Not angry, upset or disappointed about this loss at all because if you looked at what the Blazers needed to do to get the W they did just about the exact opposite. Also as I’ve said before, East Coast road trips scare me because wacky things happen. Tonight was a wacky game. Philly isn’t that good and Portland is not this bad. I don’t want to say this was a perfect storm for Philly because that’s probably disrespectful and snooty but it was definitely a formula for success. They did everything it took to win the game. Flat out. Here are the reasons why I can’t be upset.
- Philly hits a season high 11 3-pointers. Yes, re-read that. Philly hit threes tonight. A lot of them. It was annoying. Who saw this coming? I guess we should have since interim coach Tony DiLeo sprinkled the Sixers with magical shooting dust when he got the job. Sike. Andre Igoudala makes 4 of them. Groan. Thaddeus Young makes 3 of them?!?! Double groan. Come on now people. It was annoying to watch but at the same time after a while I just started shaking my head and saying it was Philly’s night. I dunno how to describe the feeling but I’ll try. It’s like when you’re playing pickup and there is that football player who is really fast and strong and is unstoppable on the drive. But you and everyone in the gym knows he can’t shoot a lick. So you help off him a lot and sure enough that football player who shot a gross airball last game hits 4 three’s and all of a sudden your team is off the court losing 11-4. I’m not trying to take one cent of credit away from the Sixers but shooting isn’t their forte. It’s the opposite of their forte. 29th in the league for a reason. I said make them shoot and they made the shots, so can’t be too upset about that…but damn.
- Poor execution. Portland turned the ball over left and right. The usually solid Blazers turned it over 16 times. It doesn’t matter who you play you can’t give up the ball like that, especially not on the road. Those turnovers hurt even more when you consider how poorly the Blazers shot the ball (38% from the field, 3/13 from deep). You can see where this is going. Philadelphia’s defense is their offense and Portland gave them transition buckets by turning it over and just by missing shots. Iggy said it himself after the Sixers last game that if they get stops it makes it easier for them to run. When they run it turns into long nights. Like tonight.
- No X-Factors for the Blazers showed up. Rudy was hurt but no one stepped up to that #3 spot. B-Roy was B-Roy, LaMarcus wasn’t great but wasn’t bad…and then there was X? That’s the one thing I’m beginning to think we need the most is a consistent #3 scoring option. Bless Martell’s heart but him and consistency aren’t exactly kissing cousins. Travis is Travis and he’ll have his explosions and he’ll also have his struggles. Tonight he faced off against long, athletic defenders. Struggles. Bayless had a rookie night. Oden had a rookie night. Blake got hurt. You see where this is going.
Again, not taking credit from the Sixers because they hammered Portland from beginning to end. But I’m pretty sure Philly hitting three’s, forcing turnovers and getting stops is as close to euphoria as they’ll get. This would have been a great win and while the loss is explainable and somewhat reasonable, there is an uneasy feeling in my stomach. East Coast road trips are wacky and we face a dangerous Devin Harris led Nets team tomorrow.