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DHawes22
Posts: 6476

Posted 10/16/2012 10:11 AM

October 17th, 2012
7:00 PM | Rose Garden Arena | Portland, OR
Trail Blazers (1-2) Vs. Nuggets (3-0)

The Nuggets are good and the Nuggets are deep. They remind me of the 98-99 Trail Blazers in a sense that they go two-three deep at each position, have a lot of talented players but no one real superstar on their roster. Our 99 Blazers made it to the Western Conference FInals and I think these Nuggets could be my sleeper pick to make it that far as well. That is why this is an important game for the Trail Blazers.

Regardless that this game doesn't count in the standings, this will be a good test for Portland to see how they stack up against one of the Northwest Division's best. Even though Andre Miller and Wilson Chandler sat out their 104-98 win over the Warriors, Denver still played their core players an average of about 25 minutes per night.

What To Watch For:
Damian Lillard vs. Ty Lawson - Scratch that, Lillard's out against Denver
It appears Damian has been a little hesitant early on in games, over-thinking his decisions and not letting the game come to him. I want to see Dame attack early on, instead of waiting until the second-half to find his offensive game. Aside from that, Lillard's going to have to defend one of the quickest point guards in the game. How will the rookie handle his offensive and defensive abilities against one of the better young guards and teams in the league? Lillard started out cold in the first-half against the Kings, but eventually turned it on and finished with 20 points.

Guard Rotations
Without Lillard and Price, Nolan Smith will get the start but after him...there's no other "true" point guard on the roster whose available to suit up. That means we could see a lot of Batum or even Barton handling the ball. We never want to see our lottey pick miss any time, but this could be a blessing in disguise as it could lead to a new wrinkle in the offense if any of our other wings flourish with the ball in their hands.

3-Point Shooting
Will the Trail Blazers continue their trend of shooting 27 3's a night? Or will they force the issue inside and take advantage of their strength down-low with Aldridge, Freeland, and Hickson? If the Trail Blazers can win the points in the paint battle and shoot 37-38% (currently shooting just 31.7%) from downtown, the Rose Garden will witness the first win of the season.

Trail Blazers Vs. Nuggets Highlights

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DHawes22
Posts: 6476

Posted 10/16/2012 2:13 PM
Well it looks like I'll have to come up with a different what to watch for as it appears that Damian Lillard will not play tomorrow against the Nuggets. As reported by Joe Freeman of the Oregonian, Damian has a bruised left foot.

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DHawes22
Posts: 6476

Posted 10/16/2012 2:30 PM
Without Price and now Lillard, it appears that Nolan Smith will get the start for the injured Damian Lillard (via Joe Freeman)

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Tobyus Sanchezo
Posts: 1600

Posted 10/16/2012 4:46 PM
Nolan's gonna have to play all 48! Get 'em Smitty!!

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postedbailblazers
Posts: 165

Posted 10/16/2012 11:15 PM
a chance for him to pick up where he left off in summer league...prior to the concusion that is

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riverman
Posts: 1098

Posted 10/17/2012 12:39 AM
I think we'll see Barton, Karl, Pavlovich, Batum and Mathews along with Smith playing combos at the guard which let's us play long at the 3-4-5 We could have Mathews, Batum, HIckson, Aldridge and Leonard/Jeffries or Freeland and play with a lot of length but I see two of the 2guards sharing the ball up the court

I am a fan of A team that plays like Tower of Power on a big stage on a good night

postedbailblazers
Posts: 165

Posted 10/17/2012 10:35 AM
Alright home crowd...let's show these new players why it's good to be a Portland TrailBlazer!!! We need Aldridge to get off in this game. We need to see some improvement on zone D. Let's hope these guys are quick learners. Leonard should have a chip on his shoulder after last game. Any of you heading to this game tonight...let's Make SOme NOISE!!!

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Keisha
Posts: 27

Posted 10/17/2012 11:03 AM
Nolan Smith? I think this would be the perfect experience for him, that he really needs heading into the season... Get em' smitty!!

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D_pickett
Posts: 608

Posted 10/17/2012 3:37 PM
No Damian = less exciting game. I'd like to see Nolan truly running the point, which he hasn't done much this preseason. I also want to see Will Barton and Nic with some limited minutes at the point. It would be nice to see what they could bring to the table in a point forward type of role.

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commontongue
Posts: 1436

Posted 10/17/2012 4:10 PM
I digress. Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love will miss at least six weeks after breaking his right hand.
Love sustained the injury on Wednesday while working out, not in a T'wolves practice session, sources said. He is expected to be sidelined up to eight weeks. Minnesota's first game is Nov. 2.

Love developed into one of the NBA's elite players a season ago, averaging 26 points and 13.3 rebounds for the T'wolves.

Minnesota could be without Love and point guard RIcky Rubio for the first month of the season. Rubio is still rehabilitating a knee injury he suffered in March.

After saying he suffered a sore shoulder after leaving his arm dangling off his bed while sleeping on Friday night, Love missed the T'wolves preseason game on Saturday. Sources made clear the hand and shoulder injuries aren't related.

Without Love and Rubio the Northwest division doesnt look that invincible. I said before, every team is an injury away from contending.

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D_pickett
Posts: 608

Posted 10/17/2012 9:32 PM
27 assists as a team. Only 14 for Denver. That's a great disparity; I just wish Denver's offense had played a little better. I can't tell if Portland really turned on the defense in the 2nd quarter or if Denver's offense fell apart. Anyway, it would've been a sweeter win if it were against a Dever team that was clicking as well.

Freeland looked good this game. Claver caught fire at the end, which is great. Ammo looked like garbage. Nolan got into his game, but started pretty sketchy. Coby Karl made a case for making this roster, but I still don't see it. He clearly plays best at the point, and we already have that position pretty well filled. He doesn't play off guard well at all. I like how Meyers can finish an alley-oop no matter where it's thrown, but he has to be able to throw it down when he gets the ball under the hoop. He has the unfortunate big-man syndrome of wanting to finesse his shots. If he started jumping every time he was within 3-4 feet of the basket with the ball, he'd humiliate the best of the bigs.

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BDawg
Posts: 1455

Posted 10/18/2012 6:24 AM
Though it is just preseason and very early, I have yet to see ANY indication that Batum can be anything more than I've always contended he was...which is most certainly not worthy of his contract. THREE points in 23 minutes v Denver on 1-8? Does your agent want another client Nic?

Many feel the strikeout in the FA acquisition column was this past off-season's biggest disappointment. In the eyes and mind of this observer however, it was clearly the retention of the league's most overpaid patsy, Batum PaidALotta.

We're watching Nic...and we're NOT happy

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DHawes22
Posts: 6476

Posted 10/18/2012 9:35 AM
We won by 17 but Denver was without Ty Lawson and their bigs played very spot minutes. Regardless, I'll take it. I was impressed by Meyers' athletic ability around the basket. He's really starting to remind me of a better shooting DeAndre Jordan the way he also hangs around the rim. The on negative I have is our inability to attack inside. At one point in the first quarter the Nuggets held a 18-0 lead in points in the paint. I have a feeling we are going to live or die by the jumper this season.

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riverman
Posts: 1098

Posted 10/18/2012 11:00 AM
I agree DHawes...one can only hope Leonard and Freeland continue to gain confidence in the paint. JJ who is confident in the paint didn't play much and Karl and Claver seemed willing to drive the lane. I hope we don't live and die by the 3pt shot and still think it should be a last option with the clock running down. We don't seem to get opposing bigs in foul trouble early and against Sac I was amazed we were jacking up bricks with Cousins on the floor with 5 fouls and nobody driving on him to foul him out. At least last night Wesley had a great game for the first time. I see our starters as being able to win games and our bench still a bit confused. Also hope Lillard learns to come out and make plays in the first half so we don't end up climbing back into games in the 3rd qtr

I am a fan of A team that plays like Tower of Power on a big stage on a good night

postedbailblazers
Posts: 165

Posted 10/18/2012 11:44 AM
Was Coach Karl pulling punches so that his son could get his first NBA win? Hmmmm...

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D_pickett
Posts: 608

Posted 10/18/2012 2:26 PM
BDawg, I'll agree that the lack of contribution from Nic was atrocious, but you can't have a target on Nic all season and let LaMarcus get away with the he's pulled this preseason. In my mind, either you excuse them both or you don't excuse either of them. LA has been public about avoiding injury, but that doesn't mean Batum doesn't have a similar policy for the preseason. And don't give me the 14-point argument to support LaMarcus. Claver ended up with pretty much the same stat line, and he racked it all up in about 6 minutes.

We have NO HOPE if our "top 2" guys aren't going to play to their potential. The only people I trust right now to produce are Damian and Wes, one of which is an unproven rookie and the other is a guy known to have ups and downs. Yeah, my eyes are on Nic, but LaMarcus, JJ, Babbitt, Nolan, and the newbies all better step it up too.

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