tlongII
01-11-2013, 09:59 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2013/01/blazers_insider_taking_your_breath_away_one_win_at .html
It was an awful and fitful night of sleep Wednesday for Wesley Matthews.
His throat hurt. His chest gargled with phlegm. And his nose was so plugged up from pressure, he had to sit up and retrace his evening.
“My nose felt like I got punched,’’ Matthews said. “I had to think: Did I just punch myself?’’
Groggy, congested and under the weather, Matthews arrived at the Rose Garden on Thursday for the Blazers’ game against Miami, and he didn’t even think about taking a sick day, although he might have given it half a notion once he started running up and down the court while guarding LeBron James.
“It felt like I couldn’t breathe,’’ Matthews said.
He must have passed his sickness on to the sellout crowd of 20,536 at the Rose Garden, because by the end of Thursday’s game, nobody in the arena could breathe either.
In a breathtaking comeback highlighted by two three-pointers by Matthews in the final minute, the Blazers shocked the defending NBA champion Heat 92-90 to win their ninth consecutive home game and improve to 20-15 on the season.
“How about that?’’ owner Paul Allen said, half-stunned, half-giddy as he floated out of the tunnel from the court.
It’s become that kind of season for the Blazers. One that continually amazes. Continually makes you wonder how this team keeps doing it.
But it seems like this is no longer a nice, little flourish by the Blazers, one where reality is sure to bring the team down to Earth. This team has now beaten San Antonio and Miami at home. Won at New York and Memphis. I don’t know what more they need to do to prove they are for real.
Instead, this season feels charmed. When there needs to be a big shot, it happens. Batum in Cleveland. Damian Lillard against New Orleans. Luke Babbitt in Charlotte. Lillard in New York. Matthews against Miami. There has been some luck, too. Zach Randolph gets sick when the Blazers go to Memphis. Kevin Love breaks his hand right before the Blazers play in Minnesota. Ray Allen misses a rare free throw Wednesday with 1:05 left.
I’m a firm believer in karma. And this franchise is getting some karma kickback in a good way. There hasn’t been the catastrophic injuries like we have seen to Greg Oden or Brandon Roy. And the locker room is brimming with good characters, good people, which has produced a good vibe. And the man who sets the tone, coach Terry Stotts, is as good of a man as you will find.
“It’s fun this year,’’ said Batum, who once again made a case for being this team’s best player by producing 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists. “Last year, it really wasn’t that fun. And the best part about it is, we will have this same team for a while. It feels like I have finally found a team, a team that can stay together.’’
The most fun I’ve ever had covering a team came in the 2008-2009 season. The Blazers, with a young core of Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw and Greg Oden, won 54 games. It was the team’s first playoff appearance in five years. This team is beginning to produce that feeling. It’s wholesome. Exciting.
“We have no pressure,’’ Batum said. “Nobody is expecting anything from us. We just go out and play.’’
But they play together. They play hard. And they play in the moment.
Even if it means playing while they are sick.
“Adrenaline,’’ Matthews said. “Sometimes, it’s mind over matter.’’
So far, that has been a beautiful thing to watch. Even if it takes your breath away.
It was an awful and fitful night of sleep Wednesday for Wesley Matthews.
His throat hurt. His chest gargled with phlegm. And his nose was so plugged up from pressure, he had to sit up and retrace his evening.
“My nose felt like I got punched,’’ Matthews said. “I had to think: Did I just punch myself?’’
Groggy, congested and under the weather, Matthews arrived at the Rose Garden on Thursday for the Blazers’ game against Miami, and he didn’t even think about taking a sick day, although he might have given it half a notion once he started running up and down the court while guarding LeBron James.
“It felt like I couldn’t breathe,’’ Matthews said.
He must have passed his sickness on to the sellout crowd of 20,536 at the Rose Garden, because by the end of Thursday’s game, nobody in the arena could breathe either.
In a breathtaking comeback highlighted by two three-pointers by Matthews in the final minute, the Blazers shocked the defending NBA champion Heat 92-90 to win their ninth consecutive home game and improve to 20-15 on the season.
“How about that?’’ owner Paul Allen said, half-stunned, half-giddy as he floated out of the tunnel from the court.
It’s become that kind of season for the Blazers. One that continually amazes. Continually makes you wonder how this team keeps doing it.
But it seems like this is no longer a nice, little flourish by the Blazers, one where reality is sure to bring the team down to Earth. This team has now beaten San Antonio and Miami at home. Won at New York and Memphis. I don’t know what more they need to do to prove they are for real.
Instead, this season feels charmed. When there needs to be a big shot, it happens. Batum in Cleveland. Damian Lillard against New Orleans. Luke Babbitt in Charlotte. Lillard in New York. Matthews against Miami. There has been some luck, too. Zach Randolph gets sick when the Blazers go to Memphis. Kevin Love breaks his hand right before the Blazers play in Minnesota. Ray Allen misses a rare free throw Wednesday with 1:05 left.
I’m a firm believer in karma. And this franchise is getting some karma kickback in a good way. There hasn’t been the catastrophic injuries like we have seen to Greg Oden or Brandon Roy. And the locker room is brimming with good characters, good people, which has produced a good vibe. And the man who sets the tone, coach Terry Stotts, is as good of a man as you will find.
“It’s fun this year,’’ said Batum, who once again made a case for being this team’s best player by producing 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists. “Last year, it really wasn’t that fun. And the best part about it is, we will have this same team for a while. It feels like I have finally found a team, a team that can stay together.’’
The most fun I’ve ever had covering a team came in the 2008-2009 season. The Blazers, with a young core of Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw and Greg Oden, won 54 games. It was the team’s first playoff appearance in five years. This team is beginning to produce that feeling. It’s wholesome. Exciting.
“We have no pressure,’’ Batum said. “Nobody is expecting anything from us. We just go out and play.’’
But they play together. They play hard. And they play in the moment.
Even if it means playing while they are sick.
“Adrenaline,’’ Matthews said. “Sometimes, it’s mind over matter.’’
So far, that has been a beautiful thing to watch. Even if it takes your breath away.