Andrew Sarmiento's Blog

No miraculous 4th quarter this time. With a 103-95 loss, the Portland Trail Blazers 2010-2011 NBA season stops at 88 games. My 2010-2011 NBA season stops at 88 games. While the playoffs still offer a mouth-watering Boston-Miami series that could eventually lead to a final showdown between the Lakers and the Celtics, my post-season is over. No more missing a couple of hours of work. No more getting up early in the morning, careful not to wake up the wife from cheering at every Gerald Wallace hustle play or LaMarcus Aldridge jumper or Wesley Matthews pressure defense. No more excitement when Brandon Roy finally enters the match and anticipation during the last few minutes of the game. No more. All that is left is disappointment. Well, there is anger, sadness and frustration but disappointment is first and foremost. As a fan, I look for answers. Was it the injuries? Yes and No. Brandon's knees aren't 100% but his heart sure is. Having Greg Oden out there could've made a small difference. But for the better part of two seasons, my Blazers have lived with him not being there, beating the best teams and pulling out big wins. Well, maybe not all the ones that mattered but we competed. Every night. Was LaMarcus tired from having to carry most of the load while Brandon was gone? Maybe. Was Crash having a difficult time adjusting from being the first option in Charlotte? Did coach Nate make the right decisions? Argh. Questions, questions, and more questions. But at the end of the day, we lost 103-95 to a Dallas team that played like the 3rd seed that it is. Credit where credit is due. Dirk was magnificent. JKidd and Peja bombed us from downtown like it was nobody's business. Chandler and Marion delivered for them when needed and their 2 quick guards from the bench, Barea and Terry did what they had to do: provide instant offense and pressure. Credit where credit is due. I could whine about injuries, minutes, coaching and heck, even the TNT coverage but what's the point? Today's a new day. I am man enough to accept defeat and you know what? My Trail Blazers are too. They will bounce back from this. Rise and grind, like Wesley Matthews always says. We will be back. We have the whole summer to get better. Yes, better. Every single one will get better and stronger. And it will start with Brandon Roy.

As frustrating as it was to see him in street clothes then coming off the bench in limited minutes, I always knew in my heart that it wasn't the end of him. They said he was over. No. No chance of that. Ever. His game 3 performance was inspiring. His game 4? Well, that was legendary. And he will be back for more. Shoulders get injured. Ankles get injured. Knees get injured. But the heart? No. No chance of that. Ever. Brandon taught us a valuable lesson in faith, that we should never lose it. LaMarcus will be stronger. Wesley will be quicker. Gerald will be tougher. Andre, Marcus, Nicolas, Rudy, and everyone else will be better. They will be better players. I see Greg coming back to average almost a double double to go along with 2 swats per game. Optimistic? Yes. Realistic? You got that right. Talent is not the only thing we see when we watch games. We see hard work, determination, both individually and for each other and of course, we see heart. We will go far next season. We will not fall again in the first round.

No. No chance of that. Ever.