not get the same looks. Nellie thought that "chink" he found was going to win the game. (And was looking that way) but Nate countered with a bigger line up and a zone. I doubt it would have worked all game long, but it did when it counted.
Good point. Miller was battling underneath the whole game. His shooting stats were not the best, but he was attacking the basket. He made Curry a liabilty in the 4th by posting him up. It was nice to see him take pressure off Roy down the stretch as Roy was obviously tired from his strong 3rd quarter.
I'll sing his praises... His fouling out of Monta Ellis on that drive to the hoop late in the game was one of the smartest plays by a Blazer this season. He lowered his shoulder and took it straight at Ellis, causing the contact in a situation in which Miller really didn't have a lane to the basket. His ability in a split second to decide to take it at Monta may have won the game for Portland.
The Blazers started the game 1-12 and finished at 41.9% FG, while Goldenstate shot 47.5% for the game, so saying that Portland won because Goldenstate got cold is pretty stupid. Goldenstate lost because they got woefully outrebounded and Portland kept going inside and getting fouled. Goldenstate is just too injured and undersized that even with Portland continuing to play in a fog for 36 minutes they still managed to win. I hope Portland wakes the fuck up pretty soon and starts playing for 48 minutes, or they won't just get eliminated in the first round, they'll get swept.
Finally, someone actually paying attention to what happened on the court and not just whine. Nicely done! Wonder if this is part of the "easy" matchup or something. The good news is, it seems like Roy is finally up from his mid-season nap. As Roy goes, so does this team, so hopefully - we will see them play tough for longer stretches.
