Posted 01/08/2010 11:52 PM

This was such a freakin great night!  I love these guys!  They have such heart and are such better PEOPLE than most of these idiots out there!  We are one of the few teams with such an incredible sense of integrity!  I am proud of them!

Posted 01/09/2010 1:00 AM

One of the best experiences I've ever had at the Garden. Fans were rabid from courtside to the 300 level. Huge win for the guys with all that has happened so far this season they show fight and heart again and get another home win against the L.A. Best sign at the garden was that little girls 7>24 sign, someone needs to put that on a shirt. On to Sunday and the Cavs...still haven't cracked that nut yet.

Posted 01/09/2010 10:21 AM

Post-Game Thoughts
First and foremost, I am so proud of the team for not hanging their heads after losing two winnable games earlier on in the week, not letting the Andre/Nate situation be a distraction, and for just wanting it so much more than the Lakers. Although the players are the ones making the hoops, I've got to give it up to the Rose Garden crowd once more. Everybody knows this season has been tough and we' be lucky just to make the playoffs, but the crowds have been stellar this year despite the injuries and they stepped it up to another level when the Lakers came to town. As a fan this could be pure homerism, but I truly believe the reason Portland has beat Los Angeles now 9 straight times is due to the crowd being so rowdy, loud, and into the game from pre-game till the clock shows 0.00 on the scoreboard. The home court advantage the Blazers get from the Blazer faithful is good for at least a 5-7 point advantage.

"I know once they started making a big deal of the streak, our fans have done a great job of coming out with a lot of energy," said all-star guard Brandon Roy, who was sensational in a 32-point performance. "The minute that game starts, we have a lot of confidence. We come out with a lot of energy and work hard and play our best games against them up here."

Speaking of Brandon Roy, what a performance! He went head to head with a Top 2 player in the NBA today, in Kobe Bryant, and completely outclassed him in every facet of the game. Roy scored 32 points, on only 9-11 shooting from the floor,went 13-14 from the charity stripe, handed out 6 assists, grabbed 5 board, netted 1 steal, and in his 38 minutes did not commit a single turnover. Bryant, on the other hand, did drop 32 as well, but did it on 14-37 field goal shooting, including 2-8 from 3, and turned the ball over 5 times. Roy's 32 points on 11 shots of less was the first time this feat has happened since Deron Williams back on March 14th, 2008. While watching the game, Brandon really makes it look easy out there, always seemingly in control of his movements. Kobe looked very herky-jerky on the court tonight and seemed to have to put together a series of moves just to get a difficult look off.

One of the main reasons why Kobe looked so uncomfortable out there was the defensive effort put forth by Martell Webster. He had a lousy shooting night, 6-17 from the floor and an ugly 2-10 from downtown, but he had a hand in Bryant's face all game long, never giving Kobe an open look. Although the shooting percentage was nothing to write home about, Webster scored 5 straight points on a 3 from the corner and a scramble scoop shot to the hoop to push the Blazer lead from 5 to 10 late in the 3rd to fight off a vigorous Laker rally. Coach Nate took notice as well when he thought Marty, "played one of his best games as a pro."

"It's a lot easier to get motivated playing against a team like that, a player like that," said Webster, who made only 6 of 17 shots but contributed 14 points and eight rebounds. "I took it my heart on my sleeve and prove to myself I can get down and guard him."

Even though LaMarcus Aldridge did not have the huge, dominating game I thought we needed out of him, 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, other players stepped for the still injured Aldridge. Most notably was Jerryd Bayless who came right in off the bench for Roy, who was hampered with two early fouls in the first quarter, and hit his first four long jump shots from the corner. When the dust settled, he turned in a 21 point (5-9), 3 rebound, and 3 assist performance. Like Roy, he took care of the ball as he only turned it over one time. The other player who stepped up was none other than Coach McMillan's "main man" Andre Miller. Dre tallied 17 big points (5-10), dished out 7 helpers, and found time to grab 3 rebounds. The only aspect of Miller's game that really needs work is the turnovers. He had 4 tonight and has had a knack for turning it over a bit too much lately. But you get 17 and 7, I'll live with turnovers any day of the week.

BEAT L.A.
Box Score

Posted 01/09/2010 10:32 AM

Nice write up Hawes, any big market sports city would of written off their basketball team if they had the kind of season the Blazers are having but not us! How big has Howard been these last few games doing his best Joel impersonation, doing the dirty work and grinding out in the paint.

No quit in us! GO BLAZERS!  

Posted 01/10/2010 10:51 PM

Juwan has been a blessing this year most definitely! His jumper is pretty money, he rebounds the ball well, and is just that calming force we need on this team. I really wish Greg was still playing because it seemed like those two had great on and off the court chemistry and Juwan genuinely seemed to want to help Greg out and make him the best player possible.
I still remember listening to the radio during during training camp how Juwan would yell at the team to continue to feed Greg the ball, even when Juwan was the one guarding him!
Smart, very smart player an a great guy from all accounts. I really hope he has enough left in the tank for one more season when we really make our push to the WCF!

Posted 01/11/2010 1:02 PM

I want LA in the 1st round. I know we most likely would lose, but man if we could push them to 7, you never know what could happen..it would really wear them out and I have been to regular season games against the Lakers at the RG, but man, I can only imagine how nuts it would be during the playoffs.

Posted 01/11/2010 1:13 PM

No doubt that series goes all 7, steal a couple in LA and that series is ours.

Posted 01/11/2010 1:21 PM

Steal a couple? All we'd need to do is steal one ;)

Posted 01/11/2010 1:25 PM

True, game one stunner should do the trick. ;)

Posted 01/11/2010 1:31 PM

Not sure I'd want to face them as the 8th seed, because I hope we could at least finish around 6th, but realistically, just making the playoffs would be amazing considering everything that has gone wrong.

And honestly, out of all the "realistic" potential 1st round matchups, outside of the Spurs right now, we face off really well with the Lakers, esp if we can get Batum and his Defense back.