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01-14-2012, 03:46 PM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2012/01/its_a_triple_dose_of_bad_news_for_trail_blazers_on .html
San Antonio 99, Portland 83: It's a triple dose of bad news for Trail Blazers on Friday the 13th
Published: Friday, January 13, 2012, 10:19 PM Updated: Saturday, January 14, 2012, 12:21 PM
By Joe Freeman, The Oregonian
SAN ANTONIO — The start of a six-game, nine-day trip couldn’t have gone any worse for the Trail Blazers, who were struck by a triple dose of bad news on Friday the 13th.
The Blazers were outclassed, outworked and outmanned by the San Antonio Spurs, falling 99-83 before a sellout crowd of 18,581 at the AT&T Center. And that was just part of a day to forget.
In the second quarter of the defeat, center Marcus Camby sprained his left ankle and is not expected to play tonight, when the Blazers visit the Houston Rockets in the second game of a Texas back-to-back.
As if that double whammy weren’t bad enough, off the court, negotiations between the Blazers and small forward Nicolas Batum hit a snag when the sides met for roughly two hours Friday morning in San Antonio without coming to terms on a contract extension.
“It’s tough,” forward LaMarcus Aldridge said of the Blazers’ loss to the Spurs. He might as well have been summing up the day.
Against the Spurs (8-3) the Blazers (7-4) finally overcame their early-game woes, playing with passion and pizzazz in the first quarter en route to a 31-27 lead. With Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace snatching up steals and the Blazers zigzagging up and down the court, they led after the first quarter for just the fourth time this season. But things unraveled from there, as the Blazers managed a meager 52 points the rest of the way.
Aldridge (29 points, seven rebounds) and Wallace (12 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, four steals) did enough to lead the Blazers to victory, but the combination of a potent San Antonio bench and the absence of Camby was too much to overcome.
Camby, the Blazers’ defensive anchor, collapsed to the court underneath the Blazers’ basket with roughly four-and-a-half minutes left in the first half and eventually had to be helped to the Blazers’ locker room. He appeared to roll his ankle after stepping on Kawhi Leonard’s foot, and while X-rays taken during the game came back negative, the Blazers’ defensive heart-and-soul is expected to miss at least one game.
Without Camby, the Blazers proved no match for the Spurs, who held a 50-36 rebounding edge and racked up 52 points in the paint. Midway through the third quarter — after Aldridge sat with his fourth foul — forward Tiago Splitter carved up the Blazers’ undersized and overmatched front court, scoring nine points and handing out an assist during a game-changing 13-3 San Antonio run.
It was a taste of things to come as the Spurs blew open a tie game in the fourth quarter by steamrolling the Blazers 34-18, shooting 62 percent from the field. Tony Parker was all over the place in the decisive quarter, recording 12 points, two assists and two steals, and seven San Antonio players scored.
Parker finished with 20 points and nine assists, but the Blazers gave most of the credit to San Antonio’s bench in the visiting locker room. The Spurs’ bench outscored the Blazers’ second-unit 44-17 as Splitter (14 points, four rebounds) and Danny Green (13 points, six rebounds) led a group of six reserves who scored.
The Blazers’ offense was disjointed and ineffective for most of the night, committing 18 turnovers and shooting just 40.5 percent, including 27.8 percent from three-point range. Coach Nate McMillan said his team stopped feeding the ball to Aldridge in the post and tried to force the issue with a “run-and-gun” mentality.
“On offense, we were — pfffffffff,” Batum said. “We didn’t move the ball, we had some bad shots, made bad decisions. It was a bad night for us.”
Added Wallace, when asked to describe the Blazers’ offense: “We played to lose basically.”
Felton had another forgettable shooting night, making just 6 of 17 field goals, and reserve Jamal Crawford was even worse, making just 2 of 11 shots to revert to his shooting slump. Felton (34.6) and Crawford (35.6) are both shooting below 36 percent through 11 games.
The defeat dropped the Blazers’ road record to 1-3 and delivered them their first two-game losing streak of the young season. And the news was equally bad off the court.
Interim GM Chad Buchanan and team salary cap specialist Joe Cronin met with Batum’s agent, Bouna Ndiaye, Friday morning in a negotiating session that Ndiaye described as “a long, interesting meeting.” The sides exchanged contract figures for the first time, but could not reach an agreement and it does not appear a deal is imminent.
After the game, Ndiaye had an extended chat with Buchanan at the AT&T Center, after which the two exchanged handshakes and slapped backs. Ndiaye then talked with Batum for several minutes just before the team departed for Houston. The sides have not scheduled another meeting and face a Jan. 25 deadline to reach an extension or Batum will become a restricted free agent after the season.
“Right now, I’m not sure we’ll get something done,” Ndiaye said.
Notes: McMillan said he was leaning toward featuring a small lineup against the Rockets, with Batum playing small forward and Aldridge playing center. ... The Spurs shot 51.4 percent, but won despite committing 23 turnovers and even though they got just seven points and nine rebounds from Tim Duncan. ... Batum finished with seven points in just over 22 minutes off the bench. ... The Spurs improved to 8-0 at home.
San Antonio 99, Portland 83: It's a triple dose of bad news for Trail Blazers on Friday the 13th
Published: Friday, January 13, 2012, 10:19 PM Updated: Saturday, January 14, 2012, 12:21 PM
By Joe Freeman, The Oregonian
SAN ANTONIO — The start of a six-game, nine-day trip couldn’t have gone any worse for the Trail Blazers, who were struck by a triple dose of bad news on Friday the 13th.
The Blazers were outclassed, outworked and outmanned by the San Antonio Spurs, falling 99-83 before a sellout crowd of 18,581 at the AT&T Center. And that was just part of a day to forget.
In the second quarter of the defeat, center Marcus Camby sprained his left ankle and is not expected to play tonight, when the Blazers visit the Houston Rockets in the second game of a Texas back-to-back.
As if that double whammy weren’t bad enough, off the court, negotiations between the Blazers and small forward Nicolas Batum hit a snag when the sides met for roughly two hours Friday morning in San Antonio without coming to terms on a contract extension.
“It’s tough,” forward LaMarcus Aldridge said of the Blazers’ loss to the Spurs. He might as well have been summing up the day.
Against the Spurs (8-3) the Blazers (7-4) finally overcame their early-game woes, playing with passion and pizzazz in the first quarter en route to a 31-27 lead. With Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace snatching up steals and the Blazers zigzagging up and down the court, they led after the first quarter for just the fourth time this season. But things unraveled from there, as the Blazers managed a meager 52 points the rest of the way.
Aldridge (29 points, seven rebounds) and Wallace (12 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, four steals) did enough to lead the Blazers to victory, but the combination of a potent San Antonio bench and the absence of Camby was too much to overcome.
Camby, the Blazers’ defensive anchor, collapsed to the court underneath the Blazers’ basket with roughly four-and-a-half minutes left in the first half and eventually had to be helped to the Blazers’ locker room. He appeared to roll his ankle after stepping on Kawhi Leonard’s foot, and while X-rays taken during the game came back negative, the Blazers’ defensive heart-and-soul is expected to miss at least one game.
Without Camby, the Blazers proved no match for the Spurs, who held a 50-36 rebounding edge and racked up 52 points in the paint. Midway through the third quarter — after Aldridge sat with his fourth foul — forward Tiago Splitter carved up the Blazers’ undersized and overmatched front court, scoring nine points and handing out an assist during a game-changing 13-3 San Antonio run.
It was a taste of things to come as the Spurs blew open a tie game in the fourth quarter by steamrolling the Blazers 34-18, shooting 62 percent from the field. Tony Parker was all over the place in the decisive quarter, recording 12 points, two assists and two steals, and seven San Antonio players scored.
Parker finished with 20 points and nine assists, but the Blazers gave most of the credit to San Antonio’s bench in the visiting locker room. The Spurs’ bench outscored the Blazers’ second-unit 44-17 as Splitter (14 points, four rebounds) and Danny Green (13 points, six rebounds) led a group of six reserves who scored.
The Blazers’ offense was disjointed and ineffective for most of the night, committing 18 turnovers and shooting just 40.5 percent, including 27.8 percent from three-point range. Coach Nate McMillan said his team stopped feeding the ball to Aldridge in the post and tried to force the issue with a “run-and-gun” mentality.
“On offense, we were — pfffffffff,” Batum said. “We didn’t move the ball, we had some bad shots, made bad decisions. It was a bad night for us.”
Added Wallace, when asked to describe the Blazers’ offense: “We played to lose basically.”
Felton had another forgettable shooting night, making just 6 of 17 field goals, and reserve Jamal Crawford was even worse, making just 2 of 11 shots to revert to his shooting slump. Felton (34.6) and Crawford (35.6) are both shooting below 36 percent through 11 games.
The defeat dropped the Blazers’ road record to 1-3 and delivered them their first two-game losing streak of the young season. And the news was equally bad off the court.
Interim GM Chad Buchanan and team salary cap specialist Joe Cronin met with Batum’s agent, Bouna Ndiaye, Friday morning in a negotiating session that Ndiaye described as “a long, interesting meeting.” The sides exchanged contract figures for the first time, but could not reach an agreement and it does not appear a deal is imminent.
After the game, Ndiaye had an extended chat with Buchanan at the AT&T Center, after which the two exchanged handshakes and slapped backs. Ndiaye then talked with Batum for several minutes just before the team departed for Houston. The sides have not scheduled another meeting and face a Jan. 25 deadline to reach an extension or Batum will become a restricted free agent after the season.
“Right now, I’m not sure we’ll get something done,” Ndiaye said.
Notes: McMillan said he was leaning toward featuring a small lineup against the Rockets, with Batum playing small forward and Aldridge playing center. ... The Spurs shot 51.4 percent, but won despite committing 23 turnovers and even though they got just seven points and nine rebounds from Tim Duncan. ... Batum finished with seven points in just over 22 minutes off the bench. ... The Spurs improved to 8-0 at home.