News From Around The World: November 19

11/20/12

Written by: DHawes22 / avg. rating: 5.0

November 19

Trail Blazers TV: Damian Lillard Reverse Layup

Trail Blazers TV: Just Casey

Trail Blazers TV: Sportlandia

Trail Blazers: Portland Gets Third Straight Win, Defeating Bulls 102-94
"A big fourth quarter from Wesley Matthews where he scored 10 of his 21 points helped the Trail Blazers (5-5) defeat the Chicago Bulls (5-5) 102-94 for their third consecutive victory. Matthews and Nicolas Batum led the Trail Blazers in scoring with 21 points apiece while LaMarcus Aldridge had a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds."

Trail Blazers: Blazers Fight Off Angry Bulls
"Lillard explained to reporters that he found himself with the ball in the final seconds, and as he saw a couple of Chicago players running at him decided to just finish the play at the rim. He implied that it was just instinct that led him to put the ball in the basket to end things. Lillard is well-respected in the league, and no one denies that he's a very quality and classy guy, so I don't expect this to carry over. Lesson learned. Turn the page. The only time it'll perhaps be a story again is when the Blazers play in Chicago on March 21st. NBA players don't forget stuff like that, and are always looking for ways to motivate themselves with stuff like this. But, again, Lillard is not the showy type, and rookies have gotten free passes for much worse."

Trail Blazers: Jared Jeffries Leads The Charge
"I used to be able to block shots," said Jeffries. "I can't block shots no more, so you've got to step in there (to take a charge). It's just another way for us to shut down our paint. I think one of our biggest problems right now is we give a lot of penetration up and guys get a lot of easy layups. So if we can limit that a little bit more, get back in transition, I think that makes us more of a defensive team."

Oregon Live: Blazers beat Bulls as -- surprise -- someone from the bench delivers
“He made shots, he dove on the floor, he battled Rip Hamilton (on defense),” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. “He did it at both ends of the floor. Obviously, this is the best game he’s had this year.”

Oregon Live: Blazers' identity starting to emerge -- that of a high-scoring, competitive team
"The other thing that stands out about the Blazers: They score points. Sunday’s game was their fifth in which they scored 100 points or more. Last season’s team hit 100 points 23 times in 66 games, and eight of those came in the first 12 games. Heck, in 17 games in the month of March, they hit 100 points just three times."

Oregon Live: Damian Lillard makes rookie mistake, Chicago Bulls get mad
"It’s ironic that Noah was one of the Bulls most upset by Lillard’s late-game dunk, considering he drew scrutiny Nov. 6 for heaving a late three-pointer against the Orlando Magic to try to earn Chicago fans a free Big Mac. The Bulls had a 99-93 victory sewed up when Noah launched a three with 3.9 seconds left in an effort to get his team to 100 points and earn fans a McDonald's coupon similar to the Blazers' chalupa promotion."

Oregon Live: Minnesota guard Brandon Roy scheduled for right knee surgery; won't make Rose Garden appearance Friday
"It’s going to be special. It's going to be weird,'' Roy said on Thursday, before he knew he would have surgery. "I use to walk to that locker room in the Rose Garden... and you know, I felt like I owned the place. Now, I come back as a visitor, so it’s weird. It’s like you buy a house, sell it, and then go back to the house, but it’s somebody else's. Now it’s LaMarcus’, the new rookie ... it’s their house now. But again, that’s kind of the excitement in it. There’s new blood there and at the same time, I had my moment.''

Oregon Live: NBA High-5: At 38, Rasheed Wallace preaching post play, eyeing coaching future
"I was just sitting back, watching the way that some of these guys that you call great post players not playing the post," Wallace tells Zwerling. "So it's the passion to come back to show ya'll how post players really need to play in the post. Old-school basketball. Ya'll used to all this new young stuff, high flying and dunking. Nah, that's not basketball. There's terrible footwork by a lot of young guys out here. Let's go back to old-school basics."

Columbian: Blazers bench is not sitting out in win over Chicago
"It's very difficult in the league, when you're playing five minutes here, three minutes here, to really be consistent and have a good effort off the bench. Especially when you're not like a microwave or instant-offense type player. I don't think our bench really has that."

Portland Tribune: Getting the point
“The kid has no weaknesses,” Conner says. Atlanta head coach Larry Drew “said the same thing when we were going over our scouting report for Portland. Point guard is the hardest position to learn in the NBA. He has it down. He is playing already like a second- or third-year pro.”

CSNNW Blazers defeat Bulls to make it three straight
I just told him he can't do that because I know that's something I probably would have done during my rookie season,” Robinson said. “He's young and he's a good guy so I wanted to let him know that players remember stuff like that. It's not a big deal, though.”

Rip City Project: Game 10 Recap: Blazers 102, Bulls 94
"Jared Jeffries is an unlikely hero, and to be honest he wasn’t really the hero Sunday, but an even unlikelier almost hero was Ronnie Price. This season Price has looked decent at best and not deserving of playing time (if only his back-up wasn’t the woefully incapable Nolan Smith) at his worst. Sunday was hands-down Ronnie’s best night. Forget the scoring (10 points to become the first Blazer sub of the season to reach double figures in scoring), forget the five assists, and forget the 20 minutes of solid defense with only one foul (remember a few games ago he picked up six personals in about 15 minutes), if Ronnie Price can play 20 minutes without leading Portland into a scoring sink-hole and if he can achieve anywhere near his +18 on close to a regular basis, there is hope that Damian Lillard can finish this season without his wheels falling off completely."

Blazersedge: Media Row Report: Blazers 102, Bulls 94
"I think it's a lot to do about nothing," Stotts repeated, before stopping the press conference for a moment and making a point to turn towards the reporter who was pursuing the line of questioning, directly calling him out. "I think it's interesting that that's the first question that comes up after a game like that."

Blazersedge: Meyers Leonard Blogs About Veteran's Day With Brother Bailey
"The Blazers did a very nice job putting everything together. They interviewed me about what it was like having him here, and then interviewed both of us together. Bailey was interviewed by himself during the game; I think it was on the Jumbotron. The Oregon Army National Guard presented him a flag at halftime, and he was the honorary person of the night. Also, a man who makes coins for military veterans made a special one for him. It got really loud when they introduced Bailey to the fans; and it was very humbling for me to see how people respect what he did and see the bond we have. It was awesome to have him here for that experience. I know he'll be in Indianapolis to watch me play again in December. And hopefully he'll make it to Chicago, too."

Ball Don't Lie: Marcin Gortat’s interview with a Polish publication reveals his uneasiness with the Suns’ offense
"There is also the small matter of ball-stopper Michael Beasley taking 17.6 shots for every 36 minutes he plays this year, despite shooting just 36 percent, while Gortat's per-36 attempts have gone down from 13.1 to 10.1 in 2012-13. Gortat's your latest in the long history of NBA players whining about shot attempts, but there's no reason Beasley should be taking so many of those inefficient looks while the Suns' best player is left wanting."

Ball Don't Lie: The Washington Wizards remain winless, possibly hopeless, as the fans start to revolt
"There are still 74 games to go in this season, and the Wizards can start it all over again as they go up against the similarly-disappointing Indiana Pacers on Monday night. On top of that, the benchmark to slide into the lowest spot in the Eastern bracket — a .500 record — remains in place some three weeks into the season with Chicago holding the eighth seed with a 5-5 record. Still, the Wizards have two more weeks until Wall returns and probably twice as long until he's back at full strength, and based on John's 2011-12 performance this isn't really the most calming news around."

Ball Don't Lie: Terrence Jones dunks right on Jodie Meeks, earns more playing time (VIDEO)
"Jones was impressive on the night, scoring eight points on 4-of-7 shooting and chipping in four rebounds and three assists. But it's this dunk that will earn him more playing time, because it encapsulates the talent that got the Rockets interested in him in the first place. Jones isn't just a potential contributor — he occasionally looked like a star in college and could blossom into the sort of scoring option Houston desperately needs to take pressure off James Harden and Jeremy Lin. Jones is a long way off from hitting that level, but he has the potential to do so."

The Basketball Jones: The time Andrew Bynum went bungee jumping while under contract with the Lakers
"That photo is on the celebrity wall at China’s Macau Tower, the second-highest bungee jump in the world. There’s no video or other photos of Bynum completing the jump, but thanks to TBJ fan John Chick who recently snapped the picture during a visit to the tower, we know that it’s pretty likely he took the plunge. I’m guessing they don’t put your picture up unless you complete the jump, plus the harness he’s wearing is the exact same that other people wear when they’re doing this stuff."

The Basketball Jones: Two things about Zach Randolph
"We are all head over heels in love with the Grizzlies right now, so let’s have some fun times with one of their leaders. We’re talking about Zach Randolph and we’re including a couple of fun anecdotes that have recently popped up on the internet about the Grizzlies’ big man."

The Basketball Jones: The Knicks won’t let Jason Kidd wear a headband again
”Not a good look,” [Carmelo] Anthony said. ”Today he had to do what he had to do, but we’re not going to allow that.”

SLAM: Post Up: Here Come The Lakers
"The Bulls aren’t having an ideal start to their extended road trip. After getting waxed by the Clippers on Saturday night, Chicago was hoping to bounce back against the Blazers. Instead, Chicago found itself down by 16 in the third quarter and having to dig deep to even get back in the game. The Bulls did go on a run in the fourth and eventually tied the game at 73 after Taj Gibson scored on a layup and foul. But, the Blazers didn’t let the comeback shake them. Ronnie Price hit a jumper to stop the bleeding then Nicolas Batum followed that up with a three . Price than hit another layup and the Blazers were ablt to get a home victory and get their record back up to .500."

SLAM via Charlotte Observer: Tyrus Thomas Out for 2 Months With Muscle Tear in Left Leg
“Charlotte Bobcats power forward Tyrus Thomas is expected to miss two months after a magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tear of the plantaris muscle in his left leg. Thomas hobbled out of Saturday’s loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Monday’s MRI revealed the muscle tear near his calf. He also has a second-degree strain of the calf itself. The injury does not require surgery, but has a relatively long recovery period.”

DIME: Top 10 Surprise NBA Players This Season
" The raw numbers of Singler don’t scream for attention, but the dude is the epitome of steady and efficient. Singler averages 9.3 points while shooting 50% from the field and 46% from three. Head Coach Lawrence Frank recently gave his rookie a vote of confidence saying, “Kyle is a guy that you have a lot of faith in.” With his coach’s endorsement and consistent play, Singler has taken the starting shooting guard position away from Rodney Stuckey (for now). The former Duke standout has carved out a niche as a spot-up shooter for a team that ranked 27th in scoring last season and has only inched up to 24th so far this year."

DIME: Why Memphis Is Both An NBA Title Contender And Pretender
"While the improved shooting from long range and a lack of significant injuries are the primary culprits behind their fast start, it’s the shooting that is most likely to disappear and is most worrisome for forecasting this team’s role as a contender. It would be foolish to count on Gay and Ellington and some improved shooting from point guard Mike Conley Jr. to continue like it has. Eventually coach Lionel Hollins‘ bench will cool off, and they’ll be left to forcing turnovers and getting transition buckets to make up for their dearth of long range shooting. But so far so good."

ESPN: Daily Dime
"Kobe Bryant put up the 18th triple-double (22 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) of his career in a win over the Rockets. Kevin Durant earned the first of his career (25-13-10) with the win over the Warriors. Yup, those guys can play. "

ESPN: Power Rankings
"We break from our usual fixation in this space with either LaMarcus Aldridge or Damian Lillard to share, via Elias, that Nic Batum became only the third player in NBA history to total 30-plus points with five 3s as well as five blocks in that OT win over Houston. He joins Clifford Robinson and Raef LaFrentz."

Trail Blazers: Weekend Plan: Specially Designed For Families And The Busy Nine-To-Fiver
"Built for the family-oriented fan with a busy work-week, the 12-game Weekend Pack maximizes the thrill-factor while keeping the competitions to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A smattering of Western Conference rivals and Eastern Conference visitors during one-offs and key home stands, you can get your hands on this schedule-friendly pack for as low as $11/game and $52/game in the lower bowl."

Trail Blazers: The Rivals Plan: Two LAs, Oklahoma City And The Return Of Roy
"The smallest of the four big ticket plans, the eight game Rivals Pack packs a big punch. You’ll be in the building and eating a corndog while others are wondering how to get their hands on a way to see the return of Brandon Roy and the sure to sell out L.A. Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder."

Trail Blazers: Why The Value Plan Makes 'Cents' For You
"The Value Pack starts at just $5 a game. That’s 12 games for as low as $60! Talk about some serious bang for your buck. But that’s not even the best part about this ticket plan. Four of the 12 games take place in the month of January. And there is absolutely no better place to be during an Oregon winter’s night than inside the raucous Rose Garden. Not to mention this pack gets you into the arena to see some of the league’s biggest names and brightest young stars such as Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, and Rudy Gay."

Trail Blazers: Big Games Plan: 12 Of The Biggest Games
"This game has it all. Season opener, at home, against the loathe-inducing Lakers, in Steve Nash's first game in purple and gold and it's on Halloween night! Any game against the Lakers at the Rose Garden is going to be a lively one, but the confluence of circumstances in this particular game sets the stage for one of the all-time season openers in Trail Blazers history."