Posted 02/11/2010 12:46 PM

Post-Game Thoughts
"We got our ass kicked, plain and simple," Gentry said. "They outplayed us in every phase. They outhustled us. They made good plays, good passes, everything we didn't do."

For Coach Nate McMillan, those words spoken by opposing Coach Gentry, about his team, must be music to his ears. There is no higher compliment a coach can receive than to hear about how hard his players played and the effort and hustle provided was second to none. Reports came out after the OKC loss that Coach Nate has been trying to get through to his players, but when all the yelling is coming from the coach, it has a tendency to be tuned out. Cue Juwan Howard. From the "Behind the Blazers Locker Room" series, Mr. Howard made his presence known quite well Tuesday night in the locker room, throwing and kicking the water cooler around the room and going on a tirade about their effort given was unacceptable and their recent play was only embarrassing themselves. This situation was exactly why a veteran like Howard was brought into the team as sometimes it takes an older peer to get through to the team. As surprising as his play has been on the court, Juwan has been just as amazing off of it and even if he retires, there needs to be a spot made for him in the Blazers organization.

Boy, I don't think I have been so happy to be proven wrong by my team! At least I wasn't alone in the sentiment that this game did have blowout written all over it. If the "Mikes", two of the biggest Blazer optimists, can feel that way, then the Trail Blazers really surprised us all! Although it was a bit of a "fools gold" victory, due to getting outscored in the paint, 30-48, and shooting a lights out 58.4% from the floor. The mid-range shot was just falling for our guys tonight. We only received 15 points from the foul line and nine points on three 3-pointers. If you add the free throw, points in the paint, and 3-pointers, Portland scored 54 of their 108 on those three facets of the game, meaning the other half of our points were on jump shots. In no way, shape, or form am I trying to downplay this huge win which is easily a top 5 win on the season, but fans shouldn't expect to hit all of those jump shots at such a torrid pace. I will give the Blazers credit for moving the ball around and using dribble penetration for getting a lot of those jumpers wide open. Personally, I just would have liked to see more than 19 trips to the foul line, really only 13 as the last six were Phoenix fouling in desperation.

Its really quite difficult to single one player out for the reason we got this win tonight as it was the quintessential team win, with nearly everyone having a hand in the Blazer win. One person who deserves their due on this blog is Steve Blake. I have been pretty critical of his play to date this year, but he played with a purpose and their was a lot of confidence in his decision making last night. His 20 points (7-12) and 12 assists were extremely vital in the Trail Blazer win. He got hot to start the game which gave us the chance to put Phoenix in our rear view and he had an absolute back breaking, momentum stalling three in the 4th, right after Batum's, to kick the lead back up to 13 after the Suns chopped a 22 point lead down to seven in a span of about three minutes.

Aldridge had 22 points (11-17) and 6 boards and Andre chipped in with 20 points (8-15), 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, but if there was a second game ball to give out, it goes to Dante Cunningham. The dude is just automatic from 15 feet. He shot another amazing percentage, this time going 6-7, which lead to his 13 points. He also found time to grab four rebounds, halt a fast break by swiping away a Jason Richardson lay up, get dunked on hardcore by Amare, and still had enough game to return the favor to Stoudemire with a poster of his own. When I watch him play, I can't help but thinking, "No way is he a rookie, let alone a 2nd round pick."

Official Game Photos

Box Score