Posted 03/13/2010 12:53 AM

 Post-Game Thoughts

Who was that team and what did they do to the Trail Blazers? For 48 minutes, it was like watching a completely different team than we have seen over the past couple of months. There was focus, intensity, purpose, and a will to win tonight. Finally, for a full 48 minutes, Portland put together a complete game, succeeding in all facets. A lot of the credit must be handed out to Roy for his assertive tone he set tonight. Instead of the team running their early offense through Aldridge, Roy was the pace car tonight, leading the way for the Blazers to come away with a 110-94 victory. As Roy said in his post-game interview, the team looks to him for guidance and when they see him passive, they have the tendency to do the same. To thwart this from happening, Roy was in attack mode from the get go and really let it be known how the game was going to be played out from the opening tip.

"Just trying to give the team a spark. Try to tune myself up. Try to play with confidence, play with swagger, give this team some swagger."

I really didn't think Brandon would be able to play up to his superstar level on the 2nd half of a back to back, mainly due to the rustiness from the near month long departure from the hamstring injury, but I was wrong. Brandon's baaaaack. I almost forget just how unbelievable his game is, because he hasn't strung together games of this nature since his late December run. Outside of LeBron, if there is a more efficient player in the league, please show him to me. Again, Roy scored 28 points, yet only took 13 shots, making 10 of them. Not only was his mid-range game on point, a great sign for Trail Blazer fans as it is the staple of Roy's offensive game, but he was aggressive and forced the defense to send him to the line 6 times, hitting each one of them. When Roy is at this level of play, it gives me hope of competing in the playoffs. Without a 100% Roy, it has been so difficult to watch as the opposition knows they have a superstar to lean on when they need a bucket while we were scrambling to find someone to keep our heads afloat. No longer do we have to worry.

"I'm trying to get it back. I missed a lot of games there," Roy said. "In coming back from injury, sometimes you feel like your game is on and others days you feel like it's nasty. But I'm starting to think my aggressiveness is coming back."

"I wanted to be patient, and get guys involved," Roy said. "To take what the defense was giving me and continue to be aggressive even if that means to pass and put pressure on the defense."

Not to be out-shined by Roy was the Trail Blazer bench. Not only did I want to see 25 or more points from them, but also to destroy the King bench in every aspect of the game. Although the box score tells one story, Sacramento bench outscores Portland 2nd unit 44-36, the game told another. It was the outstanding play of Bayless, Howard, and Fernandez which really helped pull Portland away from the Kings in the 2nd quarter, while the Kings bench did most of their damage with the game already in hand. Juwan ran the break like he was rockin' the high-top fade, long shorts, and maize, Michigan jersey, Rudy kept his hot three-point shooting rolling (3-5), and Bayless was anywhere and everywhere on the floor. A big momentum boost occurred at the end of the 1st when Jerryd took it cost to coast and managed to draw a foul as he was shooting from distance. He stepped up and knocked down all three free throws to give Portland some breathing room.

Not only did Portland improve to 13-3 on the 2nd half of a back to back, but they have now scored 100+ points on the road for an incredible 12 straight games. The team just had it flowing tonight and it wasn't just another "we're on fire shooting jump shots" games. Portland was incredibly lethal from three-point land in limited attempts, going 5 of 9, and shot a combined 38-74 from the floor, good enough for 51.4%, but neither were the main reasons why the 110 points were achieved. The Trail Blazers got the Kings into the penalty early and often and obeyed the Schonz by making 29 of 32 free throws. With the addition of Camby, the Blazer defense should be a little more formidable, but if the offense can continue to carve up defenses with an array of plays, Portland will be the team no one wants to play in the first round.