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 Struggle to Find Rhythm In Front of a Star Studded Crowd at MSG

Portland  started a four game road trip last night in New York playing the New York Knicks in front of a star studded crowd including the likes of Rihanna, Celine Dion, Spike Lee and Chris Rock. After a night of emotional events, including the injury to Greg Oden that will take him out for the rest of the season, and a huge win against the Rockets in the books, the Blazers were once again facing adversity in the big apple. Head coach Nate McMillan underwent successful surgery on his achilles heel, but this meant he would be a no show on the road trip. Also, beloved Spaniard, Rudy Fernandez satyed home to rest a hurt back. Needless to say, the Blazers had a lot working against them and were looking to start the trip with a win against a New York team they had beaten 5 consecutive times.

 Starting Five:

Brandon Roy

LaMarcus Aldridge

Martell Webster

Steve Blake

Joel Pryzbilla

High scorer of the night for Portland was, once again, Brandon Roy. B Roy knows his role and has been fighting harder than ever to keep the team within striking distance but the problem is that we need more than Roy, Aldridge and Miller to step up. A big problem we saw in the game last night was players standing around and waiting for someone else to step up. Roy tallied 27 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. He shot 9 - 19 from the field and 9 - 10 from the line. Aldridge had a great night as well producing a double-double with 19 points, 16 rebounds and 2 assists. When our two All-Stars play like this we should be winning. Also notable is Jerryd Bayless. J Bay has been given more and more minutes over the past couple of games, something I am a strong supporter of especially when Jerryd puts up numbers like these. Bayless tallied 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Bayless was one of few to go on a hot sreak but as per usual was benched. I think the coaches need to trust Bayless more and let him stick it out on the court. It's a shame that a player like J Bay who is aggressive and hustles isn't being rewarded.

It was a battle to the end but the Knicks prevailed wining the contest 93 - 84. Despite a 14 - 0 run late in the 4th quarter, the Blazers just couldn't keep up. You could definitely tell that morale and energy was low for this team. Too many times we saw a lack of communication and players simply standing on the sides watching the game rather than participating.

Times are tough but something's gotta give. This Blazers team has seen adversity before so I still refuse to count them out. It's not what we want, but I think we might have to settle with a late season surge at this point. Jeff Pendergraph, rookie forward (injured), has been quoted as saying that he could be back in action as early as Christmas so maybe he could make some changes for this team. Also, Patty Mills, rookie point guard (injured), is supposed to be ahead of schedule on his recovery as well. The more bodies we have the better right now, especially when we can only play 9 guys giving us a healthy bench of 4. Not quite an ideal situation.

The Blazers next play the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday December 9th at 4 PM PST. Remember, we're on the east coast so games are playing earlier.

Keys Keys Keysssss:

1. Fast play - We've got to continue working the fast break plays. Indiana likes to play fast so we need to keep up with that intensity and play fast right back at them.
2. Miller & Webster Step It Up - Andre Miller had 4 points against NY. We need Miller to stay consistent in the high numbers. Webster also needs to step his game up. He's the replacement for Outlaw who would come off the bench and give us baskets, so he needs to start making those baskets. If we can get Miller, Roy, Aldridge and Webster with a good scoring night we can't be beat.
3. STOP TURNOVERS - In last night's game we had 15 turnovers in the first half alone. Those turnovers led to 31 NY points. We need to clean up our passes and play and keep turnovers to a minimum.

(Pictures: Yahoo! Sports)

Fan Fest 2009!

Sunday night was the Portland Trail Blazer Fan Fest at the Rose Quarter. I had planned to get some of my group together to go down to the Rose Quarter early assuming, since this is a free event with general admission, people would be lining up. Unfortunately, due to Murphy's Law, I didn't get there till 4:30, 30 minutes before the doors opened. There were so many people there and I talked to some Blazer fans who had started lining up at 6 AM! Now that's dedication! I was able to meet up with the rest of my group and have a pretty good spot in line. Contrary to prior Fan Fests, no athletes were present, at least at our entrance, which was kind of a downer, but I'm not surprised considering the mass mob that formed once the doors opened. I was able to get amazing seats about four rows from the court on the home bench side behind the basket. All in all it was an amazing night and so much fun! It was great to see the new guys show their stuff and it was awesome to see Martell Webster back on the court sporting his new number 23. Martell looked great out there, can't wait to see him playing on Tuesday! Also, it was great to see Ime Udoka back on the team. When introduced during the Q&A he got a massive amount of welcome home cheers and applause.

Here are some of my best pictures from Sunday:
















Be sure to follow my twitter for updates on the games! My first pre-season tickets are for the game on the 20th vs. Utah. When I am not actually present at game I will tweet highlights as often as the radio and internet allows!
Twitter: twitter.com/_blazer_nation_

when I am present at games I will also be posting pictures from that account as well as my personal Twitter: twitter.com/annainthehouse