Me too. I was high on Turk at the time of free agency because of him being able to relieve Roy of doing everything, helping Oden out (although that obviously wouldn't be the case today since he got hurt), and he is/was clutch. However, I am really glad we got Miller, so smart, great player.
miller really stopped taking jumpers..almost all his points are in the paint now...earlier in the year he was taking to many jumpers/ugly fadeaways
Great win. The Raptors were just hitting everything all game long - or at least up until the last couple of minutes. The Blazers had to take it from them and did, with offensive boards and raining threes. Good all around games from lots of guys, good passing, good effort. The 4th threatened to turn into Roy-on-5, on a night where he really wasn't hitting, but ultimately didn't. I liked that, and hope to see it continue well into the playoffs.
At no point was signing Turk a good idea. Old, declining, too big of contract. No thank you. I also didn't like that it would have blocked Batum. I really just don't know what KP was thinking. Glad it didn't happen.
The only bad part about tonight was that Batum had 22 points on 9 shots, and LA had 22 points on twenty one shots. But a W is a W.
Every day we get to see Batum - we need to remind us what a world-class pritchslap it was to get him and not let him go to the Spurs. Kid is something else. I know I have said over and over - but before Oden was out - we were #2 in the league in defensive efficiency. Just imagine how we would look with both big Greg and Nic playing at the same time this year. Ay Caramba!
Let's relax with the KP was insane talk. Hedo was coming off being a huge contributor to a team that just made the NBA Finals. I'm glad it didn't happen, but it not like KP was signing Bruce Bowen to a max deal.
I really hope we can re-sign Camby. I realize it's a long shot, and his family is going to want to stay in LA, but man...... I would love to have him mentoring Oden.
LA has fallen in love with the fade away jumper too much lately. When he was attacking the rim good things were happening tonight.
Last year he shot 46% from the field 37% from 3s and 81% from the line... shooting high percentages is at least a part of offense right? Being able to do so in limited opportunities isn't something I count against him... thats a plus. He also showed a bit of a handle and was a solid finisher on the break. Being efficient on O and their top wing defender since... geez, Pip(?) as a young rook dealing with a language barrier, I don't know why you're mocking the masses for recognizing something early that has panned out. I just read through this game thread... are you having a really bad day or something? The Blazers won STOMP
I like Dante, but I don't see room for him right now. We're trying to get our rotation set for the stretch run. I don't really see Dante contributing much during the playoffs, but you never know I guess...
I am not sure it still is obvious. Although Miller has proved to be a great fit, I am not sure we know how Turk would have fit with a Oden, LMA, Roy and Bayless/Blake line up. He still is a smart player who can pass and shoot. Just because he sucks with Toronto doesn't mean he would suck with the Blazers, Lakers or Spurs. But the bottom line is Batum is the real deal.
9-21 isn't awful, and when you account for LMA's 8 offensive rebounds (12 total), it becomes a fine game. But go ahead and rag on LMA all you like, if it gets your rocks off.
I'd like to see him take minutes from Webster personally. We've given up way too many 2nd chance baskets recently and I think he could really cut down on the lazy D that often grips this team.
Not much for Dante even then; Martell played 5 minutes tonight (and wasn't awful; the team was +5 while he was in).
