MVN - Most Valuable Network

Games #68/#69/#70 - Suns & Clippers

Ah priorities. Don’t think the slowing of the pace for me around here means I’ve grown bored with the progress the Blazers have made this season. I mean, the Blazers are 37-33 through 70 games. Their next win will match my prediction from before the season. If they finish 5-7 in the last 12 games, they’ll finish with their first winning record since the 50 win season of 2002-2003. People can complain about all the little things that have gone wrong or not right this season, but the simple fact is that this project is ahead of schedule.

Oh, and how’s this for even more great news? If training camp were starting in a few weeks, Greg Oden would basically be ready to go. The workouts he’s doing right now would demolish normal people. The proof of his successful rehab won’t officially come out until training camp next fall, but his recovery could not be going any better. A year away from basketball won’t have a positive impact on his basketball skills, but his physical condition may be better than ever come October.

One last thing before I quickly catch up on the recaps - the Rudy Fernandez situation is going to be the plot-line of the summer. The gossip is going to get worse before the situation resolves itself, but let’s hope Rudy’s goal is to prove himself in the best league on the planet. He will have to leave money on the table to come to Portland, but the upside for him is better here than in the Spanish league. And the situation with Sergio Rodriguez in Portland has no relation to what Rudy will experience here - Rudy is an established professional. Sergio was still a project when he came to the Blazers. To think Rudy will get shafted in Portland because Sergio is stuck behind Steve Blake and Jarrett Jack, well, if Rudy stays in Europe that won’t be the reason why.

Anyway, it was up and down last week…

Game #68 Recap - Suns 111, Blazers 98
Starting with the down… This was LaMarcus Aldridge’s sixth straight game with more than 20 points. This was also one of Brandon Roy’s worst games, adding just 6 points to an otherwise strong 7 boards and 7 assists. The Blazers got decent second-level scoring from Jack, Outlaw and Frye off the bench, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the varied attack Phoenix brought to the game.

I’ll say this too - Roy may be the farthest along of our youngsters, but he’s got to learn how stay productive when he’s up against the league’s best defenders. I don’t doubt that he will - last year he was protected from these scenarios by the fact that he was never Option 1 for the Blazers while Zach Randolph was still around. But Roy is the lead player now, and he’ll need to play through the tough matchups with players like Raja Bell and Bruce Bowen as the Blazers rise over the next few years. He’ll get it figured out, but for now - its games like these that remind you he’s still just an NBA sophomore.

The game links:
ESPN Box Score
AP via ESPN
The Oregonian
Blazer’s Edge
Mike Barrett’s Blog

Game #69 Recap - Blazers 107, Clippers 102
This game was butt-ugly. No defense in the first half as the teams were tied at 57 at halftime. The Blazers dominated the 3rd quarter to take an 87-75 lead into the 4th. Then the Blazers let the Clippers back in by scoring just 20 4th quarter points. A typically tough win for the Blazers, who have had very few “easy” wins lately.

For the Blazers, this was classic Roy + 3 formula - Roy with 21, 6 assists and 4 boards, and Aldridge (22p/12r/7a), Webster (16p/4r) and Blake (15p/11a) with the support. Not only was this LMA’s 8th straight 20-point game, it was probably the best game of his career. 7 assists! LMA is finishing this season strong - and that’s just another great sign for this team.

The game links:
ESPN Box Score
AP via ESPN
The Oregonian
Blazer’s Edge

Game #70 Recap - Blazers 83, Clippers 72
I’ll admit I was worried about this game. The Blazers really let the Clippers hang around Friday night in Portland, and the Clippers had Corey Maggette back for the rematch in Los Angeles.

The scoring from Friday night didn’t show up in this game, although Maggette was the Clippers’ bright-spot with 21. The Blazers had a chance to exploit the small roster of the Clippers (only Nick Fazekas is taller than 6-9), and on Saturday night they did it.

I’m not going to go through and research it, but I’d guess this was the Blazers’ largest rebounding margin of the season - winning on the boards 53-41. Joel Pryzbilla had an absolutely monster night with 14 points, 25 boards, and a block in 35 minutes. Nate has often tried to protect Joel from small-lineup matchups, but he let Joel go tonight and it was a huge factor.

Add LMA’s 9th straight 20-point game (21p/10r/3a) and a typical Roy night (23p/6a/3r/3s) and this game was never really in doubt.

The game links:
ESPN Box Score
AP via ESPN
The Oregonian
Dave @ Blazer’s Edge

Like I said in the lead - 5-7 in the last 12 gets this team a winning record. I want them to pull it off of course, but I want this team to learn something over these final weeks that they can build on for next year.

Its a great time to be a Blazer fan.

Next Three Games:
3/24 @ Sonics
3/25 vs. Wizards
3/27 @ Warriors 

Games #65/#66 - Kinged and Mac-300

Yes, my inconsistent posting is continuing.  Daily life has changed gears around here lately, so recapping games in pairs is probably going to be my M.O. for the foreseeable future.  My goal coming into the season was to write something about every game the Blazers played this year - so, you know, thank god they didn’t go 15-67…

Game #65 Recap - Kings 96, Blazers 85
I was born in Sacramento.  I’m not predisposed to hate the Kings, and in fact my debut in that city has always made me kind of pull for them (providing the Blazers weren’t the opponent and their players not annoying).  But this was a little ridiculous.

The Blazers laid an egg in Sac-town.  It wasn’t a sure win by any means, as Ron-Ron is firmly inside the mind of Brandon Roy and the Kings have a varied cast of scorers and contributors.  But the Blazers could have at least shown up.
Game links:
ESPN Box Score
AP via ESPN
Joe Freeman @ The Oregonian
Dave @ Blazer’s Edge
Mike Barrett’s Blog

Game #66 Recap - Blazers 107, Timberwolves 96
Who knew win number 35 would mean so much for Nate McMillan?  I thought, well, win #33 would obviously be huge because it would surpass last year’s win total. And, if they can get them, wins #41 and #42 would signify the Blazer’s transformation from loser to being a .500 team and then a winning team.  But last night, with win #35 on the season, Mr. Sonic won his 300th game as an NBA head coach.  Congrats Nate, and hopefully you’ll win way more than 300 more here in Portland.

Another big thing about this game?  How about the Blazers FINALLY winning a game easily.  I’m not saying the Wolves didn’t come to play - cause they did.  But the Blazer lead was 16 with 1:30 to play and 11 at the 5:00 mark.  This was not a game the Blazers had to crawl through glass to win.   They’ve had to work so hard to win games lately, this was key.

Also key?  The meshing of the dynamic duo of Roy and Aldridge.  If these guys keep figuring out how to be highly productive at the same time like they have lately, they’ll be that much more prepared to welcome Oden next year.  Great story in The Oregonian today about LaMarcus and his continued improvement with getting his low-post offense going, and how he and Roy have had to learn how to play together this season.  Great perspective on LMA’s game, and for those of you who are ready to downplay his potential because he hasn’t already turned into Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett yet.

Also, I’ll say this too - Randy Foye has filled his box score nicely in the last two games against the Blazers. I really don’t think Foye has a chance of ever making the Blazers regret trading him for Brandon Roy, but if he can do some point-guard-ish things in the NBA and effectively become more than an undersized 2-guard/scorer-type, he’ll have a good career and will be a nice piece for the Wolves to have as they try to build that team up. But the early returns on Kevin Pritchard’s two draft-day deals in 2006 looks pretty good for Portland.

Game links:
ESPN Box Score
AP via ESPN
Jason Quick @ The Oregonian
Dave @ Blazer’s Edge
Mike Barrett’s Blog

In Summation:
I just don’t have time to do a particularly good 3/4 season grade-out right now. Those are the things I was most looking forward to writing but can’t pull off now.  If you’ve read this site over the last few months, then you can probably guess I’m pretty happy with how this season has worked out.

I’m also happy about the solid last road-trip of the season for the Blazers. The loss in Sacramento was ugly, but let’s be clear - the only other winning road trip for the Blazers as a 2-1 trip over New Year’s. We are seeing progress!

Three big games next week - always a good test for this team to face veteran teams like the Suns, and the Clippers back-to-backer is another good test. The Clips aren’t as good as the Blazers, but it’ll be good to see how they handle those games.

Go Blazers!

Next three games:
3/18 vs. Suns
3/21 vs. Clippers
3/22 @ Clippers 

Games #64/#65 - Stumble & Grind

I showed in my last post the results of each of the Blazers’ road trips of three or more games. The two best outcomes were 2-1 on a short trip, and 3-4 on the most grueling trip of the season. I was happy when the Blazers started this trip 2-0, but knew the toughest game on the trip waited in game #3 in Cleveland. LeBron did his thing to sweep the season series with the Blazers, but the kids bounced back the next night and won a grind-it-out kind of game against the terrible Timerwolves.

Coming out of this trip with a winning record shouldn’t be overlooked - progress is progress, and while the Blazers burned hot early in the year they never got good on the road. If they can finish strong away from the Rose Garden, their prospects for next season will look ever better.

After the recaps I’ve got some thoughts on a story from today - if you’re a Blazer fan, it ought to make you happy. Just one more reason why this summer is going to feel like the longest off-season in years.

The Blazers need a strong finish to the trip tomorrow night in Sacramento. 4-1 would be sweet, but I’m glad to have 3-2 wrapped up.

Game #64 Recap - Cavaliers 88, Blazers 80
I’ve said this a few times this year - playing guys like LeBron is even tougher when your team is this young. It takes more than talent to over come forces of nature as unstoppable as LeBron, and the Blazers just aren’t putting any teams in deep holes right now. Sure, they were up 11 after the first quarter, but any team in the league can come back from 11 down that early. And if you let the Cavs hang around in the second half, you give LeBron all the chance he needs to just win the game on his own. As Dave said at Blazer’s Edge - at least this one wasn’t another last-second heartbreaker.

Game links:
ESPN Box Score
AP via ESPN
Dave @ Blazer’s Edge
Mike Barrett’s Blog

Game #65 Recap - Blazers 103, Timberwolves 96
I wonder how that Roy for Foye and cash deal feels now? The Timberwolves are going to be alright - I like what they’ve got there now in terms of young players, but Kevin McHale has got to go. Now is the time for them to bring in some young nerdish GM who can put the finishing moves on that roster and help bring them back up the ladder.

Game links:
ESPN Box Score
AP via ESPN
Joe Freeman @ The Oregonian
Dave @ Blazer’s Edge
Mike Barrett’s Blog

Afterword:
Folks, read this article and tell me it doesn’t make you smile just a little. After one of the cruelest turns of events we could have had around here given the Blazers’ history with centers in the draft, its so reassuring to be reminded that Greg Oden isn’t just some goofy kid that hangs around the team. Its just practice. But he’s already this far back, and he’s got over six months to keep getting healthier. Faith is free to give gang - if he fulfills his potential despite this injury and one-year respite, this is going to be some seriously rewarding stuff. 2nd biggest draft mistake ever? I don’t think so.

Big finish Blazers! Make every game count now, because if your initials aren’t BR or LMA you’re playing for your job next season.

Next three games:
3/13 @ Kings
3/15 vs. Timberwolves
3/18 vs. Suns

Games #62/#63 - Great start to Blazers’ last road trip

They (probably) aren’t making the playoffs, given they’re 6.5 games out with 19 games left on the schedule, but the Blazers crossed a threshold Saturday night in New York that ensures this season will be classified as a success. Even without Zach Randolph or Greg Oden, this year’s edition of the Portland Trail Blazers are officially better than last year’s edition, and they’re best Blazer team since the ‘03-’04 team that went 41-41. Sure, they might have won a few more games this season if GM Kevin Pritchard had made some moves, but this season never got to the point that mortgaging the future would have made sense.

If they’d held a top 2 or 3 spot in the Western Conference as the trade deadline approached, I might have felt differently. But trading talented young players like Martell Webster, Jarrett Jack, Channing Frye or Travis Outlaw just to add that mythical and universally-revered “veteran who knows how to win” this year would have been a waste of the valuable assets the Blazers have had to work so hard to assemble the last four or five years. This is a 10+ year project now, and you can’t waste assets if you’re really dedicated to the big picture.

Road games are additionally tough on young teams. Long road trips are even worse. So far this year with the Blazers, we’ve seen:
* 10/30-11/3 - 0-3
* 11/14-11/19 - 0-4
* 11/30-12/3 - 1-2 (last win on this trip started the 13-win streak)
* 12/31-1/3 - 2-1 (the loss on this trip ended the 13-win streak)
* 1/13-1/23 - 3-4
* 2/8-2/13 - 0-4
* 3/7-3/13 - 2-0 with three to go
The point here? Only once this season have the Blazers won back-to-back road games on the same trip (the one that spanned new years where they lost the first in Utah and won the next two). This is their last roadie of 3 or more games, and I love that they’ve come out and won the first two of the trip. If this is a sign of lessons from this season already being learned by this team, then you can chalk up one more thing to be happy about. Winning on the road is a hard thing to overcome for young teams, and is often what “veteran leadership” is supposed to help improve. But I love this team’s young veterans, and their road record is 11-12 since their 0-9 start. Oh, and only 8 teams have a better home record today than the Blazers’ 22-9. Not too bad for a team that was “supposed” to be terrible again this year.

The last two games, we’ve seen…

Game #62 Recap - Blazers 103, Bucks 101:
What a finish! The Bucks brought one of the better balanced-attacks I’ve seen this year, with 6 players scoring 12 or more points and Michael Redd leading the way with 25. But the Blazers got one of their-now classic “Brandon Roy + three” games, as Roy put up 20 with 10 assists, the last assist to LaMarcus Aldridge for the game-winning 13-footer with 2.4 seconds left. Aldridge scored 29 on 14-20 shooting. The other two in the equation were Martell Webster, who showed well for the first time in a while with 17 points, and Steve Blake, who added 21. The Blazers even won the rebounding battle!

The downsides? Well, somehow the Blazers won despite 16 turnovers (5 by Roy, 4 by Jack), almost doubling the Bucks’ 9 giveaways. The Blazers shot just 14 free-throws, including an inexplicable 2 by Aldridge while taking 20 shots from the floor. The Blazers had to shoot a blistering 54% from the field and 50% on 3-pointers to overcome these two things.

Game links:
ESPN Box Score
AP via ESPN
Joe Freeman @ The Oregonian
Dave @ Blazer’s Edge
Mike Barrett’s Blog

Game #63 Recap - Blazers 120, Knicks 114 (OT):
I was worried when this game ended up heading to overtime, for obvious reasons. the Blazers had absolutely no answer for Nate Robinson, who torched them for 45 points on 16-28 shooting, 2-6 on threes, and 11-13 from the line. The only other guard in uniform for the Knicks was Freddie Jones, so Robinson played all but one minute and nearly won the game on his own.

In the end, Brandon Roy got the bragging rights over his college teammate at UW. Roy led the way with 27 points, and got help from Aldridge (22 points, 10 boards), Webster and Blake (15 each with Blake adding 10 assists), and Jack (who rebounded from his horrible night in Milwaukee with 13 points).

The reason for my concern at the onset of overtime? The Blazes largely had this one wrapped up, and despite many seeming miscues down the stretch by Isaiah Thomas, the Knicks kept getting quick buckets by Robinson, kept fouling the Blazers, and James Jones missed one to put the Knicks back to within two. I agree with the thought that momentum heading into an overtime is key - the team that just coughed up a win is rarely able to come out and set the tone for overtime. Well, the Blazers coughed up the win and set the tone, and held on for their second straight hard-earned victory.

ESPN Box Score
AP via ESPN
Mike Barrett’s Blog 

This team needs an easy win. Everything has come hard lately, and the next game doesn’t seem to be an opportunity for an easy win. It will be interesting to see how this team plays against the LeBrons, especially after the tough loss LBJ laid on them the last time they played.

By the way, I’ve been advised that I should stop bringing up the playoffs like its still a possibility, or still something the team should be playing for. If you haven’t guessed yet, I’m kind of an “it ain’t over ’til its over” guy, and I can’t emphasize enough how valuable I think it would be for the Blazers to play into the last few weeks of the season still mathematically alive in the playoff race. The more experiences like that these young players can get in the next 14 months, the more ready they’ll be to start contending in the ‘09-’10 season.

Next three games:
3/10 @ Cavaliers
3/11 @ Timberwolves
3/13 @ Kings