tlongII
01-09-2012, 10:05 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2012/01/blazers_25.html
http://media.oregonlive.com/oregonian/photo/2012/01/10426640-standard.jpg
LaMarcus Aldridge, #12 of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team fights for the ball with Antawn Jamison, #4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday night at the Rose Garden.
You could see what was going to happen from a mile away at the end the Trail Blazers' victory over Cleveland at the Rose Garden on Sunday.
Nolan Smith made a jump shot with 1:20 left to put the Blazers up 95-72. That put Portland into chalupa territory as you surely know, when the team scores 100 points, everyone at the game is entitled to a chalupa from Taco Bell.
That possibility became greater when Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ Williams made a three-pointer with 19.8 seconds left to make the score 98-78. But when Kyrie Irving missed a jumper and Nicolas Batum got the rebound, he simply stopped to let the clock run out, and there was noticeable groan from the crowd when fans realized they would not be getting ... well, whatever the heck a chalupa is.
We should note here that there is no way in heck Batum was going to race downcourt and attempt a shot. When you're going to win by 20 points, you do not pile on. That is pretty standard NBA etiquette.
(A few years ago, then-Utah coach Jerry Sloan made Andrei Kirilenko -- then an All-Star-level player -- apologize to Nate McMillan because Kirilenko dunked just before the final buzzer of a Utah blowout win over Portland. That's how strong the etiquette is ingrained.)
A non-chalupa win was probably fitting for Sunday's game, which was all kinds of ugly in the first half. If the Blazers played as poorly as they did in the first half against a better team, this might have been a major problem, as it was all game against Phoenix on Friday.
In truth, though, in a shortened, compressed season, these kinds of performances are bound to happen, and the bottom line is the win itself. Cleveland has clearly made some strides from last season, and rookie Kyrie Irving is an impressive athlete. But it is not the kind of team the Blazers should lose to.
They didnt, and now move on to bigger challenges starting Tuesday with a good one against the visiting Clippers. On New Years Day in Los Angeles, the Clippers handled the Blazers for much of the game on their way to a 93-88 win.
We've played better basketball since then, McMillan said. I know we're much better than we showed New Year's Day. We're going to need to be better against this team.
If the Blazers beat the Clippers while scoring 99 points, Im guessing there would be no groan.
Other tidbits, notes and links from Sunday's game:
The Blazers sleepwalked through the first half, but got a jolt of energy from Gerald Wallace that started a commanding second half, The Oregonian's Joe Freeman reports.
One reason the Blazers signed Jamal Crawford was his clutch shooting in the fourth quarter. But nobody said they got Crawford for his shooting in the first quarter. That's probably a good thing.
Crawford shot 0 for 4 in Sunday's first quarter, continuing a season-long trend of early brickery. In eight games, he is 3 for 26 from the field in first quarters -- that's 11.5 percent.
On the other hand, Crawford is 11 for 23 in fourth quarters -- 47.8 percent.
There was continued talk about the Blazers having tired legs. The O's John Canzano is sick of it, and he found a woman who brought her 4-month-old daughter to the game to show what real fatigue is like. Hey, maybe the brat got herself a nice long nap in the first half, when the place got a little quiet.
There was a woman with a sign that said, "20,484 Maniacs Believe." It was nice to know someone believed the Blazers attendance figure.
Actually, the announced attendance was 20,292, which still qualifies as a sellout -- the Blazers' 163rd in a row. The number, though, is believable only if you don't think that the attend part of attendance is mandatory.
If the Blazers want to keep the streak going by saying it sold 20,292 tickets, more power to 'em, but the many, many empty seats surely indicate there were not 20,292 who attended the game.
I wrote a notebook from the game which included an item on the son of former Blazers center Mychal Thompson, who made the Cavs roster as a training camp invitee. Also, I had a D-League update on Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson, plus a little more on the TNT flap from Thursday.
Always interesting to hear waht Cavs coach Byron Scott has to say. Last season, you'll recall, was a tough one for Cleveland after losing LeBron James in free agency. The Cavs had a 26-game losing streak, and although they finished 19-63, they did not finish with the league's worst record (Minnesota went 17-65). Scott said all things considered, the players did OK.
"You still have a bunch of guys in that locker room after each loss that come in the next day for practice ready to work," Scott said. "I think we handled it pretty well. I think we handled it as well as you can handle it without going crazy."
Scott, as he did when Cleveland came to Portland last season, had nice things to say about LaMarcus Aldridge:
"I thought L.A. last year was an All-Star. I think he's one of the better power forwards in this league. I think he's underrated. ... But the thing that impresses me is how hard he plays. He's so long and athletic. He can do it on the post, and he can do it on the perimeter. He runs that floor as well as any big man in this league, and he's a very unselfish, young talented basketball player."
The view from Cleveland is about the Blazers converting turnovers into points. The Cavs entered the game leading the NBA in fewest fastbreak points allowed, but they committed 24 turnovers, helping the Blazers score 22 fastbreak points, the Plain Dealer's Tom Reed reports. Reed also mentions that Irving had about 70 relatives from Seattle in attendance.
The Clippers (4-2) come to town Tuesday riding a three-game winning streak that started with the win over Portland. They are one team that should not be complaining about being tired, having only played six games, the fewest in the NBA.
After beating the Blazers on New Year's Day, the Clippers had two days with no games, then beat Houston, then had another two days without a game before beating Milwaukee on Saturday. They did not have a game Sunday and won play today, so they'll be in Portland with another two-day run-up.
While Portland will be playing its fifth game since the game at the Staples Center, the Clippers will be playing their third since that Jan. 1 meeting.
http://media.oregonlive.com/oregonian/photo/2012/01/10426640-standard.jpg
LaMarcus Aldridge, #12 of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team fights for the ball with Antawn Jamison, #4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday night at the Rose Garden.
You could see what was going to happen from a mile away at the end the Trail Blazers' victory over Cleveland at the Rose Garden on Sunday.
Nolan Smith made a jump shot with 1:20 left to put the Blazers up 95-72. That put Portland into chalupa territory as you surely know, when the team scores 100 points, everyone at the game is entitled to a chalupa from Taco Bell.
That possibility became greater when Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ Williams made a three-pointer with 19.8 seconds left to make the score 98-78. But when Kyrie Irving missed a jumper and Nicolas Batum got the rebound, he simply stopped to let the clock run out, and there was noticeable groan from the crowd when fans realized they would not be getting ... well, whatever the heck a chalupa is.
We should note here that there is no way in heck Batum was going to race downcourt and attempt a shot. When you're going to win by 20 points, you do not pile on. That is pretty standard NBA etiquette.
(A few years ago, then-Utah coach Jerry Sloan made Andrei Kirilenko -- then an All-Star-level player -- apologize to Nate McMillan because Kirilenko dunked just before the final buzzer of a Utah blowout win over Portland. That's how strong the etiquette is ingrained.)
A non-chalupa win was probably fitting for Sunday's game, which was all kinds of ugly in the first half. If the Blazers played as poorly as they did in the first half against a better team, this might have been a major problem, as it was all game against Phoenix on Friday.
In truth, though, in a shortened, compressed season, these kinds of performances are bound to happen, and the bottom line is the win itself. Cleveland has clearly made some strides from last season, and rookie Kyrie Irving is an impressive athlete. But it is not the kind of team the Blazers should lose to.
They didnt, and now move on to bigger challenges starting Tuesday with a good one against the visiting Clippers. On New Years Day in Los Angeles, the Clippers handled the Blazers for much of the game on their way to a 93-88 win.
We've played better basketball since then, McMillan said. I know we're much better than we showed New Year's Day. We're going to need to be better against this team.
If the Blazers beat the Clippers while scoring 99 points, Im guessing there would be no groan.
Other tidbits, notes and links from Sunday's game:
The Blazers sleepwalked through the first half, but got a jolt of energy from Gerald Wallace that started a commanding second half, The Oregonian's Joe Freeman reports.
One reason the Blazers signed Jamal Crawford was his clutch shooting in the fourth quarter. But nobody said they got Crawford for his shooting in the first quarter. That's probably a good thing.
Crawford shot 0 for 4 in Sunday's first quarter, continuing a season-long trend of early brickery. In eight games, he is 3 for 26 from the field in first quarters -- that's 11.5 percent.
On the other hand, Crawford is 11 for 23 in fourth quarters -- 47.8 percent.
There was continued talk about the Blazers having tired legs. The O's John Canzano is sick of it, and he found a woman who brought her 4-month-old daughter to the game to show what real fatigue is like. Hey, maybe the brat got herself a nice long nap in the first half, when the place got a little quiet.
There was a woman with a sign that said, "20,484 Maniacs Believe." It was nice to know someone believed the Blazers attendance figure.
Actually, the announced attendance was 20,292, which still qualifies as a sellout -- the Blazers' 163rd in a row. The number, though, is believable only if you don't think that the attend part of attendance is mandatory.
If the Blazers want to keep the streak going by saying it sold 20,292 tickets, more power to 'em, but the many, many empty seats surely indicate there were not 20,292 who attended the game.
I wrote a notebook from the game which included an item on the son of former Blazers center Mychal Thompson, who made the Cavs roster as a training camp invitee. Also, I had a D-League update on Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson, plus a little more on the TNT flap from Thursday.
Always interesting to hear waht Cavs coach Byron Scott has to say. Last season, you'll recall, was a tough one for Cleveland after losing LeBron James in free agency. The Cavs had a 26-game losing streak, and although they finished 19-63, they did not finish with the league's worst record (Minnesota went 17-65). Scott said all things considered, the players did OK.
"You still have a bunch of guys in that locker room after each loss that come in the next day for practice ready to work," Scott said. "I think we handled it pretty well. I think we handled it as well as you can handle it without going crazy."
Scott, as he did when Cleveland came to Portland last season, had nice things to say about LaMarcus Aldridge:
"I thought L.A. last year was an All-Star. I think he's one of the better power forwards in this league. I think he's underrated. ... But the thing that impresses me is how hard he plays. He's so long and athletic. He can do it on the post, and he can do it on the perimeter. He runs that floor as well as any big man in this league, and he's a very unselfish, young talented basketball player."
The view from Cleveland is about the Blazers converting turnovers into points. The Cavs entered the game leading the NBA in fewest fastbreak points allowed, but they committed 24 turnovers, helping the Blazers score 22 fastbreak points, the Plain Dealer's Tom Reed reports. Reed also mentions that Irving had about 70 relatives from Seattle in attendance.
The Clippers (4-2) come to town Tuesday riding a three-game winning streak that started with the win over Portland. They are one team that should not be complaining about being tired, having only played six games, the fewest in the NBA.
After beating the Blazers on New Year's Day, the Clippers had two days with no games, then beat Houston, then had another two days without a game before beating Milwaukee on Saturday. They did not have a game Sunday and won play today, so they'll be in Portland with another two-day run-up.
While Portland will be playing its fifth game since the game at the Staples Center, the Clippers will be playing their third since that Jan. 1 meeting.