I should have seen this one coming.
Personally speaking, this loss was more painful than the Orlando and Boston losses.
We might as well be truthful with each other. I can’t stand Utah and I can’t stand watching them play at home. I always have and I always will. Dating back to Stockton and Malone, through the Carlos Arroyo era. I just for the life of me have always had a passionate dislike for the Jazz. I don’t think there is a situation where I could find myself cheering for Utah. Ever. And for the life of me I can’t explain it.
Actually maybe I can.
Including tonight’s loss, since my birth the Blazers have lost 37 times in Salt Lake City. That’s 9 wins out of 46 games since I’ve been alive. I guess I just carry the wounds with me every time I see that place.
So I said all that to say this one was a tough one to swallow. It’s far from a season-killer, we’re still 15-9 but the combination of Utah comfortably being in control the majority of the game and it being Utah was just gross. I’d feel a lot better if the loss had a been a bit more competitive. C’est la vie.
(Also, apparently Turkey hates Portland. First Turkoglu, now Okur. Sheesh.)
There is a lot to calmly discuss about this game so I’ll get right to it. After the first quarter things were looking up. Okur had 11 points in the first quarter, the Jazz got 7 points from the free throw line and we’re only down by 2. This is good. And then all hell broke loose for about 2 minutes and 28 seconds and the Blazers never really recovered. I would venture to say a lot of folks would point to that sequence of events as a major back-breaker. Some will blame the officials, others will blame bad luck. It was just a rough few minutes. I’d even go as far as to say that beginning of the second quarter is where we really lost the game. Although the fact that Portland decided to leave any sort of ability to hit the three at home didn’t help. The Blazers hit 3 in the first 12 minutes and would go on to hit 3 over the next 36. Ouch indeed.
Back to the second quarter….not a good sequence to build off the first quarter. We went scoreless for the first 3 minutes and 18 seconds. What happened during that time?
- Three turnovers and a shot clock violation.
- Two missed jumpers from Channing including a three pointer.
- A flagrant foul from Channing.
- An inablity to capitalize on Utah’s turnovers.
More importantly the Jazz extended their lead to 8. Just a classic Utah run that led to a timeout, shots of Utah fans cheering and me fuming during a commerical. Except it wasn’t even a run. I was mad Brevin Knight made a jumper but I was openly expecting a Korver three. It was at that point I felt something fishy. It was probably my Debbie Downer attitude about playing in Utah but mentally I was a little defeated. When playing in that building a good start is mandatory because it is one of the toughest places to come from behind in. Tonight was a perfect example but it is not a place where a road team can get a lot of momentum going. Portland cut the lead back down to 1 but like that it was back up to 8. And then 11. And then 17. Cut it to 11. Back up to 17. And on, and on, and on.
And my heart felt a copy-and-paste of the majority of games I’ve seen the Blazers lose in Utah.
Don’t get me wrong, Utah flat out won this game. This would probably be the definition of a ‘comfortable’ win. Definitely not a blow-out but the Jazz were always in control. After the first quarter the Blazers truly threatened only once. Okur and Milsap were absolute killers. Coup pretty much called it from a mile away. Milsap always becomes extra beasty against the Blazers, and Okur went to work in the P&R. I imagine a lot of that will be coming soon in practice. Utah got to the line 30 times, converted 24 and just dictacted the pace and flow. They had a lot to do with why Portland looked out-of-sync for the majority of the game.
The Red & Black Attack got big evenings from Brandon and LaMarcus. Unfortunately no one else was there to help. Our biggest strength is our depth but our depth did not show one bit. This was one of the those nights when somebody, anybody needed to step up and hit shots but they just did not come. Los Conquistadores gave it their best effort combining for 17 points. Although it looks better on paper than it really was. Rudy’s shot was not in the building (1/6 from three) and Sergio had a PG’s worst nightmare (4 turnovers, 0 assists). Travis was apparently still reeling from the Turkoglu shot as he was nowhere to be found and Channing is on another planet right now. It was a night where the Blazers needed Steve Blake to hit threes and it was a reminder that as well as he has played, we probably shouldn’t be relying on him to hit threes in March.
Another point on Portland’s performance….a lot of settling. Not a lot of attacking going on offensively. You rarely want to attempt 8 more three-pointers than you do free throws but that’s what happened tonight. A lack of getting to the line and getting in the paint didn’t help the cause tonight.
Positive: Blazers won the battle on the boards 43-38. Yay.
More important than anything I feel a cloud of disappointment starting to hover over Rip City and I’m not sure why. Yes tonight was not a fun loss to go through even if you don’t carry the same dislike for SLC as I. But things are looking up. 1/4 way through the season and this team has shown that it’s ahead of schedule. Also good news: there are a lot of bad, bad teams in the Western Conference. 9 teams will fight for 8 spots and I have a great feeling. Some may say we’ve lost 3 out of 4. I say we’ve won 8 of our last 11. Some may point out that this is another loss to a Western Conference opponent. I say…well historically we always lose in Utah. 15-9 at this point in the season is a blessing and we should all think about that when the thoughts creep inside. I think I just sounded like a preacher but it’s the truth.
Time to sleep my bitterness towards the Jazz off.