The Blazers lost the swish3 contest by a lot in the Dec 3 loss 97-117 to the LAC. Blazers scored only 7 of 27 vs LAC 17 of 34. That is a 30 point swish3 deficit. After a close 1st half with lead changes, the Blazers shot only 11% of swish3s in the 3rd Q and totaled only 17 points for that Q. The Clippers opened a 20 -23 point lead and kept it until the end. Rodney, our best swish3 talent, attempted only 2 swish3s in the game! Kent led scoring 2 of 3, CJ scored 2 of 6, Dame scored 2 of 9, and Simons scored 1 of 5. Rodney and Nassir were each 0 of 2. The Blazers need to score 28+ points per Q and 15+ swish3s per game to be competitive with winning teams. The Blazers should be attempting at least 36 swish3s per game, and Rodney should be taking 6-12 of them. To improve the chance to win over SAC and LAL, Blazer swish3 shooting, rebounds, communication, passing, and defense need to notch up. Let's do it and get wins 9 and 10. Last year we reached 10 wins in only 13 games. Remember?
The Blazers won the swish3 contest in the 127-116 win Dec 4 over the SAC Kings. Blazers scored 16 of 32 vs SAC 11 of 34 for a 15 point advantage. Blazers were out-rebounded 43-44 but got more blocks, 10-7 and played improved defense in the 4th Q. CJ led scoring 5 of 10, Dame scored 4 of 6, Kent scored 3 of 5, Rodney and Melo each scored 2 of 4. Nassir was 0 of 1 and Simons was 0 of 2. This was an excellent game for CJ with 33 points, 4 blocks, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds in 37 min. Dame had an excellent game with 24 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in 37 min. Hassan had an excellent game with 22 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks in 33 min. And Melo had an excellent game with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and a block in 35 min. Off the bench, Kent had an excellent game with 15 points, 6 rebounds, an assist and a steal. With play like this off the bench that provided effective relief for Rodney, the Blazers can get back to the 50% wins mark.
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest in the Dec 6 loss 113-136 to the LAL. Blazers scored an anemic 10 of 34 vs LAL 17 of 36, a deficit of 21 points. This was a terrible game in which we lost Rodney after only 8 min, were out-rebounded 34-45, had the refs making such bad calls against us to get Terry ejected and CJ get T'd, and a lot to keep the fans booing unacceptable officiating. Blazer management has got to correct the problem of not getting consistent defensible ref calls on our home court! CJ and Simons led each scoring 3 of 7, Dame scored 2 of 8, Melo scored 1 of 3. Skal and Nassir were each 0 of 1 and Mario was 0 of 2. The Blazers squandered chances in previous games for more 40%+ swish3 shooting, and now have no one to do it, making the road ahead tough.
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest Dec 8 in the 96-108 home loss to OKC scoring 9 of 33 vs OKC 11 of 32, a 6 point deficit, to add to the FT 15 point deficit. Blazer scoring was unacceptably weak, especially in the 4th Q. Kent led scoring 3 of 6, CJ scored 2 of 6, Dame scored 2 of 12, Melo scored 1 of 5, and Simons scored 1 of 2. Nassir was 0 of 2. Absent Rodney, Blazer swish3 offense is limited to CJ and Kent, at least until Dame can recapture his accuracy. Perhaps we should now sign Kyle Korver to boost Blazer scoring.
The Blazers decisively won the swish3 Dec 10 home win 115-87 over the NYK. The Blazers scored 17 of 41 vs NYK 7 of 38. Dame's shooting returned! Dame led scoring 8 of 12, Simons scored 4 of 7, Melo scored 3 of 4, Tolliver scored 1 of 2, and CJ scored 1 of 8. Missing all were Skal and Nassir 1 each, Kent 3, and Gary 3. This was a good game for Dame who led all scoring with 31 points in 28 min. Last year, we required only 13 games to get to 10 wins, but this year, it took 25 games. It is nice to get the 10th win, but the next game will be tough. Let's hope that Dame can continue to score many swish3s, CJ can have a Nugget beater game with a lot of swish3s, and Melo, Hassan, and Kent can contribute, we rebound, play consistent determined defense, and beat Denver.
The Melo thread decisively won the post count contest Dec 11 home win over the swish3 thread. The melo thread scored 11485 posts vs swish3's 309. Melo himself has arrived! @THE HCP led posting 287 posts, @SlyPokerDog posted 236, @BonesJones 118, and @hoopsjock 93. Also posting were @TorturedBlazerFan, @Strenuus, and @Chris Craig. This was a good thread for HCP who led all posting with 31 blurry photos.
The Blazers decisively lost the swish3 contest in the Dec 12 loss to DEN 99-114. The Blazers scored a pathetic 9 of 30 vs DEN 18 of 36. That is a devastating 27 point deficit. And we lost the rebounding badly 35-48. Although this was a high scoring game for Hassan, and Melo and CJ had respectable FG%, Dame and Kent had off games, and the bench was no significant help. CJ led scoring 3 of 7, Melo scored 2 of 5, Dame scored 2 of 9, Hassan scored 1 of 1, and Kent scored 1 of 5. Simons was 0 of 3. To reach the 15+ swish3s scored needed to make us competitive, we need to have someone, probably CJ, average 4, and 3, probably Dame, Melo, and Kent each average 3, with 2 others, probably Hassan and Simons each add 1. Gary (now at 42.3%) might help off the bench if he is healthy, and could contribute 1 or 2. Let's get Kyle Korver to add swish3 scoring and perimeter defense to improve the probability of winning in games against teams that are over 50% win records.
The Blazers won the swish3 contest Dec 16 in the 111-110 win over PHO Suns in Phoenix. The Blazers scored 14 of 34 vs PHO 12 of 34. All 5 starters were in double figures, with CJ with 30 points, 7 rebounds, 1 block, and 6 assists in 39 min, Dame with 27 points, 1 rebound, and 5 assists in 36 min, Melo with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 blocks in 34 min, Kent with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block in 31 min, and Hassan with 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 31 min. Melo led scoring 4 of 6, CJ scored 3 of 7, Dame and Kent each scored 3 of 8, and Tolliver scored 1 of 2. Gary was 0 of 1 and Simons was 0 of 2. This was a pivotal game in which we overcame a 1st half 16 point deficit and showed defensive intensity in the 2nd half, with Dame making the game winning shot and FT in a hotly contested game. The Blazers showed that we can win on greater determination, and we saw leadership from all 5 starters! With play like this we can beat GSW and maybe win 5 in a row. Let's keep it going!
The Blazers lost the swish3 contest in the 122-112 Dec 18 home win over the GSW. Blazers scored just 9 of 31 vs GSW 16 of 38. In the first half, GSW swish3 shooting kept them in the game. This was an excellent game for Dame who scored 31 points with 13! assists, 5 rebounds, a block and a steal in 37 min, an excellent game for CJ who scored 30 points with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal in 38 min, an excellent game for Melo who scored 17 points with 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals in 30 min, an excellent game for Hassan who scored 16 points with 23! rebounds and 2 blocks in 32 min, and a good game for Kent who scored 5 points with 1 rebound, 1 block, and 1 steal in 29 min. CJ led scoring 3 of 8, Dame scored 2 of 8, Tolliver scored 1 of 2, Kent scored 1 of 3, Melo scored 1 of 4, and Gary scored 1 of 5. Skal was 0 of 1. Although Blazer defense, rebounding, and FT% was enough to win the game, the 9 swish3s are not enough to keep winning, and the Blazers should win the next 3 games to pull us up to the 50% wins mark. Let's see more swish3 attempts by Melo, Gary, and Hassan to get back to 15+ swish3s per game and continue the winning streak!
No, let's not have more swish3 attempts by Hassan. He's shot and made 1--that doesn't mean that he should be doing that on the reg.
It’s a great day indeed! Last Pt session and again navigating a vehicle. Take care of your body the best you can while young it will pay dividends down the road!
