Blazers waltzed into town and played like they had the game won before it started - Rockets stepped up their play a few notches and took advantage. Nothing but props from this Blazer fan. As for the Blazers, I hope that after dropping two games to sub .500 teams because they played with no energy and no defense, that they've finally learned their lesson - but it's not likely.
thanks HPD. It was a very entertaining game to say the least. Francis, anderson, Thomas , maybe Mobley, not a bad future. ------------------ "Don't they get cable in Canada ?" Keith olbermann, after watching hakeem block terry catledge's shot 5 times.
Francis3, That is why he was on the bench. He will learn, I think Rudy's patience is wearing thin. I know mine is... DaDakota
The High Plains Drifter, I have a question for you. It seems that Portland lacks a player who demands and can execute the clutch play in the closing seconds of a tight game. Is that perception true and is it a concern for Portland fans? Mango
Well, that's a good question. If there is a weakness (other than playing down to teams) for this version of the Blazers, it could very well be that we don't have that one guy that everyone knows will be the one that gets it done. In individual environments, that player could be Rasheed Wallace (who has hit a pair of game winners for us already), Steve Smith (who was that guy in Atlanta), or Stoudamire (who was that guy in Toronto). Hopefully as the season progresses, they'll figure out how to score their points down the stretch (Didn't have any for over 5 minutes in the 4th until Wallace scored his 3-point play, which is totally unacceptable.) I'd like that guy to be Wallace, personally, but he has to show some respect to the refs before they're ever going to give him the benefit of the doubt on any calls at the end of games. On the whole, there just seems to be some chemistry bugs that need to get worked out before they make their stretch run. That would entail defining roles, finding that fine line between good ball movement and overpassing, knowing who needs to get the ball in certain situations, etc. The talent's there, but it's going to take some work to mold it into a championship ball club. We'll see how it goes.
hey what did cuttin mobley do today to upset you all? did he play bad? I didnt get a chance to watch the game! And I only heard a few quarters!
Big win! High Plains Drifter, Do you think not having another backup for Sabonis takes away from Rasheed's game come crunch time.He's a stud but when he has to move over it seems to take something out of him sometimes...just a thought HH
Jermaine signed a nice 4 year contract to do that job and it is not happening. Rumors keep saying that he wants to leave. Mango
Alaskansnow, What do you mean? Most people on the board rip shreads of Mobley after each and every game not just today. Apparently you have to be brilliant in each and every game and certainly can't be given time to improve, especially on a team that is struggling. Smeg
Smeg, Cat's greatest obstacle is that fans watch Francis do the same thing better. It is unfair for fans to hold him to that standard, but thats life. Mango
I really thought that Jermaine was going to assume Cato's minutes and become the backup center of the future. So far, that plan's been a bust. I really thought that O'Neal was going to be better than Cato, but he hasn't showed me anything this year. He looked better 2 years ago than he does now. He's not getting his opportunity to shine, but I assume that's for a reason as he's probably not putting out enough effort during practice to show the coaching staff he deserves those minutes. (A DNP-CD tonight) I'm fine with Wallace playing backup center, the guy's a legitimate 6'11" if not 7', and he's getting stronger every season. At least I'd rather have him play center than small forward like he played a lot of last season. He's got great range on his J, but he's too good of an inside player to be roaming around the perimeter. I think our best line-up is with Wallace and Grant in and Sabonis out. As you guys could see tonight, Sabonis is a factor on offense because he's a mismatch for just about everyone on the low-post, but he was getting burned badly on loose balls and rebounds and that really cost us.
high plains: what must really kill you is that both games the blazers had an opp to pick up a game on the lakers. instead of coming out and doing it, they lose to the mavericks and then the rockets. pretty bad. they need to play with a bit more intensity and realize that homecourt will be ESSENTIAL in the playoffs.
Yeah, it's very frustrating. I thought they would come out with some fire in their eyes tonight knowing they could put the Mavs loss behind them and gain more ground on the Lakers, but instead they showed up with the same sloppy and uninspired play (most of the time) as the Mavs game and overlooked another team that is very capable of knocking off any team on any night. Hopefully they'll show up tonight against San Antonio, because if they don't they'll get hammered for sure. I think everyone in Portland is a little baffled at this point as to why they've been so inconsistent recently.
Im looking forward to watching the Blazers vs. Spurs game tonight. I wanna see Scottie squirm as the Blazers drop all three in Texas. Who is with me?
I'm with you Smokey. Still, I'd like to give some Kudos to High Plains Drifter. You always come into "our house" and display an almost inordinate amount of respect. You don't allow yourself to be baited by some of our less than hospitable members (I'm not neccesarily talking about this thread in particular), and you always offer something decent to talk about. Thank you.
