News From Around The World: November 9

11/09/12

Written by: DHawes22 / avg. rating: 5.0

November 9

Trail Blazers TV: Leonard Posterizes Turiaf

Trail Blazers TV: Batum Steal, Matthews Slam

Trail Blazers TV: Trail Blazers 90, Clippers 103

Trail Blazers: Trail Blazers Unveil First-Ever Mobile Phone App as Further Enhancement Of Fan Experience
"Among traditional team-related features, the goal of the app is to deepen fan engagement before, during and after Trail Blazers games. The app delivers experiences tailored to the fan's location during games. Fans can check-in and let their friends know where they are watching the games to encourage community-building online, watching on TV and in-arena. The Trail Blazers will reward fans for checking-in with tickets and merchandise. Along with checking-in, fans watching the live TV broadcast can chat with other fans and digital hosts, using the app and their devices as "second screen" social experiences that augment live TV viewing. Fans can also access live scoreboards, live stats, videos, schedules, team news, blogs and live streaming of trailblazers.tv shows at any time."

Trail Blazers: On The Clock With Nolan Smith
"Nolan give his answers to such questions as "When DJ NDotSMitty will be available for bookings?", "His favorite place to eat in Portland?", "What snack food can you not live without?", and more in this edition of On The Clock."

Trail Blazers via ESPN: Thorpe: Lillard Makes It Look Easy
"Forgive me for saying this, but I felt the exact same way watching Brandon Roy during his All-Star years (the right-to-left hand lay-up against the Raptors, anyone?) as I do watching Lillard. To me, that is the true sign of a superstar. Nothing seems to faze the rookie. Not going up against a former MVP winner in his NBA debut, not having the weight of a franchise on his shoulders, and not even being dubbed "the franchise point guard" by the team's General Manager. And in case you missed it or somehow forget, this is how easy Dame makes it look on a nightly basis. Enjoy."

Trail Blazers: Shaq: Damian Lillard "plays like a right-handed Damon Stoudamire"
"Love him or hate him, he does say things from time to time that makes you think, like when he says in the clip above (starting around the 6:30 mark) that Damian Lillard reminds him of "a right-handed Damon Stoudamire." Of course, Stoudamire grew up in Portland and played for the Trail Blazers, which might be seeping into Shaq's consciousness when he comes up with the comparison. Lillard is obviously the bigger of the two (Stoudamire was listed at 5-10, and those measurements, as anyone who has ever stood next to a 6-3 NBA player, are generally embellished) and is probably more of a playmaker, though that might be too much of an assumption four games into a career. If nothing else, at least Shaq is coming up with some names outside of the more standard (and probably a bit premature) comparisons to Derek Rose and Chauncey Billups."

Oregon Live: Blazers Insider: The All-Star Aldridge is missing ... from inside the lane)
"There is a danger in Stotts’ free-flowing, motion offense. It is anchored by Aldridge hovering around the “elbow” - the area where the key meets the free throw line. That’s 15-feet from the basket. This is where most of Aldridge’s touches are designed to originate, either in pick-and-pop scenarios or the flow of the motion offense. The problem is, Aldridge is often drifting further and further away from the basket - to 18, 19, even 20 feet. Sure, he can make it from there, but hasn’t history shown he is much more productive when he is closer to the basket, posting, and drawing double teams?"

Blazersedge: Media Row Report: Clippers 103, Blazers 90
"He can play," Paul said, without hesitation. "He can play. Aggressive. Not scared of anything. Know what I mean? Portland better hold on to him, because they definitely have a prized possession for the future."

Sports Illustrated: Blazers' Lillard makes transition from mid-major to NBA look easy
"I came off a high screen on the left wing, dribbled toward the middle, and his man showed," Lillard said. "When you come off that screen, you see a man in the opposite corner, and it's his job to check J.J. rolling to the basket. But if I look to that opposite corner, he'll think I'm making a skip pass over there, and he'll cheat a little back to that side. Then I can throw the bounce pass to J.J. for the dunk."

Trail Blazers: Deep Clippers Survive Portland
"The other big topic as of late, the bench, was another issue for the Blazers in this game. They did get a great effort from Leonard, and got pretty solid play from Ronnie Price, but just don't have enough punch in that second unit to hang with some of the quality reserve units in the west. We're going to see a lot of games like this during the season, when Coach Stotts demands huge minutes from the starters, but that is going to take its toll. Fortunately, as mentioned above, we saw progress from the bench. In the future, it just has to come before the team is down 25 points."

Trail Blazers: Earning A Rotation Spot Is On Joel Freeland's To-Do List
“One of the main differences [from the European game] is the three second rule on defense and knowing your rotations if you’re stuck in the middle of the paint, knowing when you gotta get out,” he said. “In Europe you can stay in there as long as you want and you don’t have to worry about getting out to then worry about rotation. So if someone’s driving to the baseline and I’m stuck in the paint I’m staying there, but here I’ve got to worry about am I in the three seconds, I’ve gotta get out then I’ve gotta get into the rotation. So it’s little things like that which I’m gonna get soon.”

Trail Blazers: Poor First Half Dooms Trail Blazers As They Fall 103-90
“We definitely had a let down but I think those guys got a boost of energy. And this is a tough place to play. I put this as one of the top-five toughest places to play in the NBA,” said Chris Paul."

Trail Blazers: More Than $30,500 Raised For Hurricane Sandy Relief At Thursday's Game
"Oregon Red Cross volunteers collected just over $10,500 in donations from Trail Blazers fans as they entered the arena Thursday evening. The Paul G. Allen Foundation and Wells Fargo each pledged to match the donation up to $10,000, bringing the total donation to $30,500."

Oregon Live: Blazers mount big second-half comeback, but can't close in 103-90 loss to Clippers
"Nicolas Batum carried the Blazers in their comeback with a strong all-around game. He finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block. Batum also provided stellar defense on Clippers All-Star point guard Chris Paul as he used his 6-foot-8 height and long arms to disrupt Paul."

Oregon Live: Trail Blazers lose to Clippers as Jamal Crawford, Chris Paul and poor defense prove too much
“We didn’t play any defense,” said Batum, who finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists. “We’re a young team and we love to run. When you don’t play any defense and the other team shoots 60 percent, we don’t run, and we can’t score. It wasn’t an offensive problem. We don’t stop the ball on defense.”

Oregon Live: NBA High-5: Big names aplenty for next Lakers coach after they fire Mike Brown
"The Lakers host the Warriors tonight, and the LA Times' Mike Bresnahan reports that Bernie Bickerstaff -- McMillan's assistant in Portland the last two seasons -- will run the team in the interim while a search takes place. Bickerstaff, you'll recall, could have done the same when McMillan was fired in March, but the Blazers went with Kaleb Canales, with Bickerstaff remaining an assistant through the end of the season."

The Columbian: Blazers comeback falls short
"I was pleased with the way we came back, obviously in the second half," coach Terry Stotts said. "I was very disappointed in the way we played, the way we competed in the first half, but the second half was what we need to do every time we're on the court."

Portland Tribune: Rally falls short as Clippers trip Blazers
“The coach asked me if I wanted to guard him, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, why not?’ " Batum said. “Nothing going on for us right now.”

CSNNW: Jamal Crawford returns to Portland to lift Clippers past Blazers
“I smiled, actually. I smiled,” Crawford said. “Because anybody who was a part of what happened last year, I think deserves to get booed. I don't have any hard feelings for the fans here. I took less to come here. I just wanted to get out here and get a win and that's what we did.”

Rip City Project: Game 5 Recap: Trail Blazers 90, Clippers 103
"The pride and embarrassment thing leads very nicely into another micro-level win from Thursday night. Meyers Leonard played 24 minutes had three huge dunks, grabbed six rebounds, and only picked up three personal fouls. I’ve said it a number of times already in this short season, but it bares repeating: Leonard is improving on a nightly basis. Head coach Terry Stotts pulled Meyers early in Thursday’s game, and in his post game press conference he said it was because his rookie center failed to execute on a couple of plays in a row. In the second half, Meyers was a key part of Portland’s run to get back into the game, bringing the crowd to life with he’s dunks and post-dunk poses, and because he was rolling Stotts left him in the game when there was still a chance for Portland to win. Talk about micro. That’s a marked improvement from one half to the next. Meyers still needs to develop some post moves so he can get involved more in the half court, but like everything with Leonard, it’s coming."

Blazersedge: Analysis: Chronic Issues Cripple Blazers versus Clippers
The Blazers have no bench players they can trust. The big comeback of the night came when the Clips played their relatively weak defending bench players in the third period and the Blazers kept their starters in. Portland's main guys can destroy an opponent's bench. We've established that. But playing huge minutes in the third left the Blazer starters wasted at the end of the fourth. They could never complete the comeback, instead resorting to short-falling jumpers.

Blazersedge via CSNNW: Haynes: Blazers GM Neil Olshey Could Address Weak Bench At Trade Deadline
"We expect Nolan to kind of kick it into gear here a little bit...I'd rather solve it internally where guys step up that are bench-level type players. Guys like Luke Babbitt. But if not, it is something we'll try to address at the trade deadline going forward and if not, it'll be something with our cap flexibility and draft picks this summer, we'll make a move there."

Ball Don't Lie via Tulsa World: The Oklahoma City Thunder unveil alternate uniforms, to mild local acclaim
"From Marti Levinson, a Tulsa dentist and Thunder season-ticket holder: "I get the whole retro thing, but navy? That's not even their color. If they were going for a retro look, they definitely succeeded. The vertical Thunder on the front is kind of weird. The whole thing just catches me off guard because it's so different. I don't hate it — it might grow on me eventually — but my first reaction was 'yuck.'"

Ball Don't Lie: The Los Angeles Lakers fire Mike Brown, who never should have been there in the first place
"It's the Lakers at their best. Completely doing everything right and terribly all at once. Mike Brown was the wrong hire, to be sure, and the wrong guy to lead this team all along. But because the Buss hubris extended to declining a solid shot for Kobe Bryant-favorite Brian Shaw to take over in 2011 (because of Shaw's connections with Jackson, an influence deemed too unsettling for the insecure Buss family), and into the realm of the absurd as they demanded a more productive start from a top-heavy team truly missing a good chunk of its top parts, Brown is somehow turned into a sympathetic figure. Fired on a game day, with just hours to go before the Lakers tip off against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, with interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff scrambling to put it all together."

Ball Don't Lie: Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge: ‘We haven’t really figured out Jeff [Green]‘
"There is nothing, save for a blip of a season in 2008-09, that suggests Green should be tossing in the occasional 20-point night off the bench. He simply isn't a strong enough shooter or finisher to pull that off, especially in limited minutes. Even working on that Thunder team in 2009, with Russell Westbrook still finding his way and the league's 29th-ranked offense badly looking for easy scores, Green managed just 16.5 points in 37 minutes a contest. He'll play just over half as long, per night, with Boston. This isn't to say that one or perhaps two 20-point nights could roll down the pike this season, but to put this sort of pressure on Green is ridiculous."

The Basketball Jones: Video: Kevin Durant rapping at a Halloween party
"Kind of a bummer to see Kevin Durant having such a great time rapping on stage with his buddy Privaledge while James Harden is bopping along in the background. It’s like a “Sopranos” flashback when Tony and Pansy are being pals, only about 400 pounds lighter."

The Basketball Jones: Did John Wall cheat at the Wizards’ ‘Business of Basketball’ test?
"I think I’m on Wall’s side here. When you are given the questions for a fake test before the test is given, it’s kind of impossible to cheat since a) the test doesn’t actually matter and b) everyone except the rookie has the chance to get the same answers. That’d be like cheating at baking a cake."

The Basketball Jones: Video: Hasheem Thabeet’s hair patch actually has an explanation
"Good thing Kevin Harlan read that promo or we might have heard an uninterrupted story about one of the greatest mysteries in the NBA this season — where that random orange patch of hair on Hasheem Thabeet’s head came from. But I guess you have to know if Luol Deng will be able to outscore Kevin Durant or not."

DIME: New York Knicks New Alternate Orange Uniforms Are Revealed
"Yesterday, we showed you the horrendous new uniforms from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now, thanks to a tweet from @jonathangosper, we have a look at these all-orange joints for the Knicks. We’ve heard these dubbed the “Winter” jerseys that’ll be rocked on weekend home games, but according to some of the rules we posted yesterday on alternate home uniforms, that isn’t allowed. According to Alan Hahn, these will actually only be worn on Christmas day, which makes sense."

DIME: Report: Minnesota Tried To Trade for James Harden
"1500ESPN.com writes that while the talks never reached serious discussions, the Wolves “would’ve sacrificed forward Derrick Williams, future first-round picks and more if it came down to it.” Very interesting. It never went beyond initial talks because OKC was unwilling to make a blockbuster deal within the division, which makes sense because, you know, they would’ve created a beast in Minnesota (and money definitely was a factor because financially, the Houston deal played perfectly into OKC’s hands). The T’Wolves biggest weakness is at the swingman spots, and Harden would’ve taken care of that rather quickly. Adding him to a nucleus of Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and anyone else still left over after the deal would’ve turned Minnesota from playoff sleeper to a legitimate threat in the West. "

SLAM: The Post Up: Road Warriors
"During yesterday’s night cap, the Clippers got off to a hot start and looked as if they were going to blow out the Blazers at the Rose Garden. In the first half, Los Angeles picked up right where they left off the night before against San Antonio and kept their offense moving, finding a nice inside-outside balance and jumped out to a 25-point lead. In the third quarter, the Clippers fell asleep at the wheel a bit and allowed Portland to get back into the game. Los Angeles stopped moving the ball and their offense became stagnant in the half court, relying too much on their guards to go one-on-one or buckets thinking that a young Blazers team would roll over and take the L. Instead, Portland used the energy from their home crowd and began chipping away at the lead slowly but surely. Portland outscored their opponent 32-17 in the third quarter and were able to cut the lead to six heading into the fourth. The Blazers eventually cut the deficit to four but their starters, who play a ridiculous amount of minutes per game, began to feel the burn playing on heavy legs. The Clippers depth got the best of Portland and LA was able to push the lead back to double-digits and coast to their second win in as many nights."

ESPN: Anthony Davis Returns Friday
"Hornets coach Monty Williams says top overall draft choice Anthony Davis is ready to return from his concussion Friday night when New Orleans hosts the Charlotte Bobcats."

ESPN: Daily Dime
"Thus far, the GM who stocked L.A.'s point guard depth chart with Paul and the talented Eric Bledsoe seems to have struck gold again. Though only 6-for-13 for 16 points and four assists (to three turnovers) on Thursday, Lillard already seems to be the player most crucial to Portland's offensive success. Already 22, there's a maturity to his game that most rookies do not instantly have. The superb efficiency he displayed in college has also carried over (18.52 PER). And his athletic, assertive forays to the rim have the look of a smaller Derrick Rose. Amongst a crowd of impact point guards, the rookie hailing from a small school in Ogden, Utah, has already carved out his own place."

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."