Blazers Feel the Heat in the Valley of the Sun

Sunday night, the Blazers traveled to Phoenix, Arizona to meet with the Phoenix Suns. The western conference playoff race is tighter than ever and a win tonight was necessary for both sides to secure positions going into the off season. The Blazers were coming into this game on a 5-game winning streak.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Marcus Camby
Nicolas Batum
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

Top honors go to Andre Miller for this game. He was one point off top scorer territory but still tallied a near double double with 22 points, 9 assists and 3 rebounds. Dre quite literally carried this team throughout this game. When things seemed dismal, Miller put his head down, penetrated the paint and got to the line. He looked like he was on the brink of another 50 point game for most of the game. It's amazing watching Andre push through games, when they call him Iron Man they literally mean it. The guy gets battered and bruised, rolls at least one ankle twenty times a game and still walked out to the court and gets things done for this team. To everyone, including myself, who doubted this guy I hope you are all smacking yourselves upside the head as I am doing now. Brandon Roy was the high scorer of the night with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. It was a Roy Bot kinda night where Brandon did what he could to keep the Blazers within reach of a win. He still didn't seem 100% though continuing some of the sloppy play that plagued the team against Washington.

Here's a Look at the Rest of the Box Score:

This game wasn't horrible by any means but it wasn't great. The Blazers came out of the gate slow and just couldn't overtake the Suns in the first half. Luckily we were able to keep pace with Phoenix only allowing them 47 points and tying them to end the half. The second half we started to finally see some energy from Portland and they were able to take a marginal lead but Phoenix rallied back with a vengeance and we just couldn't fully contain them. The Suns introduced a  zone defense and completely shut our key players down. We couldn't get to the paint so it became 'Settle for Crappy Js Time!' Free Throws and confusion lost this game. We shot 72.9% (21-29) from the line and many of those misses came at crucial times in the game. The Suns' defense completely threw our guys off their game, sloppiness ensued and players started to frantically throw jumpers up. Their were chances to win this game but the Blazers just didn't capitalize on them. They ended up losing the game 93 - 87.

Photo of the Night:

Andre blocking an Amar'e dunk. Wait...Whaaaaat?

The Blazers next fly back home to welcome the Dallas Mavericks at the Rose Garden on Thursday. This game will be aired on CSN and TNT, tip off at 7:30 PM PST.

•  Portland leads the series, 2-0, with both games contested in Dallas. The Trail Blazers have won twice in Dallas for the first season since 1998-99. One more win over the Mavericks would also give Portland its first series win over Dallas since 1998-99 (3-0). 

•  Andre Miller scored a career-high 52 points (22-31 FG), tied for the second-highest total in Trail Blazers history, in leading Portland to a 114-112 overtime win in Dallas in the last meeting on Jan. 30. Portland shot 53.5% (46-86) from the floor. 

•  Dallas had won 11 straight home contests over the Trail Blazers (Portland’s longest active road losing streak at the time), before Portland earned an 85-81 win in Dallas on Dec. 22 in the first series meeting between the teams. The Mavericks led in the fourth quarter by as many as seven points, but Portland used a 27-16 edge in the final period to claim the victory. 

•  In the two meetings between the teams this season, the Trail Blazers are shooting 47.3% from the field while limiting the Mavericks to 43.2% field goal shooting. Dallas has passed out 44 assists to Portland’s 30 assists in two contests. The Trail Blazers have posted a 16-8 margin in steals. 

•  In 2008-09, Dallas swept the season series (three games) for the fourth time in the last five seasons, accounting for the only four sweeps by the Mavericks in series history. 

•  The Mavericks outscored the Trail Blazers, 99.7.0-94.0, and outrebounded Portland, 40.0-35.3, in last year’s series. Dallas won all three games by single digits. 

•  Dallas Head Coach Rick Carlisle was an assistant coach of the Trail Blazers for three seasons under P.J. Carlesimo from 1994-97. Carlisle is 10-7 (.588) in his head coaching career against Portland. 

•  Dallas’ Matt Carroll played 13 games for Portland in 2003-04, averaging 1.0 points in 3.7 minutes. 

•  Martell Webster and Mavericks guard Jason Terry are cousins.

(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Blazers Get a Lucky Win Against Washington

Friday night, the Blazers welcomed the Washington Wizards to the Rose Garden. This was Portland's first game after a long four day rest, so it was important for the Blazers to come out strong and get back into game time rhythm.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Marcus Camby
Nicolas Batum
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

This game was ugly soooo let's just take a quick look at our top scorers. LaMarcus Aldridge tallied another double-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot. LMA shot 6 - 17 from the field and 7 - 10 from the line, two of those made free throws came at the end of the game when the Blazers were down two. Not really much to say about the performance from LMA (or anyone else for that matter). It was mediocre, which is interesting to say when the guy got a double double, but it really was. The Wizards defense completely threw LMA and others off their game and even though shots were contested, they weren't contested enough to result in LMA and B Roy shooting a combined 10 - 35 from the field. Which brings us to Brandon, Roy tallied 14 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. True, two of those points came off a buzzer beating, game winner but I'm going to agree with Roy when he said, "If we play like this against Phoenix on Sunday, they'll destroy us." Too true B Roy, too true. For his 34th birthday, Andre Miller also tallied 14 points in his 600th conescutive game in the NBA. He also added 2 rebounds and 3 assists. The referees also celebrated Dre's b-day by giving him the wonderful present of a technical foul!

Here's a look at the rest of the box score:

I won't bore/make you sick with long details from this game. We all know the Blazers don't do well with long breaks and that was evident Friday night. The players would never own up to it, but let's face it these guys were out of rhythm, out of sync, out of everything. The team shot a dismal 32% from the field, 16.7% from 3-pt range and tallied a total of 10 assists for the entire game. We were extremely lucky that the Wizards played the same caliber of basketball.

Photo of the night:

BRoy: "PHEW, we got lucky."

The Blazers next travel to Phoenix, AZ to take on former Blazer, Channing Frye and his Phoenix Suns on Sunday, tip-off t 7:30 PM PST on KGW channel 8.

•  Portland has won four straight games in the series for the first time since a four-game win streak March 25-Dec. 5, 1999.
•  The winning team has scored 100-plus points in 20 of the last 21 games in the series.
•  The Trail Blazers lead this season’s series, 2-0, clinching a series win with Sunday’s contest being the last meeting between the teams this year. Portland will win the season series for the first time since 1999-2000, while a win Sunday would give the Trail Blazers their first sweep of the Suns since 1998-99 (three games).
•  In two 2009-10 series games between the teams, Portland is shooting 51.6% from the field and 44.8% from three-point range, while Phoenix has shot 47.5% and 41.9%, respectively.
•  The Trail Blazers won in Phoenix, 108-101, on Feb. 10 for the first time since Feb. 4, 2004, snapping a nine-game road losing streak in the series.
•  Portland and Phoenix split last season’s series, with the home team winning all four games. Portland scored 110.3 points per game while allowing 109.3 points, both highs for the Trail Blazers in a Western Conference series last season.
•  In 2008-09, Portland earned its first home sweep of Phoenix since 1998-99.

For Old Time's Sake:

1. Crash The Boards: As of late we've struggled with allowing the other team second chances by giving them the offensive board. Between Lopez and Stoudemire, PHX has tough guys who will scrap down low for the boards so we need our Marcuses tonight: LMA & Camby, crashing those boards.
2. Contain the perimeter: Phoenix has hot shooters. Remember that guy who used to sit on our bench, Channing Frye? That kid can shoot and so can Steve Nash, Richardson and others. Basically, if we give too many open looks for their shooters we'll be looking at a tough comeback and/or a big fat L.
3. Contain the paint: We tend to give too many points in the paint and that could be a serious problem tonight. Amar'e Stoudemire is coming off a season high game with 44 points. The guy is strong and can muscle his way to the hoop if you give him position down low. Not to mention, Dante Cunningham was last to posterize him so I'm sure he'll be looking for some pay back if Dante sees any minutes.

 (Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

The Curse Is Broken -- 2-0 Cali Road Trip Gives McMillan 400 Wins

Thursday night the Blazers traveled to Oakland, California to face the Golden State Warriors. The Blazers have notoriously played below par in Oracle Arena. In fact, the Blazers haven't won in Oakland in 9 games. Their last win in Oracle Arena was in November 2004. That being said, Portland was looking to break the Oracle Arena curse and take away a much needed win.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge

Marcus Camby

Nicolas Batum

Andre Miller

Brandon Roy

The MVP of the night was without a doubt Brandon Roy. Roy completely carried this team through 3 whole quarters and came away with a remarkable 41 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists (Assist count is low when you're the only one who can get the shots to drop if you know what I mean) and 2 steals. Roy shot 14 - 22 from the field and 13 - 17 from the line. This is why B Roy is an all star, his team was struggling on both ends of the court so Brandon took it upon himself to keep the Blazers in the game. Roy had been struggling trying to come back from his hamstring injury but I think his performance in the last couple games, this one especially proves Roy Bot is back with a vengeance and we couldn't be happier. Andre Miller took the silver spot with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and even a blocked shot. Money Miller shot 4 - 15 from the field and 7 - 8 from the line. LaMarcus Aldridge, despite a dismal first three quarters was able to sneak into third place with a huge 4th quarter! Aldridge scored only 4 points in the first three quarters, allowing Brandon Roy to take over but in the 4th, LMA gave his co-captain a break and went on to outscore the entire Golden State team with 10 points. The L-Train tallied 14 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist. Thankfully LaMarcus got his stuff together in the 4th but we really need LaMarcus early in the game. We were lucky to scrape out this win but we can't simply depend on Brandon Roy to dig us out in future games and especially not in the playoffs.

Here's a Look At The Rest of the Box Score:

The beginning of this game made it seem as if the Oracle Arena curse had struck again and we would be looking at a big fat loss but thanks in large part to our all-star and undisputed leader, Brandon Roy we were able to scrape out a win. The fourth quarter is when this team came alive and realized they needed to start playing some serious basketball if they wanted to come out with the W. I don't know if someone kicked over the Gatorade cooler or something but some serious sense got knocked into the Blazers and they started playing with urgency and intensity. A big contribution to this win was getting the Warriors in foul trouble. Portland was able to get Ellis AND Maggette to foul out of the game and brought Stephen Curry to 5 fouls nearly fouling out himself. The Blazers got to the line 37 times and shot about 84%. All this contributed to a 110 - 105 win for Portland.

Photo(s) of the Night:

Just look at Rudy throwin' the three in Nelly's face.

You might have arrived 4 quarters late but you did arrive LMA.

The Blazers next played the second of back to back in California against the Sacramento Kings, whom we only just played at the Rose Garden earlier this week. Afyer a big come from behind win in Oakland the night before, Portland was looking for a blow-out to give them a 2 - 0 California road trip and give Coach McMillan his 400th win.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge

Marcus Camby

Nicolas Batum

Andre Miller

Brandon Roy

Roy is our MVP for the second night in a row with 28 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists. The RoyBot shot  10 - 13 from the field and a perfect 2 - 2 from beyond the arch and 6 - 6 from the line. Not too shabby considering he was coming off a 41 points in 42 minutes night. LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up his game (in the fourth quarter) and reclaimed the silver spot with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. Once again it took some time for LMA to find his rhythm but when he did it was smooth sailing to the finish line. 

Here's a Look At the Box Score:

This game was a pretty smooth win for the Blazers. We took the lead early and were able to maintain it through to the end. There were some spots when the Kings made a run but the Blazers were able to keep their momentum and grab the win. We even got to see a little bit of newest Blazer, Travis Diener! The 6-1' point guard we acquired from the Indiana Pacers clocked his first minutes as a Blazers and showed that he's an extremely unselfish guy as he made plays and passed the ball instead of trying to get points on the board for himself. The guard didn't tally any points but he did come away with one assist. Diener seems like a pretty good guy but I'm not going to lie, I wanted some Patty Mills out there. Regardless, the Blazers were able to shut the game down and come away with a 110 - 94 win making this head coach, Nate McMillan's 400th career win! Congrats to the coach and the team!

Photo of the Night:

I can almost hear the infamous BayWatch: "HEEEEY?!" scream through this picture.

The Blazers next come back home to face former Blazer Jarrett "JSquared" Jack and the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.

•  The Trail Blazers have won three straight games in the series. Neither team has won more than three games consecutively in series history. A win Sunday would provide Portland with back-to-back season sweeps and its longest win streak vs. Toronto, all-time (four). 

•  Portland led by as many as 17 points in a 101-87 victory in Toronto in the first game of the series. Brandon Roy (20 points) and Andre Miller (18 points) led the way in scoring for the Trail Blazers. Miller’s 10 assists tied Roy’s record of 10 assists (Jan. 13, 2008) for the most by a Trail Blazer against the Raptors in series history. 

•  The Trail Blazers and Raptors had split the last five season series before Portland nabbed its first series win last year since 2002-03 and its fifth two-game sweep overall. Toronto only has one sweep over Portland in 13 series contested (1996-97). 

•  Portland outrebounded Toronto, 88-67, including a 30-16 margin on the offensive glass last season. The Trail Blazers gained a 35-23 edge in second-chance points. 

•  Brandon Roy notched team highs of 23.5 points (57.1% FG) and 8.0 assists in two contests vs. Toronto last year. 

•  Chris Bosh led Toronto with 24.0 points (15-15 FT) and 7.0 rebounds in two games vs. Portland a season ago. Bosh’s 38 points in Toronto’s Jan. 13, 2008, double overtime win are the most ever scored by a Raptor against the Trail Blazers. 

•  The Raptors did not miss a free throw against the Trail Blazers last season, shooting 25-for-25 from the line. Portland went 29- for-36 (80.6%) in two meetings. 

•  Brandon Roy logged his first career double-double on Dec. 22, 2006, against the Raptors, with 16 points and 10 rebounds to go along with eight assists. 

•  Rudy Fernandez plays on the Spanish National Team with Toronto guard Jose Calderon. Calderon matched the record for assists by a Raptor against the Trail Blazers with 13 on Dec. 7, 2008. 

•  Toronto guard Jarrett Jack posted 9.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in three seasons with the Trail Blazers from 2005-08.

(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Blazers Best The Kings at the Rose Garden

Tuesday night the Blazers welcomed the Sacramento Kings to the Rose Garden. For the Blazers this game was a must win. With the western conference as tight as it is, it is necessary to beat below .500 teams. Sacramento, who will not be making the playoffs this year, is simply holding on, winning what they can when they can until the regular season is finished.

Starting Cinco:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Nicolas Batum
Marcus Camby
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

B Roy took back the leading scorer position with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Roy had a much smoother game against the Kings but still had some rough spots. It's a shame that we can't count on made free throws from Roy right now but he did have a much better game and seemed to have a little more confidence in his shots. He shot 50% from the field and 3 - 7 from the line. Nico Batum and Andre Miller tied for second with 14 points a piece. Batum also tallied 2 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 6 - 7 from the field while Dre added 2 rebounds and 5 assists while shooting 4 - 9 from the field and a perfect 6 - 6 from the line. LaMarcus Aldridge came in a close third with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. If we want to stay alive in the playoffs at all we need to see more production from LMA and B Roy, I'm just puttin' that out there.

Here's A Look At The Rest Of The Box Score:

It was anything but perfect but it was a win. We had a big lead and saw it start to dwindle once again but luckily we were able to hold the kings off and get a win. One of the big plusses from this game is that we  held a team that averages over 100 points a game down to 81. Good job team! We were also able to contain Tyreke Evans under 20 points when he averages a solid 20.3 points per game. Portland kept the Kings at 43% field goald shooting and scraped out the W 88 - 81. One discomforting factor that we saw tonight was that Marcus Camby really can't inbound the ball. The 6'11 power forward, we recently acquired from Los Angeles, had 4 turnovers in this game alone. Careful with that ball Marcus, it's precious! I'm not saying "oh no! we shouldn't have traded for him!" nor am I suggesting you say that but let's just keep Camby down low blocking shots and getting rebounds rather than handling the ball shall we? ;-) All in all it was a much needed win and the Blazers did what they had to do to get it.

Photo of the night:

Like a work of art.

The Blazers next travel to the dreaded Oracle Arena in Oakland, California to play the Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

•  The Warriors have won nine straight games in Oakland and 13 of the last 18 meetings in the series overall. Portland last won the series, a 4-0 sweep, in 2002-03. 

•  Portland and Golden State have the split the first two games of the 2009-10 series, with each team winning at home. The Trail Blazers have earned an 88-73 rebounding edge, including a 30-22 margin on the offensive glass, in the two meetings. 

•  In two series contests, Brandon Roy leads Portland with 27.0 points per game (18-33 FG, 16-18 FT). Andre Miller has added 18.5 points per contest in two games. 

•  Golden State won last season’s series, 2-1, with the home team winning all three contests. The home team has won nine straight games in the series, including four in a row by the Trail Blazers in Portland. 

•  Both teams averaged better than 105 points per game (Portland, 105.7; Golden State, 105.3) in three meetings last year. The winning team has scored more than 100 points in each of the last 12 games in the series. 

•  The Trail Blazers gained a 125-112 rebounding advantage, including a 46-34 edge on the offensive glass, in three series games in 2008-09. Portland outscored Golden State in the paint, 144-110. 

•  The Warriors gained 30 points on the Trail Blazers in three games by shooting 90-for-100 (90.0%) from the free throw line last year. Portland went 60-for-77 (77.9%). 

•  Brandon Roy led the Trail Blazers with 26.0 points (58.0% FG, 6-9 3-PT), 5.3 assists and 2.67 steals (tied) in three games against the Warriors last season. 

•  Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson has coached more games vs. the Trail Blazers than any other active NBA head coach (52-53). 

•  Golden State television broadcaster Jim Barnett played in Portland’s inaugural season in 1970-71, averaging a team second-best 18.5 points per game. 

(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Nuggets Dominate In Denver

Last night the Blazers traveled to Denver to meet with the Denver Nugget. After a season of ups and downs the Blazers were looking for a big divisional win to help launch them ahead of the pack in a tight western conference race to the playoffs.

Starting Five:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Nicolas Batum
Juwan Howard
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

Top honors of the night go to none other than BayWatch 2010, Jerryd Bayless! JBay had a fantastic night tallying 24 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists shooting 6 - 10 from the field, 9 - 11 from the line and a big 3 - 3 from beyond the arch. BayWatch was getting to hoop, getting to the line, distributing the ball and making great things happen for this team. I couldn't be more proud of Jerryd. Since his career night at home against Phoenix, Bayless has been struggling to find that kind of rhythm he had earlier in the season. We've seen frustration on JBay's face one too many times so it was a nice change to see a smile last night. Keep up the good work JBay, BayWatch 2010 will continue! The next big story of the night was Andre "Money Time/My Main Man" Miller. Dre tallied 19 points, 1 rebound and 2 assits shooting 7 - 15 from the field and 5 - 6 from the line. The biggest moment of Dre's game last night had to be his earth shattering posterizing dunk on Aaron Affalo. We've only seen Miller jump maybe 2 feet off the ground and then all of a sudden Dre soars and slams. The looks of Jerryd Bayless and the rest of the guys when Dre threw down the hammer was absolutely priceless. That's one moment I will not soon forget.

Here's a look at the rest of the box score:

From the start to the finish of this game the Blazers struggled both offensively and defensively. There was no sense of urgency going into the first quarter and we didn't see any life until the second half. There seemed to be little to no communication on defense and one too many times we saw sharp shooters like J.R. Smith left wide open to knock down the three. We shot 75% from the line and missed some crucial free throws that could have kept us closer to a win down the stretch and most of all, our all stars were not present in this game. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge shot a combined 9 - 28 from the field. I think that hurt us most of all. LaMarcus did make some big shots towards the end keeping the score close but he and B Roy were absent for the rest. Brandon just couldn't find any rhythm and missed consecutive layups and instead of hustling back on defense made it clear to the referees that he wanted a foul. I love Brandon Roy and will follow him to the ends of the earth because he is our leader and all star but he was just not on his game last night. I honestly think Nate should've sat him down instead of giving him 40 minutes to shoot 3 - 14. If we want to be a playoff threat and get somewhere this post-season we need LaMarcus and Brandon 100% and fully involved in games. The Nuggets ended up winning 118 - 106.

Photo of the Night:

 I really hope you have more dunks in you Dre because I want to witness that live.

The Blazers next come back home to face Portland native, Ime Udoka and the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, '90s night at the Rose Garden.

• Portland overcame an 11-point halftime deficit and finished on a 12-3 run to outlast Sacramento, 95-88, Dec. 15 at the Rose Garden in the only meeting of the series. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge both scored 25 points, and Roy added a season-high 10 assists.

• The Trail Blazers swept Sacramento, 3-0, in last year’s series for the first time since posting a 4-0 win over the Kings in 1999-2000.

• Portland outscored Sacramento, 105.7-87.7, in three wins a season ago. The Trail Blazers shot 45.6% from the field while holding the Kings to a 42.7% clip.

• The Trail Blazers outrebounded Sacramento, 145-99, in three games last year, including a 50-25 edge on the offensive glass that led to a 53-14 advantage in second-chance scoring. Portland’s 59 rebounds vs. Sacramento on Dec. 16 marked a season best.

• Portland does not travel to Sacramento in 2009-10 until March 12, the second-to-last NBA team the Trail Blazers will visit (L.A. Lakers). Portland visits ARCO Arena again on April 3.

• Seven of Portland’s 16 home losses all-time to the Kings have occurred this decade (Portland is 13-7). The Trail Blazers were 60-9 at home vs. Sacramento before 2000.

(Photos: Yahoo! Sports)

Blazers Go 2 - 0 With a Win Across The Border

Tonight the Blazers went across the border to Toronto to take on the Raptors. Newly acquired center, Marcus Camby was out for Portland with an injured ankle but Toronto had an ankle injury of their own with Chris Bosh, who also sat out. After a too close for comfort game last night against New Jersey, Portland was looking for a strong win to go 2 - 0 on this road trip so far.

Starting Five:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Nicolas Batum
Brandon Roy
Andre Miller
Juwan Howard

This was Portland's 14th different starting line-up this season! It's rough being unhealthy. Top honors of the night,
I'm happy to say, go to EL MACHETERO! That's right ladies and gents, Rudy Fernandez played, undoubtedly, his best game since coming back from back surgery earlier this season. No he didn't score the highest but his performance gives him the gold tonight. The 6'6 Spanish guard tallied 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Tonight we saw a much more aggressive and confident Rudy who carefully calculated his movements and made things happen for this team, not to mention he clocked in a good 31 minutes of play. See Rudy, when you play like this you get minutes!!! When you play like you were playing...you don't get minutes. Crazy how things work like that. Brandon Roy was the top scorer of the night with 20 points that went along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. It's great to see B Roy getting back in the swing of things and I'm sure that if he wouldn't have had a 20+ night tonight we would not have gotten the win ('specially since LMA had a forgettable night - 9 points, 2 rebounds). Andre Miller had a fantastic night as well with a near triple double, 18 points, 10 assists and 7 rebounds. Miller has been such a vital player for this team, anyone who thinks otherwise is obviously not paying attention. The guy is putting up double figures in scoring and assists, so when you think about it, technically Dre had an extra 20 points on those 10 assists! Keep it up Dre, we need you!

Here's a look at the rest of the box score:

The Blazers got their act together tonight for this win but that doesn't mean there weren't spots of adversity. Once again, Portland saw themselves with a 15 points lead and watched that lead decrease quickly. Portland needs to sit down and learn how to get a lead and hold on to it! Besides that we played a pretty good game of basketball. The Blazers came out with a sense of urgency and got the job done. Portland won the game 101 - 87.

Photo of the Night:

GO GET IT OL' MAN! Juwan throwin it down, proving he's 37 years YOUNG.

The Blazers next travel to Chi-Town to take on the Chicago Bulls on Friday at 5 PM PST.

•  Portland has won five straight games in the series, tied for its second-longest active
streak against any NBA opponent (Minnesota, 11; San Antonio/New Jersey, 5).
•  The Trail Blazers won, 122-98, Nov. 23 in Portland in the first game of the series behind
double-doubles from LaMarcus Aldridge (24 points, 13 rebounds) and Greg Oden (24
points, 12 rebounds). Portland shot 57.5% (42-73) from the floor.
•  In 2008-09, Portland swept Chicago for the second consecutive season and the 10th
time in franchise history. The Trail Blazers won by an average of 28 points in two games
(112.5-84.5), their largest average margin of victory against any team last year, while the
112.5 points marked their highest scoring average against any opponent a season ago.
•  Portland’s 42-point win (116-74) against Chicago on Nov. 19, 2008, marked the Trail
Blazers’ largest margin of victory since Nov. 17, 1997 (120-75 win vs. Dallas), and Port-
land’s biggest win vs. Chicago, all-time.
•  The Trail Blazers held the Bulls to 38.9% field goal shooting and a 14.3% (4-28) mark
from downtown, both lows by a Portland opponent last season, in two Trail Blazers wins
in 2008-09. Portland converted on 48.7% of its field goal attempts (18-39 3-PT).


(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Blazers Blow a 25 Point Lead Resulting in a Jazz Win

Last night the Blazers took on the Utah Jazz at the Rose Garden. After an embarrassing match for Portland when the Jazz last came to the RG, the Blazers were looking for a nice division win.

Starting Five:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Brandon Roy
Martell Webster
Marcus Camby
Andre Miller

Brandon Roy played better than we've seen as of late and was the high scorer of the night with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 blocked shot on 34 minutes of action. He shot 7 - 15 from the field and 7 - 11 from the free throw line. Andre Miller tallied 17 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in 39 minutes of play. He shot 5- 18 from the field and 7 - 9 from the free throw line. LaMarcus Aldridge was huge for us in the first half but foul trouble caused him to foul out late in the game and he walked away with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.

Here's a look at the rest of the box score:

This game was definitely a frustrating one for Blazer fans everywhere. The Blazer came out with intensity and played a great first half, only allowing the Jazz to lead 8 - 6 at the beginning of the game. The Blazer lead continued, getting to 25 points at one point and things seemed to be in Portland's favor, but the fourth quarter came along and Portland struggled once again. LaMarcus Aldridge got in foul trouble and was forced to watch most of the 3rd on the bench and things continued to go down hill from there. The 25 point lead kept going down, down and down until the Jazz were finally within 2 with less than 10 seconds left. Carlos Boozer tipped in a lay up and we went to overtime. OT has never been very pretty for the Blazers this season and this one was no different. Portland started the OT with missed jumpers and poor defense which allowed the Jazz to cruise to a 93 - 89 win. I love this team and that'll never change but losses like these make me so frustrated! I've never been a Nate McMillan hater but you have to wonder what he was or wasn't telling his team as their lead kept declining. It just seems ridiculous to me that we were ahead by at least 20 for a good 3 quarters and then we just let the Jazz back in. You have to close that door Blazers!! Get a lead and keep it please, for the fans' blood pressure sakes at least.

Photo of the Night:

You better look over your should DWills cause BATUM's BLOCK PARTY is coming for you!

Portland next takes on the New Jersey Nets as they start their last east coast road trip of the season.

•  Portland has won four consecutive games over New Jersey, six of the past seven meetings and 10 of the last 13. The Trail Blazers have won each of the last three games at the IZOD Center, including last year’s 105-99 comeback victory at the Nets on Jan. 15, when Jerryd Bayless scored his rookie season-high 23 points (11 in fourth quarter). 

•  A win Tuesday would give the Trail Blazers consecutive season sweeps over the Nets for the first time since 1992-93 and 1993-94. 

•  The Trail Blazers’ overall winning percentage (51-19, .729) and home winning percentage (30-5, .857) vs. the Nets are their bests among all 29 NBA opponents. 

•  Portland never trailed in knocking off New Jersey, 93-83, at the Rose Garden on Nov 25. Six Trail Blazers scored in double figures, as Portland shot 50.0% (35-70) from the floor and 52.9% (9-17) from downtown. 

•  Portland gained a 33-point advantage from the foul line last season against the Nets by shooting 65 for-78 (83.3%). New Jersey went 32-for-40 (80.0%) from the charity stripe in two games. 

•  The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Nets, 82-66, including a 25-14 advantage on the offensive glass, in two series meetings a season ago. 

•  Portland outscored New Jersey on the fastbreak, 29-15, in its two wins last season. 

•  Devin Harris led New Jersey with 25.0 points and 8.0 assists in two appearances against the Trail Blazers last season. Brook Lopez added 19.5 points (72.7% FG) and 6.0 rebounds in two games. 

•  Trail Blazers assistant coach Maurice Lucas owns a share of the high for rebounds against New Jersey in franchise history with 18 on Oct. 23, 1976. 

•  Brandon Roy’s 30.0 points (28-33 FT) in two games against the Nets last season led all players in the series. LaMarcus Aldridge added 19.5 points and 8.0 rebounds (4.0 offensive) in two contests. 

•  Nets General Manager and interim Head Coach Kiki Vandeweghe played for Portland from 1984-89. His 23.5 scoring average over five seasons is the highest of any Trail Blazers player, all-time. 

Hopefully the Blazers get a nice win to propel them on this 5 game roadie!

(Pictures: Yahoo Sports)

Boston Celtics end the Blazers Two Game Winning Streak

Last night, the Blazers welcomed the Boston Celtics to the rose garden for something that was sure to be an  interesting match up. The Blazers were unveiling a new line up with the recent acquisition of Marcus Camby and hoping it would be enough to keep the 2008 champs at bay.

Starting Cinq:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy
Martell Webster
Marcus Camby

Marcus Camby made his Blazer debut last night at the RG and did precisely what we brought him in to do. Camby walked away with 7 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 2 points. Just keep rebounding and blocking Marcus and people will be happy. Andre Miller was our high scorer with 16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocked shots but I'm unhappy to report that he had a big 0 assists. That's pretty uncharacteristic of Dre but then again a lot of things felt uncharacteristic in this game. LaMarcus tallied only 15 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assits and 1 blocked shot.

Here's a look at the rest of the box score:

Nothing really went right for Portland in this game. The Blazers shot a dismal 33.8% from the field and 75% from the free throw line and not to mention 16% from beyond the arch shooting 2 - 12. That's rough, especially on top of 18 turnovers. It just really felt like there was little fight in Portland down the stretch and Boston capitalized on that. The Celtics were the more aggressive team so they were able to get the calls and that's all she wrote. Portland ended up losing the game, snapping their two game win streak, 96 - 76.

Photo of the Night:

Lookin' good in that Blazers jersey Camby. Welcome to Portland.

Portland next takes on the Utah Jazz at home on Sunday night on ESPN and CSNW at 7:30 PST.

•  Utah leads the series, 3-0, guaranteeing a win in the series for the first time since 2005-06. The Jazz have won by an average of 13.4 points (110.7-97.3) in the three games. The Jazz have shot 61.2% from the field (45.0% 3-PT) while limiting the Trail Blazers to 40.9% shooting (26.2% 3-PT) in the first three contests of the 2009-10 series. 

•  The home team had won eight straight games in the series, and the Trail Blazers had won six consecutive games in Portland, before Utah earned a 106-95 win at the Rose Garden on Jan. 27. The Jazz jumped out to a 21-2 lead and never trailed. 

•  The Trail Blazers and Jazz split last season’s series, 2-2, for the fourth time in the last six seasons. A win Wednesday would give Utah a series win for the first time since 2005-06. 

•  In their two wins against the Jazz a season ago, the Trail Blazers posted two of their four highest point totals of the season. Portland’s 125 points on March 31 marked its highest scoring effort against the Jazz since April 14, 1988. 

•  Both the Trail Blazers (51.5%) and Jazz (51.2%) shot better than 50.0% from the floor during the series in 2008-09, with Portland’s 51.5% marking its best vs. any team last year.

(Pictures: Yahoo Sports) 

Portland Blazes The Suns In Phoenix

Last night the Blazers traveled to the valley of the sun to meet with the Suns in Phoenix. This game was the second of a back to back coming after two devastating losses at home to LA on Saturday and OKC Tuesday night. A win was much needed to go into the All-Star break in a positive light.

Comenzar Cinco:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Juwan Howard
Andre Miller
Martell Webster
Steve Blake

Another line-up switch last night, Nicolas Batum was taken out and Steve Blake was put in. I was a little nervous of this line-up but it seemed to do good things. LaMarcus Aldridge, who was named to the USA national team prior to the game, was the high scorer of the night! Apparently, that announcement did good things and pumped LMA up because he came away with 22 points on 11 - 17 from the field, 6 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots. The difference in LaMarcus' game last night compared to the OKC game was drastic. Aldridge seemed much more confident in his shots and was eager to get the ball down low and take on former teammate Channing Frye. The man had 16 points at the half, I'm just sayin. Our guards were huge for us last night as both Andre Miller and Steve Blake had big games with 20 points. I think Blake's contribution was a bigger deal though because we haven't seen a game like this from Steve in a while. Blake shot 7 - 12 from the field and 2 - 5 from behind the arch tallying 2 rebounds and a big 12 assists. My boy, DANTE INFERNO CUNNINGHAM had another HUGE night with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. DC has been playing great these past couple games, he is really playing for a starting position and doing it with stride. He just keeps getting better and we have to mention his FACE MELTING super dunk on Amar'e Stoudemire coming after Amar'e had a nasty dunk on DC. Unfortunately, Amar'e's dunk was featured on SportsCenter and such and Dante's dunk but forgotten, such is the way of life.

This game was an excellent rebound game after Tuesday's heart breaker. The Blazers came out with a sense of urgency and energy right from the beginning and never allowed Phoenix to lead throughout the entire game. An excellent and surprising game through and through.

The Blazers went on to win the game 108 - 101.

Photo of the Night:

This dunk will forever be engraved in my mind and every time I see a picture or watch a replay I will hear Wheels screaming: "OOOOOH THAT WAS NASTY" because it was. It was.

The Blazers get a nice little break this weekend as All-Star weekend starts up in Dallas but will next play the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

•  Portland has won four of the past five games and seven of the last nine against the 

L.A. Clippers, including two straight wins at the Rose Garden. 

•  This season series between the teams is tied, 1-1, with each team winning on their home 

floor. Both teams have shot better than 50.0% from the floor (Portland, 50.6%; L.A. Clip- 

pers, 53.4%). Martell Webster leads Portland with 20.0 points in two series contests. 

•  The Trail Blazers bested the Clippers, 3-1, in the 2008-09 series, Portland’s second 

straight series win over the Clippers and 18th since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles 

in 1984-85. 

•  In four contests last season, the Trail Blazers outscored the Clippers, 107.0-91.8, and 

shot 48.7% from the floor while holding Los Angeles to 41.8% shooting in four games. 

•  The Trail Blazers dished 100 assists and turned the ball over 50 times, good for a 2.00 

assist-to-turnover ratio in four series games in 2008-09. The Clippers’ ratio was 1.32. 

•  Portland outscored Los Angeles in the paint in each of the four meetings last season, 

compiling a 202-152 edge overall. 

•  Portland earned a 186-160 (54-42 off.) rebounding advantage in four games in the 

series last year. 

Hopefully the Blazers get a nice, well deserved rest this weekend and come back strong on Tuesday for a good game against LAC. 

(Photos: Yahoo! Sports)

Thunder Rolls Over Portland

Last night the Blazers met with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Rose Garden. It was an exciting match-up with both teams being young and up and coming. The Blazers were looking to erase a devastating loss on Saturday to LA and OKC, winners of five straight, were looking to extend their winning streak and get a long awaited win in Portland. For both teams this was a big division game since the playoff race is extremely tight in the west.

Starting Cinco:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Martell Webster
Andre Miller
Juwan Howard
Nicolas Batuuuum

Nico joined the starting five once again last night in a line-up change hinted by Nate McMillan during the practice before the game. Andre Miller was our top scorer of the night with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Dante INFERNO Cunningham had another BIG night and was one of the few guys making things happen for us last night. Inferno scored a new career high, 14 points and also tallied 6 rebounds and 1 steal. Dante has been doing BIG things for us and I am so excited to see more from him.

Here's a look at the complete box score:

This game just wasn't good. The Blazers had no fight, no energy and just seemed to be going through the motions during this game. The cringe-factor was evident for both teams though as turnovers plagued the entire game for both sides. Once again, shots just didn't drop for us and getting to the paint was difficult, despite the fact we actually outscored OKC in the paint 40 - 30, but I think turnovers were a big deciding factor. We had a total of 24 team turnovers which were converted into 30 OKC points. Those stats are painful to the eyes and really hard to witness in person. It was just a real shame of a game knowing that this game had potential to be a big confidence booster for the Blazers if they came out with the right confidence and attitude.

Oklahoma City went on to win the game 89 - 77.

The Blazers are currently on a plane to Phoenix to take on ex-Blazer Channing Frye and the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night. 

•  Portland has won three straight games in the series (all in Portland) for the first time since a four-game win streak March 25-Dec. 5, 1999. 

•  The winning team has scored 100-plus points in 19 of the last 20 games in the series. 

•  Jerryd Bayless scored 16 of his 29 points (9-15 FG) in leading the Trail Blazers from 13 down in the fourth quarter to a 105-102 triumph over the Suns on Dec. 17 in the first meeting of this year’s series. Brandon Roy added 27 points and eight rebounds. 

•  Portland and Phoenix split last season’s series, with the home team winning all four games. Portland scored 110.3 points per game while allowing 109.3 points, both highs for the Trail Blazers in a Western Conference series last season. 

•  In 2008-09, Portland earned its first home sweep of Phoenix since 1998-99. In the wins, Portland posted two of its three highest scoring outputs of the season (124 points on Dec. 18, 129 points on March 26). 

•  Phoenix shot 53.5% from the floor in four games last season vs. Portland, the highest mark allowed by the Trail Blazers to any team, and 43.8% from long distance. The Trail Blazers shot 49.0% and 41.2%, respectively.

•  The Suns outrebounded the Trail Blazers, 152-138, in four contests last season while outscoring Portland, 202-156, in the paint.
The Trail Blazers held a 52-39 advantage on the offensive glass and a 64-51 edge in second-chance scoring.
•  The Suns had knocked off the Trail Blazers 11 consecutive times, the longest series streak against Portland at the time, before Brandon Roy’s career-high 52 points, tied for the second-most by a Trail Blazer in franchise history, lifted Portland past Phoenix, 124-119, on Dec. 18, 2009. Roy’s 19 free throws (of 21) also marked a franchise record.
•  Rudy Fernandez was acquired by Portland from Phoenix along with James Jones for cash considerations on July 11, 2007.
•  Phoenix center Channing Frye spent the past two seasons in a Trail Blazers uniform, averaging 5.6 points (46.4% FG), 3.5 rebounds and 14.8 minutes in 141 games. He attended the same college (Arizona) and high school (St. Mary’s, Phoenix) as Jerryd Bayless.
•  Suns center Jarron Collins participated in Portland’s 2009 training camp and preseason before being waived on Oct. 22.
•  Suns President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Steve Kerr played for Portland in 2001-02, netting 4.1 points in 65 games.

(Photos: Yahoo! Sports)