Posted 12/29/2009 10:56 AM

Post-Game Thoughts

The Trail Blazers may have missed their only opportunity to grab a hold of the Northwest division lead last night, after falling and falling hard to the Sixers, 103-94. Denver lost at Sacramento, which would have meant a half-game lead for Portland in the standings if they could only get past the lowly Sixers. Portland had a 10 point lead early on the 3rd period, only to see themselves down by 4 to begin the 4th and as many as 16 towards to end of the game. The offense began to be nothing but one-on-one with the only pass being off of a pick and pop for a contested jumper.  No one was attacking the rim even with Sam Dalembert out most of the game with foul trouble. Even if they went to the hoop to draw fouls, it's not like it would have mattered. The shooting eye deserted the Trail Blazers to the tune of 18-26 from the line, good enough for 69%.


Although Roy had 24 points, even he looked off tonight, just like the entire team. Aldridge could not buy a bucket (7-16), Bayless' shot was on target all night, but always came up short (0-7), and even Dante wasn't hitting that patented mid-range jumper (2-6). Really, the only bright spots were Andre Miller and Jeff Pendergraph.  Out of a team total of 17 assists, Dre recorded 7 of them, many leading to the only easy buckets and fast break points we had all game. Along with his 7 dimes, he tallied 11 points (4-7 shooting) and 4 boards. While he was in the game, the offense had a purpose to it, but it seemed like whenever he wasn't in control, the train started to run off the tracks.


In a game that went from good to bad to ugly in a hurry, it was at least nice to see Pendergraph perform when given the chance to shine. As a Blazer fan, I'll take 11 points and 5 boards in 19 minutes of action all day long. Normally a very good rebounder, he was outclassed by one of the best in Elton Brand quite a few times. Also, you can tell he is still learning the NBA game as his head was caught looking away and his man beat him to the open spot. He'll learn where to be on defense, but I really like his hands around the hoop as he was fed a few times for dunks. A lot of people say he reminds them of Brian Grant, but he's got a ways to go on offense before I'll go there. In my opinion, he reminds me of a slighter larger Jerome "Junk Yard Dog" Williams.


It looked like the Blazers have finally come back down to earth after going 6-1 in the prior 7 games. Bayless' magic was out for the night. There were no dagger 3 pointers from Blake. Most importantly, there was no big game from anyone. Do not panic Trail Blazer fans! Until we get a little healthier (maybe as soon as the 18th of January), the team is going to win some games they have no business winning and they are going to lose some games that make you scratch your head. I think the past 2 weeks may have risen fan expectations when they had no reason to be, including myself. I caught myself yesterday getting caught up in the NW divisional race, when I know the realistic goal is just playoffs, not to win the division. Without Joel and Greg, if teams were smart they would do exactly what Philly did, which was go inside. The Sixers had 60 points in the paint. I really don't care who you play, if you give up 60 in the middle, your chances of winning are slim to none and slim just left town. I do think we can and still will make the playoffs, but if we want a decent seed, we may need to get a stop gap 7 footer to help out down low.

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