We’re here with the Blazers debut in the Vegas Summer League today. Today is our first glimpse at Jerryd Bayless and Nicholas Batum in a Blazers uniform. Unfortunately I have a feeling in my stomach that a good size of Blazer fans are going to use this game to either put JB on a pedestal or condemn. It’s just kind of the nature of Blazer fans…some people said Oden sucked after his first game last year. So you never know.
Also on the Summer League team is the Finnish legend Petteri ‘I’m desperate to make the team’ Koponen, who supposedly has gotten a lot better. I’ll be the judge of that Mr. Pritchard.
Coup’s ready for Bayless. As Am I?
5:06: We are both in darkness…good start. To pass the time Coup asks ‘What’s more meaningless….summer league or the Home Run Derby?’ I said Summer League…the Home Run Derby was tight back in Ken Griffey Jr’s hey-day. You know it was.
5:07: Comcast and DirecTV…you can both suck it right now. You too NBA.com.
5:10: We’re finally here as Coup wishes Mike Rice was commentating this game. I ask why and get no response. Still getting no feed from NBA.com so we are box score bloggggging. Blazers up 5-4 as Petteri hits a three and Bayless is 1/2.
5:13: We’re still in darkness and are not happy about it. At least 6 of the words you’re never supposed to say on TV have been used. The box score is telling me that Petteri is playing like his life depends on it (5 pts, 2/2 shooting) and Batum is at least trying (2 rebounds, 1 TO). Meanwhile I’m hoping Nick Young takes the Julian Wright approach to Summer League.
5:14: Actually I’m just hoping I get to watch part of the game. This is awesome.
5:15: Coup unfortunately has watched the Tony Parker NBA Live 09 commercial 5 times. I meanwhile have been staring at a combination of ‘NBA SUMMER LEAGUE LIVE EVENT’ and ‘This program is not available in your area’. Awesome.
5:17: Bayless is 2/5 with 5, Petteri is 2/2 with 5 Batum is 0/3 and the Blazers are up 10-8 early.
5:19: The thoughts running through our heads right now would give the FCC a heart attack and end a censor’s career. This is ridiculous. I feel like my girlfriend just misread her pregnancy test. Ok exaggerating but you get the point, I’m not happy.
5:21: Well we have backdoored our way into a stream! Thank you Europe! Rick Kamla, Snapper on the call. Kamla is going to say Snapper at least 78 times and say at least 4 things that are going to lead to a silence in which he may get strangled. Also thanks to this stream Snapper sounds like Yoda.
5:22 6 turnovers early…SUMMER LEAGUE BALL!!
Coup with an explanation: “Apparently the games that are actually on NBA TV are shown tape delayed online” Well that is just dumb.
5:23: Kamla says “I’ll tell you this much about Batum…he’s everywhere”. Is that a back-handed compliment? Basically saying he’s trying hard but not doing much else. I like the effort though, that’s the anti-Frenchie.
5:25: Coup “Koponen has a decent arm…maybe play QB if he doesn’t work out for us”. He looks like a QB.
I also like Petteri a lot more than Sergio. Coup is pissed at Sergio for not playing in this. As am I.
5:26: Apparently the Wizards flew in on commercial right before the game. It’s a running joke between Kamla and Snapper right now. Both teams are taking tough shots and this game is ugly.
5:27: Coup: “Amusing how Kamla pronounces “snapp-ER”. Truth…not so amusing. How he’s said it 19 times in 10 minutes.
Funny exchange:
Kamla: Bayless….doesn’t have an assist on the game
Snapper: ….he hasn’t passed. You have to pass to get an assist.
Hah.
5:28: Coup takes a shot at the O-Live Board: “Some people on O-Live thought Bayless would have 8 points….HAH!!’ Some people on O-Live think this team is going to better than the 91 team. Made me want to vomit…come on now.
Coup: “Koponen kind of has the same step back as Rudy.” I agree but I can’t decide if I want to call him Petteri or Koponen neither is really easy to type. He needs a nickname.
Coup: “Bowflex should go back to Chuck Norris or whoever it was.” As long as they don’t go back to Brett Favre.
5:30: Blazers up 16-14 at the end of 1. Bayless and Petteri are dominant with 15 of the 16 points. Nick Young is nowhere to be found.
5:32: Nate says Bayless was told to shoot the ball, explaining his 1 assist. And the fact that no one else is playing worth a bleep could explain it.
5:36: It has to be awesome to be Nate McMillan right now. The Olympic team, the Blazers…just good to be him. Coup says it’s about 1,000,000,000 times better than being Mike Dunleavy Sr. That is true. Touche.
5:38: Washington is up 22-21 this game is just busted up. Kamla and Snapper take the time to rip on Steven Hill’s beard. Kamla tries to make a little Portland joke but Snapper puts it away with “Not all mountain men reside in Portland” Boo-yah. Oh my god I said boo-yah?
5:40: Coup “I like that Bayless draws fouls, even against these guys it’s a good trait to have. Passing not too efficient though.”
Me: Man…Nick Young does not want to be there.
Coup: Oh I’m sure he wants to be there, just not in that gym
5:41: Kamla is obsessed with the fact that we don’t have an assist. Ok we get it. Washington’s up 24-23 with 5:44 left in the half.
5:42: Yes Sue Bird I expect great from you. Coup agrees that her commercial is much better than the earlier ones. Not sure why they didn’t just have her do them all. It’s Sue Bird!!!
5:43: Bayless with a great left hand finish. Kamla called it sexy. Coup called it Monta Ellis-esque. I’d agree with the following.
5:45: A lot of talk about Dee Brown…no one remembers that Brown was better than Deron Williams? No one? Batum with a smooth three-ball. He’s so French.
5:46: We like how Bayless is attacking the basket. He can get to the free throw line and that is big time.
5:48: We lost track of Batum….
Coup: Is Batum even on the floor?
Me: Negative.
*he catches the ball*
Me: I lied. There he is.
Coup: Missing.
5:50: Blazers up 32-29 with 2:14 left in the first half.
5:53: Petteri takes a three from 3 feet behind the NBA arc. Why? This is not Finland?!?! Meanwhile McGee looks like Goofy. Literally. Coup says it’s a wasted pick and I agree.
5:55: Nick Young makes a three. He has a pulse!!! Koponen is making me smile, he reminds me of Sergio but I like Koponen more than Sergio. Coup points out that Sergio can’t shoot. Koponen promptly bricks a free throw short.
5:58: Coup knows its early but he is officially convinced on Bayless as he attacks and gets to the line once again.
5:58: Dee Brown just crossed Koponen about 8 times but missed the floater. Washington is up 37-36 at halftime.
Coup: “He’s doing the only thing a guard can show me something real in summer league…continually going to the hole and drawing fouls. Passing needs work (from what I can tell he passed like, 3 times).”
Can you really blame him? Kudos to the Blazers for putting together a team of guys who don’t jack up a bunch of shots.
At the half…Bayless has 17 (4/8 shooting, 9/11 from the line), Koponen has 6 (missed his last 4 shots) and Batum has 3 (one three-ball but has looked way more active than any Frenchie should). Blatche has 11 for Washington, Nick Young has 8 and showed flashes of wanting to play basketball right now.
6:09: Bayless is so aggressive. He’s not looking to pass at all so I guess that’s a setback
but he is penetrating. Batum is the opposite. He just kind of floats around the perimeter. Dorsey and Arthur for this guy?
Coup: “I’ll give Batum a year. He’s never really got the playing time to develop the right attitude on court.”
I still think we gave Dorsey and Arthur away. At least we didn’t draft McGee. Anytime your mom can take you to the basket you got issues.
6:14: Blazers have scored one point so far in the third a Bayless free throw. Koponen with a nice midrange pullup. Sergio…you need to get one of those my friend.
6:16: Coup “McGee is a little repetitive of Blatche.” I think I hate McGee.
6:17: Coup “Damn..Bayless getting some star calls already.” I like it.
6:18: Koponen with a nice drive and dish to Josh Davis and Nick Young answers with a 3. Washington is up 2 with 5 minutes left.
6:19 Veermenko from Washington may have ended his professional basketball career by stumbling, missing a wide open fast break lay in, getting his own rebound and almost missing the putback.
6:20: Hmm…my love for Petteri is fading. He jumped in the lane and turned it over so I wonder if he’s just Sergio with a jumper?
Coup “Yeah he’s pretty jumpy in the lane too, doesn’t have too many different speeds. Takes the same dumb shots like that one, except I actually think Koponen can make them. And I know Rudy is going to take some dumb shots, and I know he can make them.”
6:21: Kamla just ranted about fingerolls, George Gervin and Clyde Drexler for about 2 minutes. Coup “Kamla needs to shut the hell up.” I agree.
Coup “I want to know what Chauncey learned from Better Basketball”
Me: How to get a paycheck.
6:24: Washington is up 51-45 with 2:23 left in the 3rd.
6:25: Batum is so frail and so French. I’m afraid he’s going to get a bruise doing the bench press. Coup: “You can say the same about Durant…except he can’t actually do the benchpress. Too easy.”
6:28: Coup “Double teaming Bayless in summer league? Damn?” Indeed.
Coup “Batum out for the year” Hahahaha. He’s so freakin’ French.
Coup “Pretty much every one of our guards minus Sergio has a solid to great step back J.” Very true. Also true…all of our guards like to shoot. Never thought about that…..ew.
6:31: Washington is up 53-51 at the end of three. Bayless has 22 no one else is in double figures.
6:35: Bayless goes and swats a shot off the backboard. Might have been a goaltend but psh….Coup “Ohhhh…..SNAP! Bayless got ups!!”
6:36: Blatche just hit a stepback three. Coup has no words for that. Neither do I. Only in Summer League. Blazers down 62-53 as no one not named Bayless can do anything offensively.
6:37: Coup “Since when is Dominic McGuire an up and comer?” Uhhhh he’s young? That’s all I got. Anyone else want to answer this?
6:39: Kamla says he’s been carrying Snapper through the broadcasts jokingly. Oh no he didn’t.
Coup “He will never make it out of Vegas now.”
6:42: Washington up 64-61 with 5 minutes left in the game.
6:46: Koponen ties it up with a three-ball from the top of the key. Coup “Buuuuuuckets!” Take that Sergio. That should have been you!!
(Sidenote…what exactly is he doing? He’s not with Spain? He’s not playing Summer League? What is he doing?)
6:49: McGuire knocks down two free throws to put the Wizards up by two. It is Bayless Time? Nope…it’s KOPONEN TIME!!! Three ball to put the Blazers up one.
(He desperately needs a nickname)
Coup: “Goodbye Sergio….Sergio for David Lee DO IT! Don’t care if we have 8 power forwards!”
6:50: If we could we should. That was a major league shot. Washington turns it over, Bayless gets to the line and makes one of two. McGuire gets another easy layup to tie the game.
6:52: They double Bayless, deny Koponen, somehow Josh Davis finds Bernard Robinson and he does the veteran up-fake and he gets fouled by McGee. Only makes one of two…69-68 Portland with 46.3 seconds left. I’m actually impressed with the fact that Bayless is D’ing up Young….kind of.
Coup: “We both know with most these guys it just depends on effort…and we both know Bayless thinks he has something to prove.”
6:55: Bayless almost turns it over but gets the ball and finishes the bucket….and one. And he screams. Can you say chip on the shoulder? Bayless is nice.
Coup: “I love the contact Bayless forces.” I do as well…he’s not just a gunner. People are going to talk about the lack of assists but I’m happy with the fact that Bayless can attack and get to the line and create his own offense.
Bayless misses a free throw but we get the ball back.
Monty Williams “Petteri….what are you doing?” Oh Monty…taking this so serious.
6:57: Josh Davis at the line and he makes both. Blazers up 5. Monty Williams is barking instructions.
6:58: JaVale McGee with a three-ball?!?! What?!?!??! Blazers up 73-71, 12.3 seconds left and Bayless going to the line. He makes both, Blazers up 75-71 and Washington calls timeout.
6:59: “Jump Around” plays and well…lets just say Coup is happy. “Yes House of Pain.” They need to play some Snap!
7:00: Nick Young kicks his leg out and gets a foul. Not a good call at all but Robinson shouldn’t of jumped at him like he was Jerome Kersey. Young with three shots. Makes the first, misses the second…wait…wait…where’s Sheed?
Sheed: BALL DON’T LIE!
Thanks. He makes the third. Blazers up 75-73, 6.3 seconds left and Bayless is going back to the line. Kamla says that Bayless’ line doesn’t make any sense….yes it does. He’s gone to the line a bunch.
Coup: “How does that not make sense Kamla? Sigh…”
7:02: Bayless misses the second free throw, Maric gets the rebound and immediately shoots (WHAT?!?!?) but gets blocked by McGee. Or as Snapper called it a smotherjob. We get it back and Bernard Robinson puts 2 more in to ice it. Blazers win 78-73
Coup: “Impressive start for the Bayless.”
Yes indeed. Can’t go wrong with 28 points and getting to the line 23 times. He shot 5/12 which isn’t bad at all. Ignore the lack of assists people, we only had 4 as a team and there were only 15 in the game.
Koponen was also impressive. 19 points, 4/6 from behind the arc, some nice dishes and looked in control.
Coup: “Koponen can be an immediate upgrade over Sergio. Looks like he has good instincts, played the pick and roll alright.”
And Batum….well Batum is just French. He was very tentative tonight and then he hurt himself. His career may be over. Sike. He has the smoothness of a Frenchie but he showed some effort so I should give him some time.