Rule 1 you must have watched 3 quarters. Rule 2: I want a short essay your 9th grade English teacher would be proud to read. No Coach Pop three sentence answers. Rule 3: Go Blazers!
Each of the two sporting organizations participated in the evening's contest with noticeable intensity. barfo
I listened to three quarters and my post game analysis is that wheels is already I mid season form. His Batum shakalaka was on point. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I was impressed with a couple of things watching the game last night. The first is that the offense weathered the initial 10-for-10 storm without getting too down or pressing too hard on their own end. They were still taking shots within the flow, they were still looking for good ones. This game reinforced three "Stotts-isms" that I don't love. The first, which you'll be surprised to hear, is the system of offense that ensures that Aldridge stays, for the most part, 16-23 feet from the hoop. When he went inside he destroyed Kevin Love. Yet on the first play he was set up--on a beautiful play call and execution, by the way--with the ball in his hands 17' from the hoop and no one on his side of the floor. He almost looked like he wanted to drive for a second, and then shot a front-rim jumper that missed. The second is the vanilla defensive system that we normally employ. Last night, there were "only" seven steals, but it's a 28% increase over our "normal" less-than-five per game, ostensibly because Coach doesn't want the defense to gamble. Yet Lopez, Batum and Lillard were able to use their quick hands to disrupt the flow of the Cavaliers' offense and create fastbreak opportunities that allowed easy points. Perhaps it's a coincidence that the best defensive performance, in terms of opponent's shooting percentage, that the team's had was the same game that they had their season high in steals, and season high in shooting percentage, but I don't think so. The third is his propensity to look for any attempt to leave Robinson on the bench. He sat the pine for the first two games before 8 minutes against GSW and 11 spark-filled minutes where he grabbed eight rebounds. I think he's earned some more time, but Coach says that after Kaman and Blake, the rotation is "situational". I'll buy that, if Truck's "situation" is "with about 3 minutes left in the first and third quarters and anytime the team needs a boost".
2 cents from the riverbank! I was completely impressed by Stotts game plan and rotations. Finding Rolo open off the LA double teams early was brilliant and Rolo in my opinion gets the game ball for this win. It was a pick your poison game for the Cavs. We made them pay from 5 positions on the court. Wes and Nic did an amazing job on the defensive end taking Lebron completely out of the game. Both TRob and Will had an impact off the bench and Kaman was a beast. Damian played like a man obsessed. He was faster, stronger and more decisive than Irving all night. For the first of these 4 games no opposing player scored 30 or more points. The Blazers played a complete game from the tip off to Allan Crabbes first bucket at the end. TRob impressed me after not playing much in the previous games he came off the bench and looked like Dennis Rodman on the boards. Ball movement is back! We looked like an elite team for the first time since the Rockets playoff win. Wheels christened some of his trademarks last night with the first," Blatt looks bewildered befuddled and bemused!" The great thing about beating the poster boys of the east was that not only Blazer fans got to see this. The world was watching from China to Brazil. On the big stage, the good guys were stellar! All in all a quality win at home against a team that is getting tons of attention and press. Go Blazers!
Okay I'm at work and here's my take... 1.) ENERGY - The players, all of them, had pip in their step. They looked focused and on a mission to prove how good they are on a national stage. The defense from the last 38 minutes looked old skool Seattle Sonic-isque. It was such a delight to watch. 2.) Blake did such a wonderful job on defense, which is a sigh of relief. Do we remember how Mo would play bullfighter with his man? 3.) Dame just dominated the game. He was looking to attack on all possessions. What really stood out was that we wasn't anticipating the defense before he made his move. This was the first time this season that he looked like he didn't give a crap who was on him, what the defense was, he was gonna attack regardless. That's the making of a superstar. We need more of this Dame if you are reading this! 4.) Batum and Matthews defensively.... IMPRESSIVE! LBJ was so gassed by the end of the game because Stott's put a fresh body on LBJ. Also, Batum had moments where he was on Irving; which disrupted his flow. 5.) Matthew's post up game really impressed me the most. We need a guard that can create offense off the post. It's how we defeated Harden's Rockets last playoffs. The more we utilize Matthews like this, the much stronger we will become as a team! 6.) DEFENSE!!!! DEFENSE!!!!
