Apr 3, 2013; Portland, OR, USA; Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley (11) shoots over Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard (0) at the Rose Garden. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

It was another tough night in Rip City as the Blazers extended their losing streak to 6. Portland was without LaMarcus Aldridge for the 4th consecutive game, but it was the absence of small forward, Nicolas Batum, that sucked the wind from their sails. The spiraling Blazers were absolutely embarrassed by the Grizzlies in a night of obvious mismatches and unrelenting Memphis defense.

First of all, this was not unexpected. When you start 3 rookies against a team of hardened veterans, you’re going to run into problems. Especially when they recognize your propensity for turnovers. Memphis is one of the best defensive teams in the league and it quickly became apparent that Portland was in for a rough go, as the Grizzlies had a field day in the passing lanes.

The concerning thing is that Portland did very little right. They couldn’t get stops, they couldn’t get drops, and they failed to execute the pick and roll. Most casual players are familiar with that guy playing pickup games at the local park that can’t break the defense and decides to give up and shoot 3s. Heck, sometimes it’s me! But last night it was the entire Portland team. Unfortunately, the textbook perimeter defense of Mike Conley, Tony Allen, and Tayshaun Prince proved to be too much for Portland anyway. The Blazers shot a dismal 4/29 (13.8%) from downtown in their worst 3 point display of the season since shooting 2/17 against the New Orleans Hornets on February 13th.

It didn’t help that the Grizzlies have something more to play for. The 20 point Mike Conley offensive was fueled by hopes for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, while Portland was simply trying to stem the bleeding. When it came right down to it, Memphis was bigger, faster, stronger, and they wanted it more.

So what does this loss mean for Portland? Well, they could technically make the playoffs in the same way a tortoise could technically beat a hare in a footrace, but this is no fable. There is no storybook ending where streamers dance gracefully from the rafters as if time were a dream, and Mike Barrett’s voice rings through the pure electricity of the Rose Garden Arena to announce a playoff berth. And that is OK. Portland was never supposed to get this far. The young squad will give what they have left in these next 7 games, then lick their wounds and come back stronger in the fall.

In the meantime, watch for a last minute developmental push from the rooks and hope they escape déjà vu on Friday. With any luck LaMarcus will be ready to go by then. Regrettably, Batum seems improbable at this point. The remainder of his season is up in the air until we know more about his shoulder injury. If he does not return, Victor Claver will likely remain in the starting role.

Box Score

Standings

@davidmackaypdx | @ripcityproject | davidmackaypdx@gmail.com

The Blazers meet the Thunder on January 3rd in OKC, one of the month's biggest games. Photo courtesy of the Columbian.

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2012. If you subscribe to Starz you could watch 2012 all day long. If you’re in the finals of your Fantasy Football league, good luck, I hope you don’t have Aaron Rodgers. What I’m going to do to kick off the first month of this year—which as we all know might be the last one ever—is take a look forward at the month of January as it pertains to the Blazers.

Remember, this is really the season’s first month. A few teams got in five games in December; Portland had only three. As Jamal Crawford told me following Thursday’s win, now we all know the importance of pre-season. Nobody’s looked great, not even the Blazers, that will start to change in January.

So enjoy some Sunday football, and here’s my January preview:

What Happened in December: The Blazers finish 3-0, holding home court the whole way. The team looks good, but not without a few issues, 25 turnovers, and those that tend to get overly excited too early have started to predict Portland has Conference Finals potential (I’m talking about myself).

Number of Games in January: 18

Game Breakdown: 1/1 at LA Clippers, 1/3 at Oklahoma City, 1/5 vs. LA Lakers, 1/6 at Phoenix, 1/8 vs. Cleveland, 1/10 vs. LA Clippers, 1/11 vs. Orlando, 1/13 at San Antonio, 1/14 at Houston, 1/16 at New Orleans, 1/18 at Atlanta, 1/20 at Toronto, 1/21 at Detroit, 1/23 vs. Sacramento, 1/24 vs. Memphis, 1/25 at Golden State, 1/27 vs. Phoenix, 1/30 at Utah.

Games to Watch: There are going to be plenty of big games in January. Instead of singling out one or two as specific games to watch, I going to suggest we all pay close attention to the road games. In January Portland plays at the RG only seven times. The bulk of the team’s road engagements come from a brutal six-nighter that includes back-to-backs in San Antonio and Houston and Toronto and Detroit, and a stopover in Atlanta. Toronto and Detroit should be easy wins, but they come at the end of the trip. New Orleans also might prove problematic. Coming after the tough Texas games—Portland can beat both San Antonio and Houston but historically has had very little success in those gyms—the Hornets aren’t a great team, but they have the tools to beat a team that makes the mistake of taking them for granted. Another big road game is the penultimate away game of the month taking place in Oakland. The Blazers very rarely be the Warriors, regardless of how bad that team is, and almost never win at Oracle Arena. Add to it that this will be the final night of Portland’s first of two back-to-back-to-back, and this one could be interesting.

To reach their potential (Conference Finals) the Blazers will have to get wins on the road. They haven’t won on the road yet this season—they haven’t played a regular season away game but they did lose the Utah half of their home-and-home preseason—and they better start winning outside of Portland in a hurry. There are six very very winnable road games this month (Utah, Golden State, Detroit, Toronto, New Orleans, and Phoenix). That should be the baseline. Less than six road wins is under performing. Getting one in Texas, beating the Hawks in ATL, and not losing to both the Clippers and the Thunder will be a successful road campaign for the Blazers in January.

Game of the Month: Like I said, a lot of great games this month: two meetings with the high flying Clippers, the Lakers at home, Dwight Howard as long as he stays with the Magic through the middle of the month. My pick for game of the month will happen two days from today. On January 3^rd, the Blazers roll into Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder. OKC has yet to lose in five games, and will be Portland’s chief division rival all season. The Thunder have Kevin Durant, obviously, and are the favorite pick to represent the West in the Finals. I’m not sure that I disagree with that, but I do think it’s a beatable team, having to pull a Brandon Roy to beat a hapless Mavericks team is an example of this team’s mortality. Beating Oklahoma City on their turf on the second game-night of a really tough month could set the stage for a great run for Portland. Losing, especially if they get blown out, could have the exact opposite effect.

Prediction: 11-7. I almost feel like this is a conservative estimate. But then again it could very easily be overly generous. The 11 games that I picked are a two-game sweep of Phoenix, a win at Utah, a win at Golden State, another home victory over Jimmer and the Kings, victories at Toronto, Detroit, and New Orleans, a split with the Clips, a woodshedding of Cleveland, and a win in the RG against the Lakers. That also means I’m predicting losses at home to Memphis and Orlando, losses on the road to Atlanta, Houston, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City, and a loss in Portland or LA to Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. Portland could very easily win a couple of those games that I’ve predicted they are going to lose. The high end of wins in January could possibly be 15. They could also lose a lot more.

What it All Means: It’s for real now. After three games, Portland is one of a trio of teams that are unbeaten; the other two are Miami (4-0) and Oklahoma City (5-0). More than one super pundit has that as their NBA Finals matchup. The Blazers are for real; just how for real they are will be determined in the months to come. Those months begin with this month.

email me: mike.acker1@gmail.com

Twitter: @mikeacker | @ripcityproject

Basketball's over for the Blazers, but it's not over for everybody yet. Photo courtesy of NBA All Star Wallpaper.

The 2010-11 season is over for the Trail Blazers, and because of this, Portlanders are in somewhat of an unfortunate position. There’s basketball left to play, and the Blazers won’t be playing it. I’m a fan of the Blazers first, but a fan of the NBA a very close second, and quitting pro basketball cold turkey is not in the cards for me.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that Portland’s season is over early for yet another year, and in the next day or two I’ll definitely have a season recap post. In the meantime, there’s still Playoff basketball left, and if the second round and beyond is anything like the first round it’s sure to be a barnburner. Watching basketball from here on out will be a little easier; less potential for cardiac arrest and/or deep depression based on the trials and tribulations of the Blazers. But it’s important to have some investment in games, even if it’s not the die-hard investment that someone like me has in the Portland Trail Blazers.

In order to better flesh out which team is going to be my team going forward, I’ve developed a formula of sorts that assigns a numerical value for criteria that play a key role in choosing which teams I root for when the Blazers are not involved.

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