tlongII
05-07-2014, 08:50 AM
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2014/05/trail_blazers_have_their_welcome_to_san_antonio_mo .html#incart_m-rpt-2
http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/pgmain/img/oregonian/photo/2014/05/-e6a80b18e4814b14.jpg
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) hits a 3-pointer.
SAN ANTONIO — Nicolas Batum figured he would be up until 3 a.m. after Game 1 here Tuesday, his penance for a virtual no-show to the opening of the Trail Blazers’ biggest playoff series in 14 years.
He was eager to leave the locker room and quarantine himself in his hotel room so he could watch game film of San Antonio’s surgical 116-92 dissecting of the Blazers, which went downhill fast after Batum missed a layup on the first possession.
“I want to see how bad I was,’’ Batum said. “No. Really. I want to see how bad I was. I need to learn from it and come back and help us be a different team.’’
Like the rest of the Blazers locker room, Batum was not downtrodden or distressed. Instead, he carried a resolve that things would turn around after the Blazers were so bad that owner Paul Allen spent more time looking at his phone than the game in the second half.
“It’s just one game,’’ Batum said. “We haven’t lost the series.’’
Down the hall, one of basketball’s greatest coaches, the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich, spoke with similar caution.
“You have to handle a win the right way, and you have to handle a loss the right way, or it comes back and bites you,’’ Popovich said. “You go onto Game 2 and it’s a whole different animal."
There will be a lot of talk from now until Thursday’s Game 2 about the Blazers’ porous pick-and-roll defense, and San Antonio’s great depth, and Portland’s inability to contain Tony Parker.
All of it’s true, giving Terry Stotts a lot to tackle in Wednesday’s afternoon practice.
But the bottom line remains this: Are the Blazers going to grow up or not?
The Blazers and Spurs split four games in the regular season and were separated by eight games in the standings. But the greatest separation Tuesday went beyond game-planning and execution, which the Spurs did masterfully.
The greatest separation was in big-stage experience.
“Welcome to San Antonio,’’ is how LaMarcus Aldridge put it. “I think a lot of the guys got taken aback.’’
Wesley Matthews described Game 1 as the Spurs coming out throwing “haymakers.”
“We have to make adjustments and come out with a killer attitude, because that’s what they got,’’ Matthews said. “We have to come back in Game 2 with a different mentality.’’
Said Batum: “They know we are young, inexperienced, and they tried to jump on us. We were lost in the first half. We didn’t know who we are. The team I saw tonight was not the same team I saw in the last 10 days, two weeks.’’
Typically, this is where the Blazers have shined this season. This is a pretty stubborn group, unwilling to accept defeat, unwilling to dwell on shortcomings because they believe their strengths can overshadow the blemishes.
“It’s a team full of fighters,’’ Matthews said. “People who were overlooked at some point in their careers, some point in their lives, and we play with that on the court. That’s our release, that’s our vent, that’s where we let all the aggression out. We will respond. I’m not worried about it at all.’’
One of the more interesting games in a seven-game series are Game 2s, because usually the greatest adjustments come between the first and second game.
At the top of the Blazers’ list will be containing Parker, who poked and prodded the Portland defense on the way to 33 points and nine assists, much of it while executing pick-and-rolls. The Blazers’ season-long defensive emphasis on keeping their bigs back to protect the rim on pick-and-rolls, thereby giving up the mid-range jumper, was exploited by the crafty and savvy Parker.
The Blazers already foreshadowed one of their adjustments, using Matthews to guard Parker for large stretches of the second half, but it doesn’t sound like the core principles of their pick-and-roll defense will change.
“We’ll live with (giving up) the mid-range shots,’’ Matthews said. “It’s the toughest shot in the game.’’
The biggest adjustment, then, might be between the Blazers’ ears. They’ve had their “Welcome to San Antonio” moment. Now they need to show how far they have grown, or whether the real ascension to the big stage is still years ahead.
Maybe that’s what Batum will be looking at, alone in his hotel room, computer laptop playing the nightmare that was Game 1.
For the record, Batum made 3 of 12 shots and finished with seven points, five rebounds, zero assists and three turnovers. It was a decidedly un-Batum-like performance, void of his across-the-board production.
“We were surprised,’’ Batum said. “Surprised. They shocked us and jumped on us. They played championship basketball. So, we have to learn from it. Did we play a bad game? Yes. But we have to be ready for Thursday.’’
http://imgick.oregonlive.com/home/olive-media/pgmain/img/oregonian/photo/2014/05/-e6a80b18e4814b14.jpg
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) hits a 3-pointer.
SAN ANTONIO — Nicolas Batum figured he would be up until 3 a.m. after Game 1 here Tuesday, his penance for a virtual no-show to the opening of the Trail Blazers’ biggest playoff series in 14 years.
He was eager to leave the locker room and quarantine himself in his hotel room so he could watch game film of San Antonio’s surgical 116-92 dissecting of the Blazers, which went downhill fast after Batum missed a layup on the first possession.
“I want to see how bad I was,’’ Batum said. “No. Really. I want to see how bad I was. I need to learn from it and come back and help us be a different team.’’
Like the rest of the Blazers locker room, Batum was not downtrodden or distressed. Instead, he carried a resolve that things would turn around after the Blazers were so bad that owner Paul Allen spent more time looking at his phone than the game in the second half.
“It’s just one game,’’ Batum said. “We haven’t lost the series.’’
Down the hall, one of basketball’s greatest coaches, the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich, spoke with similar caution.
“You have to handle a win the right way, and you have to handle a loss the right way, or it comes back and bites you,’’ Popovich said. “You go onto Game 2 and it’s a whole different animal."
There will be a lot of talk from now until Thursday’s Game 2 about the Blazers’ porous pick-and-roll defense, and San Antonio’s great depth, and Portland’s inability to contain Tony Parker.
All of it’s true, giving Terry Stotts a lot to tackle in Wednesday’s afternoon practice.
But the bottom line remains this: Are the Blazers going to grow up or not?
The Blazers and Spurs split four games in the regular season and were separated by eight games in the standings. But the greatest separation Tuesday went beyond game-planning and execution, which the Spurs did masterfully.
The greatest separation was in big-stage experience.
“Welcome to San Antonio,’’ is how LaMarcus Aldridge put it. “I think a lot of the guys got taken aback.’’
Wesley Matthews described Game 1 as the Spurs coming out throwing “haymakers.”
“We have to make adjustments and come out with a killer attitude, because that’s what they got,’’ Matthews said. “We have to come back in Game 2 with a different mentality.’’
Said Batum: “They know we are young, inexperienced, and they tried to jump on us. We were lost in the first half. We didn’t know who we are. The team I saw tonight was not the same team I saw in the last 10 days, two weeks.’’
Typically, this is where the Blazers have shined this season. This is a pretty stubborn group, unwilling to accept defeat, unwilling to dwell on shortcomings because they believe their strengths can overshadow the blemishes.
“It’s a team full of fighters,’’ Matthews said. “People who were overlooked at some point in their careers, some point in their lives, and we play with that on the court. That’s our release, that’s our vent, that’s where we let all the aggression out. We will respond. I’m not worried about it at all.’’
One of the more interesting games in a seven-game series are Game 2s, because usually the greatest adjustments come between the first and second game.
At the top of the Blazers’ list will be containing Parker, who poked and prodded the Portland defense on the way to 33 points and nine assists, much of it while executing pick-and-rolls. The Blazers’ season-long defensive emphasis on keeping their bigs back to protect the rim on pick-and-rolls, thereby giving up the mid-range jumper, was exploited by the crafty and savvy Parker.
The Blazers already foreshadowed one of their adjustments, using Matthews to guard Parker for large stretches of the second half, but it doesn’t sound like the core principles of their pick-and-roll defense will change.
“We’ll live with (giving up) the mid-range shots,’’ Matthews said. “It’s the toughest shot in the game.’’
The biggest adjustment, then, might be between the Blazers’ ears. They’ve had their “Welcome to San Antonio” moment. Now they need to show how far they have grown, or whether the real ascension to the big stage is still years ahead.
Maybe that’s what Batum will be looking at, alone in his hotel room, computer laptop playing the nightmare that was Game 1.
For the record, Batum made 3 of 12 shots and finished with seven points, five rebounds, zero assists and three turnovers. It was a decidedly un-Batum-like performance, void of his across-the-board production.
“We were surprised,’’ Batum said. “Surprised. They shocked us and jumped on us. They played championship basketball. So, we have to learn from it. Did we play a bad game? Yes. But we have to be ready for Thursday.’’