Mel_13
10-21-2009, 10:55 AM
Utah 108, Portland 97: Blazers get F in chemistry
By Joe Freeman, The Oregonian
These are curious times for the Trail Blazers.
On the one hand, they possess a roster bursting with talent that is seemingly poised for a memorable postseason run.
On the other hand, a ho-hum exhibition season has hardly reassured anyone that this potential will translate into success. Tuesday night was supposed to be a red-letter game, a final chance for coach Nate McMillan to assess where his team stands heading into a Thursday night exhibition finale that rarely sees key rotation players play.
But after an even-worse-than-it-sounds 108-97 loss to the Utah Jazz before 19,696 at the Rose Garden, a fuming McMillan criticized his team's effort, execution and will.
"Not good," he said, summing up his team's lackluster performance. "I think some of us think that we can flip a switch and that all of sudden, it's going to happen when the (season opener) comes. We got to get to work."
At the heart of the Blazers' struggles is on-court chemistry -- there is none.
The molding of new talent (namely free-agent pickups Andre Miller and Juwan Howard and the return of Martell Webster) with last season's key players has not gone smoothly.
McMillan has mixed and matched different lineup combinations throughout the exhibition season and the results have produced little flow and little cohesion. This was evident from the start Tuesday night as the Blazers dug themselves an early hole by committing a bundle of turnovers (seven in the first quarter), looking completely lost on offense and playing atrocious defense.
With 5:20 left in the first quarter, the Blazers trailed 19-6, had made just one field goal and had allowed the Jazz to shoot 72.7 percent from the field.
Chemistry? Brandon Roy likened the team's cohesion to a quarterback playing with a new receiver for the first time.
"We just look like we've never seen each other today," Roy said. "Guys were making turnovers and looking at each other like, 'Why weren't you there?' I don't know."
Why have the Blazers' chemistry taking so long to develop?
"It's a good question," Joel Przybilla said.
Part of the problem can be traced to injuries. Rudy Fernandez has played just 40 minutes in three games this exhibition season because of back spasms. LaMarcus Aldridge was a surprise scratch Tuesday night just before tipoff because of a left shin bruise and Greg Oden did not dress because of a left adductor injury.
Then, on the first play of the game, Andrei Kirilenko collided with Nicolas Batum and the Blazers' probable starting forward left with a thigh bruise. He did not return and was still grimacing when he touched his tender thigh after the game in the locker room. He is expected to undergo further tests today.
But the Blazers' struggles are about more than injuries. Roy called the team's defense "terrible." And McMillan mockingly said the defensive performance was so bad he would not talk about it before dissecting a laundry list of issues.
"We were going through the motions on some of our sets and some of the things we were trying to do," McMillan said. "I felt like tonight, we were worried about how we were going to score and the fact that we weren't scoring and on the defensive end of the floor, we didn't commit there and they basically just picked us apart."
One of the few bright spots was that Roy showed flashes of solid play from beginning to end, finishing with 15 points and five assists, while making 5 of 9 field goals, in 30 minutes. Also, the players who are not expected to be part of the rotation -- Jerryd Bayless and Dante Cunningham, specifically -- had a nice fourth-quarter run that helped the Blazers trim a 25-point lead down to 10 at one point.
Cunningham had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes and Bayless had 16 points in 21 minutes. But that was hardly enough to give the team something to leave the Rose Garden happy about.
With one exhibition game left, there is an odd feeling hovering over the franchise as it embarks on a season full of expectations. There's not much time to develop that chemistry before opening against the Houston Rockets on October 27.
"I think some of that is going to take some time," McMillan said. "We do have some new guys … who haven't played a lot together. You're going to see some (struggles)."
Notes: The Blazers used their seventh different starting lineup in as many games. ... The Blazers' loss drops their exhibition season record to 3-4 and ensures that they will not conclude with a winning record for the first time since 2006. ... Williams looked to be in regular season form, finishing with 27 points on 8 of 10 shooting.
-- Joe Freeman
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/10/portland_97_utah_108_blazers_g.html
non-issues abound
By Joe Freeman, The Oregonian
These are curious times for the Trail Blazers.
On the one hand, they possess a roster bursting with talent that is seemingly poised for a memorable postseason run.
On the other hand, a ho-hum exhibition season has hardly reassured anyone that this potential will translate into success. Tuesday night was supposed to be a red-letter game, a final chance for coach Nate McMillan to assess where his team stands heading into a Thursday night exhibition finale that rarely sees key rotation players play.
But after an even-worse-than-it-sounds 108-97 loss to the Utah Jazz before 19,696 at the Rose Garden, a fuming McMillan criticized his team's effort, execution and will.
"Not good," he said, summing up his team's lackluster performance. "I think some of us think that we can flip a switch and that all of sudden, it's going to happen when the (season opener) comes. We got to get to work."
At the heart of the Blazers' struggles is on-court chemistry -- there is none.
The molding of new talent (namely free-agent pickups Andre Miller and Juwan Howard and the return of Martell Webster) with last season's key players has not gone smoothly.
McMillan has mixed and matched different lineup combinations throughout the exhibition season and the results have produced little flow and little cohesion. This was evident from the start Tuesday night as the Blazers dug themselves an early hole by committing a bundle of turnovers (seven in the first quarter), looking completely lost on offense and playing atrocious defense.
With 5:20 left in the first quarter, the Blazers trailed 19-6, had made just one field goal and had allowed the Jazz to shoot 72.7 percent from the field.
Chemistry? Brandon Roy likened the team's cohesion to a quarterback playing with a new receiver for the first time.
"We just look like we've never seen each other today," Roy said. "Guys were making turnovers and looking at each other like, 'Why weren't you there?' I don't know."
Why have the Blazers' chemistry taking so long to develop?
"It's a good question," Joel Przybilla said.
Part of the problem can be traced to injuries. Rudy Fernandez has played just 40 minutes in three games this exhibition season because of back spasms. LaMarcus Aldridge was a surprise scratch Tuesday night just before tipoff because of a left shin bruise and Greg Oden did not dress because of a left adductor injury.
Then, on the first play of the game, Andrei Kirilenko collided with Nicolas Batum and the Blazers' probable starting forward left with a thigh bruise. He did not return and was still grimacing when he touched his tender thigh after the game in the locker room. He is expected to undergo further tests today.
But the Blazers' struggles are about more than injuries. Roy called the team's defense "terrible." And McMillan mockingly said the defensive performance was so bad he would not talk about it before dissecting a laundry list of issues.
"We were going through the motions on some of our sets and some of the things we were trying to do," McMillan said. "I felt like tonight, we were worried about how we were going to score and the fact that we weren't scoring and on the defensive end of the floor, we didn't commit there and they basically just picked us apart."
One of the few bright spots was that Roy showed flashes of solid play from beginning to end, finishing with 15 points and five assists, while making 5 of 9 field goals, in 30 minutes. Also, the players who are not expected to be part of the rotation -- Jerryd Bayless and Dante Cunningham, specifically -- had a nice fourth-quarter run that helped the Blazers trim a 25-point lead down to 10 at one point.
Cunningham had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes and Bayless had 16 points in 21 minutes. But that was hardly enough to give the team something to leave the Rose Garden happy about.
With one exhibition game left, there is an odd feeling hovering over the franchise as it embarks on a season full of expectations. There's not much time to develop that chemistry before opening against the Houston Rockets on October 27.
"I think some of that is going to take some time," McMillan said. "We do have some new guys … who haven't played a lot together. You're going to see some (struggles)."
Notes: The Blazers used their seventh different starting lineup in as many games. ... The Blazers' loss drops their exhibition season record to 3-4 and ensures that they will not conclude with a winning record for the first time since 2006. ... Williams looked to be in regular season form, finishing with 27 points on 8 of 10 shooting.
-- Joe Freeman
http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2009/10/portland_97_utah_108_blazers_g.html
non-issues abound