Instead of dumb threads talking about the ignore feature ($1000 bucks a certain poster reads this) lets talk about the knicks game. As i stated yesterday, for whatever reason, we struggle vs the lowly knicks. For 2 years i have wondered why this is. I think i got the answer from nate today. Before i reveal why we struggle or have stuggled, i will recap the last 4 meetings. 1. OT when they had zach and nate robison. we won but just barely. 2. In NY 2008, we had to have rudy get hot from 3 to pull away late. i was at the game. 3. Roys last second layup in which we trailed by 13 in portland (4th qtr) to escape 4. In Ny 2009 this season, a game i also attended they killed us and it wasnt close. this was the game after oden went down. no rudy, batum, or nate mcilllian, We had pryz but he was useless. they destroyed us. So my guess to why we have trouble with them is they take a lot of threes and we are a bad perimeter defensive team. always have been. they just bomb away from 3 and if they hit their shots and you start shooting jumpers... you are down by 20 in a heartbeat. see december 7th 2009. they made 14 threes that night. we made 0. This is a big game for us. We need these wins to move up vs bad teams and the knicks qualify. this is a big big trap game with denver on national tv thursday. if there was ever a game that could get over looked, this is it. but regardless if im right or wrong ... the knicks have our #.
Portland has always struggled with the D'Antoni system. I think it is as simple as that. I'm hoping Camby, plus Batum being back, negates a bit of this edge.
I agree with BGF here -- it is harder for us to impose our pace and style of play on fast, athletic, scrappy teams. NY is hardly the only one that has been a challenge for us in this regard. I do wonder, however, where you get "the Knicks have our #" from a 3-1 record. (EDIT: Not to mention that, as you said, their only win of those four came when we were missing 3 rotation players and our coach...) Something tells me that somewhere out there in Knick-land a grumpy Eeyore Knicks fan is asking "So what is it about the Blazers that give us so much trouble?"
your right trip BUT they also always play us very tight. never easy wins. i can just see this game like the wizards game. some differences between now and dec 7th... 1. Nate is there 2. Batum and Rudy are back 3. Webster is still nuts 4. We have camby 5. Its in portland and we are playing great.
i think it will be tough... final minutes type game where you are edge of your seat. actually alot like the okc game. big shots and good defense. holding your breath when knicks shoot 3's type of game. this will be a grind out type game.i will say if they score 100 +... we will likely lose.
I think the game will be much like the game last year against the Knicks at the Rose Garden where it took a Roy game winner to seal the game for us. EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg3g411***c EDIT....okay its not working for me but you get the point Also expect Camby to roll an ankle so that he doesn't have to play against the Nuggets on Thursday.
If we're to believe the theory about not playing against former teams, I predict he'll suddenly come down with the Turkoflu and be unavailable for tomorrow's game vs the vaunted Knickerbocker defense!
4 games over a couple of years is a small sample size. I don't think there's anything special about New York that gives Portland fits, I think it's simply random that Portland lost one and had three tight wins against them over the past four meetings.
