Thunder Hits Portland--Up Next Toronto

Thursday night the Oklahoma City Thunder rolled into town to take on the Blazers. This was the first home game after the Blazers successful 3-1 road trip and with OKC being a conference rival it was an important game to say the least.

Starting 5:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Marcus Camby
Nicolas Batum
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

LaMarcus Aldridge once again was the player of the game. The beard man scored 22 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. He shot 11-19 from the field. LaMarcus has been one of the most consistent guys on the team! Night after night he is getting the job done and in the first few minutes of the game, he was the only Blazer who scored any points at all. The only thing that I'm not too happy about was that LMA shot 0-0 from the line. I was actually shocked looking at that stat. The L-Train has been doing a much better job at getting to the line but just couldn't get there on Thursday. Brandon Roy had a nice game with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He shot 6-17 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the line. I have to say though, this game really belonged to Nicolas Batum. Nico has been struggling to keep a rhythm so far but Thursday that rhythm finally came back. He scored 16 points alonf with 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Batum was all over the place that night working hard on both the offensive and defensive ends. Nico guarded Kevin Durant for most of the night and though KD was able to score 28 points, he was only 2-5 from beyond the arch, showing that Nicolas made Kevin go to the hoop and work for those points. It was good to see Batum really get back into the swing of things and I hope he's able to take that game and only build on it Saturday.

Box Score:

Oklahoma City won the game 107-106 in OT.

This game was won at the free throw line. Oklahoma City shot 24-26 from the line (92%) and Portland shot 16-20 (80%) with some players (cough, LMA, cough) not making it to the free throw line at all. When a game is won or lost by such a small number I always look at the free throw percentage. In a close game, free throws are HUGE. Next, I look at rebounds. Extra possessions can make or break a game. OKC out-rebounded POR by 9 (47 rebounds to our 38). The Thunder out-rebounded us on the defensive end with 32 to our 23. Those extra possessions allowed Oklahoma to break the Blazers 12 point lead and eventually take the win in OT.

Photo(s) of the Night:

The team officially announced the dedication of this season to Maurice Lucas Thursday night with Lucas' family in attendance.

Homeless Sonics mascot. 

The Blazers next take on the Toronto Raptors at the Rose Garden Saturday night.

• The Trail Blazers have won four straight games in the series, tying for Portland’s longest win streak over Toronto (2002-03). 

• Portland has swept Toronto, 2-0, each of the past two seasons. The Trail Blazers have also won the last three matchups at the 

Rose Garden with the last loss coming Dec. 22, 2006 (101-100 OT). 

• Toronto’s top two scorers (Chris Bosh, 28.0, and Hedo Turkoglu, 19.0) from last year’s season series against Portland are no longer 

with the Raptors. Andrea Bargnani (13.0) averaged the most points against Portland last season among Toronto’s returning players. 

• Four Trail Blazers averaged at least 15 points vs. the Raptors last season. Brandon Roy led the way with a 20.0 scoring average 

while LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Andre Miller each averaged 15.5 points per game. 

• Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani and Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge were selected fi rst and second overall in the 2006 NBA Draft. 

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

along with eight assists. 

• Portland shot 51.4 percent (18-35) from 3-point range against Toronto last season. Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum each 

hit six total shots from downtown in two games against the Raptors last year. 

• Portland committed only 18 turnovers against the Raptors in two meetings last season while forcing Toronto into 27 turnovers. 

• With a 105.0 scoring average against Toronto last season, Portland’s average margin of victory over the Raptors was 12.5 points 

in two games last season. 

• Toronto’s last two victories over Portland have both come in overtime. The last time Toronto won a game in regulation against the 

Trail Blazers was Feb. 12, 2006, in Toronto. 

• Marcus Camby was drafted second overall by the Toronto Raptors in 1996. Camby played 126 games in two seasons for Toronto 

while blocking a total of 360 shots. 

• 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. 

ALSO: The Portland Trail Blazers have announced that they signed C Sean Marks today to replace Fabricio Oberto who retired Thursday due to a pre-diagnosed heart condition.


Sources: Yahoo Sports Media Notes

Chicago Fears the Beard--Up Next Milwaukee

The Blazers have had a spectacular start to the 2010-2011 season going 3-0 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Yesterday, the Blazers travelled to the windy city to try and boost that streak to 4-0.

Starting Five:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Nicolas Batum
Marcus Camby
Andre Miller
Brandon Roy

The high scorer of the night and all other recognition goes to none other than LaMarcus Aldridge (and his beard, I'm a fan). LMA came close to a career high and double-double with 33 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. The man was nearly flawless. He was perfect from the free throw line shooting 9-9 and  12-19 from the field. LaMarcus was the absolute leader of this team last night. We struggled out of the gate but LaMarcus caught fire and never slowed down. Brandon Roy had an extremely slow start but still finished the game with 17 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Roy shot 4-12 from the field and 0-2 from beyond the arch. In the bronze position for the night was rookie, Armon Johnson with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Johnson, who had family present at this game, was a surprising spark late in the 4th quarter. Nate took the starters out, flew the white flag and put in the rookies with 4 minutes to go. Johnson led that rookie unit to bring the Chicago lead down to 9 with an 8-0 run. The run was cut short but it made this loss a little less painful knowing our rookies were the type to go out there and try and make something happen.

Box Score:

The Blazers came out slow and tired in the first half. The Bulls were able to kill us on transition and get easy lay-ins and buckets but what was the real dagger was field goal shooting. The Bulls  shot a steady 60% from the field to our 41% and a big 38% from 3-pt range to our shocking 0%. Luol Deng was huge for the Bulls win with a career high 40 points, shooting 14-19 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arch. The Blazers lost the game 110-98.

Photo of the Night:

Thankfully Gibson forgot which way the hoop was on this play.

The Blazers next travel to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks tonight! Tip off is at 8 PM EST, 5 PM PST.

• Portland and Milwaukee split last year’s season series,1-1, with each team winning at home. 

• The Trail Blazers have won six of the past seven meetings. 

• Portland had won fi ve straight against Milwaukee until the Bucks’ double-overtime win, 108-101, Dec. 12, 2009, in Milwaukee. 

• Portland has defeated Milwaukee in four straight meetings at the Rose Garden. The Trail Blazers have won 15 of the last 22 games between 

the teams overall. 

• Milwaukee’s last two wins over Portland have come in overtime. The Bucks’ last win in regulation over the Trail Blazers came on March 20, 

2006, 100-93, in Portland. 

• Nate McMillan became the second-youngest NBA coach in the last 20 years to reach 350 career wins after a 96-84 victory at Milwaukee on 

March 21, 2009 (Jeff Van Gundy). 

• LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 26 points per game in two contests against Milwaukee last season to lead Portland while playing 

an average of 45 minutes per game. Brandon Roy added 22.5 points per game against the Bucks in 2009-10. 

• Marcus Camby did not play against Milwaukee last season as Portland’s games against the Bucks were before Camby was traded to the 

Trail Blazers. The Los Angeles Clippers’ games against the Bucks came after Camby was traded to Portland. 

• Portland shot 49.1 percent from the fi eld in two contests against Milwaukee last season. The Bucks shot 47.5 percent from the 

fl oor and 41.7 percent from 3-point range against Portland in 2009-10. 

• Each team turned the ball over 29 times in last year’s matchups. 

• The Trail Blazers attempted 60 free throws during last year’s season series while Milwaukee attempted 42. Andre Miller shot a 

series-high 18  total free-throw attempts during the meetings. 

• Wesley Matthews played at the Bradley Center during his collegiate career at Marquette. 

• Milwaukee Head Coach Scott Skiles is 10-13 (.435) in his career vs. the Trail Blazers as coach of Phoenix, Chicago and Milwaukee. 

• Bucks assistant coach Joe Wolf played 21 games for Portland during the 1992-93 season, averaging 2.5 points and 2.1 rebounds. 

• Joel Przybilla played for the Milwaukee Bucks from 2000-03. Przybilla totaled 141 games played with averages of 1.9 points and 3.6 rebounds 

before being traded to Atlanta during the 2003-04 season. 


Sources: Photo-Yahoo Sports Notes-Blazers Media Notes

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.

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)

Off the Court News 2nd Edition

Huge congrats go out to the Roy Bot!! Brandon Roy has been named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week!

From USAToday:

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy has been named the NBA Western Conference Player of the Week.

The All-Star averaged 27 points while leading the Trail Blazers to four victories last week. He had 41 points in a comeback win at Golden State.

This is the fifth time Roy has won the award in his career. Clyde Drexler is the only other player in franchise history to win it that often.

WooHoo!! Roy definitely deserves this honor! He has been doing serious work for the Blazers this past week after finally getting back to his usual Roy Bot self! It's really exciting having Brandon get the recognition he deserves! Keep it up BRoy!

A side note, it's also exciting hearing Blazers head coach, Nate McMillan's name being thrown around in Coach of the Year considerations. It really is remarkable how Nate has taken this team, down and injured, and turned them into serious playoff contenders. Love him or hate him, you have to admit that he's doing something right getting this team into the playoffs and making them a real threat. 

Lastly, Rudy Fernandez will be doing a signing TOMORROW in Salem, OR!

From Rudy's Twitter: 

Tomorrow I will be at Capitol Subaru in Salem (OR) at 5,30 to sign autographs

Where:

2505 Mission Street Southeast

Salem, OR 97302
(503) 316-4294

When:

5:30 PM

Who/Why:

IT'S RUDY "EL MACHETERO" FERNANDEZ! That's Why.

View Larger Map

I've met Rudy once before at his Verizon Wireless signing late last year and it was a fantastic experience! Rudy was nice enough to talk to my good friend in NYC on the phone and was incredibly genuine and kind. I definitely suggest you make it down to Salem to meet him if you can, you won't regret it! 

That's all your off the court news for now!

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)