This is starting to get pretty annoying.
That ‘this’ I spoke of is the Blazers’ inability to beat the Phoenix Suns. After last night’s loss the Blazers have now dropped 11 straight against Phoenix, 9 straight in the US Airways Center and 17 of their last 19 over the last 4 years. Yes, you read that right. Let’s put it this way, the day after the Blazers last win in Phoenix the CIA admitted there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Yeah….it’s been a while. Watching the Suns go on their runs is just painful and annoying and I’m personnally glad the Blazers are done playing at Phoenix.
Had to get that out of my system.
To the game…Two key spurts that gave Phoenix the win. The first was the Suns backbreaking response to Portland taking the lead midway through the third. A response that won them this game. I like to call what they did the classic Phoenix Suns run. It tends to involve a lot of three pointers. I was hoping that D’Antoni took that with him to the Big Apple but no luck. Steve Blake hits a three to put Portland up 56-54. And let’s not forget this was a significant bucket as it took place right after a Phoenix timeout and Amare bucket. Things were defintely looking up. And then the Suns just took it to a different gear thanks to Steve Nash. Watching the Blazers in Phoenix is almost like a romantic comedy at this point. You know they are breaking up at some point over something silly and you know Phoenix is getting that run. Sure enough, over the next three minutes of that quarter the Suns outscored the Blazers 14-3, getting 4 three pointers, 2 from Bell, 1 from Barnes and a classic from Nash. Not to mention a dunk from the Diesel.
(Speaking of the Diesel. Hot damn. Message sent to you Oden. All I’m saying. He’s still got it.)
Sometimes all it takes is one good run to build a cushion and take a game and that’s what Phoenix got last night. It’s crazy to think about it but basically 2:55 minutes of basketball is what pretty much decided the game. The Blazers played the Suns even before then (56-54) and played them even after that (33-34) but the Suns got that run and won the game. Not only that but the Suns turned the ball over 18 times, the Blazers got 17 offensive rebounds and only turned it over 9 times. Statistically speaking, add some made buckets to that 38.5% and it’s a different story. Just thought that was interesting to point out. I’m sure there are some Blazer fans who are calling for Nate’s head and groaning that the Blazers ‘can’t put together a full 48’. They should be stricken by lightning.
The second key spurt, and this may just be my personal opinion but I’m looking at the beginning of the second quarter. The whole second quarter was rough offensively (9-for-22 with 4-5 missed free throws) but the beginning was painful, only scoring 5 points in the first 8 minutes of the quarter. Thankfully Phoenix was unable to extend the lead past double-digits but looking back the Blazers were right there until they couldn’t put the ball in the basket. It’s difficult to overcome those kind of droughts and pull out a W on the road.
(Also interesting to point out, all summer everyone (well me) talking about how the Suns were going to be deeper and were going to have something resembling depth. And then they play all their main guys 25+ minutes and get a team win from the 7 guys who were ran into the ground last year.)
Offensively the Blazers were *Rick James voice* cold blooded. Roy & Blake carried the show. LaMarcus showed up for a bit but other than that. Ew. The rest of the team shot 11-for-37 (29.7%). Enough said. A lot of three-point attempts from Portland (34). Anytime you attempt near twice as many three’s as you do free throws, there’s some settling going on. I’m just saying.
All and all, not too down after this loss. My feeling is it is just a blip on the radar screen and not a trend. Yet. The Blazers are not deep enough in the season for people to begin getting on the ‘We can’t beat good Western Conference teams on the road’ bandwagon. This is more than likely a different story in March but for now it’s ok. Plus the Blazers haven’t won in Phoenix since 2004. Clearly some sort of curse that will not be exercised this year. Turn some Jay-Z in the headphones, brush the dirt of your shoulders and onto the Kings.