I’m very tempted to go on a rant. There were plenty of things in this game that were irritating/annoying, and it didn’t help things that I had to watch the Warriors broadcast and they said the name Anthony Morrow about 127 times. We could all bitch and moan about the refs, how nobody calls lane violations or technical fouls (for arguing) in the closing moments of a tight game. There’s just nobody that does that. Or how Corey Maggette put on his best Mark Madsen impression and flopped everytime Aldridge breathed on him, or simply how inconsistent they were in terms of letting them play and calling it tight (see the Rudy “holding” call on the inbounds against Morrow for example). Frankly, we’d all have a good case. But even though a win against Golden State would hardly be stealing one, the Blazers have nobody to blame but themselves.
21 turnovers isn’t going to cut it against a run-and-gun team, nor is 20-of-29 from the free-throw line. The Blazers make five more free throws, or commit three or four less turnovers, and this game is at least going into overtime. There were too many nice ideas but poor passes, like Oden throwing to a cutting Sergio in the lane for a turnover, or someone throwing a ball to a cutting Oden around his ankles. Couple the untimely poor decisions with near-perfect free-throw shooting from the Warriors and some hot shooting from Anthony Morrow, and you have yourself a loss.
Now, all that being said, there were still some very good things from the Blazers tonight, like keeping themselves in the game while on the road despite a couple double-digit deficits. They passed the ball well and, at times, played some excellent defense. Sure, C.J. Watson got in for a free layup or two and Stephen Jackson hit that silly-tough turnaround over Brandon, but the Blazers were getting their hands on loose balls and rebounding well. The biggest problem was that the Warriors were able to exploit their small-on-big matchups on offense, while the Blazers found themselves at the disadvantage of being so much bigger with the ball that any attempt to use that size in the post resulted in an offensive foul.
This was a frustrating loss if only because the Blazers executed some things so well and the Warriors, as a team, can be irritants. But it’s also a loss that makes sense because of obvious mistakes on Portland’s end and enough big shots from Golden State. That’s a tough arena to win at, especially at the end of a lengthy road trip, and the Blazers showed enough poise to keep things close and stay away from the trappings of small ball. Basically, they don’t get a W, but Nate’s got plenty of ammo for their next film session.
Some other notes:
-Where are all the Oden haters going to be in the morning? The big guy was very good tonight, not great, but very good. He actually could have had 26-28 points rather than 22 if he hadn’t had a few balls stripped, but offensively he couldn’t have done much more. And he played 30 minutes at a fairly high tempo, so it seems fair to say he’s getting his legs back. Defensively I thought he left a little to be desired, which I say only because I know he can be a factor on every shot in the paint, and when he sits back on a small guard’s layup, I can’t help but think he could’ve been right there on top of it. He does need to make quicker decisions when he gets the ball in the post, but Greg countered his bad decisions with some B-E-Autiful two-man sets with Roy and Rudy. I’ll stop here and just say that games like tonight make me want to knock on the doors of the national media members who hated on him after the Lakers game and say, “What now, Sucka”.
-Wake me when Anthony Morrow becomes something other than a jumpshooter. Or at least creates a shot he could make three in a row of. He just looks like he’s going to be a very streaky player unless he adds to his game — sort of a less talented Jamal Crawford. Though, for an undrafted player, he’s a pretty damn good steal, but the love being thrown his way needs to be taken down a level. Let’s see what he’s doing in three weeks.
-Sergio played very well and deserved to be in at the end over Steve Blake. It’s early, and Blake certainly didn’t play poorly, but I’m starting to smell a bit of a controversy. Who’d of thunk Jerryd Bayless wouldn’t be involved in something like that?
-Did Brandon look a little off to anyone? Maybe seeing him go 5-of-8 at the line was all it was, but this didn’t feel like his A game.
-Hard to fault Aldridge for a couple bogus calls, but he didn’t need to go for that charge for his sixth foul. He could’ve made a big impact on this one given the defensive personnel, but he never got anything going. Nothing to be too worried about, but it was interesting how we were going to Oden in the post over Aldridge when the two of them were on the court.
-There will be some people requesting to trade Outlaw tomorrow morning for some of the shots he took. There will also be people youtubing his dunk.
-Batum is doing very well with what is asked of him, but you have to wonder what’s going to happen to him when Martell comes back. Speaking of Martell, if he was having one of his good defensive nights, I doubt Morrow goes off like that.
-If you are going to complain about Mike Barrett and Mike Rice being homers, try watching other team’s broadcasts on leaguepass. It’s amazing how many crews out there have me reaching for the mute button.
Chi-town in the Rose City tomorrow, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t see a heavy dosage of Aldridge and Oden.