Pre-Season Comes to a Close with Opening Night Around the Corner

Tonight the Blazers faces the Denver Nuggets in the last game of pre-season. Marcus Camby who had rarely played this pre-season was finally back to help lead the Blazers to a win.


Box Score:











Brandon Roy was on point tonight and was the team's high scorer with a whopping 23 points, the most he's scored all pre-season. He also contributed 3 rebounds and 2 assists to the mix. I have to say this was the Brandon Roy we've been waiting for. He was cutting to the basket, drawing the fouls and distributing the ball. The RoyBot has been pretty quiet this pre-season but he showed tonight he's been saving it all for the regular season. Marcus Camby made quite a contribution tonight as well with 8 points and 17 rebounds! Camby was all over the place diving and scrapping for the ball. He showed some serious hustle and it's clear how lucky we are to have him. LaMarcus put up a near double double with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. LaMarcus has been one of my favorite improvements so far. One of the biggest pet peeves associated with the L-Train is that he always settles for the fade away jump shot rather than battling for position and getting to the hoop. This pre-season we've seen a major improvement in LMA's game down low, he gets to the basket and he gets to the line. He shot 4-6 from the line tonight and it looked good. I'm really excited to see him continue to progress.

The Blazers went on to win 90 - 83. It was such a great game and can only give the Blazers positive momentum going into Tuesday's season opener game against Phoenix. We battled the Nuggets and really gave them a run for their money. What I liked best about the play tonight was that we made the Nuggets earn their points sending them to the line 28 times and we contested everything. Defense was a big factor tonight as the Blazers walked away with 7 steals and 5 blocked shots.

Photo of the Night:

Doin' Work.

The Blazers next play the Phoenix Suns in the regular season opener, Tuesday 7 PM at the Rose Garden! It's going to be a great game and a great season so be sure to get yourself some tickets!

•  Phoenix ousted Portland from the 2010 NBA Playoffs with a 4-2 series win in the First Round. The Suns outscored the Trail Blazers, 103.3-93.0, in the series, shooting 47.2 percent from the field while holding Portland to just 43.0 percent shooting. 

•  The Trail Blazers won the 2009-10 regular season series between the teams, 2-1, with all three games decided by seven points or fewer. Portland’s win was its first in the season series against Phoenix since 1999-2000 (3-1). 

•  The winning team has scored 100-plus points in 20 of the last 22 regular season 

games in the series. 

•  In three 2009-10 games between the teams, Portland shot 46.1 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from 3-point range, while Phoenix shot 44.6 percent and 37.9 percent, respectively. 

• The Suns committed 41 turnovers in the three head-to-head matchups last season to the Blazers’ 26 (averages of 13.7 and 8.7 per game, respectively). Portland held a 22-11 advantage in steals and a 19-6 edge in blocks during the three meetings.

Pre-Season BEGINS! (And so does Blazer Nation Blog 2.0!)

Pre-Season has begun! This past Monday the Blazers faced the Los Angeles Clippers in their first game of the pre-season. It was a highly anticipated game for both sides considering it was Clippers' Blake Griffin's official NBA debut and after all the buzz that has been circulating around Wesley Matthews Jr (and a certain Spanish player, for different reasons of course) it was the fans' first opportunity to see what Junior had to offer in an official game setting.


Box Score Courtesy of TrailBlazers.com:

Both teams started at a similar pace, tied 12-12 with about 5 minutes left in the first but the Blazers proceeded to run and never let go. LaMarcus got the party started with a nasty one handed put back dunk. He ended the game with 17 points, 2 assists and 7 rebounds. Can we just take a moment to praise the L Train? My main man was not only knocking down his signature fade away shots but getting into the paint and to the hoop. Aldridge shot 5-6 from the line and 6-12 from the field. I really enjoyed what I saw from him on Monday and only hope it keeps gettin' better.


Now, let's talk Wes Matthews! In his Blazer debut, Matthews shot 3-8 from beyond the arch and 4-9 from the field leading the Blazers in scoring with 20 points. Upon his entrance into the game, Wes was received with a standing ovation and a roar of cheers from the crowd and it only got louder when he exited. His performance at fan fest made me excited but after  his performance against the Clippers I just can not wait to see him in the regular season. His defense and perimeter offense were extremely impressive. It'll be exciting to watch his stats throughout the season.


Lastly, we will discuss a certain Spaniard. No matter what opinion you have had or still have on Rudy, you must agree that his play was extremely impressive. He looked like the Rudy of the old Spanish Armada days cutting to the basket, looking for the assist and knocking down the threes. Rudy shot 5-6 from beyond the arch scoring 15 points for the game. He entered the game to an assortment of boos, Ruuuuuuuudys and cheers but upon his exit all that could be heard where cheers. If Rudy can keep playing at this level I think the doubters will become fewer and fewer. 


The Blazers cruised to a 115 - 86 win over the Clippers. Overall it was a great opener to the pre-season. We got to see a little something from all of our rookies, Elliot Williams was the only Blazer to not score. We saw a more intense and focused defense. The Blazers forced the Clippers to a shot clock violation on more than one possession and were deflecting passes and fighting for the ball. It was a great game to see.

Photo of the Game:

In short, it really hits the nail on the head....or ball on the head I suppose. This photo came after Nico's MONSTROUS dunk.

The Blazers next fly to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Jazz on Thursday. The game can be heard on 95.5 the game if you  are in the Portland area or you can chat along side Blazer fans on TrailBlazers.com. Now, the notes!

•  Utah owns a 12-6 edge over Portland in preseason meetings. The Trail Blazers have not won in three preseason games in Salt Lake City, all since 2006. 

•  The Jazz swept last year’s regular season series, 4-0, marking its first win in the series with Portland since 2005-06 (also a 4-0 sweep). Utah won by an average of 11.0 points (106.3-95.3) in the four games, the widest margin against Portland of any NBA team last season. The Jazz shot 54.9% from the field (40.0% 3-PT) , the best mark of any Trail Blazers opponent in 2009-10, while limiting Portland to 39.5% shooting (27.2% 3-PT) in the 2009-10 series. 

•  Utah’s four-game winning streak against Portland is the longest current winning run against the Trail Blazers of any Western Conference opponent, and the second longest of any NBA opponent (Cleveland, six). 

•  Portland dominated the offensive glass against Utah last season, accruing a 66-35 advantage in the category in four games. 

•  The Jazz carried a 117-71 edge in assists during four series games between the teams in the 2009-10 regular season. 

•  Brandon Roy’s 21.0 points (14-28 FG) in two games vs. Utah led all Trail Blazers in scoring vs. the Jazz in 2009-10. LaMarcus Aldridge added 20.3 points and 8.8 rebounds while playing in all four contests against the Jazz last year. 

•  Wesley Matthews averaged 9.0 points (11-21 FG) and 3.5 rebounds in four games against Portland as a member of the Jazz last season. 

•  Deron Williams led all current Jazz players in the 2009-10 series with Portland by averaging 19.8 points and 11.8 assists in the four regular season meetings. 

•  As a member of the Timberwolves, Al Jefferson led Minnesota with 16.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in four games against Portland in 2009-10. 

•  LaMarcus Aldridge scored a career-high 36 points (12-17 FG) in Utah’s win over the Trail Blazers on Dec. 31, 2007, which snapped Portland’s 13-game win streak. 

•  Utah forward Demetris Nichols was originally selected by Portland with the 53rd pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, before the Trail Blazers traded his draft rights to New York. Nichols also participated on Portland’s 2010 NBA Summer League team.

Lastly, I want to apologize for the complete LACK of posts over the off season. I've been taking classes and have had very limited time to blog but I am hoping to continue blogging about all the games this season! Thanks for sticking with me Nation! Let's go Blazers!!

Photo: Yahoo Sports