tlongII
11-21-2013, 09:44 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2013/11/trail_blazers_stay_hot_flash_a_little_defense_duri .html#incart_flyout_sports
http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/pgmain/img/oregonian/photo/2013/11/-64d733ed099b50d2.JPG
Portland Trail Blazers' Robin Lopez dunks the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, in Milwaukee.
MILWAUKEE — Terry Stotts was in the middle of answering a question during his postgame news conference with reporters when a guy wearing headphones and operating a video camera inexplicably blurted out loud: “I don’t have focus!”
The question-and-answer session screeched to a halt. The group, huddled in a small circle outside the visiting locker room at the Bradley Center, went silent. Stotts’ focus disappeared.
“You ruined my train of thought there,” Stotts said. “(My answer) was going to be deep.”
The scrum chuckled, Stotts smiled and the news conference pressed on. Nothing, it seems, can slow down these tantalizing Trail Blazers.
The Blazers continued their improbable early-season march Wednesday night, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 91-82 before 11,789. It was the Blazers’ eighth consecutive win, including their sixth in a row on the road, and moved their record to 10-2.
What’s more, the victory delivered the Blazers a rare sweep of four-game trip through Boston, Toronto, Brooklyn and Milwaukee — the franchise’s first sweep of a trip at least four games long since January 2003.
And, in a change of pace, the Blazers won Wednesday with what most consider their Achilles heel: Defense.
“We didn’t really shoot the ball well,” Damian Lillard said, smirking. “So we had to do something to win the game.”
No one would mistake Wednesday’s game for a work of art, as play was sluggish and sloppy throughout. Neither team generated consistent offensive momentum and rhythm and a sparse, dormant crowd created a lifeless, uninspiring environment. But in the middle of the muck — at least in the second half — was a Blazers defense that was physical, effective and stingy.
In the second half, the Blazers limited the Bucks to 31 points, 14 field goals and 37 percent shooting, while forcing 13 turnovers. Only one Milwaukee player — reserve John Henson — scored more than five second-half points, and he had six.
Stotts left Milwaukee pleased with the way his guards charged through and around screens, with how physical his defense played and how his frontcourt players executed the Blazers’ pick-and-roll coverage — stunting toward the perimeter to distract shooters on mid-range jumpers and then darting back to the basket to block out and get into rebounding position. Lillard said he thought it was the first time all season that all five players on the court “got into” their opponent with physicality and purpose.
“I thought they felt us,” Stotts said.
The Blazers’ offense has been so good during their hot streak — ranking second overall and third in offensive efficiency in the NBA over the previous seven games — that it was bound to have a hiccup. But they had enough to win ugly against the reeling Bucks (2-8).
LaMarcus Aldridge mixed his pretty midrange jumper with aggressive inside play and finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Lillard overcame another sluggish shooting night to record 19 points and six assists. Wesley Matthews — playing in front of a throng of family and friends near his hometown of Madison — had 15 points, including a tone-setting 13 in the first quarter. The Blazers shot just 41 percent from the field, but afterward they boasted that it was the fifth time this season they’ve won despite shooting 44 percent or less.
The national media has started to take notice of the Blazers’ sizzling start, and multiple publications and websites have poked around at this team and what it’s doing. Most have noticed the Blazers’ offense is dynamic and fun to watch, while the defense is average at best. But the team sees things differently.
“We’ve won a lot of games shooting under 45 (percent),” Matthews said. “It’s got to be something.”
The Blazers have feasted on teams with losing records this season as eight of their 10 wins have come against teams with sub-.500 records. The popular question to ask: Are the Blazers for real? The answer could surface by the end of the week.
The Blazers host the Chicago Bulls (6-3) on Friday and travel to the Golden State Warriors (8-3) on Saturday as part of a challenging home-and-away back-to-back.
“That’s going to be a huge test,” backup big man Joel Freeland said. “It’s really going to show us where we’re at. We’ve been playing great, and hopefully we can keep going with the flow and ride it into these next games.”
Notes: The Blazers’ eight-game winning streak is the 15th-longest in franchise history and longest since the 2007-08 team won 13 in a row. … The Blazers’ six-game road winning streak is the fourth-longest in franchise history and longest since winning seven in a row from Feb. 5 to March 8 of 2011.
http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/pgmain/img/oregonian/photo/2013/11/-64d733ed099b50d2.JPG
Portland Trail Blazers' Robin Lopez dunks the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013, in Milwaukee.
MILWAUKEE — Terry Stotts was in the middle of answering a question during his postgame news conference with reporters when a guy wearing headphones and operating a video camera inexplicably blurted out loud: “I don’t have focus!”
The question-and-answer session screeched to a halt. The group, huddled in a small circle outside the visiting locker room at the Bradley Center, went silent. Stotts’ focus disappeared.
“You ruined my train of thought there,” Stotts said. “(My answer) was going to be deep.”
The scrum chuckled, Stotts smiled and the news conference pressed on. Nothing, it seems, can slow down these tantalizing Trail Blazers.
The Blazers continued their improbable early-season march Wednesday night, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 91-82 before 11,789. It was the Blazers’ eighth consecutive win, including their sixth in a row on the road, and moved their record to 10-2.
What’s more, the victory delivered the Blazers a rare sweep of four-game trip through Boston, Toronto, Brooklyn and Milwaukee — the franchise’s first sweep of a trip at least four games long since January 2003.
And, in a change of pace, the Blazers won Wednesday with what most consider their Achilles heel: Defense.
“We didn’t really shoot the ball well,” Damian Lillard said, smirking. “So we had to do something to win the game.”
No one would mistake Wednesday’s game for a work of art, as play was sluggish and sloppy throughout. Neither team generated consistent offensive momentum and rhythm and a sparse, dormant crowd created a lifeless, uninspiring environment. But in the middle of the muck — at least in the second half — was a Blazers defense that was physical, effective and stingy.
In the second half, the Blazers limited the Bucks to 31 points, 14 field goals and 37 percent shooting, while forcing 13 turnovers. Only one Milwaukee player — reserve John Henson — scored more than five second-half points, and he had six.
Stotts left Milwaukee pleased with the way his guards charged through and around screens, with how physical his defense played and how his frontcourt players executed the Blazers’ pick-and-roll coverage — stunting toward the perimeter to distract shooters on mid-range jumpers and then darting back to the basket to block out and get into rebounding position. Lillard said he thought it was the first time all season that all five players on the court “got into” their opponent with physicality and purpose.
“I thought they felt us,” Stotts said.
The Blazers’ offense has been so good during their hot streak — ranking second overall and third in offensive efficiency in the NBA over the previous seven games — that it was bound to have a hiccup. But they had enough to win ugly against the reeling Bucks (2-8).
LaMarcus Aldridge mixed his pretty midrange jumper with aggressive inside play and finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Lillard overcame another sluggish shooting night to record 19 points and six assists. Wesley Matthews — playing in front of a throng of family and friends near his hometown of Madison — had 15 points, including a tone-setting 13 in the first quarter. The Blazers shot just 41 percent from the field, but afterward they boasted that it was the fifth time this season they’ve won despite shooting 44 percent or less.
The national media has started to take notice of the Blazers’ sizzling start, and multiple publications and websites have poked around at this team and what it’s doing. Most have noticed the Blazers’ offense is dynamic and fun to watch, while the defense is average at best. But the team sees things differently.
“We’ve won a lot of games shooting under 45 (percent),” Matthews said. “It’s got to be something.”
The Blazers have feasted on teams with losing records this season as eight of their 10 wins have come against teams with sub-.500 records. The popular question to ask: Are the Blazers for real? The answer could surface by the end of the week.
The Blazers host the Chicago Bulls (6-3) on Friday and travel to the Golden State Warriors (8-3) on Saturday as part of a challenging home-and-away back-to-back.
“That’s going to be a huge test,” backup big man Joel Freeland said. “It’s really going to show us where we’re at. We’ve been playing great, and hopefully we can keep going with the flow and ride it into these next games.”
Notes: The Blazers’ eight-game winning streak is the 15th-longest in franchise history and longest since the 2007-08 team won 13 in a row. … The Blazers’ six-game road winning streak is the fourth-longest in franchise history and longest since winning seven in a row from Feb. 5 to March 8 of 2011.