That can be the same that's said about our players. Nic played passive, our outside shooting was dismal, our bench only scored 7, yet the rockets couldn't win. As I said above, would this be the same message you send to Houston, because if we are using this same argument, Houston is in big trouble.
Houston uses that last victory of the regular season where they came from 17 down to win in OT as proof of their superiority. I guess in this circumstance, the knife only cuts one way.
Nic paying passive and the bench sucking are actually pretty normal traits for the Blazers. I don't think that means much.
Well not really. The bench averages more than 20 ppg. That's 13 below their season average. Batum was well below his average as well. And missing many freethrows, being the best free throw shooting team is telling as well.
Which is why I think that argument is shit. But what you do in the playoffs are much different than the regular season. You've been a fan for a long while, I'm sure you know this already.
They Blazers have the 30th ranked bench in the NBA in scoring. You saw that on display last night and it only gets harder for them in the playoffs. I'm not sure what your point with Nic is anyways as he scored more than his season average
If there was a possibility to be 40th it still wouldn't matter. They were -13 of what they can get. That's the point. Add 13 points and it's a blow out. Add us hitting our season average in free throws and it's a easy win. Subtract Houston's free throw average and it's a blow out. What I'm saying you can't use those stats of one game to decide the outcome of a series. It's a game by game performance. So far, we beat them. Let's see how they respond before we say how we are in for a tough ride. Pressure is 100% on Houston.
I just don't think it's a surprise the 30th ranked bench in the league only put up 7pts in a playoff game. An already tight rotation is even tighter so I wouldn't expect the bench to do much. It's basically Mo or nothing. Sure the Blazers could make more FTs or shoot better from 3, but they were actually better in those areas than Houston in game 1 amazingly enough. I get you're playing devils advocate and trying to tell the other side, but the fact remains the Blazers must play better if they want to win the series. I don't think they'll win the series if they continue to play like they did last night, something you already "100% agreed!" with in another thread. Pick a thought and stick with it!
You should be. They averaged 24.4ppg on .422 FG% during the regular season. Last night they scored 7 points on .142 FG%. That's a HUGE drop off. The good news is our bench can't really play any worse than they did last night. It's not like Houston's bench is that much better. During the regular season, their bench only averaged 2.9 more PPG than our bench, but last night their bench outscored ours by 14 points. Their bench for the regular season shot .425 FG% compared to our .422 FG%. Last night, they out shot us .411 to .142. Last night was an off night for our bench, even by our low standards. There is definitely room for improvement. As bad as our bench is, it's not THAT bad. You could say pretty much the same thing about Houston's 26th ranked bench. Basically Lin or nothing. Why is that amazing? During the regular season, we shot better from 3 and were the best FT shooting team in the league. Houston was a below league average 3-point shooting team and 28th in FT%. Even when we have an off night, chances are still good we will shoot better from distance and, especially, the FT line, than Houston. Again, you could say the exact same thing about Houston - they must play better if they want to win the series - especially since they are down 0-1 and no longer have HCA. BNM
Bro, what I said on the other thread was after the public statement by the nba. Funny how you try and use it for this thread. When u play 5-8 you must have everyone's best game. Then the refs can't take you out. But it seems you didn't catch that.
Stotts and the starters wanted to win this 1st game and they did, the bench will get to play down the road. TRob and Joel had good games, Dorell made 2 momentum changing defensive stops, Mo's shot was off. Dame was running the point and schooling Beverly so why mess with that? These are not back to back games so guys come in fresh each time.
I think we saw the players embracing that, and playing HUGE minutes and playing hard the whole game! I hope they come out with the same energy!
It's the way he said it. And the way Quick or Canzano would say it in a column is what makes them so 'annoying' (to use your polite term).
I get the impression, especially from that Dan Patrick interview, that the Blazers really are focused on winning each game, one at a time. They don't seem to take for granted anything, even being down by 13.
