Jan 14

  Once again the 4th quarter does the Blazers in again. This time the defense let them down. The Suns made 9 of 17 shots in the period, but it was the timing of the shots. They were hit in key moments, most notable; after Nic Batum tied the game, Steve Nash comes down and hits a quick 3 and the Blazer could never recover from that.
  Another glaring feature was the non-existence of LaMarcus Aldridge. He only hit 1 of 2 shots in the 4th for a mere 4 points after going for 21 through 3 periods. How does he not get the ball more down the stretch especially if he's your #1 scorer? To me, that comes down to coaching. He needs to be identified early and often. And when the opposition bogs down on him he can get others involved to pick up the slack.
  If the staff is trying to campaign for him to earn a spot on the All-star roster, then they need to run the offense through him more often, especially the 4th, and especially on a national stage when the nation is watching. Even more so against a team where he should've had a field day. The coaches need to take advantage of these mismatches that favor Aldridge so he can dominate.
  They need to break this trend or they'll be looking at the #8 spot the rest of the season. I still believe in these guys, but the urgency has got to pick up soon.