do the smart people repeat the same crap ad nausea? By age 24 guys are done getting better athletically, but they do usually get better at the mental part of the game... even the stupid ones. You do know that this isn't rocket science right? STOMP
Everybody played very well tonight. The ball movement was a thing of beauty... man, how much easier is it to beat the Jazz w/o Kirilenko?
I had the good fortune to sit right behind the Blazers bench tonight (thanks, Blake!), and I gotta say... the developing player we have that I am most excited about is Batum. His versatility on defense and heady, controlled approach on offense is so impressive for such a young guy. His ceiling is sky high, that's for sure. Wouldn't mind seeing him for a few more minutes a game...
I just watched the game recap on ESPN, and they didn't mention him either. Joel was awesome. As was Batum. And Roy was Roy! And Sergio was the MVP of the first quarter. Well, 6 minutes of it anyway, until Nate rotated him out.
Is it too late in this thread for me to bitch about that horrific call by the ref on the highlight reel behind the back move and bucket by Rudy -- that was called a travel? I mean seriously, WTF? Horrible call.
my buddy I was at the game with yelled "CRAB DRIBBLE" right after that play!!! on a more serious note, does anyone else think nasty thoughts when they hear the term "crab dribble"? Joel is a BEEEEaST!
Just got back from the game. Great team effort. Joel was awesome. Batum was sensational. Roy showed why he's an all-star. The whole team played great. With Boozer and Kirilenko out, Utah is Deron Williams and a bunch of big, slow, plodding white guys with funny sounding names. Williams basically gave up trying to pass the ball after the first quarter. Can't say I blame him. As far as the officiating goes, two words: Dick Bavetta. God, it seems he's reffed every game we've gone to this year. Time to hang up the whistle and start collecting the Social Security checks. When he made that phantom foul call on Rudy, he just kept smacking himself in the head, over and over and over and over as he walked toward the scorer's table. I couldn't figure out what he was trying to signal. Rudy wasn't anywhere Millsap's head (didn't touch him at all, in fact). Even the score keeper couldn't seem to figure out what Dick was trying to call so Dick kept smacking himself in the head. I was beginning to wonder if he'd lost it. Oh well, ball don't lie. Millsap missed both FTs and the Blazers immediately got the make-up call on the rebound of the 2nd miss. Anyway... fun game and an important win over a division rival who is fighting for a play-off spot. There was a two game swing at stake tonight. We won, so we're now 4 games ahead of Utah. If we'd have lost, we'd only be two games ahead of them. Nice to have a little cushion. Anyone know the last time we were 12 games over 0.500? I'm guessing it was sometime in 2002. BNM
Great quote from B-Edge: Exactly how I felt in the third when BRoy and LA took complete control of the game. Man, how rewarding is it to see our guys play so well now after watching the team struggle through the rebuilding period? Having gone through that stage makes me appreciate what we have right now that much more.
