Dog on Press Row, Trailin' not Blazin'

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by SlyPokerDog, Nov 3, 2014.

  1. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    Messages:
    125,966
    Likes Received:
    146,244
    Trophy Points:
    115
    Dog On Press Row – Trailin’ not Blazin’

    There isn’t much to say from the game view that you at home didn’t see for yourselves on TV. Similar to the previous two games, the Blazers are struggling to score and put together 4 quarters of consistent effort.

    Let’s focus on the good first, courtesy of the Blazers post game notes:

    With a block in the first quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge surpassed Clyde Drexler for sixth all-time in Trail Blazers history for most blocked shots (595).

    Dishing out his fifth assist of the night with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, Damian Lillard notched assist number 1,000 for his career. Lillard is one of nine players since 1985 to score 3,000 or more points and record 1,000 or more assists in 167 games.

    With the final score resting at 95-90, the past three games between the Trail Blazers and Warriors have been decided by a combined eight points.

    LaMarcus Aldridge finished the night with 26 points and 13 rebounds, notching his fourth double-double in the past five games he’s played against Golden State.

    Leading by one point at 80-79 with 5:05 remaining in the fourth quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge scored the final 10 points for the Trail Blazers. Aldridge was 5-of-7 from the field in the fourth quarter.

    Portland outrebounded Golden State 56-41. The Trail Blazers hauled in 17 offensive rebounds compared to seven for the Warriors.

    Robin Lopez hauled in five offensive rebounds in the first half and is tied for first in the NBA with 15 offensive rebounds. Lopez finished the night with 12 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

    Now the ugly:

    We lost.

    We lost a very winnable game.

    The Blazers are not executing, not getting easy, high quality looks at the basket.

    We’re not running the pick and roll effectively at all. In a night when LaMarcus had a very favorable matchup at the power forward position he did more of a pick and slide to the 3pt line instead of a pick and roll to the basket. We get it, LaMarcus has worked on his 3pt shooting but is trying to figure out how to incorporate it into his offensive game. With Lillard, Matthews and Batum all being good 3 pt shooters I’m not sure this is something we need from our starting power forward.

    It’s clear that Lillard has worked on his defense and is putting in a concerted effort. He did a pretty good job on Curry last night but the game was lost because of a lack of offense, not defense. Lillard’s focus on the defensive end is taking him out of his offensive rhythm. That said, it seems like Lillard could easily break out of his shooting slump.

    While Robinson brings hustle and amazing athleticism he plays out of control and makes head scratching mistakes. He did bring energy at a time when the Blazers needed it but at the expense of silly turnovers and being lost on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court at times.

    Final thoughts:

    I see that only 3 games into the season the sky is falling mentality has settled into Blazerdom. I’m just not feeling the same angst. I see a team that hasn’t executed for 4 quarters yet, but that is more of chipping the rust off than it is watching a team that is not is not constructed well and that has holes in the roster. I see no chemistry issues, no personal issues and a team that could easily be 3-0. I’m just not feeling the despair and hand-wringing that some of you are. It will be interesting to see how this team responds against Clebron Cavaliers Tuesday night.
     
    Eastoff likes this.
  2. Eastoff

    Eastoff But it was a beginning.

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2009
    Messages:
    16,060
    Likes Received:
    4,035
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tualatin
    Good read. I'm not crazy about explicitly labeling "bad" and "good"
     
  3. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    Messages:
    125,966
    Likes Received:
    146,244
    Trophy Points:
    115
    bad dog? good dog?
     
  4. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2009
    Messages:
    30,672
    Likes Received:
    8,852
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    retired, while you work!
    The good news is that Aldridge finished a game well; very rare for our so-called all-star.

    The bad news is that you don't know that "head-scratching" has a hyphen. The last time I proofread your post, I pointed to a hyphen error, but you learned nothing. Does this bug you?

    "The good news is that Aldridge finished a game well; very rare for our so called all star."

    "While Robinson brings hustle and amazing athleticism he plays out of control and makes head scratching mistakes."

    Last time, I also said that you leave out many commas. Tisk tisk. I mean, tisk, tisk.

    Looks like I'll have to teach you how to write, rook. My main goal is to steer you away from the dominant paradigm in these parts, the Oregonian's silly flaky style of sportswriting.

    "That said, it seems like Lillard could easily break out of his shooting slump."

    Yuck. Two bad habits in one sentence.

    "There isn’t much to say from the game view that you at home didn’t see for yourselves on TV."

    You sure know how to motivate a reader to begin reading.

    "I see a team that hasn’t executed for 4 quarters yet, but that is more of chipping the rust off than it is watching a team that is not is not constructed well and that has holes in the roster."

    If you must go out on a limb, don't grab the reader when you fall off.
     
  5. magnifier661

    magnifier661 B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2009
    Messages:
    59,328
    Likes Received:
    5,588
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Cracking fools in the skull
    Location:
    Lancaster, California
    Sweet write up sly!
     
  6. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2009
    Messages:
    30,672
    Likes Received:
    8,852
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    retired, while you work!
    This may be the worst thing I've read since all the papers predicted Dewey would win. Which made me vote for him.
     
  7. Strenuus

    Strenuus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2013
    Messages:
    50,706
    Likes Received:
    36,019
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Sometimes I can't tell if you're joking.
     
  8. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2009
    Messages:
    30,672
    Likes Received:
    8,852
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    retired, while you work!
    I'm joking. Good luck in your steep climb, Sly. You will represent us well.

    I'm joking about that, too. No, I'm not joking. You will do well.

    I just said I'm not joking. Does that cover my initial proofreading analysis, too?
     
  9. HomerLovesKoolAid

    HomerLovesKoolAid I have a well-known member.

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2010
    Messages:
    7,352
    Likes Received:
    7,513
    Trophy Points:
    113
    There is always some truth in humor. They may send him down as a Crabbe insider to cover the Mad Ants.
     
  10. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2009
    Messages:
    30,672
    Likes Received:
    8,852
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    retired, while you work!
    Sly's a good writer. It will be hard to create new things to say for 41 home games. So I'll lay off the minutiae and encourage him the same way my father encouraged me.

    Now, where's my belt.
     
  11. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    Messages:
    125,966
    Likes Received:
    146,244
    Trophy Points:
    115
    I suck, I know I suck.
     
  12. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    Messages:
    125,966
    Likes Received:
    146,244
    Trophy Points:
    115
    And I won't being doing this for 41 games. We're going to be getting others involved, like we did with Boob-No-More last night. It's not a benefit for the forum if only one person gets to do it.
     
  13. HomerLovesKoolAid

    HomerLovesKoolAid I have a well-known member.

    Joined:
    Oct 4, 2010
    Messages:
    7,352
    Likes Received:
    7,513
    Trophy Points:
    113
    You do not suck. You keep working hard and you'll make it into press tier 11.
     
  14. BBert

    BBert Weasels Ripped My Flesh

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    26,665
    Likes Received:
    20,374
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Poster Boy
    Location:
    Blazerlandia
    Seriously. Our PF working on the three point shot is fine. But it should be used opportunistically. When the defense isn't ready for it. Meanwhile, exploit the fucking matchups down low for fucks sake, where you have a high probability for a score or a rebound and a score. Yeesh.
     
    SlyPokerDog likes this.
  15. BBert

    BBert Weasels Ripped My Flesh

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    26,665
    Likes Received:
    20,374
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Poster Boy
    Location:
    Blazerlandia
    This is what I've been wondering about since the first game. He was clearly working hard on showing his new defensive chops, but his shots seemed out of his normal rhythm. The answer isn't to abandon defense entireley, but be smart about it, keep working and get used to it, then eventually the offensive flow will work itself out.
     
    SlyPokerDog likes this.
  16. BrianFromWA

    BrianFromWA Editor in Chief Staff Member Editor in Chief

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2008
    Messages:
    26,096
    Likes Received:
    9,073
    Trophy Points:
    113
    He has 6 3 pointers and 43 mid-range jumpers in 3 games. I don't think the 3 is the problem.
     
  17. BBert

    BBert Weasels Ripped My Flesh

    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2008
    Messages:
    26,665
    Likes Received:
    20,374
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Poster Boy
    Location:
    Blazerlandia
    Yeah, the three was supposed to supplant the looong two pointers. That's fine, but either take a three when the defense isn't ready for it or get a little bit closer. (Maybe all his threes have been wide open? IDK.) Setting up for a looong two or a contested three is not very smart basketball.
     
  18. blue9

    blue9 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2012
    Messages:
    10,729
    Likes Received:
    7,169
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Tell it to Stotts!
     

Share This Page