I sure could get used to this.
The Blazers just went out and won in Miami. There’s no other way to really say it. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t uber-entertaining, it was just a win. I’m not sure how else to describe it. They built an early lead, watch it disappear but just kept battling the Heat off. Every time the Heat made a run the Blazers found a way to cut it off and in the 4th quarter the away team found ways to make big plays. Not sure about you but isn’t that the sign of a winning team? Not that the Blazers are there yet, but the fact tha they can pull wins out during this opening stage is mighty encouraging.
More importantly, I find myself still typing a few hours after the game with the same thoughts. It’s a good time to be a Blazer fan tonight. Going into this road trip I wrote about how winning 2 out of 5 should be the goal. And now the Blazers are in a position where coming home with 2 out of 5 would be a disappointment. Crazy. No doubt about it the Blazers are in the driver’s seat needing only 1 of the next 3 to bring home a winning record.
To the game, Portland clearly won the battle of the turnovers that I mentioned in the preview. Managing to only turn the ball over 12 times on the road against a team that had been forcing up to 18 is very nice. Especially when you consider the Blazers forced 17 turnovers of their own. Blake and Sergio combined for 2. Solid. The Blazers out-rebounded the Heat 40-35 and left D-Wade on an offensive island of sorts. Don’t get me wrong D-Wade went to work but he got no help at all. Beasley was all perimeter oriented. The rest of the guys who scored got the majority of their offense off of D-Wade’s playmaking ability. The three’s continue to concern me though. Which makes me wonder for the second straight game did the Blazers play good D or was the offense helping out. The Blazers locked up in the 4th quarter but it’s not too hard when D-Wade has to go it alone. Am I way off base?
For the Blazers…Rudy, Rudy and more Rudy. I can’t stand Jon Barry and couldn’t stand him even more with the constant fawning over Rudy but the man deserved it. He made some BIG shots. The three pointer before the end of the first half. The three’s in the fourth quarter. And of course the spin-move, fadeaway in Daequan Cook’s grill to put the Blazers up 98-92 (after that 96-90 stalemate) and place the nail in the coffin for Blake to hammer in. How can you not love Rudy? If Rookie of the Year wasn’t based on statistics Rudy should win it.
Everyone and their mom is going to want to talk about Oden. Not me. I’m tired of the overanalysis. I just don’t see how people can have that much to say about his performance tonight. ESPN blew his return way out of proportion, as expected. I mean the way Jamal Mashburn and Avery Johnson were breaking it down at halftime you’d have thought Oden had put up 5-6 shots and was a complete failure in the post. And while I semi-agree with their ideals that the Blazers shouldn’t run all of the offense through him, the man played 9 minutes and put up 2 shots. R-e-l-a-x. The microscope is so huge it’s almost ridiculous. I’m happy he got through the game unscatched, thrilled with the 2 blocks and just looking toward the future. Let’s allow him to get some games under his belt people. Please.
Another Travis being Travis game tonight except the shots didn’t go in. He got good looks, especially in the 4th but just couldn’t get them to fall. LMA was big in the first half. And I’ll give Sergio credit, he killed the Heat off the dribble. Certain matchups against certain teams he can really go to work. An aggressive defense like this is where Sergio can shine. One that sinks in and is going to make him shoot…not so much.
I’m done rambling though. 5-3, 2-0 on this road trip? How can you not smile if you’re a Blazer fan. And how can you not build a hate for the Blazers if you aren’t?