I feel like I have to get the remnants of that Boston stank off me. Bear with me for a second. I just feel like I have to get it off my chest. Kind of like the morning after a night of heavy drinking and you’re nauseous, but not to the point where your body makes you throw up…except you say F it and just walk to the bathroom and make yourself puke. That’s what I’m doing right now. Gotta get it out of my system.
Here’s what we learned Friday night:
- Portland’s not ready to play 48 minutes of championship caliber basketball.
- Boston is pretty dang good.
- Glen Davis actually is a Big Baby.
And that’s really all I got. Anyone disagree? It’s ok that Portland isn’t ready to play a full 48 minutes of championship level basketball in December. No one could have…or correct me, no one should have expected that. Does it mean the sky is falling and the roster needs to be overturned and Nate is terrible? Absolutely not. It means the Blazers have things they need to work on. Sure unfortunate it took a second national thrashing, because those are never fun but c’est la vie. It’s fine if all the national people want to say the Blazers aren’t ready and downplay them..because for one they are right. And secondly, they will be the first ones in line to build them back up after a few wins. Imagine the crowning had the Blazers won. Exactly.
And that’s it. Burying it because there’s nothing else to be gained from it.
Tomorrow the learning process continues as the Blazers wrap up this East Coast Swing with a game against Toronto. The Raptors are a team in disarray. This will be the second game under new head coach Jay Triano, who I believe may pay dividends down the line this season. I’m just hoping the Raptors don’t get an emotional re-charge from their fans and their new coach and start the healing process against Portland. The Raptors have shockingly only played 4 Western Conference opponents prior to this game. A home win against Golden State was the high. The lows? Three blowout losses on the road against the Lakers (99-112), Nuggets (93-132) and Jazz (87-114). And all three of those losses took place this week.
Toronto cannot be underestimated. Chris Bosh still has a pulse so any thoughts of a steam-rolling should go to waste. And plus we should all remember what happened last year in Toronto when Bosh went to work (38 and 14) and the Raptors stole a crazy one in OT. Also positive about Toronto…they shoot the three-pointer well (39.1%, 4th best in the league) which is of course a shot the Blazers give up easily. Kapono is shooting over 50% with Bargnani, Calderon and Anthony Parker over 40%. On the negative side…they cannot play defense. They give up 102 points a game and team shoot 47% from the field against them. Damn Gina, indeed.
Keys to success:
- Contain Chris Bosh, contain Chris Bosh, contain Chris Bosh, contain Chris Bosh, contain Chris Bosh. He scores 35-40 than anything is possible and it’s probably not looking to good for the Blazers. Be physical with him.
- For that matter…dont let anyone else get hot. If any of their shooters can get their mojo going alongside Bosh, things won’t be so fun.
- Execute offensively for good shots and don’t settle. Toronto may be allergic to defense, but do not settle for any shot. They may not be able to punish you for poor offensive possessions like an LA or Boston but let’s make some progress.
- Take the crowd out early. The Raptor fans can be crazy, passionate and rock your socks off. They can also disappear. Make them disappear. You cut off the energy of a crowd from a struggling team like Toronto and it could be a trip to Blowout City.
This is a very winnable game for Portland but more importantly we as fans will find out a bit more about this team. Winning teams are able to bounce back quickly. We’ll see if the Blazers have a hangover or if they come out on a mission to take care of business. And I know Coup is excited to have his boy Martell back in the lineup. It will be interesting to see how he looks out there.