We started out slow and ended with a loss. But, we definitely have the heart to fight another day. Good game fellas.
Scola clearly wasn't himself. He had no lift on his shot and was having a bad night anyway. He'll be better once his ankle heals.
I saw enough to think with a healthy tmac, we'll be a legit playoffs contender. btw, portland was 37-4 in portland last season. thats a tough place to play.
That horrible 2nd quarter and lackluster third quarter put us into too big of a hole. Considering this is the type of team that is going to have to strive on execution if they want to win ball games... it wasn't really a good looking game for them. BUT, the good news is, the heart is still there.
Haha, yeah I was really glad to see that. =) I'm glad we got one good explosive play to ramp up the momentum. They just had too much of a buffer...
Because the group Rick had out there had gotten us back into the game. Scola and Battier didn't play well at all tonight. But Hayes was great.
problem with brooks is he tends to wait until he HAS to score or make something happen, he ends up with good stats because he makes it rain late, he needs to get going earlier...
Kind of what I expected. They are scrappy, play hard, don't quit. I am proud of them. Despite missing his jumpers, I still think C-Bud is going to be something special. And I agree with the poster who said that Anderson along side Yao might be interesting. This team is going to be O.K., fun to watch, will surprise some people, but probably won't make the playoffs.
VERY well-fought game. The second unit had some serious butterflies in the beginning of that 2nd quarter (and that's really where the game was lost), but they got it together in the second half. Budinger got much more comfortable in his second stint, which was to be expected. Ariza wasn't statistically great, but he showed he's still a valuable asset. Battier was way more aggressive going towards the basket than usual. Brooks and Lowry were great. Scola and Landry were over matched, it seemed. Hayes is worth every penny he makes. If Andersen can get those fouls down, he'll be a key. Hayes is awesome on defense and isn't a total liability on offense - if David can be the other side to that coin, the C rotation will be serviceable. Not to mention adding in some Pops for energy/change of pace. What it all came down to was height. The Blazers and the Lakers are the two "longest" teams in the NBA - they can keep a height mismatch or two on the floor at all times, subs included. That's why I hope this won't be that big of an issue over the course of the season - we'll always be small, but not this (comparatively) small.
We got dunked and blocked too many times, I am shocked, the final score can't cover the embarrassing content of this game. Chase will get better and find his shooting touch. Won't be a easy season for Scola, he got space when Yao was double teamed, now he is always closely covered by defenders. Playing up tempo game is the only way to survive this season, that is why Portland big guys picked up those fouls. Big fellas do not feel comfortable in those running games, and we do not have real long guy this season, so run all the way to keep big guys from our opponents out of the game.
Will be a long season as far as wins and losses go, but it will still be exciting to see how succeed and who fails individually.
Second unit early game jitters cost us this game in the 2nd quarter. When you get outshot from everywhere on the court and outrebounded you normally lose. We will beat Portland here at home with a better effort on the boards.
