tlongII
12-27-2011, 01:39 PM
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/john_canzano/index.ssf/2011/12/canzano_trail_blazers_scap_the.html
http://media.oregonlive.com/john_canzano_impact/photo/aldridge-fouledjpg-0fd319e8c1493d2f.jpg
LaMarcus gets fouled by Philadelphia's Spencer Hawes on the way to the basket. Not much came easy for the Blazers Monday night, but they found a way to scrap together a win.
The game ended. Portland beat Philadelphia 107-103. And Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, 1-0 with 65 to go, was among the first to hop off the bench Monday night and skip through the Rose Garden tunnel. He moved like a neighborhood kid chasing the ice cream truck.
McMillan fist-bumped some fans hanging off the railings, ripped past the security guards, and then he was beneath the arena -- home free -- headed to the locker room where they're presumably serving opening-night Rocket Pops or something.
Just then, the coach stopped cold.
McMillan whipped around. He strode back to the mouth of the tunnel, just out of eye-sight of fans, and it was here that the guy charged with winning games for a living, high-fived and hugged the players who helped him do it in the opener.
"That's the way to come back," McMillan said to Nic Batum, who missed six straight shots at one point, but went two for two in the fourth quarter.
"Fearless, tough," he said to Gerald Wallace, who had 21 points and nine rebounds.
"That's it! That's it!" McMillan shouted as he slapped backs with Jamal Crawford.
It was an important evening for the Blazers. I know it. You know it. McMillan knows it. Portland has now won 11 straight home openers against 11 different opponents. But this opener, in a shortened season, with a line of new faces coming through the tunnel, felt like a bigger statement than any before it.
McMillan said his reversal to greet his players coming off the floor was born of pure emotion and opportunity. "We gotta scrap this season," he said. "We gotta stay together. I thought, 'I have to go back there and be there and send that message that we gotta stay together.'"
I know the Blazers blew a double-digit lead in the second half. I know the 76ers were down by three with 4.9 seconds left when Andre Iguodala let fly with a three-point shot that made acting GM Chad Buchanan go weak in the knees, then, breathe easy, as he watched it bounce off the rim.
You think you gamble once in a while?
Try being Buchanan. Iguodala missed, and a Blazers fan reached down out of the stands to pat Buchanan on the back with, "You're doing such a good job!" If Iguodala's shot is true, the Blazers are headed to overtime and maybe Buchanan ends up a bum.
Even Buchanan joked about how tenuous his basketball joy is. He smiled as the final seconds ticked off, and pretended to be a critic. He said of the player he traded away, "Andre (Miller) would have made all his free-throws tonight."
Welcome to Buchanan's life.
Except, no such criticism here today. I like this team. I like the way it scraps. I like that it's defensive-minded. I like that it feels built to withstand a rapid-fire season that will feature a month (January) in which the Blazers will play a franchise-record 18 games (11 on the road).
The Blazers will have to scrap. They will have to stay together. They will have to be resilient. This isn't an NBA season. It's an unforgiving reality-television show that will spit two fierce teams into the NBA Finals in June.
On the opening night of its season, Portland looks like a team that believes in itself.
What will it look like in one month? Two? Five?
Raymond Felton, who missed a key free-throw in the final minute, still looked promising with 12 points and eight assists. Felton said while standing in the locker room after the game, "I got the jitterbugs out of the way."
Nearby, LaMarcus Aldridge, 25 points, held a bag of ice on the bridge of his nose. "Nic (Batum) slammed me in the nose," he said. "Got hit by my own guy." Aldridge, shirtless, pulled a large towel around his upper body as the television news cameras moved in for a post-game interview.
"I don't want to influence any kids," Aldridge said. "I don't want kids getting tattoos because I have them."
Critics will point to missed shots, and blown opportunities. They'll tell you the Blazers were a single basket or maybe one more turnover from going from undefeated to winless, just like that. They're probably right. But the Blazers season opener felt perfect in so many other ways.
http://media.oregonlive.com/john_canzano_impact/photo/aldridge-fouledjpg-0fd319e8c1493d2f.jpg
LaMarcus gets fouled by Philadelphia's Spencer Hawes on the way to the basket. Not much came easy for the Blazers Monday night, but they found a way to scrap together a win.
The game ended. Portland beat Philadelphia 107-103. And Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan, 1-0 with 65 to go, was among the first to hop off the bench Monday night and skip through the Rose Garden tunnel. He moved like a neighborhood kid chasing the ice cream truck.
McMillan fist-bumped some fans hanging off the railings, ripped past the security guards, and then he was beneath the arena -- home free -- headed to the locker room where they're presumably serving opening-night Rocket Pops or something.
Just then, the coach stopped cold.
McMillan whipped around. He strode back to the mouth of the tunnel, just out of eye-sight of fans, and it was here that the guy charged with winning games for a living, high-fived and hugged the players who helped him do it in the opener.
"That's the way to come back," McMillan said to Nic Batum, who missed six straight shots at one point, but went two for two in the fourth quarter.
"Fearless, tough," he said to Gerald Wallace, who had 21 points and nine rebounds.
"That's it! That's it!" McMillan shouted as he slapped backs with Jamal Crawford.
It was an important evening for the Blazers. I know it. You know it. McMillan knows it. Portland has now won 11 straight home openers against 11 different opponents. But this opener, in a shortened season, with a line of new faces coming through the tunnel, felt like a bigger statement than any before it.
McMillan said his reversal to greet his players coming off the floor was born of pure emotion and opportunity. "We gotta scrap this season," he said. "We gotta stay together. I thought, 'I have to go back there and be there and send that message that we gotta stay together.'"
I know the Blazers blew a double-digit lead in the second half. I know the 76ers were down by three with 4.9 seconds left when Andre Iguodala let fly with a three-point shot that made acting GM Chad Buchanan go weak in the knees, then, breathe easy, as he watched it bounce off the rim.
You think you gamble once in a while?
Try being Buchanan. Iguodala missed, and a Blazers fan reached down out of the stands to pat Buchanan on the back with, "You're doing such a good job!" If Iguodala's shot is true, the Blazers are headed to overtime and maybe Buchanan ends up a bum.
Even Buchanan joked about how tenuous his basketball joy is. He smiled as the final seconds ticked off, and pretended to be a critic. He said of the player he traded away, "Andre (Miller) would have made all his free-throws tonight."
Welcome to Buchanan's life.
Except, no such criticism here today. I like this team. I like the way it scraps. I like that it's defensive-minded. I like that it feels built to withstand a rapid-fire season that will feature a month (January) in which the Blazers will play a franchise-record 18 games (11 on the road).
The Blazers will have to scrap. They will have to stay together. They will have to be resilient. This isn't an NBA season. It's an unforgiving reality-television show that will spit two fierce teams into the NBA Finals in June.
On the opening night of its season, Portland looks like a team that believes in itself.
What will it look like in one month? Two? Five?
Raymond Felton, who missed a key free-throw in the final minute, still looked promising with 12 points and eight assists. Felton said while standing in the locker room after the game, "I got the jitterbugs out of the way."
Nearby, LaMarcus Aldridge, 25 points, held a bag of ice on the bridge of his nose. "Nic (Batum) slammed me in the nose," he said. "Got hit by my own guy." Aldridge, shirtless, pulled a large towel around his upper body as the television news cameras moved in for a post-game interview.
"I don't want to influence any kids," Aldridge said. "I don't want kids getting tattoos because I have them."
Critics will point to missed shots, and blown opportunities. They'll tell you the Blazers were a single basket or maybe one more turnover from going from undefeated to winless, just like that. They're probably right. But the Blazers season opener felt perfect in so many other ways.