tlongII
09-30-2009, 09:36 AM
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/09/attentive_eyes_high_expectatio.html
http://media.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/photo/firstpracticeelyjpg-ac98dc075eafbafb_large.jpg
Players listen to coach Nate McMillan during the Portland Trail Blazers first practice of the 2009-10 season.
TUALATIN – It didn't take long on Tuesday for the Trail Blazers to realize this would be no ordinary first practice, and thus, no ordinary season.
Coming off an ahead-of-schedule 54-win season, and with an improved roster that includes proven point guard Andre Miller and a now-healed Martell Webster, the Blazers learned what the great teams of the early 1990s and the late 1970s did: After capturing the heart of Portland, the eyes of the city soon follow.
So on Tuesday, the eyes arrived, en masse.
Owner Paul Allen. Team president Larry Miller. Team founder Harry Glickman. Team ambassador Bill Schonely. The entire basketball operations staff. The entire broadcasting crew. Even future Hall of Famer Gary Payton, and Oregon State basketball coach Craig Robinson.
Later, one of the largest media contingents in some time filtered into the gym, which had barely enough room to accommodate them, while a small crowd of fans waited outside in the street.
What the standing room only crowd signified was that this is no longer a darling little team of good guys with untapped potential. Now, this team is expected to win. And win big.
And now, everyone wants a glimpse of how quickly a team so talented, so deep and yet still improving, can gel.
Point guard Steve Blake said he became aware of the who's-who contingent of spectators when he walked onto the court before practice. So too did team star Brandon Roy. But all of the players said once coach Nate McMillan blew the whistle, their concentration went into game mode, when they adopt tunnel vision.
While no one admitted to paying attention to the crowd –by some accounts the largest ever for a first practice – they all certainly felt it.
"People, man, they just want to watch our practices," Roy said in amazement. "Just to see the matchups: Martell and Nic (Batum). Me and Rudy (Fernandez). And you can feel it, especially from a management viewpoint, that we are close. They are watching us really closely, seeing what can be done to maybe win that ultimate prize, a championship. I know Paul (Allen) is excited. I was talking to him before the practice and he said 'This is the most talent we've had around here in a long time.'"
Because of that talent level, the aspirations for this team have been raised substantially. Winning the Northwest Division is not a goal, but an expectation. Advancing in the playoffs is the goal. The championship is the dream.
With those expectations, the eyes that once watched this team with hope and wonder are now more critical. Flaws become more scrutinized. Weaknesses more amplified. Needs more pressing. The players say they can feel it in the eyes.
"Now that we have had success to a certain level, everyone wants us to get to the next step," Blake said. "Now, from the outside looking in, you have to be more nit-picky, and think of what little thing can change everything. So I can understand where people are coming from. But for us as players, we need to take care of what we can take care of. That's all we are focusing on."
That focus is a product of what is now a long-standing message of McMillan that actions speak louder than words. Expectations have been raised? Great, McMillan says, they should be. All the attention on the depth chart and potential log jams? That's what training camp is for, the coach says.
"Expectations go up, we understand that, and we are not running from that, we are not hiding," McMillan said.
Instead, on Tuesday they attacked their weaknesses from a year ago: field-goal percentage defense and defensive rebounding. The Blazers allowed opponents to shoot 46 percent from the field last season (17th out of 30 teams) and despite being first in offensive rebounding, they were 27th in defensive rebounding.
Usually, the Blazers split their first practice between offense and defense. On Tuesday, it was 100 percent defense.
McMillan said last year's team relied too heavily on Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden to rebound. This year, he wants to see LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, Batum and Roy join the effort.
"All of those guys should be better rebounding," McMillan said. "That's a focus they have to commit to. The thing is to get their attention (with the pushups). If you don't want to do it, get on the boards and get that ball."
After all, everybody is watching.
Note: Payton and Robinson were at practice because Payton was being inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. Payton and McMillan were teammates and friends when they played with the Seattle SuperSonics.
http://media.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/photo/firstpracticeelyjpg-ac98dc075eafbafb_large.jpg
Players listen to coach Nate McMillan during the Portland Trail Blazers first practice of the 2009-10 season.
TUALATIN – It didn't take long on Tuesday for the Trail Blazers to realize this would be no ordinary first practice, and thus, no ordinary season.
Coming off an ahead-of-schedule 54-win season, and with an improved roster that includes proven point guard Andre Miller and a now-healed Martell Webster, the Blazers learned what the great teams of the early 1990s and the late 1970s did: After capturing the heart of Portland, the eyes of the city soon follow.
So on Tuesday, the eyes arrived, en masse.
Owner Paul Allen. Team president Larry Miller. Team founder Harry Glickman. Team ambassador Bill Schonely. The entire basketball operations staff. The entire broadcasting crew. Even future Hall of Famer Gary Payton, and Oregon State basketball coach Craig Robinson.
Later, one of the largest media contingents in some time filtered into the gym, which had barely enough room to accommodate them, while a small crowd of fans waited outside in the street.
What the standing room only crowd signified was that this is no longer a darling little team of good guys with untapped potential. Now, this team is expected to win. And win big.
And now, everyone wants a glimpse of how quickly a team so talented, so deep and yet still improving, can gel.
Point guard Steve Blake said he became aware of the who's-who contingent of spectators when he walked onto the court before practice. So too did team star Brandon Roy. But all of the players said once coach Nate McMillan blew the whistle, their concentration went into game mode, when they adopt tunnel vision.
While no one admitted to paying attention to the crowd –by some accounts the largest ever for a first practice – they all certainly felt it.
"People, man, they just want to watch our practices," Roy said in amazement. "Just to see the matchups: Martell and Nic (Batum). Me and Rudy (Fernandez). And you can feel it, especially from a management viewpoint, that we are close. They are watching us really closely, seeing what can be done to maybe win that ultimate prize, a championship. I know Paul (Allen) is excited. I was talking to him before the practice and he said 'This is the most talent we've had around here in a long time.'"
Because of that talent level, the aspirations for this team have been raised substantially. Winning the Northwest Division is not a goal, but an expectation. Advancing in the playoffs is the goal. The championship is the dream.
With those expectations, the eyes that once watched this team with hope and wonder are now more critical. Flaws become more scrutinized. Weaknesses more amplified. Needs more pressing. The players say they can feel it in the eyes.
"Now that we have had success to a certain level, everyone wants us to get to the next step," Blake said. "Now, from the outside looking in, you have to be more nit-picky, and think of what little thing can change everything. So I can understand where people are coming from. But for us as players, we need to take care of what we can take care of. That's all we are focusing on."
That focus is a product of what is now a long-standing message of McMillan that actions speak louder than words. Expectations have been raised? Great, McMillan says, they should be. All the attention on the depth chart and potential log jams? That's what training camp is for, the coach says.
"Expectations go up, we understand that, and we are not running from that, we are not hiding," McMillan said.
Instead, on Tuesday they attacked their weaknesses from a year ago: field-goal percentage defense and defensive rebounding. The Blazers allowed opponents to shoot 46 percent from the field last season (17th out of 30 teams) and despite being first in offensive rebounding, they were 27th in defensive rebounding.
Usually, the Blazers split their first practice between offense and defense. On Tuesday, it was 100 percent defense.
McMillan said last year's team relied too heavily on Joel Przybilla and Greg Oden to rebound. This year, he wants to see LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, Batum and Roy join the effort.
"All of those guys should be better rebounding," McMillan said. "That's a focus they have to commit to. The thing is to get their attention (with the pushups). If you don't want to do it, get on the boards and get that ball."
After all, everybody is watching.
Note: Payton and Robinson were at practice because Payton was being inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. Payton and McMillan were teammates and friends when they played with the Seattle SuperSonics.