Roy will come back this series. And even if he doesn't, we're fine. It doesn't matter how many points the Suns win by tonight. It's only one win.
The reason they are going off isn't luck, it's because they are getting wide open shots and the Blazer's are getting killed on the boards. The Blazers gave up on this one early.
If Batum is out, we are in serious fucking trouble. Who else do we have at the wing? Martell? Rudy? This season is a fucking joke..... sigh.
The issue is that they've figured out how to shut down LMA and speed up the tempo. This isn't luck. They have a coach that made adjustments.
Reminder: In Game 2 of the 2000 WCF, we won by 29. Carryover to next game? Nope. We lost the next two. There is no carryover in the playoffs. Look at how we responded in our last two home games of the playoffs last season despite being blown out in Game 1. We still have the edge against the Suns no matter how many points they score in the next 10 minutes.
Getting Aldridge into early foul trouble wasn't really coaching. That won't work in Portland. Now go off on Nate for an hour or so. Sometimes, teams get blown out. It's no big deal.
This team has very little margin for error w/o Roy. This debacle of a game shows that we can't let up for long on the Suns without the score getting completely out-of-reach.
The reason this game got away from us is because Camby couldn't make layups and LMA got in early foul trouble. We'll be fine next game. But Rudy has to sit it out.
I always remember the "Memorial Day Massacre" in Boston. Lakers still won that series after getting pummeled in Game One. I try to tell people to relax, but it isn't going to work at this place.
Well, even if Phoenix does win the series, they will be a lotto team for years to come soon after, quite possibly next year if Amare leaves. Of course, once Nash retires they are done. I found one way to bash them and make myself feel better.
So far they figured out how to: 1) Shut down Andre Miller 2) Shut down LMA 3) Kill us on the boards 4) Speed up the tempo 5) Realize that Rudy doesn't need to be defended Yea, there's no trouble signs here. This is just a fluke.
We missed some layups, LMA got in foul trouble, Rudy was given too many minutes. Those were our mistakes. We'll correct that in Game 3. The Suns are trying to make up for Game 1 but they can't. Our victory is still in the books. Were you really expecting us to sweep the Suns?
You are right, but if Batum has hurt his shoulder and needs surgery, that dramatically changes the series.