Blazers Go 4 - 1 On Their Final East Coast Road Trip

Tonight the Blazers traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to conclude their last east coast road trip of the season. Going into this game the Blazers were 3 - 1 and a win was vital to keep them alive in the 8th position of the western conference. Memphis, who will probably not be making an appearance in the playoffs, has done extremely well on the road but has struggled at home so the hope was that the Blazers could take home a nice win to close out this roadie.

Starting Cinco:

LaMarcus Aldridge

Nicolas Batum

Marcus Camby

Andre Miller

Brandon Roy

Top honors of the night go to Brandon Roy who brought his A game tonight and tallied 25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 big steals. Tonight we saw the B Roy of old (before his hammy injury that it) who played scrappy, dove to the floor for the ball and put his head down and got to the hoop. He shot 7 - 18 from the field and 2 - 6 from three point range but depended on getting to line shooting a perfect 6 -6. The past couple games have shown a stronger, more confident B Roy and hopefully all the time off coming up in March will do him and his evil hamstring some good. Nicolas Batum continued to the BATUM-SHAKA-LAKA national tour with 21 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 big blocked shot. Third quarters are proving to be really good to Batum as most of his points were recorded then. Nico played with extreme aggression and precision once again and as I've said before, I will say again that I can not wait to see where this kid's talent leads him (he's got my all-star vote. just sayin'). Though Dante Cunningham only clocked in about 4 minutes and 5 points, I'm giving him a big shout out because let's face it, the Inferno came off the bench and was an immediate spark for the Blazers. The first half was extremely ugly for us but when Dante came in he provided energy on both ends of the floor and gave us some sweet dunks. Juwan had some high lights but most of his play was not good and it was disappointing that just because Dante had a little problem with Zach Randolph down low he was immediately taken out, despite the fact that in his short time he was making big things happen for us. Give the rook' a chance Nate (TEAM DANTE)!

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

The first half of this game was really rough for the Blazers. They were playing sloppy with little energy but luckily someone talked some sense into this ball club resulting in a complete turn around in the third quarter.  Jerryd Bayless made some good (and not so good) plays even though the poor kid couldn't buy a foul. Brandon Roy and Nicolas Batum went crazy scrapping for the ball and getting to the hoop and they started knocking down crucial shots. Marcus Camby also had a huge effect on the game because he was able to get us some much needed rebounds and hustle. LaMarcus had a pretty quiet night with 13 points and 2 rebounds but he made up for that with 4 big steals. Unfortunately foul trouble kept his minutes low in the third. Fast breaks were huge for us in the final stretch of the game. We outscored Memphis 23 - 17 on fast break points. In my keys to this match, I was correct that the first team to reach 100 would come out with the win as Portland took the game 103 - 93.

Photo(s) Of the Night:

The Spaniard Struggle. *Team Fernandez*

JBayWatch 2010 continues....

Oooh Infernoooooo!

The Blazers next travel back home to play the Indiana Pacers at the Rose Garden on Wednesday! NOTE: To any fans attending the game or who can make it out to the RG anyway (you don't need a ticket to attend this) there will be another Blazer Tweet-Up! We will be meeting by the fountains at the Ford Tent. There should be a tent with a sign that says Tweet-Up. Again, you don't need a ticket to the game to attend the tweet-up so go if you can make it because who knows, you might just win yourself a ticket to the game while you're there! More info HERE.

•  Brandon Roy’s 29 points (11-21 FG) guided the Trail Blazers to a 102-91 victory at Conseco Fieldhouse on Dec. 9. Portland led by just two points heading into the fourth quarter, but a 25-16 edge in the final period gave the road team its biggest win in Indianapolis since 1990. 

•  In 2008-09, the Trail Blazers swept the two-game series with the Pacers for the first time since 2002-03. 

•  Portland snapped its nine-game losing streak to Indiana, Portland’s longest losing streak against any team in the NBA at the time, with a 107-105 triumph March 4, 2009, in Portland. 

•  Brandon Roy’s 24.0 points were the most by any player who appeared in both games of the series last season. 

•  Indiana shot 46.1% from the floor and 41.9% from three-point distance while holding Portland to 43.9% shooting from the field and a 35.3% mark from downtown in 2008-09. 

•  The Trail Blazers gained 17 points from the foul line in two games last year, shooting 40-for-50 (80.0%) compared to a 23-for-31 (74.2%) mark for the Pacers.

(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)

BEAT LA

Tonight the Blazers take on the Los Angeles Lakers at the Rose Garden. The Lakers will be playing the second game in a back to back, they lost last night to Denver at the Staples Center. The Lakers haven't done well at the Rose Garden in a looooong time, try 9 games. The Blazers currently hold a 9 - 0 winning streak at home. The entire city of Portland always comes together for Laker games so this game is not only an important win for the team but the city as well.

Probably Starters:

Portland                              L*kers
LaMarcus Aldridge            Kobe Bryant
Juwan Howard                   Ron Artest
Martell Webster                  Pau Gasol
Jerryd Bayless                    Andew Bynum
Andre Miller                      Derek Fisher

The Blazers have a rough task tonight against LA. It was reported this morning that Brandon Roy will not be returning tonight as many thought. Kevin Pritchard(GM) even went as far to say that they might hold Roy out till All Star Weekend, meaning he wouldn't be playing at home against Oklahoma City and away at Phoenix. Though this is a downer for Blazer fans, let's not count Portland out just yet. Nate McMillan confirmed that Jerryd Bayless would be starting once again in place of Brandon Roy.

•  The Trail Blazers earned a 107-98 victory in the first game of the series Jan. 8 in the Rose City behind 32 points (9-11 FG, 13-14 FT) from Brandon Roy. Portland never trailed, leading by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter.
•  Portland has defeated the L.A. Lakers in each of the last nine meetings at the Rose Garden, tied for Portland’s longest active home winning streak against any team (Minnesota) and the Lakers’ longest active road losing streak against any team. The Trail Blazers have won 15 of the past 17 home meetings and 22 of 26. The Lakers have won five straight contests in Los Angeles. The home team has won 10 straight games in the series overall.
•  Portland and the L.A. Lakers meet just three times this year, as the Lakers are one of two teams the Trail Blazers visit only once this season (San Antonio). Portland’s only trip to the STAPLES Center to face the Lakers on April 11 marks its final road contest of the season.
•  The Trail Blazers and Lakers split last year’s series, with each game going to the home team. Portland won by 12.5 points per game at the Rose Garden, while Los Angeles outscored Portland by 17.0 points in two games at STAPLES Center.

•  In four meetings last season, the Lakers outshot the Trail Blazers, 46.0% to 41.1%, from the floor. Los Angeles bested Portland from the foul line, 80.5% to 67.3%.

•  Brandon Roy led Portland with 21.7 points, 6.0 assists and 1.67 steals in his three games vs. the Lakers last season. LaMarcus Aldridge tallied 15.5 points, 9.0 boards and 1.50 blocks in four contests.



•  Kobe Bryant led all scorers in the series with 26.8 points in four games a season ago. Pau Gasol added 16.0 points on 27-for-40 (67.5%) shooting in four contests.



Without Roy it's going to be imperative that we start well. A big reason why we've had so many close, nail biting games is because Roy is the team leader and more importantly, the team closer. So, let's take a look at some keys to a Portland victory tonight.

1. Guard Production - With Roy out, it'll more important than ever for our remaining guards to get to the hoop and make good things happen. Dre & Jerryd need to see big nights, we can't afford for them to have quiet 8 point nights.
2. BIG START - Sometimes we tend to start cold and rely on comebacks but tonight it's going to be imperative that we start the game hot. Kobe is known for finishing games for the Lakers and even though he's starting to feel his injuries he's still performing well averaging 27.9 points per game. In our last game against the Lakers at home, the Lakers never led, that's something we'd like to repeat.
3. Boom Boom Batum Defense - Now that we have Nicolas back, one of the biggest things he's given us is defense! Nico has always been great on defense and we need that tonight. If Batum can keep Kobe under 28, it's been a good night.
4. Our "Bigs" - Last time we played LA, Pau Gasol was out....well, he's back giving LA two real centers vs. our zero. Jeff, Dante, Juwan and LaMarcus HAVE to be careful with fouls because if not it's going to be that much more difficult to contain the Lakers scoring in the paint. 
5. Marty Party - Our outside shooters, specifically Martell Webster need to be on point tonight as well. Lately Marty seems to have gotten his consistency back and we all want to celebrate the Marty Party tonight!

I'll be at the game cheering from the 300 level and I really hope we get this win tonight! I'm bringing my all tonight, even made a sign and I hope each and every one of you that's going to the game does the same. Our guys needs us louder than ever tonight and I can't wait to see the gimmicks Portland does for tonight! Last time we got signs, wonder what they'll do tonight!

BEAT LA

Blazers Sweep The Spurs

Tonight the Blazers came back home to face the San Antonio Spurs. This was the second game in a back to back for Blazers coming off of a tough loss in Utah last night. Going into this game the Blazers had previously beaten the Spurs in San Antonio and were looking for a Spurs sweep with a win at the Rose Garden tonight.

Starting FIVE:

LaMarcus Aldridge
Martell Webster
Juwan Howard
Jerryd Bayless
Andre Miller

It was LA's night tonight. Aldridge was the team's high scorer with his team high 17th double-double of the season. LaMArcus tallied 28 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists in 41 minutes of play. He shot 12 - 22 from the field and 4 - 7 from the free throw line. LMA had a huge basket in the 4th quarter putting the Blazers up and starting a big Blazer run to get the win. When Bradon Roy went out, the first thing I thought was LaMarcus better be steppin up his game and he has answered in such a huge way for this team. His aggression in the paint on both ends of the court has gone through the roof and his production in both points and rebounds has been huge! I think Roy's injury was a big wake-up call for LaMarcus and I'm proud to say he answered it. Martell Webster also had a huge night tonight and was a big reason for why the Blazers won. Marty tallied 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 30 minutes of play. Marty shot 6 - 9 from the field and an incredible, perfect 5 - 5 from beyond the arch and 4 -4 from the free throw line. Many of those 3's and FT's came in clutch moments of the game and can undoubtedly be considered game winners. The Marty Party was in full effect tonight! I love seeing Martell be in top of his game and bringing the consistency! Andre Miller tallied 11 points but shot an uncharacteristic 1 - 4 from the free throw line and  some of those FT's were in clutch situations. Dante 'INFERNO' Cunningham is continuing to stay consistent and knock down shots from the 18 footer range. He tallied a nice 9 points and 4 rebounds, shooting 4 - 6 from the field in 19 minutes of play.

The game stayed pretty close throughout most of the game with the Spurs never leading by more than 12 but things started to look to be in San Antonio's favor after a run in the 4th put them up 10. Luckily the Blazers rallied back with a huge momentum shifting two from LaMarcus and a big fat three from Martell. With only 18 seconds remaining, Blazers led 92 - 89 and SA had the ball, when the wings didn't rotate on defense, Manu Ginobli was able to find a wide open three and as it went off you could hear all Blazer fans inhale and flash back to the New Orleans game BUT he missed it so all was well. The Blazers ended up winning 96 - 93.

Photo(s) of the Night:

That's right Webster, 5 - 5. MARTY PARTY in the building

Argentina vs. Spain - Sign in the RG read: "I'll Take Your Ginobli and Raise You a Fernandez"

The Blazers next play the L*kers at the Rose Garden on Saturday! No keys and series notes in this post, I'll be devoting a whole post to the Portland & LA rivalry! 

(Photos: Yahoo! Sports)

Portland Blazes to a Win Over Charlotte

Tonight the Blazers returned home to face the big surprise in the NBA, the Charlotte Bobcats. Portland was coming off a big win in Dallas and was looking to bring home a win after a two game losing streak at the Rose Garden. Charlotte has experienced a surprising season playing excellent in the east and looking to be playoff contenders at 6th place and also naming the franchises very first all-star in Gerald Wallace. So basically Charlotte was not a team to be written off completely.

Your Starting Five:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Andre Miller
Martell Webster
Juwan Howard
Jerryd Bayless

LaMarcus Aldridge was the high scorer of the night with 17 points BUT I am going to give top honors to my boy, Dante "INFERNO" Cunningham for his EXCELLENT overall performance. Ever since pre-season and fan night I've been a big fan of DC. There was something about him where I knew he would do well and be a great addition to our team but, as everyone including probably Dante himself thought,  I also thought that we wouldn't see too much of Dante maybe some minutes towards the end of a game here and some 'that player is in foul trouble' minutes there. Then our entire team got injured and we all settled in to see our rookies grow up super fast. Inferno posted a career high in points and minutes with 10 points and 31 minutes played in the game. DC did so well, he played for the entire fourth quarter and only committed one foul. He also added 4 boards for us and all four were OFFENSIVE. That means he gave us 4 extra chances to score, way to go Inferno! It was so exciting to see Inferno step up to the plate and get things done for us. I'm even more excited to just see where he goes from here and see his career high 10 turn into a career high 20! TEAM CUNNINGHAM!

Ok, ok I'm done fangirling. LaMarcus Aldridge was the high scorer of the night with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist in 38 minutes of play. Nothing much to report here, it was same ol' same ol' for LMA. Towards the beginning of the game it was difficult for LA to get low and as per usual he swished his fade-aways but as we got to the end LaMarcus found a little more aggression and got to the line. Jerryd Bayless had a respectable game with 15 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. I love Jerryd and I LOVE that he is one of few who can really drive to basket (heck, the first play of the game was a Jerryd Bayless drive for an and 1 situation) but Jerryd, you are on a team and sometimes I wish he would create plays for the team rather than just go to the hoop. Don't get me wrong I LOVE JBAY but 1 assist for a point guard is not too impressive in 21 minutes of play. NICO BATUM, Je T'AIME! Batum was a huge part of this game. He tallied 15 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Nico was huge down the stretch. He brought a level of intensity and energy that the Blazers were lacking back into the game and made big plays for Portland. You know, one big thing I miss from last year was the Spanish Armada consisting of Rudy & Sergio making crazy plays for each other, well I am pleased to report that though the Spanish Connection has passed, we might have a new connection on our hands, the Euro Connection. Rudy and Nico set up some BEAUTIFUL plays for each other, something that I really hope we see more of!

The Blazers ended up cruising to a win, 98 - 79. The game started off pretty slow and, to be blunt, I honestly felt like I was watching a bad JV high school basketball game. Both teams were playing slow and lazy and turning the ball over and not hustling. Even though we were winning by quite a bit (it actually kind of looked like the Utah game....just backwards) it felt like no one had scored or we were tied because both teams were looking less than fantastic. Luckily that phase passed and the Blazers cruised to a win. OH and young rookie out of Australia, Patty Mills, clocked in his first minutes as a Blazer tonight! He missed his only shot but looked darn good in the process. Hope we get to see more Patty!

Photo of the Night:

BATUUUUUM SHOCKA LOCKA

The Blazers next travel to Utah to take on the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

• Utah leads the series, 2-0, winning by an average of 13.5 points (107.0-93.5) in those
games. The Jazz have shot 60.4% from the field (48.1% 3-PT) while limiting the Trail
Blazers to 40.1% shooting (19.0% 3-PT) in the first two contests of the 2009-10 series.
• The Jazz have won the last four meetings between the teams in Salt Lake City.

• The home team had won eight straight games 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.

• Portland never led, trailing by as many as 27 points, in Utah’s 108-92 win in Salt Lake

City on Nov. 28 in the first meeting of the 2009-10 series. Carlos Boozer led all players

with 26 points for Utah, who shot 60.6% from the floor and 58.3% from downtown.

• The Trail Blazers and Jazz split last season’s series, 2-2, for the fourth time in the last

six seasons.

• 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.     

1.     Foul Trouble is Not Our Friend - A big problem in our game against Utah last week was that we were racking up the fouls. Jeff Pendergraph, LaMarcus Aldridge, Juwan Howard and Dante Cunningham our "big" men especially need to do everything they can to stay out of foul trouble. Boozer likes to play rough and dirty in the post and he can really do damage to our guys if he constantly draws the fouls.
2. Don't Drink the Booze - Carlos Boozer is a tough guy to play against and every time we've gone up against the Jazz since Przy's injury, I realize how much I miss Przy talkin' trash to Booze down low. Anyway, we have to contain Booze and Williams. Together they're nearly unstoppable and apart they're just as good. LaMarcus tends to struggle against Booze so it'll be interesting to see how Nate handles that match-up.  
3. Keep Them Under 100 - Once again, we do much better when we are able to keep a team under 100 and Utah does better when they score over 100 so a low scoring game would be most in favor of the Blazers.
4. GOTTA MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS - I refuse to see another game where we have the chance to tie it up, take the lead/win and we miss the free throws (wishful thinking).            

EDIT: As accurately noted by our friends over at Holy BackBoard, it looks like Boozer and Brewer will be out tonight against Portland. Which means good things for us. Our bigs will have a much easier time getting position down low without Boozer checking them!   
                        

(Photos: Yahoo! Sports)

Pre-Season Game 7 vs. Utah Jazz

This was my first game of my half season package, so I was really excited to see with my own eyes what all the talk is about, meaning, I wanted to see Greg Oden dominate with another double double! But alas, to my dismay before the game I was informed that not only would Rudy Fernandez be sitting out again, but also Greg Oden. Not to mention that LaMarcus Aldridge was pulled out at last minute due to a shin contusion. You might recall that LA sat out on Sunday's game as well due to a knee contusion. Poor Head Coach, Nate McMillan, probably feels like his team is dropping like flies! Within a minute of the game Nicolas Batum took a knee to his hip and was taken out for the rest of the game. At half time he tried to run and stretch it out but you could tell from the grimace on his face that he was in immense pain. It's still up in the air whether or not he will even be traveling to the Couve, Vancouver BC, with the rest of the team for Thursday's game against Phoenix.

All in all Thursday was a tough, painful game. I distinctly remember a fan sitting behind me who left during the 3rd quarter to get drinks and came back during the beginning of the 4th saying, "Is it any better? Man...it's been awhile since a game has been this painful to watch." And I agree. Looking over at the bench I saw heads lowered and smiles were erased. Brandon Roy looked like someone had punched him in the gut, LaMarcus Aldridge who had been sitting on the bench in his warm-ups despite his injury, and Greg Oden didn't even stick around for the second half.

Chemistry was a big factor in last night's game. Plays went awry, guys were looking at each other like 'Why weren't you over there?' 'You were supposed to be here.' I think Brandon Roy summed it up best saying, "We just look like we've never seen each other today." It's definitely a disheartening thing to see especially this close to the regular season.

But, with a good number of our regular starters and big players injured, it gave some of the new guys a chance to show Portland what they got. Dante Cunningham had 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in 21 minutes and Jerryd Bayless had 16 points in 21 minutes. Those two were big for Portland last night in the 4th quarter cutting Utah's 25 point lead down to 10 at one point. Also, Juwan Howard is continuing to show that he's not only good for locker room talk with 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and even 2 steals! Not to mention he was called for a technical foul for regulating the law on the court ;-) not that I encourage that sort of behavior but he basically acted on everyone in the Rose Garden's feelings towards the Jazz that night.
(Thanks to Blaze of Love for the stat box below)

Jazz ended up winning the game 108 - 97. (So close to a chalupa)

Next up the Blazers play their final pre-season game in The Couve!! Vancouver BC to be exact, against the Phoenix Suns! We're all waiting to see what kind of lineup Nate McMillan will present since usually, this kind of game is one where the rookies and new kids get the most playing time so our starters and big guys can relax before the season opener, but with the way the Blazers have been playing we might see something different.
A fun fact about last night's game, I was able to meet up with a good friend of mine from Italy, Gulia. It was her first Blazer game and she loved it and the atmosphere, definitely a Blazer for life ;-). But she was a little dismayed to discover that her beloved Rudy would not be playing. Rudy's very popular in Italy apparently. Hopefully we will be able to venture to more games in the future and maybe even meet her beloved Rudy along the way.

Here are some not so awesome pictures I was able to snag with my phone. Don't worry, for future games I will use a real camera :-)

 

 

 

 

Onto game 8!