The Blazers lost the swish3 contest in the Jan 23 DAL Mavs home loss 125-133. Blazers scored 21 of 39 vs Mavs 22 of 47. In the 1st Q, DAL scored 10 swish3s and a total of 45 points, as the Blazers allowed layups and were beaten on the boards while committing 4 TO. The lead grew to 15 at the half, from which the Blazers could not recover. Officiating was remarkably unprofessional again as there were numerous no-calls on Dame drives, most notably the hit in the head when the officials insulted Dame, and bias as if the refs were following Cuban rules again (as in the game in Dallas when any touch of Luka was a called foul, but Dame and other Blazers would get hard fouled with no call). Dame led scoring 8 of 15, Gary scored 6 of 7, Trevor scored 4 of 6, Melo scored 2 of 5, and Simons scored 1 of 3. Mario was 0 of 3. Gary scored a total of 20 with 7 of 10 FG in 31 min and should be starting instead of Simons. For the last 2 games (GSW and DAL), Dame scored a total of 108 points! This is all-star perfromance! Trevor had an excellent first game scoring 21 points on 7 of 10 FG shooting, with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 35 min. The back to back swish3s signal that we have another swish3 scorer that can help us win games!
The Blazers won the swish3 constest Jan 26 in the 139-129 win over IND Pacers. Blazers scored 20 of 35 vs IND 13 of 28. With this win, the Blazers have at last achieved a 50% home winning record. This was another excellent game for Dame who scored 50 points on 14 of 23 FG shooting, and with 13 assists!, aided by 28 points from CJ, and 21 points by Hassan, who also had 6 blocks! Dame led scoring 8 of 12, CJ scored 6 of 9, Melo scored 2 of 3, Gary scored 2 of 4, Nassir scored 1 of 1, and Trevor scored 1 of 4. Simons was 0 of 2. This was a game which the Blazers led from early on with hot shooting by Dame in the 1st Q (17 points on 4 of 4 FG and 7 of 8 FT), and hot shooting in the 3rd Q that shows the power of swish3 scoring. Let's continue the 20+ swish3s, passing, rebounding, and tighten up the defense to stop the layups and beat the Rockets!
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest, although shooting better %, in the Jan 29 home win 125-112 over HOU Rockets. The Blazers scored 13 of 36 vs HOU 17 of 47. Dame was exceptional again achieving his first triple double with 36 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds in 39 min. CJ had 22 points and 3 assists, Trevor had 21 points, and Hassan had 15 points and 5 blocks. Dame led scoring 6 of 12, Trevor scored 3 of 6, Gary scored 2 of 5, Simons scored 1 of 1, and CJ scored 1 of 7. Nassir was 0 of 1 and Melo was 0 of 4. This was a good game for ball movement, in which the Blazers bested HOU with 24 vs 21 assists. Trevor, Nassir, and Gary had notable games with energy and defense throughout. Dame is on a high performance roll, and can score a lot of points in the upcoming games. Now that the Blazers are at last up to a winning home record, there is a lot of reason for pride and confidence that can result in a much better winning % for the last half of the season.
The Blazers won the swish3 contest in the Jan 31 win 127-119 win over the LA Lakers. Blazers scored 13 of 36 vs LAL 11 of 32. Dame was exceptional again scoring 48 points, Hassan scored 30 on 13 of 14 FG with 5 blocks, and CJ scored 19 points. Wenyen started and played good defense along with Trevor, Hassan, Gary, and Nassir to maintain the Blazer lead. Dame starred scoring 7 of 12, Nassir scored 2 of 4, Gary scored 2 of 5, and CJ scored 2 of 9. Wenyen and Simons were each 0 of 1, and Trevor and Mario were each 0 of 2. This was an entertaining game and a landmark for the Blazers! This game again showed how determination and leadership by Dame is sufficient to beat even the conference leading team, and showed the remarkable achievement of scoring 40 swish3s in the string of the last 5 games. If Dame keeps playing like this, and Blazer passing and defense can be consistent, getting up to the 50% wins track might be possible.
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest (but shot a higher %) in the Feb 1 home win 124-107 over the UTA Jazz. The Blazers scored 15 of 29 vs UTA 18 of 31. Dame set another record of 49 swish3s scored in 6 games and a string of at least 6 swish3s each. Dame scored 51 points on 17 of 29 FG. Dame starred again scoring 9 of 15, CJ scored 2 of 4, Nassir and Simons each scored 1 of 1, Melo scored 1 of 3, and Gary scored 1 of 4. Trevor was 0 of 1. The efficient 51.7% Blazer swish3 shooting and scoring at least 15 gives us an enhanced chance of beating anyone. Let's keep up the great swish3 shooting by Dame, and get a few more from CJ, Gary, Nassir, and Trevor for wins against tough opponents ahead! It is a true pleasure to watch Dame play this well, to see the Blazers work well together, to experience defensive intensity and energy, and to see the development of a winning team spirit. This is fun basketball to watch!
The Blazers badly lost the swish3 contest in the Feb 4 loss 99-127 to the DEN Nuggets. Blazers scored only 9 of 31 (29%) vs DEN 17 of 34 (50%). The 24 point swish3 deficit accounts for most of the scoring failure. Blazers scored only 10 points in the 2nd Q, and that 18 point deficit stuck for the rest of the game. Blazers allowed Will Barton 4 swish3s and 4 others each 3 swish3s! There was terrible defense! CJ led scoring 3 of 7, Gary scored 2 of 5, Trevor, Simons, and Nassir each scored 1 of 3, and Dame scored 1 of 6. Mario was 0 of 1 and Melo was 0 of 3. The Blazers need 15+ swish3s to be in the game with strong teams like DEN, and must have others step up on nights when Dame doesn't carry the team with 8 or more swish3s. To be competitive with the Spurs, we need Dame scoring 5+, CJ and 2 others each scoring 3+, and 1+ from another. Let's imagine 17+ swish3s!
The Blazers won the swish3 contest in the Feb 6 home win 125-117 over the SAS Spurs. Blazers scored 18 of 37 vs SAS 10 of 28. This was an excellent game for Dame with 26 points and 10 assists, for Melo with 20 points and 4 assists, for CJ with 19 points and 6 assists, for Hassan with 17 points (on 8 of 10 FG) and 23! rebounds, and for Gary with 18 points and 4 assists. Blazers passed, had 28 assists, communicated, and played defense! Gary led scoring 6 of 7 (career high) off the bench, Melo scored 4 of 7, Dame scored 3 of 9, Simons scored 2 of 4, CJ scored 2 of 6, Trevor scored 1 of 4. In the 4th Q, Blazers scored 9 swish3s on 10 attempts and pulled away for the win! Despite unprofessional officiating that strongly favored SAS who scored 25 FT vs Blazers 9, Blazer determination and focus, especially in the 4th Q, made this another great game to watch! If the Blazers can continue the consistent determined play with passings, assists, and defense, staying above 50% wins at home and getting to the 8th playoff spot is in reach. Let's imagine another excellent team play game against the Jazz tomorrow!
The Blazers won the swish3 contest in the Feb 7 loss 113-117 to UTA Jazz. Blazers scored 17 of 40 vs UTA 10 of 30. This game was an egregiously unprofessional officiating job for which the 3 refs, Tiven, Forte, and Derosas should be fined. The goal tending no-call at the end of the game, giving UTA 8 more points by FT, the dozen or more no-calls of fouls of Dame, and 4 technicals on POR vs 2 on UTA show the bias. Dame led scoring 8 of 14, CJ scored 5 of 10, Mario scored 2 of 5, and Gary scored 2 of 8. Caleb was 0 of 1 and Melo was 0 of 2. Simons was fouled badly enough to give him a concussion that gave him only 4 min in the game, and not even a common foul was called when it was a flagrant. The Blazers deserve praise for determined play including good defense with Hassan missing due to injury and Trevor ejected 10 min in the 1st Q in this B2B. This game seems orchestrated to be a Blazer loss by the heavy hand of the refs. The Blazers shot only 1 FT in the 1st half! Let's see fouls called with consistency at both ends of the court and an even chance given to the Blazers by the refs in remaining games!
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest in the Feb 9 home win 115-109 over MIA Heat. Blazers scored 19 of 42 (45%) vs MIA 20 of 49. This was an excellent win over a winning team that featured a lot of 3s from both teams (total of 91). Dame had 33 points and now leads the NBA with 25 games of 30+ points. Gary had an excellent game off the bench with 22 points, notable shooting, great defense and hustle, and 4 steals, all with no TO. Trevor contributed 21 points on 7 of 10 FG shooting and had 3 steals and 1 block with no TO. Dame led scoring 6 of 15, Gary scored 5 of 7!, Melo scored 3 of 6, CJ scored 3 of 9, and Trevor scored 2 of 4. Wenyen was 0 of 1. This game shows that Blazer defense is improving and distributed swish3 shooting is powerful in winning games. This kind of play leads to wins! Let's imagine excellent play like this in the upcoming NOP and MEM games to get to 27 wins by the ASB, and continuing even stronger after the ASB with the return of Nurk and Zach.
The Blazers badly lost the swish3 contest in the Feb 11 loss 117-138 to NOP Pelicans. The Blazers scored only 7 of 29 (just 24%!) vs NOP 14 of 34. The weakness in swish3 shooting and allowing the most points scored assured the loss. Dame was contained in this game and shot too few swish3s. CJ led scoring 4 of 8, Trevor scored 1 of 1, Wenyen scored 1 of 2, and Simons scored 1 of 4. Caleb was 0 of 1, Dame and Gary were each 0 of 4, and Melo was 0 of 5. To have a chance for more swish3 scoring, Gary, Dame, and CJ need to shoot more swish3s. The goal should be 15+ swish3s to be competitive, and this needs more swish3 shooting by the productive scorers. And there has to be some defense! Allowing 75 points in the 2nd half and the flood of NOP drives to the basket, along with being out-rebounded 40-50 and out-assisted 21-40 show this was a down game for the Blazers. Perhaps the lack of defensive intensity and rebounding is a major reason for the unacceptable offense in the 2nd half and decisive loss of the game. The MEM game can and should be a win if Blazer defensive intensity, communication, passing, and swish3 shooting improve tomorrow!
The Blazers won the swish3 contest Feb 12 in the 104-111 loss to MEM Grizzlies. Blazers scored 13 of 37 vs MEM 6 of 23. This was a weak game for the Blazers who gave up 76 points in the paint, poor defense, poor rebounding, and not enough passing or good offense. Simons led scoring 6 of 7, CJ scored 3 of 9, Dame and Trevor each scored 2 of 7. Gary was 0 of 3 and Melo was 0 of 4. Melo was a season low 1 of 15 for FG and should have been passing to Hassan and Simons to take shots. Melo has 0 assists. This was a big letdown game after losing last night to NOP, and then not playing defense or having an active off-ball offense with communication and assists. This may also be effectively the end of the season with Dame being injured. Let's imagine Dame recovering, and Nurk and Zach returning after the ASB to allow 2 wins over MEM in the remaining season games.
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest in the Feb 21 home loss 115-128 to the NOP Pelicans. Blazers scored only 10 of 27 vs NOP 18 of 34. This was a game without Dame, with poor and inconsistent defense, with only 20 vs 34 assists, and with too many Blazer fouls called in the 1st half. Hassan had 6 blocks and CJ had 10 assists. Gary scored 3 of 4, CJ scored 3 of 8, Melo scored 2 of 6, and Trevor and Nassir each scored 1 of 2. Wenyen was 0 of 1 and Simons was 0 of 4. Without Dame in the game, Gary, CJ, and Trevor need to step up the swish3 shooting to get to the goal of 15+ scored to give a chance to win. The Blazers should at least keep up the season average of 34 3PA per game.
The Blazers won the swish3 contest in the Feb 23 home 107-104 win over DET Pistons. Blazers scored 13 of 30 vs DET 11 of 34. This was a season high 41 points and 12 assists game for CJ with Dame missing, and Melo scored 32 pts. Gary provided some key defense. CJ led scoring 6 of 11, Melo scored 5 of 9, Simons scored 2 of 5. Nassir was 0 of 1, and Gary and Trevor were each 0 of 2. This was a strange game in which the Blazers dominate the 1st Q scoring 40 pts, but then went to sleep scoring only 13 and playing weak defense in the 2nd Q to let DET back into the game. DET even built a 10 point lead. But the Blazers fought back with determined defense and found scoring in the 4th Q to pull this game out against a weak team that should not have beat them on the home court. Against BOS Celtics on the 25th, Blazers will need to score 15+ swish3s and aim for more than 130 point for a good chance to win. Let's imagine that CJ and Melo can continue to provide 72+ pts, and that Hassan, Trevor, and Gary can step up both defense and offense for a high power win!
The Blazers badly lost the swish3 contest in the Feb 25 home loss 106-118 to the BOS Celtics. Blazers scored 13 of 31 vs BOS 19 of 39. And allowed Tatum to score 8 of 12! The 18 point swish3 deficit held the Blazers out of range for a chance to win the game. CJ led scoring 5 of 12, Trevor scored 2 of 2, Melo scored 2 of 6, Hassan and Wenyen each scored 1 of 1, Simons scored 1 of 3, and Gary scored 1 of 5. Mario was 0 of 1. Notable features were 10 assists and 3 blocks for CJ, 19 rebounds for Hassan, 5 of 6 FG and 17 pts for Trevor, 3 steals for Gary, and 2 of 2 FG, 3 RB, and 8 pts for Caleb. Blazer defense was poor for most of the game, as we again watch way too many uncontested layups. With better defensive effort and more swish3 shooting, the Blazers have a chance to get wins on the upcomning road trip.
The Blazers weakly won the swish3 contest in the Feb 27 loss 100-106 to the IND Pacers. Blazers scored only 9 of 30 vs IND 8 of 25. The Blazers lost both rebounding 45-48 and FT scoring 9 vs IND 18. This was the 4th game without Dame. The Blazers played some defense in the 2nd Q holding IND to 13 pts and had a halftime 49-43 lead, but went inconsistent in the 3rd Q allowing IND 37 pts and too big a lead to overcome. Gary led scoring 4 of 8, CJ scored 3 of 12, and Trevor scored 2 of 6. Nassir was 0 of 1 and Simons was 0 of 3. Hassan scored 18 pts on 9 of 15 FG with 16 rebounds and 4 blocks. Caleb scored 6 pts with 3 of 4 FG and 5 rebounds and an assist in 12 min. The Blazers need more swish3 scoring (at least the 12 average or better 15+) and to improve swish3 and layup defense, and the next 7 games can be wins, especially with the return of Dame, and maybe Nurk and Zach!
The Blazers decisively lost the swish3 contest Feb 29 in the loss to ATL Hawks 117-129. The Blazers scored only 8 of 28 (an unacceptable 28.6%) vs ATL 18 of 42. This 30 pt deficit to ATL which has a much worse W&L record was due to playing terrible defense, not communicating, not passing, and having only 14 assists on another night with Dame missing. CJ led scoring 3 of 9, Simons scored 2 of 3, Melo scored 1 of 3, Gary scored 1 of 4, and Trevor scored 1 of 6. Mario was 0 of 1 and Wenyen was 0 of 2. The Blazers allowed Hunter to score 6 of 9 and Graham 2 of 2 on bad long range defense. This was a must-win game in which the Blazers had an early lead, but stopped playing defense, allowing 129 points total, with 40 in Q2 and 44 in Q3. For any chance to win most of the string of 7 that should have been a winning streak, much better play is necessary!
The Blazers won the swish3 contest Mar 2 in the 130-107 win over ORL Magic. The Blazers scored 16 of 33 vs ORL 14 of 43. This was a satisfying win with all starters + Mario in double figures, defense played, and a strong game for CJ, Gary, Trevor, Mario, and Hassan. CJ led scoring 6 of 12, Gary scored 4 of 6, Simons scored 3 of 5, Trevor scored 2 of 7, Wenyen scored 1 of 1. Mario and Hassan were 0 of 1. This was a game when swish3s allowed the lead to be established and the game to be won. This was the 6th game missed for Dame, who is expected to return for the WIzzards game on Mar 4. Let's continue with the better defense and the good swish3 shooting!
