From Ball Don't Lie...

[tlongII]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/bal...urn=nba,154687

Portland 95, San Antonio 83

The Spurs are in some real trouble. It's understandable to lose to a great team on the second night of a back-to-back, but I don't really see any real way for this team to improve. If Tim Duncan continues to play this poorly once the minutes add up, on a team this thin, adjustments won't matter. What sort of adjustments can you make? These guys need more talent, and athleticism. Not a new, Manu-less, plan.

Actually, on offense, the Spurs played as well as can reasonably be expected. Yes, they only dropped 83 points, and against a porous defensive outfit in Portland, but with Manu out and Duncan (four points, five rebounds, two turnovers in about 24 minutes) obviously ailing, putting up about 102 points per 100 possessions is pretty solid. Shooting 47 percent, only turning it over 10 times, making a third of your three-pointers ... that's not bad. Considering the rotation.

But they just didn't have the quickness to stay in front of Portland as the game went along. And with LaMarcus Aldridge (20 points, six rebounds in 39 minutes) playing out of his skull in the third quarter and Brandon Roy bringing his usual (26 points, six assists; though with six turnovers), the Spurs just couldn't compete. Throw in nifty (nifty!) bench play from Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez, Steve Blake's seven assists to one turnover, and you have a winner.

And we also have national TV evidence; finally, on just how badly Greg Oden has been scrumdiddlied by the refs this season. We all know that rookies get a raw deal, but this year it seems like this has been the case more often than in previous seasons, with Oden and Derrick Rose at the top of the heap.

Still, Rose's issues come from the calls he doesn't get, so he can stay on the floor. Oden gets what Rose gets, on top of and calls going the other way. It's pretty ridiculous, and Wednesday was another example of such. Thankfully, the word getting out could change things for Greg as we head into the playoffs. Oden finished with eight points, eight rebounds, two blocks and five fouls in over 21 minutes.

117 points per 100 possessions for Portland. Against the Spurs. This is the best offense in the NBA. Don't let the pace (just 81 possessions on Wednesday) fool you.

[Spursfan092120]

little insecure, are we?

[BlackSwordsMan]

portland going all the way!!!

[ulosturedge]

Umm.. now tell us something we don't know..

[alchemist]

tell us something we didn't know.