Playoff Recap: Roy pours in 42 as Blazers defeat Rockets 107-103; Mutombo out for remainder of playoffs
by Tom Martin on Apr 22, 2009 1:23 AM CDT
in Game Recaps
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PrintThere is too much to say. So I made a list of things I feel like talking about.
- The State of the Series
- Brandon Roy
- Yao Ming
- Free Throw Shooting
- Joel Przybilla
- Officiating
- Dikembe Mutombo
- Everything else
- It would be nice to take two on the road, but one win is good enough. I don't see us losing at home against Portland. Not once. We won a game in their place by a healthy margin, and then followed that up with a close loss in which Yao Ming took a mere six shots. Coming into the series, I wrote that if we were able to snag a single win in the Rose Garden, we would be set. To expect the Rockets to win two games in a row on the road in this series would be ludicrous; the Garden is one of the hardest (if not the hardest) road venues in the Western Conference, so I will take my Game 1 win and be perfectly satisfied. The Blazers have gone 0-2 in Houston in this season, and one of those games was played as recently as April 5th. For the Rockets to come as close as they did to winning two games against the Blazers with the disadvantage, I just can't see them losing at home to the same team when they have the advantage. We were a much better home team than road team this season, and having home court advantage was going to make a difference no matter who we played. Now that we have essentially swung that advantage in our favor (3 games in Houston to 2 games in Portland), we certainly have a reason to expect a victory in this series. I'm not convinced that a young team like Portland will be able to deal with the kind of noise that arises in Toyota Center once the playoffs roll around. It's going to be nerve-racking for them, and while I don't think that it will be the biggest difference in the world, it will certainly matter. To summarize, Houston is sitting pretty. It could be prettier, but it's a fine spot to be in nonetheless.
- Sometimes, Brandon Roy is just going to get his. Brandon can certainly shoot the ball well, but over the first two games of this series, it has been his ability to get to the basket and finish that I have been most impressed with. He was assertive in the lane, and the result was a 10 for 12 night from the free throw line. While I do not necessarily agree with some of the foul calls that Roy received in his favor, he should not be discredited in any way for driving hard to the rim (though his "agh!" yell can get quite annoying sometimes). It's tough to decide if Battier and Artest really did such a bad job defending Roy. In fact, rarely do Rockets fans levy any criticism against the defensive performance of White Pills. Tonight is no different. When I saw Artest or Battier guarding Roy, they fought hard to stay with him, and on occasion, Roy made some incredible shots against good defense. So hustle is not a problem. I think that the method by which we guard Brandon could improve. We had trouble dealing with screens from Przybilla and Oden, and Roy was able to get free for a few seconds and knock down a shot. Maybe it's time for us to place even more attention on Roy, because he was the reason why Portland won. He and......ugh, I'm trying so hard not to say it!
- Yao Ming took six shots? Yup, our best player only took six shots. Weak sauce. I understand fronting, and I understand the double team and whatnot, but for Yao to only get six shots off is a travesty. At times, it didn't even seem like we were trying to get the ball to Yao. Ron Artest held his nightly Dribblethon on a few possessions when Yao was open for a pass, and Aaron Brooks started picking out teammates before the drive and left himself with some difficult passes that could have been made easier by looking for Yao. Rest assured, Yao will not be held to single-digit shots in the next to games of this series. I guarantee you that the first three to four possessions of Game 3 will go through Yao, and I sincerely hope that he shoots the ball every time he touches it. The trouble with Yao is not what happens when he receives the ball, but instead figuring out how to get it to him. Once he touches it, he can let it fly as often as he wants.
- Free throws absolutely killed us. There isn't much more to say. Luis Scola only went 2 for 6 from the charity stripe, and four other guilty parties missed at least one of their free throw attempts. We ended the night at a lowly 68%. We can't afford to shoot poorly from the line. Of all of the advantages that we have over other teams, free throw shooting may be the most subtle and overlooked. However, free throws have the potential to come back and screw us if we blow our opportunities. They go from being a big advantage to an unnecessary disadvantage. I can recall only one game in which we shot terribly from the free throw line and still managed to win on the road, and that was the Denver game. Nights such as tonight prove that Denver was just an exception to the rule.
- Joel Przybilla has just been added to my 'hate' list. You thought Mehmet Okur was bad? Andrei Kirilenko? Matt Harpring? Anderson Varejao? Nope, none of them compare to the Vanilla Gorilla himself, the newly crowed "King of the Floppers." Apparently, Przybilla isn't as strong or as powerful as some claim him to be. From the looks of it, a light shove to his back sends him flying into the air like he's just been electrocuted, flailing arms and all. For example, Kyle Lowry puts his palm on Przybilla's back and gives him a little shove without extending his arms at all during a rebound. To this, Joel suddenly flies into the air like a bat, falls onto the floor, and just for kicks, rolls around like he just flew off a motorcycle. Then he sits up and holds his hands in the air as if he feels cheated with not being rewarded for his acting job. Then, late in the third quarter, Joel is boxing out Yao Ming when a ball flies in his vicinity. Yao gives him a light shove, as do all big bodies during a box out, and Joel hits the deck as if we're back in the Cold War preparing for the bomb to strike. I watched the replay a hundred times: the arm movement that Yao made wasn't even close to being enough to knock anyone down to the ground, and especially not a big guy like Joel. Vanilla Gorilla, you have just been added to my hate list for being a huge sissy. If you want to attract foul calls, do it the right way by taking a charge. Your teammate Brandon Roy tried it, and although he was in the circle, I give him props for doing it the right way. You, on the other hand, are a joke.
- 1...2...3... The officiating was horrendous, laughable, and reminded me of those cheap pick up league rent-a-refs. But it was that way for both teams. Right from the start, the referees made this their game. They took away the playoff atmosphere and turned it into a regular season game. They didn't leave room for intensity or hustle or heart. And even worse, on many occasions, they missed easy calls that cost both teams valuable possessions. I will say that on four or five instances, Joey Crawford, Ed Malloy, and Derrick Stafford made calls against the Rockets that were tough decisions to make and could have gone either way. But what angered me the most about this officiating crew was that they factored the fans' reaction to calls into future decisions. I know that "make-up" calls exist, but give me a break. Crawford called a reach-in on Batum in the first quarter, and the crowd went nuts (and rightfully so). So as a result, Yao gets called for a bogus bump on Przybilla, and then Aaron Brooks becomes victim to one of the worst calls I've ever seen (he dove for a ball, is bumped by Blake while Blake is shuffling to get to the ball, and then Brooks is called for the foul). How about you just hold the whistle? There should have been at least 10 less fouls than were actually assessed in this game. How about that call on Kyle Lowry at the end for "tripping" Rudy Fernandez? Players get their feet mixed up - it's part of the game. Since when do petty fouls such as that get called with under a minute left in a playoff game. Absolutely ridiculous. Horrible, horrible officiating. It's not why we lost, but I can't deny that it was a factor.
- Make no mistake - losing Dikembe Mutombo is a big deal. It was a difficult sight to see Deke roll over in pain after injuring his knee while trying to keep up with Greg Oden. It was even more frustrating to see him called for a foul when he simply fell to the ground (I couldn't resist). But really, Deke's loss creates a big gap in our center depth and will make it more difficult to match up with Oden, Przybilla, Aldridge, and Frye. However, I'm confident that we can get the job done with the remaining guys we have. It will just be more difficult, especially since our spiritual leader on the court is now gone. Update: Dikembe is calling it a career.
Three Up:
Ron Artest - His stats lie. Take off about 4 of those three point misses, as they came either from half court at the end of a quarter or on a last-second shot before the shot clock ran out. Otherwise, Ron had a pretty solid game and carried us in the beginning. He lost some steam on offense during the second half and took some bad shots, but we all kind of expect that by now.
Von Wafer -- Excellent game for Von tonight. He was attacking, he was efficient, he shot his free throws well, and he single-handedly kept us in the game in the third quarter. Big ups to Von for showing up tonight.
Kyle Lowry -- The Bulldog drew four fouls by himself in about a seven minute span. This ended up putting Oden and Przybilla in foul trouble late in the game, and even if we lost, the attitude that Lowry brought to the court was exactly what we needed at the time. He played as well as he could have, and he also hit a big three pointer in the fourth.
Three Down:
Carl Landry -- We simply need more from him than 5 minutes and 4 points.
Shane Battier -- Same goes for Battman. 2 shots won't cut it.
Yao Ming -- I've already explained it, really.
Stats of the Night:
Terrible free throws.
Portland had 7 blocks to our 1 block.
Portland out-rebounded us 36-35
We only had 12 assists on offense
We only forced 5 turnovers
Foul count: Houston 28, Portland 26
Yao Ming: 6 shots
Brandon Roy: 15-27 from the field.
Next Game: Friday vs. Portland. Should be a good one.
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Aaron Brooks
WTF dude……
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
I wish he had shot like that during the part of the game in which we still had a shot to win.
The Dream Shake - Where Brooks > Alston happens.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
Dude Greg Oden is a bitch for ending Dikembo's career.
Greg Oden should lock himself in a room for the shame he’s caused. He is not only one of the lamest, untalented, draft-floppers, but now has also earned the title of ending the career of a certain Hall of Famer, one of the only remaining old school players, someone with dignity and grace, both of which Oden has none.
Do you know where the highest rate of cancer is in the United States.
It’s called the Inland Empire. It’s because they have to breath your hot air.
by staylost on Apr 22, 2009 4:04 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
ENEMY ALERT !!!
Feeling Oden envy? It’s natural when you only have a Bynum. So far his playoff PER is like what? Half of Oden’s? Have fun barely beating the Jazz. Phil thinks your team sucks lately.
staylost, honestly you should just shut up and go back to ur blazer blog
by suns_all_the_way on Apr 22, 2009 4:23 AM CDT up reply actions
go back to your laker blog
nice trick with the name dumbass
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 4:30 AM CDT up reply actions
you cant honeslty say youd rather have oden over bynum
like cmon? seriously?? they both have injury probs, and bynum has put up better numbers on a team with more scorers. And im pretty sure 12 min, 6 fouls, 4 pts is not a good playoff PER. Bynum meanwhile isnt needed as much because the Jizz dont have okur and they are the jizz
Game 1 108-81 Rockets
Game 2 107-103 Blazers
Series tied 1-1
by TexasHoosier on Apr 22, 2009 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions
I would seriously rather have Oden
This is why. The playoffs. When the kiddie gloves come off and people are allowed to play.
Yeah he still fouls-but that will go away. This is still his first (quasi rookie) year. He has to learn all the veteran tricks and how to fight them.
He might never be as offensively gifted as Bynum but he’s gonna be a MONSTER on defense with all the boards/blocks.
Can someone please explain to me why Bynum doesn’t get an “injury prone” label by the media though? Didn’t he have the exact same knee problem last year? Oden has had his share of problems and yeah the first one cost him a year but aside from that his injuries have been different and not recurrent.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
wanted to add one thing
the man is real efficient even though he fouls like a motherfucker for the time being.
but once he gets more comfortable with his post microfracture body and playing under the NBA lights, I think he’s gonna explode.
If you had to go GO of this season vs Drew from this season—that’s a no brainer, you go with drew every day of the week and twice on sunday. if you’re going career wise—i’ll go with oden over the playboy.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
You kinda made my point for me
Bynum is already ahead of oden in terms of development on the offensive end. They are both playing in their first playoffs and they are basically the same age (bynum is 4 months older). Bynum averages more points, blocks, and assists. Bynum also gets points outside the paint.
You say that oden still has the learn “all the veteran tricks and how to fight them,” well so does bynum and what makes you think that oden will surpass bynum if bynum is already better and they are the same age, and bynum is playing with better people around him which will make him better, look at rondo.
Game 1 108-81 Rockets
Game 2 107-103 Blazers
Series tied 1-1
by TexasHoosier on Apr 22, 2009 2:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Bynum has had 3 seasons to learn his offensive moves.
This is Oden’s first season in the NBA and he ain’t that far behind Bynum in skill level. In two years i think you’ll see Oden finally dominating games
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
Oden has dominated Bynum each time they've played
Bynum has gotten his stats against Przybilla, but been shut down by Oden.
draft dejuan blair
Irh86 pretty much made my point
This is the same reason the MIP award isn’t often given to a 2nd year player. I hate the comparisons, but look at how Durant improved after his 1st year. The list goes on and on with people who made the jump.
You bring up a good point: given everything, Bynum will ALWAYS have 3 seasons of NBA experience more than Greg and he wont be older for it (aside from a little wear and tear).
Still, I think Bynum’s on a more shallow part of the improvement curve than Greg. Greg should improve quite a bit next year. Bynum should get a lot better but it shouldn’t (note shouldn’t not wont) be as big of a jump.
Players still improve a lot in their 3rd and 4th year, but Oden still has those ahead of him too!
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
LOL yeah oden sure have good years ahead of him granted if his knees doesn’t premature ages like his face
by o_oholycrap on Apr 22, 2009 10:15 PM CDT up reply actions
I'd like to see Oden get Yao non-calls
Lets revers it a bit. Say Artest drives the lane jumps into Oden. Oden leaves his feet & knocks Artest to the ground. Thats a foul every time right?
Not so much the case when Roy jumps into Yao. Yao leaves his feet & knocks Roy to the ground. Thats happened what 8 times in this series so far, & all no calls.
by DephlatorMouse on Apr 24, 2009 5:42 PM CDT up reply actions
wow..
bynum would wreck the shit outta oden. everyone knows it.
by Rockets 4 Life on Apr 23, 2009 9:24 PM CDT up reply actions
rofl oden envy???? envy of what? big bust?? kevin durant 500x better than oden
by o_oholycrap on Apr 22, 2009 10:14 PM CDT up reply actions
I'm not your dude, buddy
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 4:17 AM CDT up reply actions
I'm not your guy, chief.
It takes a big man to walk away, but a bigger man to break his freaking jaw!
I"m not your chief, amigo
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
I'm not your father, little child.
Sorry, channeled Sean Kemp there.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
- from Quick's Behind the Blazers Locker Room Door, 4/16/09
you stole my sig
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 5:19 PM CDT up reply actions
I added it immediately after reading it a few days ago when it was first published. I don’t recall seeing it on yours until now… who stealing what now? Oh yeah, this guy is stealing.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
- from Quick's Behind the Blazers Locker Room Door, 4/16/09
The kind that make you shoot 6-9 from 3 and break the rookie record.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 5:36 PM CDT up reply actions
i like how this is all about oden and bynum when it should be about the series.
"We don't need refs, but i guess white guys need something to do."- Charles Barkley
by Rockets 4 Life on Apr 23, 2009 9:44 PM CDT up reply actions
Greg Oden, slayer of legends
Who are you kidding? It was unfortunate, and I’m really sad (as expressed yesterday while the game was still ongoing several times) that this likely will end the amazing career of Mt. Mutombo, one of my favorite players of all time. If Yao or Oden can ever be that durable, watch out.
That stop and go by Roy is straight sick. I'm calling him "The Flu" from now on. - Wendell Maxey
Watching the game in the arena, I will admit, I really thought Oden took him out...
Never thought it was a cheap shot, but I thought Oden was the cause of the injury…
watching the replay over and over again, it was just an unfortunate injury. Part of the game. I hate to see it happen, particularly to a great person like Deke.
Goodbye Deke. The NBA will miss Mt. Mutombo
Support families in crisis in Portland www.give10tell10.org
You serious? You can't REALLY be serious about that.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
- from Quick's Behind the Blazers Locker Room Door, 4/16/09
Not Oden's fault.
what are you talking about? oh. your name is la#er. that explains any ridiculous comments, but it does not excuse them. shame on you.
I thought przybilla got shot on that flop in tha 3rd
they shoulda been lookin for a sniper in tha rafters
You're not foolin me Kerry Collins.
Man
I felt terrible when I saw that Mutombo was down and now I learn that he’s out for the playoffs and his career is over. He was a great player and is a greater person and I wish him much luck.
How original staylost, why don't you go back to touching your 3 incher to Aldridge
How many rings do Portland have? When was the last time you guys won anything?
3 incher?
They sure have small ones down in lakerland.
The last time we won something is when LA played us. Too easy.
lol I do not want to get into this argument, because, honestly, I don't think Portland will win this series.
But if they do we can find each other and make a bet or something
The refs were awful for both teams
Yao was lucky to stay in the game. He hit Blazer drivers pretty hard twice when he had four fouls. Oden didn’t get away with what Yao did… but he’s a rookie, so it’s the name of the game.
There were bad calls for Houston as well… but I felt that they pretty much evened out. This night was about Artest not being able to guard Roy. I can guarantee you that Morey has done the stats and seen that Battier did a much better job… we’ll see more Battier on Roy in the remainder of the series.
Sad to see Deke get hurt. Obviously, Oden wasn’t being malicious… it was just a sucky play. In the arena, there was a lot of people genuinely sad about it… huge standing ovation when he did leave.
Ready for Game 3.
draft dejuan blair
Battier is unreal
his defense is amazing. Props to the rockets for employing that genius of NBA defense wish he was ours!
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
The reffing was terrible for both teams
But y’all have to learn that just running into a big man who is standing straight up won’t get you a foul in the playoffs. A few times in game one, it looked like Roy wasn’t even thinking about making the shot; In game two, he kept doing it, but at least he was hitting the shots.
Time to galvanize
what about when Yao jumps over and on top of roy providing weak side help
that happened several times, Yao had his arms straight up sure, just his chest and whole upper torso were falling on top of Roy’s shoulder on his way tot he hoop, and he wasn’t in position, he was switching to the weak side…happened at least 3 times with no call…
we can round and round about the refs all the live long day, last night it was a wash…each team got their share of the good and the bad officiating…
Goodbye Deke. The NBA will miss Mt. Mutombo
Support families in crisis in Portland www.give10tell10.org
qualifying remark-- " in the playoffs "
just running into a big man who is standing straight up won’t get you a foul in the playoffs
.
Is this to suggest the same play would draw a whistle in the regular season? If so, isn’t fan griping about playoff reffereeing fair game?
I AM A PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUPPORTER.
just running into a big man who is standing straight up won’t get you a foul in the playoffs.
Unless the big man is Oden, then it will definately get you a foul (See Lowry in game 2 as an example)
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
On Dikembe's injury
But really, Deke’s loss creates a big gap in our center depth and will make it more difficult to match up with Oden, Przybilla, Aldridge, and Frye.
Names in bold will in no way negatively affect your team’s chances as a result of Dikembe’s being out. That said, I’m still sad to see him go out like that.
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21... I know...
by FibonacciSequence on Apr 22, 2009 1:41 AM CDT reply actions
Frye playing
is actually a negative for Portland… I doubt he plays at all in the series.
draft dejuan blair
I guess my phrasing was unclear
You and I are saying essentially the same thing, unless you were just hammering home the point that Frye is a non-factor, in which case, hammer away!
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21... I know...
by FibonacciSequence on Apr 22, 2009 2:02 AM CDT up reply actions
Cablinasian
is straight to the point whereas I am generally seen in garbage time comic relief (like Frye!)
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21... I know...
by FibonacciSequence on Apr 22, 2009 2:11 AM CDT up reply actions
Yeah
I try to keep it pretty straight on the opponent site… never know when they’ll misinterpret sarcasm, just because they don’t follow the team.
Your version was funny. :)
draft dejuan blair
Oh no!
Too bad Bynum can’t get Oden numbers with three times the minutes.
Anyway, we all know that the most important thing to protect the world from is lakerfans.
laker
if youre gonna annoy blazers fans could you do it on the blazers blog??? and no oden didnt end mutombo’s career. it was a normal play with guys battling for position under the basket. Mutombo got off balance and his knee buckled. We all know that oden has underachieved greatly so far, but he didnt end deke’s career, sorry.
Game 1 108-81 Rockets
Game 2 107-103 Blazers
Series tied 1-1
by TexasHoosier on Apr 22, 2009 1:35 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
I'm willing to bet
that Deke was probably one of Oden’s heroes. It probably sucks for Oden to have been in the play that ended Mutumbo’s career.
draft dejuan blair
as the people above have already addressed, picking oden over bynum is something
only people without intelligence would do, hell even Kevin Durant is 500x better than Oden. Why am I wasting time arguing about this stupid crap with a dumbass like you? Andrew Bynum has career highs of 42 points, . When has Oden scored more than 25 points? Plus Bynum has to play alongside Gasol, Kobe, who will end up getting most of the shots in a game. Just compare their FG%, this season, Bynum has 78%, Oden has 54%. You really think Oden is better than Bynum? Nobody in this place agrees with you. If you continue to argue, it will just make you look dumber, so for your own good, you should probably concede
to be fair
the oden vs. bynum debate will have to wait at least two more years, because lets face it… even kobe thought bynum was shit in his rookie season.
if durant can still put up his numbers on a good thunder team, then we’ll all admit hes a stud, until then his status is undecided as well.
Bynum has a 78% field goal percentage?
What the fuck stats are you looking at? Bynum scored 42 on the freaking clippers on 24 shots. Greg Oden’s career high was 24 on 14 shots. Bynum averages 10 shots a game whereas Greg only shoots 5. Look at Bynum’s pathetic first year and compare it to Greg’s. Keep Bynum and hate on Greg all you want. The future will tell who the better player is.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 23, 2009 1:31 AM CDT up reply actions
get off his back
numbers like 78% FG make his point. We all know Oden is better considering he avergages 24 rebounds a game, including that monster game against the Cavs where he pulled down 38 boards, 15 offensive, and had 18 assists.
I AM A PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUPPORTER.
You get your stats from wikipedia?
must…not…make…personal…attack…
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bynuman01.html
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/andrew_bynum/career_stats.html
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 23, 2009 8:05 PM CDT up reply actions
I am not saying in 5 years down the road
Yes, if Bynum averages 0 pts the next 5 years, and Oden becomes Olajuwon or Kareem for the next 5 years, then yes oden will be overall the better player. But that’s unlikely and will be in 5 years.
If putting up 42 pts is so easy to do on the Clippers why hasn’t Oden done that.
I’m saying right now, at this moment, Andrew Bynum is waaaaay better than Greg Oden. Kenny agrees, Chuck agrees, and anyone who is not a Blazers fan and has half a brain agrees.
chuck is an idiot
a funny idiot, but an idiot.
As for right now, no duh Bynum is better. But check out Bynum’s stats over the years of play:
Year ↓ Team ↓ GP ↓ GS ↓ MPG ↓ FG% ↓ 3P% ↓ FT% ↓ RPG ↓ APG ↓ SPG ↓ BPG ↓ PPG ↓
2005–06 L.A. Lakers 46 0 7.3 .402 .000 .296 1.7 .2 .1 .5 1.6
2006–07 L.A. Lakers 82 53 21.9 .558 .000 .668 5.9 1.1 .2 1.6 7.8
2007–08 L.A. Lakers 35 25 28.8 .636 .000 .695 10.2 1.7 .3 2.1 13.1
2008–09 L.A. Lakers 47 46 28.9 .777 .000 .834 8.0 1.4 1.4 1.8 14.3
Career 210 124 21.4 .593 .000 .667 8.7 2.1 .5 2.9 12.7
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
well that sucked in the copying
basic point… 7.8 in the second year and 5.9 rebounds. I’m fairly comfortable in saying oden will smash that next year as he should be fully recovered by then and in game shape.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Mutombo's injury
is a perfect microcosm of the Rockets’ season: Adelman rested him throughout the season, saving him for the playoffs, when he’d be needed most. And then freak shit happened. The Rockets traded for Artest, created arguably the deapest team in the league, and then McGrady’s knee turned out to only have grown worse.
Shit happens.
If McGrady played tonight
Rockets would have lost by about 15 I think:
-Wafer would not have seen the floor. so his 21 points go to Tracy (and a few more), but the tradeoff is:
-way less ball in the hands of Lowry and Brooks, who were both very effective on dribble penetration
-way more isolation offense (like Portland plays).
-worse Houston defense
TMac’s a very skilled player, but from an outsider, the Rockets seem to play better team ball without him.
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
The Blazers usually don't play this much isolation offense
When they are playing well there is a lot more player movement and ball-movement, and they generate lots of open 3-point shots. Most of the time they don’t resort to running this many iso plays unless nothing else is working.
From being at the game
the biggest thing I was struck by was the fact that Houston was simply shorter than Portland. Landry and Roy stood by each other, and Landry had the same body, with a few extra pounds. I liked the way he played.
Scola, Hayes, and Landry are going to have to be really, really good.
draft dejuan blair
Don’t worry portland only grind out a 4 pt win at their own turf with yao shooting the ball 6 times. When aldridge and roy combined for 70pt again in this series, be sure to tell me
by o_oholycrap on Apr 22, 2009 10:20 PM CDT up reply actions
Hey, sorry to be a stickler...
…but the game was also 107-103…
As for Deke… I’m really sorry to see him go. I’ll never forget that final rebound as a Nugget… pure joy.
foul/free throw totals - skewed by final 39 seconds
one minor point…
Portland was called for more fouls (and Houston shot more free throws) for the entire game, except for the last 39 seconds, when Houston picked up 6 fouls while trying to prolong the game…
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/playbyplay?gameId=290421022&period=4
Thus it’s a bit misleading when you look at the final box-score showing:
fouls: Hou 28, Por 26
Free throws attempted: Hous 32, Por 36.
Portland’s last 12 free throws came in the last 39 seconds
good point
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 2:50 AM CDT up reply actions
We have smaller guys
You also neglect to mention that we have wafer, lowry, and brooks. Your guys never let them just drive to the basket. Plus, Odem is still a rook. He made so many silly fouls instead of waiting back and going for the block.
We on the other hand let Roy drive unchecked several times.
We led the points in the paint battle
It’s not like we were just shooting jumpers.
draft dejuan blair
i was surprised by that stat when i saw it during last game
wafer was just taking it at our centers’ chests drive after drive and we couldn’t stop them. the blazers d at point has always been bad but its really been exposed this series.
The one thing I’ll concede to Rockets fans is while the game was (more or less) evenly called badly for both sides, the Blazers fouls were simply easier calls. Oden doesn’t disguise the contact. The Rockets were accelerating into our players and our guys weren’t drawing as much contact in an obvious way.
They were still fouls, but they were harder to call.
and for whomever said there weren’t make up calls we got—are you kidding? I turned to my girlfriend after a blatant no call and called it 24 seconds ahead of time that they were gonna give a make up call on yao. sure enough they did. stupid ass refs.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
Losing Deke is a terrible loss....
He is a Saint as a civilian and a Legendary Warrior as an NBA center.
Blazer's Edge Ambassador to The Dream Shake Blog
LMA Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I <3 LMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LMA - Putting the POWER in POWER FORWARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The concussion must have jarred him into "Destroy All Opposition Terminator Mode!" - BlazersOrBust
Yes
we gave a standing ovation to the man in the Garden and I was part of that sad affair. I love Mutombo and was sad to see him go down. For those who know what it is I also sent the man Reiki healing to ease his pain as I am a Reiki Master.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
Przybilla flops? Look in the mirror Houston.
First let me say that I agree that Przybilla flops. He does. He did tonight. However, as you know it’s only a foul if the referee blows his (or Violet blows her) whistle. So, if as a not so random example, I am Yao Ming and I can take my arm and cleverly wrap Greg Oden’s arm around my body, then lean backwards as if he is pushing me…Maybe, just maybe, the referee will blow his whistle. Hey!! What do you know, it worked! Do I blame Yao for using this tactic? No. I guarantee that Yao was victimized by the very same gamesmanship several times before he decided, “Damn, if the refs are gonna call that shit, then I better do it to.”
Back to Przybilla flopping…He NEVER used to do this. In his core he is a warrior, but he was victimized too many times by others flopping. So now he has added it to his repertoire…Just as Yao has.
It is just a part of the game. A horrible part if you are on the wrong end of it…Like Oden was…but a part nonetheless.
By the way, I replayed Rudy “tripping over his own feet” (your words) frame by frame and low and behold, his foot was in fact kicked by a Houston player. Go watch it. I am sure you will agree.
I am Yao Ming and I can take my arm and cleverly wrap Greg Oden’s arm around my body, then lean backwards as if he is pushing me…
Yeah, we all got to listen to your idiot announcers, too, and they were full of shit about that then. Oden (and Przybilla) were holding Yao on every possession. Given the level of contact supposedly being called throughout the game, both should have been called on it much earlier. If Yao has to sell it to get the refs’ attention, then that’s the way it is.
So now he has added it to his repertoire…Just as Yao has.
I am continually amazed that Blazers fans seem to have no idea what flopping is.
we've endured a year
of guards grabbing onto Oden’s arms and falling down. I know what a flop is. Przybilla did flop, but it’s not an every game occurence.
draft dejuan blair
You've endured all of about 20 full games.
Similar in kind, vastly different in degree. Also, Oden is not THE focus of your offense, he’s the 3rd banana at best. And, he’s a rookie, trust me, Yao got called as badly if not worse, than Oden. He got called so many damn times he mostly stopped playing D, and developed a bogus “soft” rep.
Seriously, let us simply grab Roy with few to no calls for a whole game, and then you can tell us its the same.
You mean the no-calls on Roy like where Battier is holding his jersey throughout the game?
Or where he drives, Yao contests, there is arm-to-arm contact, but Yao avoids his 5th? So we can tell you now its the same?
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
by Honka Playboy on Apr 22, 2009 3:07 AM CDT up reply actions
We talk about recurring pattens, you talk about plays.
Not much common ground. See, its not just Portland, its the league wide anti-Yao strategy and its basically screwed us. Not because Yao can’t play, but because he can’t play while being continually held and fouled. And its rarely called, yet everytime Yao fights it I get to read whining about what dirty player Yao is. It is frustrating. One or two counter examples on your part does absolutely nothing to change the vast weight of experience on ours.
The reoccuring pattern
is the fact that the refs refuse to give Yao 6 fouls! How many times does Roy have to draw contact with him (and yes Yao leaves his feet) before getting the call? The past two games there have been at least a half dozen occasions where Roy get thumped by Yao and gets no call! I believe it is because Brandon makes the shot. On the other end, you get the Von Wafer’s (Brooks, Lowery, etc.) flying in out of control, getting grazed by a big man, missing the shot, and getting the call!
The favortism of All-stars is what is out of control! Oden isn’t an All-star (yet) thus doesn’t get the treatment. He’s got dude’s draped all over him yet he sheds ‘em like water and gets no calls. On the other end, he doesn’t have a billion people watching him (yet) so the refs don’t care if he fouls out!
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
You're simply wrong.
If Yao isn’t moving and Roy runs into him, it’s not a foul. Sorry. It just isn’t, and they won’t call it. Roy is a budding superstar, but they aren’t going to change the rules of basketball for him, not matter how much you love him. Only Michael Jordan gets that treatment.
You seem to be mistaking two crucial concepts.
“Defense” does not equal “foul”.
But two guys hugging each other with Yao in the middle on Houston offensive plays? That’s a foul.
You missed the 'concept'...
Watch the game and you see that Yao is moving by leaving his feet or sliding into Roy. That is not defense! That is preferential treatment of an all-star. If Yao fouls out, a billion people will turn off their tvs. If Oden fouls out, a few people turn off their tvs. The NBA wants their All-stars in the game not sitting on the bench.
I made no mention in my post regarding fouls on Yao…pay attention to MY post and stick to the facts
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
Oden makes stupid fouls
Oden made several retarded fouls. He ran out of the paint to attack brooks? He gets drawn out to defend guys then bumps them. Thats a foul.
Yao stands back. Yes he jumps but going straight up and down is allowed. Oden is going for a block on people while Yao just tries to stand perfectly still hoping not to get a foul.
Actually Nate is forcing him to do that.
He doesn’t want a center who can only sit in the middle on defense so he is making Oden run out on those. Even in the playoffs Nate will want the right way rather than the most currently successful way.
But aside from that, I’m not really interested in this argument. Fans of either side can never call games effectively. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that the reffing of the series has been pretty shoddy.
I'll second that.
But also, I think you’d be happier with me reffing the games anyway. At least some basketball would be played for more than 30 seconds at a time.
Then nate is stupid
You are having your biggest guy run out on our smallest? Can odem even reach the ball when brooks has it? You do hear how stupid it sounds to want you biggest guy attacking point guards right?
The big man defends the basket, make brooks pass it.
...i think he means "show" before he retreats on a P&R...
not to switch and stay with a PG that woudl be foolish.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
yes, foolish
He fouled out on that “foolish” play.
that wasn't a pick and roll. that was helping out. that was more the PGs fault than his but like i said in other places he needs to learn lateral/retreating footwork instead of forward movement.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
Certainly foolish within the context of that game.
But did you notice that sometimes Oden is a bit slow? Well, he has improved a bunch, likely from acting “foolish” all year.
wow...
contrary to popular belief, chinese nba fans do actually watch the NBA for reasons besides Yao Ming. yao’s jersey isn’t even the top selling jersey in china… if you want to make a case for yi jianlian almost starting for the east squad conspiracy, then you may have a point. however, stop comparing oden to yao… seriously.
you can go on and on about his potential… etc but right now hes not even starting material on a playoff team. His offense is basically “the dunk shot” and his defense is “jump as high as i can and swat the ball”. it was pretty clear on the replay when he fouled out that he doesn’t have a clue how to defend a quick guard at the basket. wait till he learns how to play the game before you bitch and moan about his fouls.
yao WAS moving. He was in the air in fact and there was obvious contact.
I think Roy doesn’t get the call all the time because he yells every time he drives (glad you guys call him out on that—its annoying to me too). And he sometimes expects to get bailed out.
Sometimes he will, but crying wolf means sometimes you’ll get the short end of the stick. You lose a little credibility
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
PS: To Xiane
you’re missing a crucial point:
Its not just that Yao is a superstar.
Oden’s a rookie.
Oden’s a rookie with a reputation for foul trouble.
Its comparing two extremes on the favorability meter. There’s no question Oden gets shafted by calls though.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
I'll go along with
that, but seriously, walk a mile in Houston’s shoes with Yao.
It looks preferential to you, because its not the absurd rookie big man whistle.
Saying Yao gets superstar treatment is really about the funniest thing I’ve read in a while.
Look, of course there are plays where actual fouls occur and aren’t called. It happens nearly every play. But there seems to be a core belief amongst certain posters here that Yao commits a foul simply by looking at a Blazer, and that just isn’t true.
Look at my posts, I’m not arguing individual calls and plays here. Both sides can obviously find plenty of evidence in a game as badly officiated as the one we just saw.
You sound just like Cleveland fans...
They actually think that Lebron gets shafted by the refs!
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
I'm just going to let this go.
Until you watch years of officiating on Yao, you really can’t know what we’re talking about. Arguing with people who have so little basis for comparison is clearly futile, so I’m not going to do it anymore. We report experience of year after frustrating year and get told stuff like:
“Yeah, but Yao commits fouls too!” – Well, yes. Not the point though.
“Yeah, you guys are such martyrs/fanbois/ignoramuses! Boo hoo!” – Well reasoned. We’ll keep it in mind.
“Yeah, but the refs are meaner to Oden!” – Again, not the point. That the calls are or are not bad for Oden has nothing to do with Yao.
And I don’t think there is much of a Yao/Oden nexus anyway. Oden is a different player from Yao. He’s much more similar to lots of other NBA centers than he is to Yao, who is effectively unique. Nothing about Oden’s game is new or special for NBA big men – whatever hopes you may have, he’s not yet established himself in the realm of elite centers. The comparison fails. Both playing center isn’t enough.
What is your point then?
Yao may get screwed by the refs a few times but that does not make up for him being able to do whatever he wants on defence. He should have fouled out of the game twice last night.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
I disagree.
I’m all for the all seeing eye. Let all the calls you think should be made on him on D be called, as long as he gets all the ones that should be called on the other end.
I have no fear of the outcome of a perfect world.
What makes you think Cleveland is wrong by the way?
How many players can guard LeBron? The like of him has never been seen before, so it’s possible that they are right in Cleveland.
Of course, its really his histrionics about fouls that pisses me off.
You have got to be kidding me!
Scola is the flop king and I’ve never seen a 340 pound man get bowled over by 165lb Spaniards the way Yao does!
Przybilla is definitely a flopper and it’s sad but Mlsinpdx is spot on. The NBA has GOT to do something about flopping and the arm wrap fake fouls.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
Scola is the flop king
Look, you need to give me a play where he just fell down. That’s different from taking a charge and selling it.
I’ve never seen a 340 pound man get bowled over by 165lb Spaniards the way Yao does!
Again, he took the charge to the chest – set his feet and took the force to his body. Yes, a guy who’s 300 lbs can fall down when hit by a guy running straight into him.
Game one
Sergio rodriguez the smallest lightest player on portland hits a glancing blow to Ming who FLIES backward.
Scola flopped repeatedly in game one as well and I’m sorry man are you serious? I’m admitting Przybilla is a flopper if you don’t know Scola is you need glasses!
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
Sergio rodriguez the smallest lightest player on portland hits a glancing blow to Ming who FLIES backward.
Don’t remember it. Sorry, you’re probably just addled.
Scola flopped repeatedly in game one as well and I’m sorry man are you serious? I’m admitting Przybilla is a flopper if you don’t know Scola is you need glasses!
“I said it, so it must be true!”
Ok I see you
are totally partisan I wont’ bother talking to you after this. The play where sergio hit ming in transition was one of the most pathetic flops I’ve ever seen due to size difference. It was game one and your memory is clearly poor.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
Yao is a big guy
and thus is not the most balanced. Yes, contact can make him fall down. I’ve said it once today and I’ll say it again: I’m sorry you don’t understand physics, either.
Sorry Marvin, but the lakerboy is right
the only way you even get a charge call is to flop. when u rebound ur supposed to go for the ball not fall to ur knees, thats just puss
by suns_all_the_way on Apr 22, 2009 4:20 AM CDT up reply actions
Sorry suns_all_the_way
but lakerboy is a troll.
Making one credible statement does not exonerate a lifetime of stupidity.
(I was hoping you’d make the offseason, I’ve always liked the Suns except for when Kevin Johnson was torching us)
Did your mother even give you half a brain?
Kobe Bryant is the best player in the world. period. And just because he f* ed some ho in Colorado who wants attention later on don’t change that. Kobe will school your entire team any time he wants. You really should go to school so you can learn some common sense at some point.
by suns_all_the_way on Apr 8, 2009 11:08 AM PDT to parent up reply reply actions actions 0 recs
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 4:31 AM CDT up reply actions
Thks, I had noticed.
But it needs someone to play along or else it might go back to “alledgedly raping” people, right?
...
You really should go to school so you can learn some common sense at some point.
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH I love you Sabonis4Ever.
That is the best quote I’ve seen.
-brandonmitchell.org
by brandonmitchell on Apr 22, 2009 6:27 AM CDT up reply actions
The troll said more or less what I would have said
but I’ll say it myself: when a player runs in to you, if you stagger backwards, the refs call a blocking foul. If you fall down, and the refs are paying attention, and your feet are outside the restricted area, it’ll frequently be called a charge.
Time to galvanize
What flopping proves
is that two of those qualifiers are unnecessary for drawing a charge. The refs don’t need to be paying attention, and a player doesn’t have to run into you.
Time to galvanize
that's absolutely right
the thing is your body language needs to say; i was here first and im willing to fall…. you need to stand straight up, and keep your arms either straight up or against your body… if you curve your back, and bend your knees, you’re screwed. it’s the same thing in highschool and college
Yao's hand was on his back...
its not an uncommon tactic when a rebound goes long. So there was contact, not no contact. Even the OP above saw that, he just did not perceive it to be enough to warrant the fall from Joel. So who’s addled?
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
by Honka Playboy on Apr 22, 2009 3:13 AM CDT up reply actions
A hand in the back is perfectly within the rules
It’s feeling for position
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
The problem is flopping
and it’s infected every team in the league. Portland was one of the last hold outs until Przybilla embraced the darkside. We should all ban together as fans and demand an end to flopping. 100k+ fines when reviewed and a technical foul if caught in real time.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
by Idog1976 on Apr 22, 2009 2:12 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Now you're talking.
I think we need a yellow card system for flopping. Get two yellow in one game, out. Two yellows in a month? Out a game as well.
Flopping not only gets you the yellow card, its a shooting foul. It would end in about a week. Except in Utah, they would have to go to flop rehab, or Floppers Unanimous.
Who tells what's flopping and what's not?
The better thing is for refs just not to call what they don’t see. All too often, they call the result – Ginobili’s on the ground, so someone must of fouled him, right? If they don’t see contact, don’t call it.
pryzbilla is not a flopper
true, he flopped a couple of times tonight, but that because he was repeatedly mauled by scola and yao without getting a call…
in general, pryzbilla is a warrior who plays tough and hard against bigger, faster, younger front-lines, and comes up with insane numbers. you can’t characterize him as a flopper just because the refs threw game 1 to houston through no-calls and he tried to do something about it.
been a fan of nba for 30 years, and I can honestly say pryzbilla is one of the most entertaining players i’ve ever seen.
My children are made from hate
not love
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 2:53 AM CDT up reply actions
If you don't think the Przy is a flopper than I have no respect for your NBA knowledge
He may not be a flopper against the league, I couldn’t give less of a damn. But against Yao, he’s now flopped 7 times this season (I didn’t get to watch game 2 so it may be more). And I’m not talking “sold the foul call”, I’m talking fell down because he is a pussy flopped.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
By glancing blow you mean...
A knee to the sternum.
by natrix964909 on Apr 22, 2009 5:13 AM CDT up reply actions
you lose credibility when you refuse to ever concede a blatantly obvious point. Yao employed a veteran move to draw a foul on Oden. Smart play. the Portland announcers said as much, more than once. to deny that it happened doesn’t strengthen your case, it weakens it.
As for knowing what flopping is – yes we do. Pryz flops, as explained nicely by misinpdx above. But look in the mirror – Scola is a very accomplished flopper in his own right.
Flopping works. As long as it does, it’s smart play
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
I am glad he flops
that is what smart players do it is just part of the game and the rockets do it to
Blazer fan here
Priz flops all the time, not a surprise he leads the league in charges taken I believe, but to chastise him for it is just dumb especially when I think back to a half time special a couple of years ago of Shane demonstrating how to do the exact same thing, is just good basketball……I think it was Pete Newell that said basketball is 80% deception ……great site BTW wonderfully written article.
Flop does not equal charge
The video in question was shane explaining how to take a charge.
Noone is saying pryz flopped on a charge. The complaints are him flying all of the court when the guy not holding the ball touches him.
Taking a charge and falling down are essentially requirements for actually taking a charge.
The complaints are when pryz pulled an Okur off the ball on Yao.
actually in the halfrime segment Shane made it quite clear
that you have to" fall backwards" in anticipation of the hit to sell it…don’t get me wrong here either I love the guys play always have but to complain about Joel doing it is silly the guy knows how to get calls like I said before you may not like it but it’s sound smart basketball. Then again I love players that can change a game on the defensive end Shane and Ron included.
There is a HUGE difference
You also have to take the hit, not just simply fall down.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
I don't hate Battier...
but I’d sure like him better if every time a Blazer set a screen on him, he didn’t throw his head back and flop trying to draw the offensive foul. I guess it’s smart when your own team does it and being a “huge sissy” when the other team does it.
Funny faces are not flopping.
If making a painful face or flailing your arms is flopping, then Yao and battier are floppers. Sadly, I think flopping is when you flop on the ground. Something neither of those guys do.
BATTIER DOES NOT FLOP. He is an amazing defender, flopping is to risky for him and takes him off the ball. And the play you are refering to was a screen. He took I think pryzbilla’s shoulder in the face without realizing it was there. Who wouldn’t be hurting from that.
Um
I didn’t say “tripping over his own feet.” I know that Lowry’s touched Rudy’s. But I’m just saying that contact like that is incidental and should be allowed when the game is tight like that at the end.
Yao does not flop. Understand that “flopping” and “taking a charge” are two totally different things. I made the point that Brandon Roy tried to take a charge and how that is perfectly acceptable. Yao does the same thing – he tries to take charges. He does not take contact and throw himself in the other direction. HUGE distinction.
If you saw the replay on Oden/Yao, they both grabbed each other and were locked up, then Oden shoved him away. That’s what I saw.
The Dream Shake - Where Brooks > Alston happens.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
I wouldn't be suprised if Yao was told specifically
to never flop. Even if Yao didn’t have injury problems (this season was great for him in that regard) I wouldn’t want my 7 foot 6 guy falling to floor too often.
I was expecting a T on Oden with the shove.
"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"
What's amazing is how often Yao hits the floor.
Not on anything anyone is going to call, just playing.
He has bad feet
You don’t see Yao move much and he falls alot cause he has bad feet. His upper body and lower body are very different. One is far more coordinated than any big man ever, the other, is what you would expect someone his size to be.
Yao has been told not to flop
Deke tells yao every day not to flop cause deke thinks that centers should not flop. When yao was trying to draw charges earlier inthe season Deke would yell at him every time. Notice the comparison between when Deke signed with the Rockets and the improvement in Yao’s blocks. 8th for the season, but 4th post all star break
Game 1 108-81 Rockets
Game 2 107-103 Blazers
Series tied 1-1
by TexasHoosier on Apr 22, 2009 1:53 PM CDT up reply actions
Now that you mention it something did change in there.
Personally, I think Yao has been improving pretty steadily up to this very day even, in many ways. He’s fun to watch.
dirty tricks
the Lowry trip might have changed the outcome of the game had it not been called. i don’t think we want the nba allowing tripping at the end of games (or at any time). and no, it doesn’t matter if it’s inadvertant or not.
the blake-brooks play was a similar play; blake had position on brooks, who tried to make a play anyway, as he should have, and ended up fouling blake. again, intentional or not, doesn’t matter
yao pinned greg’s arm and spun him around…. oden kept trying to disentangle himself but yao wouldn’t let go. dirty. also dirty is the way yao repeatedly grabs the ball after houston makes, turns slowly, pretends to look for he ref, then gives him the ball. slows the game and should result in numerous delay of game t’s
must be nice having major-market star-factor
the trip
the NBA rulebook says even ACCIDENTAL tripping is a foul. sucks when you are on the wrong side of it, but it goes both ways.
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
from thread starter
Yao is a big guy and thus is not the most balanced. Yes, contact can make him fall down. I’ve said it once today and I’ll say it again: I’m sorry you don’t understand physics, either.
So that just means the bigger they are the harder they flop.
Interesting how Dreamshakers get defended on their “home-court” for calling out Blazer’s Edgers as tight insensitive a-holes for griping about the reffin’, and what do they do when they lose…… ha, there’s a word for that.
I AM A PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUPPORTER.
dude, what?
no one here is griping about the refs. We are griping about your inability to distinguish a flop from a charge… and how it’s unfortunate that the refs have to guess as to what happened most of the time.
Simple physics would suggest that it's easier to make a tall man fall that an shorter man
provided that you hit them higher. Do they not teach torque in Oregon?
Time to galvanize
How often do you see players like Z, Shaq and Howard on their ass?
I remember one huge Shaq flop all season. That’s about all.
That stop and go by Roy is straight sick. I'm calling him "The Flu" from now on. - Wendell Maxey
Charge vs Block
Yao takes charges.
Howard blocks shots.
A 7'6'' player decides to take charges...maybe not the smartest defensive move? Oh wait, you take him out at the end of games anyway to defend
That stop and go by Roy is straight sick. I'm calling him "The Flu" from now on. - Wendell Maxey
This isn't going to turn into some Yao v Howard thing is it?
Howard has the muscles and the speed. Yao has the wins and the stats head to head.
And Yao is #8 in blocked shots, he’s not bad at it.
ummmm lets see...
yao = leaning tower
shaq = 350lb boulder
howard = 250lb of agile muscle
ziggy = have you ever seen him banging down low? lemme answer that for you… N-O. dudes got screws in his feet literally…
who do u think is gonna fall down more?
tripping?
how can you reason that just because contact is “incidental” that it shouldn’t be a foul. perhaps not ALL incidental contact should be a foul, but just because it’s not premeditated or deliberate doesn’t change the fact that it is a foul and should be called depending on the severity of the contact. in the case where players feet become accidentally tangled, if it causes an advantage the foul has to be called. otherwise you are saying tripping an opposing player by accident and having that cause a turnover, is just an unfortunate turnover. SOME incidental contact should obviously be overlooked, but a trip that directly leads to a turnover clearly should not.
Back to Przybilla flopping…He NEVER used to do this. In his core he is a warrior, but he was victimized too many times by others flopping. So now he has added it to his repertoire…Just as Yao has.
WTF are you smoking… him being victimized by flopping ROFL dude doesn’t even have a post move to use on floppers. STFU stop defending your flopper on our board
by o_oholycrap on Apr 22, 2009 10:23 PM CDT up reply actions
Never, at any point in his career, has Przy been a "victimized" by flopping
That’s borderlining getting the “Your an idiot” label.
He is a flopper because he feels it is effective, it’s really that simple.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
One very minor quibble
It was even more frustrating to see him called for a foul when he simply fell to the ground (I couldn’t resist).
He did have Oden’s arm, but it ended up being advantageous for Houston, as Oden would have had an easy dunk had the foul not been called. Oden’s 65%ish at the line is a far better bet for Houston than a dunk.
draft dejuan blair
watching Deke go down with friends
all of whom are hard-core Blazer fans, everyone of us felt badly for the guy. All the respect in the world for this guy and best wishes. Deke is an icon and a model of humanity.
I AM A PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUPPORTER.
There seems to be a theme to the Rockets gripes tonight...
Looking over at the Rockets board and then coming here it seems they are convinced that they got jobbed on the Rudy trip call in the last seconds. Either the TV didn’t show a decent look at the play (I was at the game and haven’t seen what was on TV) or they were so pumped at that amazing final 40 seconds and the comeback that the Rockets made that they want so bad for that to not be a foul. Sorry Rocket fans! Obvioius contact on the play. Gets called that way every time. Not even remotely a non-foul. Complain about the Battier foul on Roy’s baseline jumper. That I understand. Complain about the Rudy trip and you lose credibility.
I'm sorry to hear about Mutombo
but Przybilla a flop king? I agree but he looks Eifel tower sturdy compared to Yao “I get bowled over by Spaniards who weigh a third my weight” Ming and Luis “Floptastic” Scola. Until the NBA gets serious about fining flopping (which it should I hate it) its part of the game as Scola and Ming know oh so very well.
I hate flopping and Joel is the one guy on our team that regularly employs it Rudy will on occasion as well. If you ask most in the NBA who our best defender is…they will usually respond with Przybizzle.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
again
show me a play where Yao fell down due to incidental contact. Show me the same for Scola. I’ve seen them both take charges, and I’ve seen Blazers fans complain about that, but I have yet to see them actually flop.
well
Scola flops on charge calls all the time. I’ve seen him draw charges on Aldridge with a well timed flop (once in game 1 and several times during the season). Smart play, but there’s no way Scola gets the call without the theatrics.
Oh and there was a call on Przybilla where Lowry (I think) came up to set the screen (basically underneath Joel) and immediately fell over when Przybilla moved. Again, smart play, but not a foul without the flop.
"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"
OMG
Scola is easily my most hated rocket. I respect Battier who is a legend but Scola is a cheap flopper and this is WELL KNOWN amongst NBA fans! He flopped repeatedly in game one not charges moving through the key and FLYING in a random direction from incidental contact.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
the man takes hard contact and hits the ground.
he may add some ocassional flair to spice it up, but it is NOTHING in comparison to what joel has done lately in terms of theatrics.
The Dream Shake - Where Brooks > Alston happens.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
Yet no one has pointed out any specific play where Scola "flopped"
I’ve watched literally every Rocket game this season (except game 2 sadly) and I can call out 3 occasions in the entire year that Scola flopped. In ALL THREE it was after the same player who got called for the foul against him pulled some bullshit play. Once it was after he got elbowed in the face. I’m not saying flopping was right, it’s not. But you are a no-Rocket basketball watching NBA fan if you think Scola or Battier are “floppers”
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
LOL
wow.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
yes, it is
maybe this doesn’t make sense to y’all, but you need better evidence than “Everyone thinks this way.”
How about this for evidence?
“He learned well from Master Ginobili.”
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21... I know...
by FibonacciSequence on Apr 22, 2009 2:16 AM CDT up reply actions
and that's exactly it
he’s saddled with a reputation for being a flopper because he’s Argentinian, not because of what he actually does in games.
again,
you’re begging the question. I’m telling you to give me a play – video would be great, and I’m sure it’s on youtube if people complain about it – where he really flops. You can’t just say “He’s a flopper because he totally is one.” I need evidence.
Doesn't prove anything, but interesting
Google results for “scola flop”:
105
Google results for “przybilla flop”
0
Google results for scola flop (no quotes):
29,300
Google results for przybilla flop (no quotes):
1,960
by Marvin100 on Apr 22, 2009 2:23 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs
But what about Przybilla Loves Furry Sex?
Over ONE TRILLION HITS.
You can’t argue with a trillion, dude.
It's all about Spain with you guys isn't it?
Gotta look down on the colonies. Gotta support that weird lisping accent. It makes me sick.
Awesome Italian food in Buenos Aires
But I’m pretty fond of tapas and paella, too.
But we like steak, we’re from Texas, its the law.
Well, Scola is more well-known and Houston is a larger market
So I’m assuming that since Scola get’s more attention, there’s more people covering his moves.
like laker said,
scola was considered for a while the best international baskteball player… everyone basketball fan outside of the united states knew who he was before he came to the rockets.
then you contrast that to… joel przybilla?
first of all few people outside of portland even know how to spell his name. if you add all the results from every mistaken arrangement of his name he’d have his fair share of search results for a relatively unknown player. i mean think about it, even if i were the best flopper ever in streetball, you could google me and not even get 100 hits.
heck
i’m a blazer fan and i misspell his name.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Announcers all over the league mis-pronounce Scola's given name as "Louis/Lewis," though; hardly a substantive point.
Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s like gravity—it doesn’t require your buy-in.
People think of Scola as a flopper.
Now, as a Houston fan, you’re likely to assume that’s unjust. I understand. As a non-Houston fan, though, I’m likely to assume it’s grounded in reality. My eyes tell me the same when I watch games.
I’m not going to persuade you & you’re not going to persuade me.
The end.
(Not so tidy, I know, but few things really are. Especially on the Intertubes.)
oh well. on a side note
I googled (all without quotes):
scola hair = 76,100 results
scola ninja = 48,000
scola beast = 105,000
scola lady killer = 7,700
i’m not trying to prove anything either, just sayin’…
different scolas. how about "scola 'great defense'"
610
or scola “defensive position”
205
or maybe scola “clean defender”
4
woah easy there
i DID say i wasn’t trying to prove anything didn’t i?
well if you really want to play the quoting game..
przybilla “clean defender”
Your search – przybilla “clean defender” – did not match any documents.
LMAO
fantastic :)
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
You don't think
Ginobili possibly shared some trade secrets with his fellow countrymen at some point or another? Flopping might bring personal shame, but in the big scheme of things, you are doing what you can to help your team win, and players putting their team before themselves is something every team needs to be successful.
It’s like in hockey, every team has their goons to go out and knock out a few teeth and that’s all they’re usually good for, but if you asked a fan, they would defend their player to the death as a legitimate all-around hockey dynamo.
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21... I know...
by FibonacciSequence on Apr 22, 2009 2:22 AM CDT up reply actions
I already posted
Sergio Rodriguez game one transition first half grazes Yao who flies backward there is no way that that happens when Yao is able to stop Oden from entering the paiint at will.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
since I don't remember this
I can’t comment on it, other than to say that I doubt Yao has ever “flown” anywhere on a basketball court.
reminds me of 80's WWF wrestling commentary
when a bad guy would pull an illegal move and Vince McMahan would say “Did you see that?” and Bobby Heenan would reply “no, I missed that.”
I AM A PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUPPORTER.
Drop it guys
if he saw a flop then he saw a flop. If he doesn’t think so and so flopped then he won’t change his mind. Everyone is defensive of their team especially when it comes to flopping.
Hello Dum Dum
Funny thing is
I haven’t defended Przybilla at all! Rudy flops on occasion as well the dastardly Spainard! :)
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
CHARGE
“It is generally accepted that the offensive player should be charged with a charging foul if the defense:
was still, or moving sideways or backwards but not forwards, when contact occurred
took a legal guarding position before the contact, that is, one with both feet on the floor
was hit on the torso (as opposed to the arm or leg)
respected the elements of time and distance "
Yao took a charge
Shut up with rudy and yao. Of course yao fell. When you prepare to take a charge, you roll your weight to your heals, plant both feet, and prepare for contact. Falling backwards not only sells the fould, but also alleviates some of the pain from the contact.
ALSO. Fernandez at 185 vs Yao at 310. He is 60% of Yao.
NOW. Would Fernandez fall if a 110lb person hit him square in the chest running at him while he was stationary???? 110lb is 60% of Rudy.
wow, if they called it this way
there would be a LOT more charging fouls called.
I don’t know how many times a game I see a defensive guy with good position get absolutely bowled into (in the torso area) by a driving offensively player. Unless his feet are perfectly set, it’s almost always called a blocking foul. The best the defender can usually hope for is a no call. Case in point last night was the one foul on Greg in the first half where Lowry just dribbled right into his torso while Greg was moving straight backwards.
Heck, if they called it this way, Shaq would have about half the career points he now does.
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
I have a friend who sadly is a L@ker fan
and he was going on and on about what a cheap flopper Scola is. dude you need to take off the fanboy glasses. Ming you can argue about Scola is a flop king.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
scola flop
a barely there touch of the left forearm from aldridge in game one, sent scola sliding across the floor about 11 feet. i was in attendance and it was replayed on the big screen.
Oh yeah
the Reffing was atrocious all around and man I wish we had Battier in Portland that guy is an NBA defensive genius.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
I agree. It'll be interesting to see who they send us next time.
I don’t understand why this series isn’t a featured one. Oh yeah. We live in the 4th largest non-existent city in America, and you live in the NW. That’s like double invisible
Um...his man scored 42 points...and he is 30
I’d rather have 15 years of Batum (who looked like crap tonight).
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:01 AM CDT up reply actions
At least
He is only a dumb rookie right now and he started 75ish games and always guards the other team’s best player.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:04 AM CDT up reply actions
He's the best defensive _*wing*_ on a mediocre defensive team;
A team that has two excellent defensive big men. He only played 18 minutes a night, too and it’s not like he’s all that young. You’re talking about him being a player who can play ‘till he’s 35, and there really aren’t that many people who do that.
Time to galvanize
My point is that 15 years from now, he'll still be 35
We’re not talking about a 17 or 18 year old.
Time to galvanize
15 ish I don't care.
I thought you were inferring he is not an NBA talent.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:18 AM CDT up reply actions
Nah- he's a decent player right now in his rookie season
I was just saying that 15 years was an exaggeration.
Time to galvanize
I don't think so
he’s a smart player and smart players last longer than athletic players.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
WHAT?
McGrady is/was a smart player.
The last few years he stuck to shooting outside and not exerting himself on defense, YET, he is out injured once again.
Smart athletes are better than just athletic players. Thats all.
tmac had to carry orlando on his back for like 5 yrs. that wore away his body
thats my theory and im sticking to it.
role players dont play 40+ mins a game and wear out so much. plenty of examples
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
no ones got a problem with that
but what i DO have an issue with is he hasn’t realized hes now a role player.
i thought we were talking about batum :)
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
Wasn't Worn Out
T-mac was not worn out. The rockets orthopedic surgeon is a friend of my dad’s and told me that McGrady has the back of a fifty year old. He might be a great player but his body sucks.
That is why I want to trade him ASAP cause he won’t last. It has nothing to do with wearing him down.
HIPAA!!!
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
That's pretty common knowledge now
Some people are extremely athletic but their bodies just cannot take the pounding, they were made to jump and run, not to jump/run AND get hit
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
I disagree
either way, I’d be willing to bet that Batum has 15 years minus a major injury or sudden death.
He’s athletic, long AND smart. just needs muscle and more experience.
Time will tell.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Yeah, only if he puts on some serious muscle and comes in as a backup past 30.
At least that seems most probable if he is going to have career at that age.
he's not the problem with our defense
look at the Kobe/Wade stats against Portland this year… generally bad shooting efficiency. Also, he dominated Carmelo in the April 15 matchup.
draft dejuan blair
http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/4/21/848364/a-terrible-day-for-basketball
Deke tribute thread at the Bedge.
Good game fellas
I feel like your team has two separate offenses. The one that runs through Yao and the one that doesn’t. One of those is much better, and I am sure you know which one is. The Rockets could be so dominate if they could get Yao more involved, especially early.
As you can tell I haven’t watched many Rocket games this year (league pass too expensive) but I am fearful that when games mean more Yao will get more touches. Then we have a real problem here in Portland.
Again thanks for being classy fans and I hope the Edge represents itself well here.
Hello Dum Dum
by ryryslyry on Apr 22, 2009 2:12 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Yes good game
flopping is the enemy of basketball. I hate that Przybilla does it and I hate that Scola does it too.
See ya’ll in Houston it will be a battle.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
It was a hard fought game tonight
First of all, it’s very sad to see Mutombo go down and end his career like that.
The refs were terrible. Each team could list at least 10 atrocious calls.
Battier denying Roy the ball seemed to be working very well. The Blazers couldn’t really get an offensive rhythm going when Battier was denying effectively.
Joel does flop, but it’s part of the game now, which sucks.
Will Brooks ever cool off? He’s hitting 69% from 3 in the series and seems to have that floater in the lane down pat.
Von Wafer stepping up in the third was huge. He was shredding the Portland defense 1on 1.
Is it good or bad when Artest hits shots like he was in the 1st quarter? I’ve seen him get a bit too cocky when he’s been making shots and then start to force it. What do Rockets fans think?
The Portland bench got completely outplayed by the Houston bench. There was some impressive play from the Rocket backcourt off the bench. I hope someone on the Blazer bench steps up in game 3; we need that scoring.
Good Luck in game 3!
"It’s a good ol’ fashioned Rip City beat down!"
Przybilla doesn't only flop
He also dives for loose balls about 5 times a game, so just because he’s on the floor doesn’t ALWAYS mean he flopped. (Also, sometimes he gets pushed in the back.)
Sticking up for Travis Outlaw since 2008.
lol
that IS funny. :)
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
He only shoots Spaniards and Argentinians in international tournaments
That stop and go by Roy is straight sick. I'm calling him "The Flu" from now on. - Wendell Maxey
Last thing to say Houston fans
You have a great team and you are better with out McGrady see if you can trade him for another playmaker along side brooks.
Battier is a gem and one of my favorite players in basketball. This will be a great series and I hope it goes to 6 or 7 games (with the Blazers winning of course). I admire your team and have always liked the Rockets since Hakeem’s day (My all time favorite non-Blazers center). You were the last team I wanted to see in the Playoffs and I include the L@kers in that.
Flopping should be punished somehow as it is a dangerous play for both the flopper and anyone who might step or come down on them. I hate that Przybilla does it and I hate that Scola and others do it.
I look forward to a great series.
Finally, I participated in the standing ovation for NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo he will be missed.
"Death is not final," Gita says. "If any man thinks that he slays, and if another thinks that he is slain, neither knows the truth. The Eternal in man cannot kill: the Eternal in man cannot die. The soul in man is neither born nor does it die. Weapons cannot cut it; fire cannot burn it. .. What makes you think that you can destroy the soul?"
The Bhagavad Gita
It's been said before
but we aren’t better with McGrady out. We’re better with McNoKnees out, but if McGrady ever came back reasonably healthy, we’d be a better team for it.
Time to galvanize
Battier is unbelievable
If the unthinkable happens and Portland loses this series, I’d love to see the Rockets upset the Fakers, holding Kobe to 17 a game.
I would actually consider buying league pass jsut to watch Battier play
Ever since Michael Lewis wrote that article
I think Battier just might be over valued now. If that mindset runs to GM’s too, it might be worth trading him…. … Nah.
Time to galvanize
I would actually consider buying league pass jsut to watch Battier play
I like the guy, too, but it’s not like he’s exactly exciting to watch….
I like watching unexciting players who play smart though
that’s why i like watching pryzbilla too… changing shots d without picking up foulsand tipping rebounds to himself — tho yao’s too tall for him to do that in this series.
actually the real gravy would be watching Battier shut down Lebron — that guy is way to full of himself for someone who can’t be relied on to create a clutch shot to win games.
I'm not a lebron fan either
I want WHATEVER team makes it into the finals to beat him. his self promotion and “king james” and “what… a foul on Me?” act irks me to no end. I liked Jordan and he promoted himself as well, but at least he didn’t seem vain to me in how he did it. I’d love lebron to never win a championship.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
which is funnier
because I think LA could lose to both those teams.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
LA could lose to Orlando
but not Houston, I don’t think. I mean, the Lakers are 4-0 against the rockets this year.
i meant
Cavs and Orlando. (also blazers)
I expect the lakers to beat houston if they were to play even though I’ll be rooting against them.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Even if the Blazers continue to hold serve in Portland,
The blazers aren’t good on the road, in fact they’re only 20-21 on the road. The Lakers blew ’em out at home twice this year, where as both games in Portland were fairly close. Plus the Lakers are due a win in Portland
Fact check
The Blazers lost two very early in the season, with Oden out; they have evolved, and they absolutely kicked the crap out of the Fakers in their last two meetings. Much more convincing were the Portland victories.
The Blazers were so far ahead in the 3rd quarter of the last game (up 31 pts) they played Ruffin and Bayless the whole 3rd quarter, and let the Lakers run their total up in the 4th. But it was one of the most lopsided blowouts of the entire season, for any team. Absolutely humiliating blowout asskicking…
Would love to see the Fakers get bounced in similar fashion. Everyone hates the Lakers, and with good reason — the are bad for basketball, bad for sport, and bad for society in general.
"where as both games in Portland were fairly close."
YOU OBVIOUSLY HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT STFU…..ahem…excuse me.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 23, 2009 1:33 AM CDT up reply actions
Well
I more than welcome the chance to prove you wrong there. You need to double check your road stats starting with looking at the end of the season record. Also might want to look at the time frame the lakers won. (cough early season cough)
As for due… sorry, you have to earn it. No freebies on the blazer court. Well… no more after that Houston blow out and the deer in headlights look.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Well if you don’t get the chance to prove me wrong, then oh well. The thing about the Lakers is that they’ll play anywhere they don’t care, which is why they have the best road record. The fact that Houston blew you guys out there, means that you aren’t so invincible there. If you want to prove me wrong, then you guys first have to take care of your own series, which after tonight doesn’t look too easy.
Portland fan checking in
You guys have a great playoff team. I’m happy we even got a game off you.
Yao is just ridiculous. It’s a lot of fun to see how much he’s improved from his early days in the league— 89% free throw shooting on the year, much-improved stamina, nailing long-range fadeaways. Oh, and he’s 7’6. I feel lucky whenever I can see the guy play.
Artest had a bad night, but that didn’t keep me from biting my nails whenever he had the ball. Or even when he didn’t. What a force— nobody wanted to even get near him.
Being a stats nerd, it kills me when a team is shooting 60% from distance. I was happy to see that the stats finally evened out a bit, even if Brooks did his best to pad the numbers by hitting multiple threes at the end of the game. From what I saw, those numbers look pretty unsustainable, and I’d be shocked to see the Rockets equal their percentages in game three. Yeah, even with the mismatches on the perimeter that you’ve been so smartly exploiting.
On a sad note: I grew up in Seattle watching Mutumbo terrorize my beloved Sonics. Maybe I’m just nostalgic, but his retirement is more meaningful to me than any of the other star players of that era. Unlike Shawn Kemp or Dale Ellis, he’s a player who did everything the right way. I’m happy to know that Brandon Roy (or was it Sergio?) got the final finger-wave from Mt. Mutumbo.
by maalox on Apr 22, 2009 2:29 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Nice post. Very gracious, thanks.
And Portland in general has been very decent about Mutombo. If it had to happen, I glad it wasn’t in SLC, LA or Dallas.
Straight up terrible news
about Deke. Who is likely to get those minutes behind Yao?
Damn, really bummed that I missed this game, looked intense.
by runningdonut on Apr 22, 2009 3:56 AM CDT up reply actions
Von Wafer is basically Ben Gordon, only he plays half the minutes Gordon does
So I joked with my friends that Wafer would score 21 tonight (since Gordon went off for 42 yesterday). I was right, apparently, which is unfortunate, because he reached 21 midway through the 4th, and then Adelman pulled him for the rest of the game. Ugh.
Time to galvanize
what was up with that?
i honestly think hou might have pulled that game out if adelman left wafer in.. he and brooks were really hot and game seemed to be decided more by offense than defense…
"Slum dunk? You just go to the rim, and crush.. crush the ball in the rim."
- Nic Batum
With Wafer out and Brooks seeming unwilling to look for his own shot
and NO ONE LOOKING FOR YAO, Artest took a couple of ugly shots. Ugh.
Time to galvanize
Sleepy strikes again
I didnt see what was wrong with Wafer playing more. His D? Its not like anyone stopped Roy.
yea.. not the way to go,adelman
not that i’m looking to help you all out..but
if brooks could make those ridiculous 3pt shots at the end of regulation when it was just out of reach (esp. with no timeouts), you’d think he could have started on that a couple minutes earlier..
if you leave wafer and brooks in there, portland would have less than no defensive answer for that.
artest is a great player, but he seems a little anti-clutch at times..
if you give the ball to yao.. good things will happen for you.. why do you think we kept dumping it to oden when he is not even 10% of the offensive option that yao is? i’d guarantee that LMA and/or Przy would have fouled out also if they’d gotten the ball to yao down the stretch
"Slum dunk? You just go to the rim, and crush.. crush the ball in the rim."
- Nic Batum
That, in a nutshell
is a summary of our frustrations from the end of that game.
I don’t know who on Portland can cover Brooks and Wafer at the same time. And I just want to add that we now have the right to call certain Portland shots “ridiculous” or “miracle”.
best answer i can come up with is
still short.
Bayless would be my preference on Brooks but Roy could slow him down (did in game 2)
Batum on wafer.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
and fair enough although the and 1 by yao was pretty much the same.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
I actually enjoyed everything about that game. Except the end.
The short thing is not really an issue under current rules. I’m not saying this because we have tiny PGs, well, that’s not the only reason I’m saying it.
Look at CP3, Parker, Harris and so on. The short fast who can finish in the lane is a new wrinkle of the defensive changes. And I think its a good one. Less grinding. Fewer “isos”. More fun to watch. I mean, who really misses the days of hand checking and Pat Riley’s goon squads? Of course, if they let us hand check you guys…
sadly i do..
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
Well, it would be awesome for Houston.
We’ve got the team to be teleported back to the 1990s and do some real damage. We’d need a bigger PG, though.
Of course our two rings come from the height of that era, too.
you should.. I do
first.. i’d like to say that a ridiculous shot is like when Brooks just walked up to about 4-7 feet behind the arc and just threw a shot up up the dribble and make.. its not ridiculous in any negative way.. but i’d definitely extend the right to use those words to describe about 40% of the Blazers offense. .. like
- about half of brandon’s shot in game 2 and at least a quarter of all shots he takes
- rudy’s instant-release on that 3pt shot on the run
- anything joel przybilla does that could be considered a “post move”
- and every shot travis outlaw ever takes ever in any game ever
"Slum dunk? You just go to the rim, and crush.. crush the ball in the rim."
- Nic Batum
ben gordon's game is more like artest's
he’s stronger, and a little slower than von wafer. he uses his meaty-ness to position himself inside after he penetrates. he’s not as much of a pure shooter, but he’s patient and can hit once he gets set.
von wafer is a true scorer who can actually hit off-balance, and off the pass or the dribble, not that his team-mates set him up often.
But when you look at the statistics though
Ben Gordon plays almost double Wafer’s minutes, and puts up almost exactly double his output.
Time to galvanize
Calm Down
rofl chill man 1st game blow out by 30, 2nd game lost by 4 on roy and aldridge career nights with yao taking 6 shots at their turf. Unless roy is gonna score 42 pts every game and aldridge swooshing every jumper from now on, it’s nothing to be panicking about. After all wasn’t anticipating a homecourt sweep of blazers at portland at first anyways
Well
Portland has the highest scoring bench in the league, and none of them showed up tonight. If we win in Houston it will be because of bench production (with Mutombo down look for Greg to break out against Landry).
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:07 AM CDT up reply actions
yeah... but they have to come through
houston will make adjustments to shut down aldridge in the half-court set, so rudy or trout have to come through with 20+ games or portland is done
Travis and Rudy have been no shows so far.
Very disappointing.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:09 AM CDT up reply actions
I disagree
I thought Rudy played a good game last night, on both ends of the court.
draft dejuan blair
here's the problem with travis:
he’s a 2 trick pony. Big 1st step followed by
A) fade to side jumper
B) fake drive left, spin right fade jumper
He’s the easiest player to study and take away his options. Kid could be a stud if he upped his repertoire but so far Travis hasn’t shown the B-Roy, Bayless, LMA level desire in developing his game. Gifted athlete who doesn’t make the most of what he has.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
After reading through these posts
I feel a lot better about Portland’s chances. Yao gets special treatment (the no-calls when bodying up a driving Blazer are ridiculous), yet Houston fans want to condemn Prz’s “flopping”. Have at it. Great focus point there. You are on to something. Deflects the reality that while Houston players are capable of outstanding performances in isolation, such performances are intuitive, rather than cerebral – and that is why Houston will find this Blazer team harder to handle than they expect.
The only things that Houston does well – grab jerseys, throw elbows (how about that Scola offensive foul that went against Prz???), whine about every foul no matter how egregious – and make miracle shot after miracle shot – all add up to an inability to compensate for PORTLAND’s ability to adjust – and to a regression toward the mean for Von Wafer, Brooks and Artest.
Think about it – Houston’s keys to victory aren’t Yao heroics – they are about role players playing way above their heads. I think Houston fans, as represented by those here, cry about ghost flopping to deflect attention from the reality they are in the best position to recognize. Portland is more skilled and more talented, and the only way Houston gets out of the first round is if the Blazers defeat themselves.
"the no-calls when bodying up a driving Blazer are ridiculous"
You mean when Brandon Roy leaps past the basket to hit Yao and has to reach back to lay it up?
Time to galvanize
Wow that's
a really arrogant and stupid post. God knows only Portland has a deep and talented team. We’ve done it with mirrors all season, and you know, without 40% of our payroll too.
I think we’re going to be Portland, without McGrady. Rate you chances on beating Houston without Roy…
Also just check margin of victory so far against Houston. You can throw out the 27pt loss, which was clearly the product of luck…
Well...
We beat Boston without Roy. Ask us this question in 2 years when Greg has his sea legs under him.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:11 AM CDT up reply actions
mcgrady with no knees can't be compared to a healthy roy
i’d be more worried about mutumbo’s absence… that gives the blazers more hope than anything — now way yao can be effective against oden and pryz for 40 minutes
Sigh.
Hot Sabonis on Sabonis action continues.
Anyhow, what I’m saying is that a healthy McGrady is an equivalent player to Roy. Maybe for not much longer, but Roy hasn’t put up McGrady’s early numbers yet either. TMac also represents the lions share of our payroll. We’re doing fine without him, but where would Portland be without Roy – not in two years, right now.
My reply was to the post above, which struck me as incredibly arrogant from a team that got stomped one night, and squeaked out a win tonight on their supposedly impregnable homecourt.
squeaked out a win?
they put the game away with 2 minutes left, up by 8. the 3’s were flukes and the game was never seriously in jeopardy. solid win.
ABZ has talent, that isn't what he was saying. He was saying that the freethrows evert possesion were going to make it like 99% sure Blazer win
But if Roy is out there, the game isn’t put away.
You say solid, I'll say close
Reasonable minds can differ. We lost the game, but we were not out of it until the very end.
Well, maybe I'm not reasonable, but I agreed with you already.
I don’t think the game was lost until the very end either, that is why Roy was still in the game.
dude, that last three by brooks was from like 35 feet out
i am a big brooks fan — remember he took the Oregon Ducks (winless in Pac-10 this year) to the Final 8 two years ago. He’s always been big-time, but he doesn’t hit 3 contested 25 – 35 foot shots in a row
"the game was never seriously in jeopardy"
in the last 60 seconds, you mean? That’s still a pretty close game…
Time to galvanize
"Hot Sabonis on Sabonis action continues."
What did I do?
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Perhaps some stat person can show us pace adjusted effectiveness differences between Roy & McGrady
McGrady was awesome when he was young, but Roy is something pretty unique. His contributions (like Battier) off the stat sheet are often his most important.
If you prefer scoring machines, then I’ll never be able to convince you though. McGrady was insane at that.
McGrady's also pretty awesome at predicting the Lakers will win the title while being paid by the Rockets, who are also competing for the title.
That says an awful lot about what kind of person T-Mac is. Too bad, he really was a remarkable talent back in the day.
You're telling Noah about the flood.
But we’d still like a healthy TMac back, if only to trade.
Here’s a bet – Deke will cheer from the sidelines unless he’s in the hospital. You have not seen Tracy there, have you?
the main reason that people compare them
is that both are shooting guards who are great passers.
Time to galvanize
IMO Roy makes smart passes, not great passes
I was so pissed at him for not giving Outlaw the wide open alley-oop somewhere in the middle of the game. Half-court set, Outlaw totally unguarded by any Rocket camps under the basket, Roy dribbles 5 seconds off the clock. Lame.
No one can make a great pass on ever play
or they’d end up with like 30 assists. I should still probably have modified that to great passers for 2 guards.
Time to galvanize
actually you're both right
both roy and tmac have great passing ability, but in my opinion they sometimes make bad distribution decisions… I was not impressed with the way tmac seemed to clog up the offense earlier in the season. it’s not that he was necessarily selfish, but he insisted on being a part of every play, when sometimes he needed to give it to an open wing man and rotate to the weak side.
broy will give up the ball, but then take himself out of the offense completely. also broy fails to look for rudy a lot, which bothers me. in this league, rudy needs to be set up to get open and hit his 3’s
that said, they both have the ability to thread the needle, yes.
perhaps the most under-rated passing big man tho, is lamarcus aldridge. next time the blazers are in rythm offensively, watch how he finds the right guy with clean, no-hesitation passes.
aaron brooks, while were on the subject, always pissed me off for having poor court vision.
The words you are looking for
on TMac 08-09 are – dribbling aimlessly and then chucking a 3 with 1 second left.
Im actually willing to believe
that Roy is more valuable on a PER or some other basis. It wouldn’t surprise me, but I’d think you have to adjust for whats around him.
My point on Roy / McGrady is that the magnitude of Houston’s loss, of not having a healthy TMac, could only be compared to PDX not having Roy either healthy, or at all. Houston is tied 1-1 in the series after two home games for Portland, with houstons loss being close, and portlands a blow out. It strikes me as reasonable that Houston is a deep and talented team, not “role players playing above their heads”
To me that sounds like the sort of bullshit Phil Jackson spouts.
My reply was really to one poster, not to the larger number of generally reasonable blazer fans.
Who are Houston's role players?
I’d say ours are Pryz & Blake. Best rebounder in the league, and conservative ball control plus very efficient spotshooter. Right now we use Batum as one even though he isn’t. Everyone else is too raw to even consider them role players.
That's the thing
Most guys are solid enough to start.
Landry and Lowery are basically part of a platoon – playing time goes with matchup/effectiveness. Lowry, some forget, was a mid 1st pick.
Role players right now: Wafer, Hayes, Barry, Cook I guess, Mutombo before tonight.
did barry even play this game?
im guessing adelman thinks he doesn’t have to athleticism to mark the blazer wing men
When Wafer is playing well
he eats up all of Barry’s minutes. He’s a less limited player than Barry is (now), and is more athletic.
Time to galvanize
Define role player...
if you mean players we have that are good players but not stars, then you have basically everyone in the rotation except Yao.
Time to galvanize
Frankly
I think Houston could easily end up winning this thing. My point is that it would be an upset more by Portland not playing up to its abilities TOGETHER with Houston exceeding its abilities. On individual talent, Houston doesn’t match up. They win by playing team ball and having a knack for hitting open jumpers or getting incredible finishes by Brooks and Von Wafer. BROOKS & VON WAFER. While I grant you that Brooks might have been underrated coming out of college (no one predicted this kind of performance), you have to be worried if Von Wafer is your primary scoring threat after Yao and a second year combo guard that is playing out of his mind.
Artest has his moments, but if think Portland is worried about isolation plays with any of Houston’s players outside Yao, you are grossly mistaken. However, because Houston RELIES on a team game, I think they are more vulnerable to a team like Portland than any Houston fan would want to admit. If the Blazers execute (and against Houston, that is the biggest IF in the league), then Portland will win. Period. If you doubt the Blazers ability to execute, consider their record for recognizing and overcoming deficiencies in their game. They have done so at a remarkable and league leading pace within games all season, and they have the youngest playing rotation in the league. These kids have game, and those that rely on “results-based” analysis to prop up their teams chance of winning are in for a surprise.
by blacknoiseNW on Apr 22, 2009 3:41 AM CDT up reply actions
So you're saying that Portland has talented players
who suck at actually playing? Whereas the Rockets have less talented players, but we work hard and overachieve?
Time to galvanize
Also
Has it occurred to you that Brooks’ success is also related to defensive deficiencies? And Wafer really didn’t surprise anyone in Houston. He’s played like this all season. He puts up nearly identical per minute numbers to Ben Gordon.
Time to galvanize
yes, it has
Love Steve Blake for his Lebron-like mental focus and intensity, and his commitment to the team ethos, and his fantastic decision making…
But he can’t guard Brooks, or Von Wafer. Or Deron Williams, or Chris Paul, or Billups, etc., etc. That’s why were screaming for McMillan to play Bayless; he’s lacking confidence, but he’s as quick as, and stronger than, any PG in the league right now.
And yes
I was really high on Bayless, and think hes going to be great, maybe not the fastest/strongest PG ever (that would be Magic) but good to great. Why McMillan is watching Blake get toasted so much is surprising. All those young guys and Bayless is too young?
Nate fucking hates rookie point guards
Bayless will get burn when Sergio is traded.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 4:21 AM CDT up reply actions
Bayless is a hardworker, but . . .
he’s not a winner. He’s a score first point guard, as opposed to a pass first point guard. In my view, if you want him, you can have him. He’s not the point guard of the future, he might be the backup of the future.
He plays good defense, but looks to score first. On a team with Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez (makes a butt-load of 3’s), Lamarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden (who will be a far better scorer next year and the year after that), why would you want a score first point guard unless they put in 40-50 a night?
You want Bayless, he’s all yours, but you have to promise to start him for 3 years!
HMMM
Maybe Memphis is that stupid again! That would really solve our backup center problem
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Not to disagree with your point, but
part of Brooks success may be tied to playing in Portland, too. It is like his personal homecourt.
Honestly no one has been more respectful of Portland than this blog.
You must not have been reading here much. I think you have the core of championship contender in another couple of years. I think you’ve arrived a little early this year, and that Houston is going to win the series.
As far as adjusting on the fly, Houston has done plenty of that this season.
Losing 2 in a row at home looked like a real possibility tonight. Would you have thought that before the series started? Id say be wary of overestimating your talent and underestimating ours. Don’t just fall in love with your own players.
Don't Count Your Home Wins Before They're Played
As a Portland fan, I was very encouraged by what the team did tonight. They really could have packed it in after game 1, but they played pretty good defense, made the shots they normally make, and they put the game away.
Yes, Houston fans, they did put the game away. Brooks made it look close, but at the 1 minute mark there was no way that Houston could have actually won the game.
I will say that Houston is playing very well, and I’m hoping that Brooks returns to earth soon. I do think this might be a 7 game series.
Sorry about Mutumbo, he was always one of the best personalities in the NBA (totally awesome guy).
"Honestly no one has been more respectful of Portland than this blog. "
Minus the tight, sensitive assholes remark after game one
I AM A PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS SUPPORTER.
One comment in a sea of generally positive ones.
Also I’ll see your “tight sensitive assholes” and raise you “Mutombo does the finger wag at his knee”.
Sensitive though, might be fair.
What I read here
Was a bunch of people complaining about refs and Prz flopping. If that is what you truly see, Portland’s talent is going to be a rude awakening. All season, that talent has had to learn to play elite basketball on the fly, hence the league leading comebacks from double digit deficits.
My main point, and the reason I posted in the first place, is that if Houston fans are truly so myopic that they believe flopping is the worst thing happening to them in this series – then you haven’t been paying attention to the fact that Portland’s elite window could be opening right now.
by blacknoiseNW on Apr 22, 2009 12:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Flopping is not why we lost
I am a Houston fan.
I know how we could have won last night. I know why we lost. Adelman.
Had he left Wafer and Lowry in just 1-2 more minutes at the end, we would have won.
Why? Foul calling so tight. Either guy is to quick and powerful to stop, and all night they pulled fouls on pryz, aldridge, and oden. Just 1-2 minutes and you would have lost all your big men. Then send in Yao FTW.
Ron and Brooks would have still jacked up threes
(Brooks would have made his, but still)
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:05 PM CDT up reply actions
Basically what you are saying is:
I read 4 comments and decided that’s what everyone on the entire site was saying
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Oh, and the Rockets missed 10 free throws
That’s why they lost
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Blazers also missed 10 free throws
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 23, 2009 3:44 PM CDT up reply actions
That logic is flawed
The Rockets shot 76.67% on the season, the Blazers shot 69.23.
The Rockets shot 8% worse than in season, and the Blazers shot 3% better
And also, those things really have nothing to do with each other. I said, they missed 10 free throws, I didn’t say “they missed 10 free throws and the Blazers played perfect”. It is possible for me to say the Rockets screwed up without it having anything to do with Portland.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
it was actually 80.5% for houston and 76.5% for portland in the regular season.
but yes the blazers only shot 3% lower than their average, which is no large deviation while the rockets shot 11% worse than their average, thus spelling doom and defeat.
That is not taking anything away from the Blazer’s performance on tuesday, its just that the best free throw defending team in the league got a taste of their own medicine on tuesday night.
I thought those numbers looked off
But I took them from ESPN, figured they were right
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
ah those are the playoff stats
for some reason espn shows the playoffs statistics as default. you have to click the “regular season” to get the normal stats. yahoo sports is so much more user friendly.
Individual Talent we don't match up?
We have Yao to deal with the post. Scola to deal with Aldridge. And Battier on Roy.
The later 2 guys when hot are virtually undefendable, especially the sweet fade from aldridge.
Now Brooks. Noone from ESPN predicted that performance, but Houston is a very underrated team. I was in no way shocked by wafer putting up 20. I was shocked that he didn’t do that the first game.
Houston’s talent is speed. Lowry, Brooks, Wafer. Your guys are big and athletic which I give you. Problem is that is a hinderance when covering those three.
Also, Brooks routinely takes shots from 5 feet off the three all season. The last running one was luck but not the others.
LMA was the fucking human torch in the second quarter
He was amazingly focused.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:06 PM CDT up reply actions
i dont know why every shot he shot in the 3rd was consistently short though
i was kinda hoping he’d “get it” and fix whatever was wrong!
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
I dunno.
I think Houston has a pretty sweet team. Of course I like the Blazers better, but I think I like everyone on the Rockets, even Artest (that guy needed a punch).
Anyway, this isn’t needed. Even if you feel it, keep it to yourself when someone else is hurting after a loss.
Thanks for that.
My thought on Artest is, if you throw a beer in that man’s face, you deserve what you get – you need to be excised from the gene pool anyway, for breathtaking stupidity.
Anyway, I don’t remember any TDS people posting that kind of crap after the first game, so that someone feels compelled to say it, with Houston’s margin of victory at +23 for the series thus far, it kind of pissed me off.
Most of the posters here seem genuinely nice, and pretty thoughtful, if perhaps unreasonably convinced of the inherent lovableness of Joel Przybilla.
If you recall
Artest didn’t go after the right guy. He went after the guy who he thought had thrown the beer. Instead he went after some guy NEAR the gun who had thrown the beer.
Time to galvanize
Just watch the game...
Why would you even wear a shirt like that, makes no sense, unintelligent and ridiculous, just watch a basketball game and cheer for your team!!
Don't mess with that guy
He is gangster. He is throwing up his hood.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:08 PM CDT up reply actions
stupid shirt
even though its in incredibly poor taste, its a free country. and the fact is artest has a very thugh checkered past. thats a reputation he’ll have to live with for the rest of his career.
banned for life
Was he not banned for life. If it is true that is the guy, shouldn’t be get thrown out.
I just want to see him do it again.
I’ll arrange a meeting in an alley behind my house. The results will be on YouTube shortly after.
best play of the night
Yao sets a pick on a slashing Brooks, who drives and kicks it to Artest out top; Artest dribbles, while Yao rolls and ends up being covered by Blake.
7’6’ Yao on the block guarded by 6’4 Blake… Artest lauches a 3 and almost breaks the backboard, LOL
by NeoSabonis on Apr 22, 2009 3:25 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
That pretty much describes the entire night
or it would if you could fit a couple of missed free throws in there.
Time to galvanize
Straight out of the playbook
That is Artest 101. Don’t put much pressure on him so he feels safe to shoot. Its the best defense on the Rockets hands down.
Honestly, you want Artest OR Brooks/Lowry/Yao/Battier/Barry/Wafer/Adelman shooting 3’s?
Also
I generally don’t mind when Artest shoots open 3’s. He is, after all just about the best 3 point shooter on our team this year. When he’s not hitting them, though, he never seems to recover his stroke, but he KEEPS SHOOTING THEM. Which leads to 1-8 nights like tonight.
Time to galvanize
Best on the team?
Battier from the corner.
Brooks from anywhere.
Wafer from anywhere.
All three much better from the 3. And at least they have the know how to stop shooting 3s when they aren’t falling.
Well goodnight Portland (and TDS diehards)
You can now have it all your way here, as Houston has gone to bed.
That's a cool way to spell Shane.
Very Mandarin-ish.
"The match in Los Angeles is a good opportunity to begin to demonstrate that we want to make war." Rudy Fernández (translated)
It is now yao vs roy
all the odds are in your favor. Yao can be so dominate. But Roy has that special something.
At least he has during the regular season. Can you keep your new homecourt advantage? We’ll find out.
Who ever wins this series is going to beat the asshole lakers. I’m gonna bet at least a sawbuck on it.
Hello Dum Dum
Refs
for a guy who told Blazers fans to stop whining about the refs (and I agreed), you sure are doing a lot of it yourself with the “Roy getting calls” and the “Joel flopping” comments. I guess you don’t seem to mind the fact that Yao gets away with all but the most heinous of shots on our driving guards. No matter. It all evens out as I’ve said.
I’m very sorry about Dikembe. That is no way to end that type of career. He will be missed. My lasting image of him will be when he played with Denver and bounced Seattle out of the playoffs, holding the ball to his chest with a smile that stretched across the floor as his team huddled all around him. Nice.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
I wasn't the guy who told portland fans to stop whining about the refs.
and you have to admit, that was a horribly officiated game.
The Dream Shake - Where Brooks > Alston happens.
"I think girls are probably just better shooters." - Steve Novak
they've both been horribly reffed
… but I don’t see it as biased one way or the other. that Battier call on Roy was terrible. However, the number of non calls on Yao has been equally as brutal. My point is that it all balances out.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Neither do we
the reffing in this game was awful for both sides. Now I think we could have won a game where the refs decided to just let players play, but that doesn’t mean I think the reffing was unfair.
Time to galvanize
By the way, on the flop issue
…how do you explain Yao getting “flung backwards” by a half speed moving, 165" Sergio Rodriguez in the second quarter? It was one thing for Roy to “take him down” in Game 1, but Yao is clearly flopping against light contact on guards that slash past him. It all evens out.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Which game
Are you talking about the charge he took in the first game?
it's simply physics
momentum (p) = mass x velocity
Sergio’s momentum is much greater than Yao’s because Yao is standing still and Sergio is going full speed right at him… the force of such a move is likely to knock ANYONE backwards, including a 7’6" 310 lb player who has sore feet and knees
Sergio wasn't moving that fast.
Yao will often fall backwards on contact with driving guards when he can’t keep up with them as a way of hiding the contact that he makes with them. It is a trick he uses (Ewing was a master of it) to keep his fouls down against fast moving guards. Oden needs to learn it. Its still “flopping”. However, I don’t care – its part of the game and it always evens out.
You can cite physics when it comes to Yao and then call Joel a flopper – that is a double standard.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
bullshit
I dare you to let someone who weights 150 lbs take a running start at you and see if you maintain full composure and stand up straight after the contact.
Yao does admittedly have to sell the call when someone runs into him (“no one cheers for Goliath”), but that’s not flopping. HE IS IN POSITION. Just like Scola, Battier… they are just trying to make sure the referee blows the whistle when an actual charge is committed.
Przy, on the other hand, jumps backwards on plays off the ball to attract attention. Joey Crawford, being a “when there’s smoke there’s fire” type of referee, falls for this shit all the time. THAT is flopping. Przy has yet to be “in position” on Yao on any of the fouls called his way.
that’s the distinction. It saddens me that you still don’t get this.
agreed
If someone is driving full sleep at Pryz, who is in position, and Pryz falls down (and sells the contact a little, like Scola and Battier and all smart players do), that’s fine, it’s an offensive foul, a charge.
However, if he goes flying on INCIDENTAL contact, that is a flop.
Get the difference?
Interesting
I’ll watch for that in game three. Hopefully I’ll catch all of it this time.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Ok. I see you guys are really obsessed about the whole flopping thing.
I suggest that the Rockets start flopping as a way to even out the advantages that you are all so convinced that every other team in the NBA enjoys over your team. If everyone else can get away with it, why shouldn’t Yao? (yes – that was rhetorical. This is a dumb thing to be arguing about).
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
missed the point? or you failed to make it?
I’m still trying to understand why you care about flopping period.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Isn't "sell the call" another word for "flopping"?
That stop and go by Roy is straight sick. I'm calling him "The Flu" from now on. - Wendell Maxey
its not "sell the call"
It’s actually “sell the charge”
Not “sell the incidental touch.”
dude is it me
or is it only the dumb blazer fans who come over here and bitch and moan?
if you don’t know the difference between selling a call and flopping… go and watch some tape before you come back and post some incoherent crap.
ooh ooh pick on me next!
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
WOW
It’s unbelievable us Rockets fans are still explaining this for the 100th time to the Blazeres fan.
Flopping = falling down on incidental contact.
In all my years of watching Rockets basketball, I have NEVER, EVER seen Yao flop.
Yao does try to take charges sometimes (which is stupid, he’ll more likely get injured than get the call).
Yao will often fall backwards on contact with driving guards when he can’t keep up with them as a way of hiding the contact that he makes with them.
I guess you’re trying to say that Yao flops defensively in order to draw a charge. Again, as grungedave said, he is IN POSITION when that happens.
Its cause of Scola
Blazers fan’s are upset because Rockets fans keep sighting scola.
Battier and Yao DO NOT FLOP.
Scola DOES FLOP. Its an international thing that is very common overseas.
Let's be clear
On what a flop is.
In my view, a flop is when you actually fall on the hardwood, hit the deck, etc. on incidental contact. Here is an example:
Now, I admit that Scola does a very good job of EXAGGERATING contact – which may or may not be a flop according to your definition. He lets himself fall on LEGITIMATE charges, and he will flail his arms and head a fair bit if someone pushes him in the chest. If that’s your definition of a flop, then fair enough. I agree.
But I have yet to see him totally throw himself on the ground when lightly brushed, like what Pryz did this game.
Scola does
He does and has. So far I have not seen a flop from Scola, especially anything like pryz did. But have no doubt, he will flop this series.
The reason the rockets are pissed is that every single player on every single team is allowed to flop on Yao including other centers. Its expected of small guys, but you would think a big guy isn’t such a pussy like pryz or okur and actually try and play 1v1 against another big guy. That is what angers me. I guarantee the gorilla was mad when lowry flopped on him, but you don’t see hayes or yao flopping on oden or pryz.
I'd think
flopping might hurt yao. He’s a big guy.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
True
That’s why he gets called for blocking fouls pretty often. But it doesn’t change the fact that he is TRYING to draw a legitimate charge. If he does fall down, it’s because the defender is barreling at him at full speed, in position or not (and also Yao is not the most agile of centers). Conclusion: blocking foul, but not flop.
ok. I accept your argument.
the question becomes why not flop if it is so effective for other teams (as you all seem to be arguing?)
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
I think we can agree
that flopping is a disease of an NBA that needs to be fixed (techs + fines?). Pryz is both an agent and victim of flopping.
Doesn’t mean that it’s right. I’d like to think that our boys are above this sort of stuff.
by Daniel C on Apr 22, 2009 10:38 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
You could say the same thing
about Bruce Bowen, or the entire Jizz team. They are pretty dirty – and effective too!
Would you like an NBA filled with that? The NBA has cracked down on flagrant fouls. Now it needs to do the same for flops.
I definitely won't argue with that
While it’s there, teams use what they can to win. Frankly, i can’t blame them. I also admit I hate to see it.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
for the unfamiliar
Yao is very big.
He has been injured many times.
He is slow, including slow to get up.
He plays more basketball than anyone on the planet, no offseason, straight to China for nonstop ball when the season ends.
He does not want to, and tries to avoid falling.
are you saying that to imply that he doesn't flop because he's afraid he'll get hurt
instead of because its stupid and needs to be reprimanded?
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
All of the above and more.
He is slow. He wants to play better D than that.
Flop is an all or nothing defensive move. Shane doesn’t flop for that reason alone.
I remember 1 play last night I think it was where pryz flopped but no foul was called. The basket was wide open for an easy bucket.
The only thing Yao does is complain alot and make funny faces.
..and eat babies
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
His faces are pretty funny!
Honestly, I feel sorry for most big men in the League as most smaller players are given leeway to beat on them.
It's a different game.
Now quick little varmits rule the roost (CF Paul, Parker, et al). I sometimes wonder how much damage Yao could do under mid 90s rules.
You probably don’t remember the epic brawl that was the Hou/NY finals, with Dream vs Ewing – that was just the marquee fight, it went all through the rosters. The contact today is laughable compared to then.
You are just blinded by your own fanhood.
…he may start out in position, but he can’t slide faster than most guards can get by him —> thus he’s out of position. What is the argument you guys keep making here “it is just physics”
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Yao has gotten MUCH better at positioning this year and last
He isn’t perfect at it, but rarely is a center perfect at postioning on drives by the guards. On one on ones with other centers though, Yao is one of the best in the league at it
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
IT WAS NOT THE REFS
We lost this game because of one person, and one person only. RICK ADELMAN.
No more complaining Rockets fans. Was I the only one watching this that saw that Lowry and Wafer dominated. If stupid Adelman had left just one of them in for 1 more minute, Yao could have dominated.
Anytime either guy drove, the stupid portland big men ran in instead of running away, aka Yao vs Roy, to try to block it. Wafer or Lowry could have fouled out the gorilla and aldridge with about 3-4 minutes left in the game.
WHY ADELMAN? WHY?
With oden, przy, and aldridge out, Yao Ming Night. Who could have stopped him. But low and behold he takes out the two guys keeping us in the game.
Crazy pills
Can’t you guys see why Rockets can’t execute offensively in tight 4th quarters?
Mr. Ron Ron (Crazy Pills, True Warrior) thinks he IS the Rockets offence. That’s the whole problem, right there. He thinks he is Kobe.
I wouldn’t have a problem if Artest gets his possessions by posting up, but no…. he has to chuck up fadeaways and threes. If you go ask him where the ROckets went wrong, he will probably blame the ref as well.
So, it’s not the Refs fault. Not Aaron Brooks.
It’s evident how one man can wreck the whole offensive chemistry.
Already knew that one.
Yeah, thats obvious. I said before the first game and the second game, for the blazers to win, give artest just enough room to feel comfortable shooting.
I just don’t get it. Last night Wafer was shooting bad behind the arc so what did he do? Throw up more bricks or drive on the big men and get them almost fouled out?
You Bitches.
Why didn’t the Rockets win? Why? I actually start cheering for you and this is how you repay me? It’s cause I’m a Jazz fan isn’t it. Bitches. Bitches. Bitches.
We bleed True Blue.
www.truebluejazz.com
Having fun in LA
How was your trip to LA? Having fun with Kobe?
You hate the Blazers more than the Rockets?
I guess you ARE afraid of us.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:11 PM CDT up reply actions
Pryz flopping?
I came into the game for the last 12 minutes and i missed that. Weird because that’s usually not his game, if it’s true. At least not more than twice a game. I make no claim that Yao can’t push him around. Joel is tough, but tough is different than strong. I can easily see Yao tossing Joel aside like tissue paper. Greg is strong, but he lacks the skills at the moment (as his 6 fouls in 12 minutes prove).
Refs were consistent. Yeah, they were bad and it was both ways, but they were also pretty consistent. At least for the 12 minutes I saw. Roy wasn’t given a foul when Yao hammered him, and then greg hammered Yao. Can’t tell from my terrible computer image, but it was so ugly it must have been a foul the other way, and the ref’s let it go. As long as refs are consistent, I try not to get too excited. At least then, smart teams, can take advantage of that.
Obviously the blazers winning in 5 games is less likely thanks to houston taking Game 1 (that was my bluster prediction. It’s fun to bluster until your team has a two ton statue dropped on them). I’m happy to see that the blazers stepped up a little to make it a series. Still not playing blazer basketball, but a few people stepped up, so I’ll take it. Now if I can see Roy get assists and the bench playing like i know they can…
Sorry to hear about Mutumbo. I’ve been a semi fan of him for a while with his crazy finger wag. I know his absence helps the blazers, but i don’t care. I’d rather the man be healthy and the blazers beat (or lose) to houston at it’s best.
Game 2 was what I was talking about by being the borg. The Blazers adapt amazingly well. They’re young, they learn, and they eventually stop making the same mistakes. (I’d say twice, but I’ve definitely seen the same blown assignment multiple times and games. Takes them a little longer than that, although they’re getting better and becoming quicker studies as this season has progressed.)
Also… Aaron Brooks… WTF!!!??? I woke the neighbor’s baby on those plays. I should probably apologize this evening.
See you guys in game three in houston. Should make for an interesting series now.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
He had one pretty clear flop to get Yao the 4th foul
Apart from that, it’s ridiculous to make Joel the poster child for flopping. He has trouble getting calls when Shaq or Boozer run over him and continue by bouncing a ball off him. Chandler hacked him on a broken wrist and that didn’t cause him to fall down. And so on.
That stop and go by Roy is straight sick. I'm calling him "The Flu" from now on. - Wendell Maxey
The rebound play?
Are you refering to the rebound Yao had in his hand, then roy jumped onto his shoulder. I watched it in slow motion to make sure. Yao’s arm was wrapped in his armpit. And on the way down he obviously fell since he was holding onto Yao.
It was not a flop, but it was a foul on Roy, not Yao. That isn’t blazers fault, its the terrible reffing.
they actually called Scola for a foul on that play
not sure if it was Scola fouling Roy or Scola fouling Aldridge. the camera angles weren’t very good on it, and there were a lot of arms and legs in the way
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
The Refs...
Yes, they did suck! Let’s just get back to some real basketball where you let the players fight it out and figure it out, players need to stop flopping and play some REAL Basketball!!! That’s what the Playoffs are all about. NBA has become so political and The Game is not what it was intended to be. Ready for Game 3!!
Luis Scola flops off the ball
Yesterday i was told to provide a clear example of someone on the Rockets flopping off the ball, because according to them, the Rockets players are freaking angels when it comes to flopping. At about the 5:30 mark in the 4th, Luis “Greasy” Scola grabbed LMA’s arm, pulled on it and fell down. It was called as a foul on LeMarcus and Scola shoots 2 FT’s.
Also yesterday i told someone that i hoped someone would f-ing break Mutombo’s finger if he wagged it again. I just want to let you know that i wasn’t hoping for something like that to happen. It is a sad day when an NBA legend is forced out of the game due to injury.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
"greasy" scola?
FU. When you stop being racist (indirect or otherwise), I’ll respond to your moronic comments.
Ease up on the race card...
In no way was i meaning that comment to be racist and if you took it that way i apologize. Its the greasy hair that makes me say that.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
way to miss the point
Social commentary is not racism.
Calling a guy “greasy” when there’s a history that this is a well-known slur is.
Uh, there is a well known history of racism associated with Hitler
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
The point that I am seeing is that you chose Cartman Hitler as your avatar.
Many people cry racism as soon as they see any depiction of Hitler. Silly I know. Almost as silly as calling everyone who says ‘greasy’ racist.
that's exactly it
It’s a CARTOON.
the commentary is that people are so worried about the mere image of Hitler and symbols that they overlook the conduct that was beneath it…… kinda like how the P.C. police don’t mind gratuitous violence in movies so long as no one has sex or uses dirty words.
and the fact that lrh86 doesn’t realize that ‘greasy’ is a well-known slur for many different demographic groups. Don’t believe me? http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=greasy+as+racial+slur&aq=f&oq=
though I shouldn’t be surprised… y’all haven’t been able to distinguish flopping from charging yet… why should I expect you to understand the different between commentary and overt racism?
Nice!
So your final defense for the use of Hitler vs. greasy as a descriptor of off the cuff racism is that I am slow headed.
Look, people get it.
All I’m saying is that you both can explain how your comments aren’t racist and easily convince me, but only one person acts like this:
“FU. When you stop being racist (indirect or otherwise), I’ll respond to your moronic comments.”
The fact that you can see how “greasy” could be approached as a racist comment, but can’t see that Cartman Hitler could be approached as one is a little funny some.
grungedave sounds like he is 'greasy'...
or grungy! is that racist?
Cartman’s hair looks pretty ‘greasy’…
Scola is definitely ‘greasy’….he looks like ‘greasy’ Vujacic’s older brother!
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
You are just another biased fan when you talk about one team flopping and...
your team is just “selling the call” when they flop so i don’t expect you to ever get it. And if calling someone greasy is racist then so be it. I don’t intend on being racist when i say it so you can just stfu and clean the sand out of your vagina.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
whatever
Like I’m supposed to respond calmly and rationally when someone posts something inflammatory and racist on my own blog?
yeah, you can get the fuck out of here if you think that’s the way it works.
REM:
You brought up the racist card! And you still have a fricking Nazi as your avatar. And Scola’s hair is greasy, just look at it!
Look, nobody’s comments had the intent of being racist. I don’t consider Argentinian’s as a “race” anyways. The ‘greasy’ comment is a playful tease just like everyone saying Oden is an old man. He looks like an old man. Now do I run around like a crazed lunatic chanting that those people have something against old people? No. It is in jest and I know it.
Relax, grungedave. Keep it to basketball and keep the personal slams to yourself. And swearing gets you no respect. It only lets us know we are getting under your skin. Which will only lead to more digs…
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
Be Fair
Oden did look like he was Deke’s older brother out there. You know its true.
coming from the guys
who didn’t learn the difference between selling calls and flopping until today…
You are longing to caress Scola's hair aren't you?
Don’t be ashamed, and don’t lash out. It’s natural that you would want to. Don’t deny your inner self.
Wow you Googled 'greasy' as a racial slur...
and it is used as an adjective to an actual racial slur every time!
Don’t use ‘greasy’ folks! or grungedave will call you a racist!
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
please
You call an Argentinian “greasy” and I know what you mean by it…
it’s subtle, but it’s still racist.
For the last fucking time!
I called him greasy because of his hair, NOT because of his race. I apologize if it came across as racist to you. And also you don’t think that if I was Jewish that i wouldn’t be offended by your avatar
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
fine
so maybe your only crime is being lame and unorginal in nicknaming Scola “greasy” fine… so be it… whatever.
bro his hair is pretty fucking greasy. and i don't see avatars on my setup but if you do have one of cartman as hitler then its kinda hard to make a case for cultural sensitivity :)
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
but i would think its safe to say that neither of you made your statement/chose your avatar with that intention
so why dont both of you drop it and accept the fact that neither meant nothing by it?
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
His hair is greasy
…..
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:14 PM CDT up reply actions
hating on the finger wag?
No matter who you are, you have to love the wag. The fact that he is probably in his 50s alone makes it so funny. Also that they created a rule to try and stop it. Its great.
Why are people critisizing Aaron Brooks?
He is the only reason the Rockets won a game in this series.
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 22, 2009 12:37 PM CDT reply actions
They were decided because he is BY FAR your cruddy teams leading scorer.
Learn to watch the games.
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 22, 2009 12:43 PM CDT up reply actions
kind of early
Its a little early to run your mouth after squeaking out a win at your home where you had such a great record of only 7 losses. Now you have 8.
Guess what, the rockest only have 8 home losses.
Two things...
- No way in hell you guys are getting past the Lakers. Portland is the only team in the West that could posssibly upset them. This is pretty much it for the Rockets no matter how you slice it.
- The Rockets are pretty much screwed now that they have no one who can play the low post outside of Yao.
- Even if the Rockets manage to keep this series close you have to be jealous of watching a team skyrocket past you in terms of young talent. Somewhere in the back of your mind you have got to be saying… “This is it. For the next 5+ years we are going to be getting our behind kicked by the Blazers.”
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 22, 2009 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Um, no.
We probably can’t beat the Lakers, but I’m pretty sure no one else will either. That includes Portland. No homecourt, remember?
Deke going down sucks, but he played about 100 minutes all year. We were saving him for the playoffs, and then this shit happens. It could happen to your team, too.
Portland has a lot of young talent. One legitimate superstar, and a couple of guys who have a chance to special. No one here has ever said otherwise. But we aren’t particularly afraid, the West has been tough for years. Welcome to the party.
Also, if you Blazers fans are guilty of anything,its that you have fallen in love with your whole team. I’ve watched lots of talented young teams not amount to much, Portland may well be different, it may not.
"if you Blazers fans are guilty of anything,its that you have fallen in love with your whole team."
As charged…lock us up.
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 3:26 PM CDT up reply actions
"Lots of talented young teams..."
When, in the history of the modern NBA, has there been a collection of such nasty talent at such a young age. I’m sorry but even Phil Kackson said that Portland may be the most “talented” team in the NBA. Absolute worst case scenario…We arent even close to reaching our potential.
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 22, 2009 4:32 PM CDT up reply actions
Actually, there is OKC right now
They are coming up on your heals talent wise, and they still likely get to draft in the top 4 this year
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
yeah
they do make me nervous. Won’t deny it. Until they find the big man though, we’ll always be able to take them.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Not to mention Durant has been more of a no show against us.
I believe it was Westbrook and Green we had to watch.
You clearly don't know the Blazers roster...
I suggest you wikipidia them.
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 23, 2009 1:04 PM CDT up reply actions
You're right, I don't write the previews around here or anything
Don’t talk out of your ass.
I know it damn well. I also know that I’m right, OKC has a couple of years behind to catch up on the roster, but they have drafted incredibly
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Read Gekko Mojos post...
“a long way too go”
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 23, 2009 6:27 PM CDT up reply actions
And two years ago, so did Portland
My point is, OKC actually is further along than Portland was with even higher ceiling guys. That’s pretty damn impressive.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
What?
I would consider you blasphemous if it werent for your ignorance.
Yeah, OKC has 3 pretty awesome players. They have a long ways to go before they are 9 and 10 deep like the Blazers.
It’s also important to note that Durant isn’t going to get much better. He was one of the best players in the league this year and OKC still finished with one of the worst records.
The Blazers have more than enough pieces in place, read that again, “more than enough”. The only thing they are waiting for is time.
Heck, we have 4 “high ceiling” guys with loads of potential who either didn’t play this year, or contributed minimally.
Greg Oden – If he stays healthy this rookie season will be by far his worst.
Nic Batum – Sick defensive player, who had the skills to put up 10 pts a game this year.
Martell Webster – Played 5 minutes for us this year. He was supposed to start.
Jerryd Bayless – KP thinks he was the 4th best player in the draft. He was the MVP of the summer league. Physical freak for his position. Did not play well this year.
Blazers win 54 games this year with minimal help from the 4 above. I don’t think you understand the brilliance of this young roster.
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 24, 2009 7:49 AM CDT up reply actions
You are showing your ass if you think Durant isn't going to get better
I can’t believe anyone would say something so freaking ignorant.
I understand the roster well, not sure why the two have to be mutally exclusive, but I guess how things work in your mind. I never said that OKC was 9 or 10 deep. I said they have a lot of talent and are about 2 years behind where Portland is. And it’s arguable, but at the same point in their careers, Green, Westbrook and Durant are ahead of Roy, Aldridge and who? Fernandez? You have two, they have three.
I have to ask you though tiger, when did you get those “high ceiling guys” oh wait, was it in the last two years? Hmmm, seems like you proved my point doesn’t it. And I know Webster was three years ago, but he doesn’t have nearly the ceiling you apparently think he does.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Here is what I mean...
Kevin Durant is going to become a better player. However, wasn’t he the 4th leading scorer in the league this year? He was a monster this year. Best case scenario…he grows into an even bigger monster.
I’m not saying OKC isn’t in a great position right now but if they want to “catch” the Blazers they NEED to pick up a few more “high ceiling” guys. That is the hard part. Like I said before what the Blazers have right now in young talent isn’t the best in the NBA. It’s the best in pro sports. It’s arguable if its the best of all time.
Martell Webster – I think his ceiling is pretty high. He was a high school draft pick. His 2006/07 campaign was very productive and he was projected to “break out” this year. If this injury doesn’t hobble him he could very easily become a great defensive player and give you 15pts a game. The Blazers are loaded with “starting” talent who will play against other teams backups. In all my years I have never seen a team assembled like this.
You can deny it all you want but by low estimates we are going to be a 60 win team for the next 5 or 6 years. Let me say that one more time for effect…By LOW ESTIMATES we are going to be a 60 win team for the next 5 or 6 years. I wonder what happens if we meet expectations? I wonder what happens if we exceed expectations?
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 24, 2009 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions
OKC is not a balanced roster of young talent...
…. they are more like Atlanta, only smaller – a lot of “talent” that all needs to dominate the ball in order to excel. The Blazers roster of young talent is more diverse. OKC has a long way to go.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
I don't agree at all
Durant is the only guy on that squad that needs to dominate the ball. Westbrook is a good facilitator that can also score and Jeff Green is perfect for the extras
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
I'm sorry you don't agree...
…. but I think you are not watching that team play. Both Durant and Westbrook need to handle the ball in their offense, both are slashers and, as a result, they’ve turned Green in to a jump shooter which is a shame because he’s much more effective as a hi/lo post guy. They have no interior muscle (Collison is an NBA pedestrian), and they are one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA (Westbrook is the only guy who even tries to play D). Two years ago, Aldridge, Webster, Rodriguez and Roy were completing their rookie seasons and regular rotation guys like Bayless, Frye, Rodriguez, Oden, and Batum were not even yet with the squad.
Given the fact that OKC’s roster is littered with retreads, rejects and prayers like Collison, Livingston, Des Mason, Kristic, Rob Swift, Malik Rose, Earl Watson, and Damien Wilkens, I’m having a hard time seeing how a knowledgeable person can say that their “core” has more upside when over half the team is not even in the plan.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
You just completely made that up. I never said "has more upside"
I don’t think that at all. I just think it’s silly to act like Portland is the only team with great young talent. I clearly believe that the Trailblazers have a more complete roster and more upside TODAY. But I’m simply stating that I’m interested to see how the next two drafts work out for OKC.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
both games
ABZ got a majority of his points in both games when the Rockets had already been up by 20… and then in Game 2 when the Blazers were up 8. It’s a hollow statistical performance. Which is sad, because he could do this whenever he wants.
it’s like he forgets that he’s the fastest guy on the court.
The only reason?
I think there is a 7’6" guy named yao that will argue that point. 9-9 from the field and 6-6 from the line is pretty damn good.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
Aaron Brooks has 50 points for you guys...
He is scoring 1/4th of your teams baskets. You should appreciate your best player.
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 22, 2009 12:50 PM CDT reply actions
As he should
Its a matchup thing.
Your team is slow. He is fast.
Wafer scores at will on you. He is fast.
Lowry scores at will. He is fast.
Scola and Yao have trouble. They are slow and big. You are athletic and big.
thats why we match up better with the lakers
but still you can’t say yao/scola have THAT much trouble after game one…can you?
..or do you agree that was an abomination and out of character for portland?
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
Not really trouble for them
Scola shot TERRIBLE. Worst I have ever seen him play, percentage wise.
Yao couldn’t get the ball. Because he is slow he has trouble getting it. Plus the way it was called standard center play wasn’t allowed by either team.
My point was its easier for the fast guys, especially when its called like it was last night.
ic. agreed
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
yes.
Rodriguez, Fernandez, Aldridge, Oden, Outlaw, Frye and Batum are among the slowest guys in the NBA at their positions. I know what you are trying to say – that Brooks is faster than Blake. But your point is lost in translation.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Brandon Roy has 63 points for you guys..
Without him where would you be? You wouldn’t have made the playoffs. So shut up please.
wasn't he talking about people critiquing ABZ?
maybe i’m wrong here, but that’s what I thought.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
I guess with T-Mac out
you really do have a chance of making it out of the first round!
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
Yao did not flop that I saw. Pryz is a huge flopper.
He’s not as big as Varejao though.
And what Douglast said above is partially right. Yao tangled Oden’s arm to get a foul called on Oden when HE was holding Odens arm! This has happened throughout the season. Its not flopping, but its definitely as dirty as flopping.
And yes, there should have been a T on Oden when he gave that love tap to Yao.
That said, I love seeing Mr. 52-going-on-21 playing the game with a little passion and a chip on his shoulders!
Lastly, sorry about Zeke.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
Oden shouldn't get the T on that!
He was shrugging Yao off who was draped all over him. Much like when Oden “shrugged” LeBron off earlier this season after dunking on the entire Cleveland team!
I love to see that out of Greg!
Yao get intimidated easily. You never see him tangle up and look someone down like he is about to eat their children (even though he allegedly ‘bites their heads off’). He just cries to the refs and takes himself out of the game when people get physical with him.
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
Nice comeback...
Why don’t you keep it to the Rockets vs Blazers and not attacks on me, Hitler?
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
stop getting out of fucking hand.
it was technical worthy. I’m a huge blazers fan and I can see that-why can’t you? He gave him a little inciteful shove. Its not the first time he’s done it and i wouldn’t get pissed if he got t’ed up. I’d want him to do it again if it meant he’d play with more passion.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
I disagree
I was not T- worthy. It was a little shove. They didn’t even square off. Had that been the case, it was probably T- worthy.
You don’t need to police me, either!
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
Wee Ohhh Weee Ohhh
Can I see your post log and registration please.
Do you realize how recklessly you were posting out there.
Uh sorry officer,
I, uh, just came to this website to get a different perspective, and uh, saw how childish and whiny the recap and comments from Houston fans were and, uh, decided to defend our frickin’ team! Only to get jumped by a bunch more homers who resort to swearing at you and calling you names because you have a contradicting point of view on ‘their’ blog. Sir, I didn’t realize that was a crime. Please don’t spank me…
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
Shocked.
There are Houston fans on a Houston blog. Shocking.
And you know what’s REALLY unfair? They don’t agree with you. How rude.
Missed my point again...
Go read Blazer’s Edge game recaps by Dave and Ben. They will NEVER be disrespectful to the other team or fans. They will NEVER cry and whine about the refs.
This blog, on the other hand, is full of disrespectful, whiny crybabies…
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
Too much fun!
It is so easy to get under your skin!
I mean talking about Scola’s hair grease has given me a good hour of entertainment!
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
Dave usually calls out a team that just flat out sucks
Like the wolves
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 5:40 PM CDT up reply actions
Not trying to police you (or spank you)
But it seems arrogant to compare the different blogs. Dave & Ben mock other teams all the time (see esp. bird bones maggette), but they do it in good fun. I think that is what the original writer was doing here, but for some reason it was a sensitive spot for some of us.
And even if they didn’t, this blog can act however it wants, right? You are welcome to judge it accordingly, but the writers are just as welcome to ignore your judgement, right?
Your right, BEdge makes fun (nicely)
It’s the net difference between Game 1 and Game 2 and what Houston fans are complaining about. Mainly, the refs and flopping. The reffing has been poor in both games but that is the NBA in general. Calling Przy a flopper is like calling the kettle black when you got Scola.
The recap was offensive and I have the right to let ’em know about. Just like they have the right to disagree. My point is that is OK to have a healthy debate but when it (quickly) degrades to name calling and swearing, I have issues.
Keep it classy is all I’m asking. Friendly banter about Scola’s hair and Oden’s ‘age’ is fun. Posting FUs and STFU and your dumb just shows how low on the evolutionary totem pole you really are.
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
Lordy.
We were, in general, quite the patient bunch while many Blazer’s fans came HERE, not BE, HERE to whine after game one.
We complain on our own blog and you come and say we aren’t living up to your standards of fairness, or the Code of Internet Integrity or something.
Seriously, it seems like Portland fans not only want us to respect Portland as team, which we do, but to love Portland like they do. Which we don’t.
It’s like we’re constantly being proselytized by The Portland Trail Blazer Evangelists. Who, like those nice men on bicycles, are generally quite pleasant, and REALLY persistent.
Just because you can state a case doesn’t make it a winning one. We are allowed to disagree with you, and we aren’t going to join your religion, ok?
I dunno,
Copies of something called The Gospel According to Roy keep showing up in my mailbox.
And then there’s the “Nic Batum, great man, or The Greatest Man?” videos that are appearing in my inbox.
And then there’s the pamphlets “12 Prophesies that Predicted the Coming of GREG ODEN” under my windshield wipers.
That's good!
One day you’ll see the light! (but I’m not asking you to!)
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
if you would kindly
look up at the url bar it should read “thedreamshake”.
not Blazers Edge, but Dreamshake.
that means you have every right to ask people to keep it friendly, but they have all the right to send you off with the finger, since you know, this is our blog not yours. now i don’t mean to be rude i dont, im just saying that your comment may be ignored.
I would still like to think that we're a friendly enough bunch here
that Non-Jazz fans feel safe coming here to talk.
Time to galvanize
i think
the more conservative blazer fans love it here, cuz we can have some productive back n forth debate using real evidence.
I somehow doubt
that you ever have a productive debate seeing as your main comeback is “your mom”
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
speak o' the devil...
i actually reserve the use of “ur mom” for really respectable guys like yourself.
but honestly, what can you really expect when you complain about artest being “too big and rough”?
You sure do know how to twist an argument around.
I was saying that artest plays dirty. You responded with he is just bigger than anyone else so it appears to be dirty. I conceded the fact that Artest is in fact bigger and plays physical but that he also takes it over the line at times. At no time was i complaining that he was “too big and rough”. Holy hell it’s hard to get a point across to you.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
your comment -
" He plays very physical…
to the point of crossing the line of being dirty. I will give you that he is just bigger than anyone so he seems a little rougher."
I apologize in advance if i’m uh misinterpreting ur passage, but it seems u just stated that he was physical, big, and rough.
I’m done with trying to explain to you that this is not an argument. I won’t be replying to any of your future posts about this, so feel free to bitch all you’d like. peace out.
Fucking Moron!
It wasn’t a goddamn complaint about him being big and rough it was a statement about artest being dirty. Please tell me people in Houston are not all this retarded.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
Much much more so than nuggets fans
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 7:48 PM CDT up reply actions
Not a Jazz-fan
I have to say I used to love the Rockets (beware cliche) when they had Clyde and Hakeem!
‘OK Nic, swag on out on ‘em!’
that would be awesome
simply because it’d tick off fatty (who i suspects lurks here under another name as a professed rockets fan).
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
You guys have been really friendly.
After this series (as long as things don’t get too chippy) regardless of the outcome the Rockets will probably be my second favorite team for a while. I already liked the players, but the fans are great too.
Not, of course to say that we aren't, as a whole doing a good job
We have, around 600 comments of back and forth so far.
Time to galvanize
You are WRONG
Dave clearly complains about the referees and it having an effect on the game. MUCH LIKE BBN ABOVE, he says it didn’t lose the game for you guys.
So stop being a baby yourself
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Hating on the reffing?
How about refs refusing to call 5th foul on yao. even after he bumped roy so much during his layups. Lowry runs into a still standing Oden’s nutsack with his head down and Oden picks up the foul. amazing
"shaq and zach randolph have the same trainer... "
best one liner i ever heard.
Drawing the charge
There is a reason you shift your weight to take a charge.
When was the last time you saw anyone get called for a charge when they guy they ran into didn’t move?
Also, you sure Oden wasn’t in the circle?
oden HAS been called for those kind of fouls several times this season texasag
i’m not sure last night was one of them. That foul on yao (with the shove) was badly called though.
Oden just needs a few years to figure out how to use his body most effectively. He overplays everything. He goes for blocks when its already a lost cause. He brings his hands down into the defender instead of straight up (LaMarcus does a GREAT job of doing this) and he moves his feet TOWARD the offensive player when he’s cutting off the baseline instead of sliding laterally/retreating (Yao & Przy do this well).
Once he gets that under control, watch out!
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
Someone understands
Thank god someone understands this. Every blazer fan talks as if Yao and Oden commit the same fouls.
Oden made several stupid fouls. Yao used to do that, go out at the three and get a foul off some PG fake.
I have no doubt you keep him healthy and send him to Houston to learn from the best, aka the dreamshake, and he will do great.
bro thats why i wanted us to get a nice center who's too old these days.
i would love to have a zeke, hakeem (my favorite center of all time), or someone else.
i have a hard time with shaq since i hate his fat ass and couldn’t stomach supporting him but to be honest he is the player greg should emulate.
but hell, hakeem’s footwork? If greg had that-the league would be on notice.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
Not to play but train
It’s pretty obvious Yao has gotten much more mobile in the paint this year vs last.
The reason is he trained with Hakeem last summer. He said he is willing to train any big man that wants it for free I think. Send greg down. he will never have the hakeem footwork, noone will, but he can learn maybe 5-6 of Hakeems dozens upon dozens of moves.
thats what i meant :)
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
What
You are predicting the rockets win in 5.
Cool, I have them in 6.
It takes a big man to walk away, but a bigger man to break his freaking jaw!
As a Portland fan
Houston is a worse matchup for Portland than the Lakers. I never expected a win in the series, just because it’s the absolute worst team to play.
Houston will probably win in six, though Mutumbo’s absence could prove large. Oden can’t be checked by Landry or Hayes.
draft dejuan blair
Oden is a rookie
He is also a rookie. Last night he fell for stupid stuff and fouled himself out. At that rate lowry, brooks, and wafer will keep him off the court for the series.
I apologize for some of the Blazer fans here
Almost none of them are regulars at Blazersedge. Don’t let them color your opinion of Portland and its fans.
draft dejuan blair
no problem
I evaluate people on an individual basis…
those that aren’t complete tools or trolls, I will engage in healthy debate.
those that are full of shit and are just trying to be annoying I have no problem insulting.
I don’t immediately associate all Portland fans with BE. It’s unfair to BE…
Why apologize?
The man is on here flat out ripping on Portland and you don’t expect someone to stick up for their team.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
it is a Houston blog. For Rocket fans.
It’s obviously fun to converse with the opposing fans, but those who do so should realize that the site is writing from the opposing perspective.
draft dejuan blair
on their team?
By team you mean pryz? There isn’t much else being said except he is a flopper and all you can do is point out that Scola is also a flopper.
That may be true, but so far Scola hasn’t had any major flops like your man. Next game though…….got my fingers crossed.
All i can say is...
Go over to BlazersEdge and read a real game recap. One that is subjective and actually talks about the game and not just “i’ve added Joel Przybilla to my ‘hate’ list”, and bitch and moan about flopping and the refs(when the refs were on their side if anyone’s)
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
Come on.
There are different styles of recaps and it was actually a compliment that he said that about Pryz.
In general, Rockets fans are the best opposing fans I have met so far. Smart, respectful, and funny. They’re no more homers than we are and they have a generally likeable team, one that emphasized great defense without having one really dirty player on the entire team. It’s a pretty amazing thing if you ask me.
Rocket fans are the same as any fanbase out there.
They are all biased toward their team(obviously) and they all have a few rotten apples. I know i may seem to be one of the rotten portland fans but i kinda just got pissed when the author of this post went off on Przybilla about flopping when his team does it just as much as any other. And as far as having no dirty players, RON ARTEST is a very dirty player.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
Artest dirty?
How is he dirty? He is damned physical. Not afraid to run his mouth. Have you ever seen harpring play? Or Bowen?
Yes.
They are both dirty. Artest belongs on the football field with the way he tackles people. It is also funny when he jacks up stupid shots and ruins his teams chances. I think he is mildly retarded.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
Tackles?
He does not tackle anyone. He drives just like Roy, the only difference is when Roy hits someone he gets bumped away and its a foul. When artest hits anything it gets bumped away and its a foul. That is not dirty, thats being big.
By your logic Oden is dirty for being bigger than Hayes and forcing him where he wanted him.
As for mildly retarded, touche.
He plays very physical...
to the point of crossing the line of being dirty. I will give you that he is just bigger than anyone so he seems a little rougher. I actually think he would help his team more if he didn’t touch the ball on offence and committed to stopping the opposing teams best wing player.
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
i'll play physical with ur mom
this is where there is no longer any point in arguing with someone who only knows how to say “hes big and rough”.
playing physical is how basketball has always been played before Joey came into the league. Flinging your 250 lb body 3 meters backwards from a wrist shove is dirty, because it diverges from the basics of basketball.
before you refute any more comments, please and i mean PULEAZE have some solid evidence ready (youtube link, specific descriptions, logical thought of a high school graduate, etc.).
I once thought all blazers fans were bandwagon nuts that didn’t know how to dribble, but i now realize it was just imbeciles like you who never learned how to write a persuasive argument.
So if flopping is fucking dirty then the whole goddamn nba is dirty!
Every team does it including the Blazers and Rockets so get off your high horse and go play in traffic
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
once again
im seeing a bunch or curse words and accusations in place of logic and reason.
i mean cmon’ “every team does it”, yea we all know that, and we hate it when our players do it. but theres a difference between a player doing it spontaneously in the moment (scola) as opposed to another player carrying a flop schedule checklist in his short pockets (przybilla).
and i’ll get off the high horse after im done riding ur mom.
Wow.
You know the ‘ur mom’ comments only make you sound like a 14 year old kid
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
cuz you kno
calling someone a 14 year old is a real mature thing to do nowadays?
but seriously, im really hardgay. if you don’t like me saying “ur mom” i can always switch to HIP THRUST whenever u’d like me to.
WHAT
THIS ISN’T BLAZERSEDGE??!!!
jeezus do you guys have nothing else to say besides trying to put me down?
Hmmm....
hardgay:
“calling someone a 14 year old is a real mature thing to do nowadays?
but seriously, im really hardgay. if you don’t like me saying "ur mom" i can always switch to HIP THRUST whenever u’d like me to.”
“…i’ll get off the high horse after im done riding ur mom.”
“i’ll play physical with ur mom "
“I once thought all blazers fans were bandwagon nuts that didn’t know how to dribble, but i now realize it was just imbeciles like you who never learned how to write a persuasive argument.”
“dude is it me
or is it only the dumb blazer fans who come over here and bitch and moan?”
I’m almost afraid to say this, but, are you the type who can give it but can’t take it?
no... i'm just the type
to respond in kind. unless you expect me to come up with a statistical reply for an insult. if you have a sensible argument, i will most definitely respond with one. if you call me a 14 year old, you kno what you can expect in return… a long hard 8inch hipthrust up ur behind.
Not an insult but:
Irh86: “He plays very physical…
to the point of crossing the line of being dirty. I will give you that he is just bigger than anyone so he seems a little rougher. I actually think he would help his team more if he didn’t touch the ball on offence and committed to stopping the opposing teams best wing player.”
Your response, hardgay: “i’ll play physical with ur mom
this is where there is no longer any point in arguing with someone who only knows how to say "hes big and rough".
playing physical is how basketball has always been played before Joey came into the league. Flinging your 250 lb body 3 meters backwards from a wrist shove is dirty, because it diverges from the basics of basketball.
before you refute any more comments, please and i mean PULEAZE have some solid evidence ready (youtube link, specific descriptions, logical thought of a high school graduate, etc.).
I once thought all blazers fans were bandwagon nuts that didn’t know how to dribble, but i now realize it was just imbeciles like you who never learned how to write a persuasive argument.”
Who started the insults, and who later complained about insults?
i started the insults
if you wanna prove your point, you better have some substance. if you bring in some weak shit like “hes too big and rough” im going to let you know.
if you read my entire reply, u’ll notice that however sarcastic it might be, i actually included some analysis.
if you would like to continue stalking my posts, please start a new post, im running out of room.
Personally, I don't think Artest is dirty.
Dirty usually means that the player constantly engages in dangerous plays, tries to injure other players or leave them in pain, flops a lot, and crys to the refs.
Artest is rough as hell, but he doesn’t do any of the above things. Oh well, maybe we just disagree anyway, and that is ok.
Personally, I see all fan bases as being different. Are there kind respectful lakerfans? Yes, but they are in the minority instead of the majority.
I don’t think you are rotten, just exasperated. But hanging out on an opponents blog should be a bit exasperating, right?
John Stockton was a dirty player.
Ron Artest is a physical player.
Trust me, if Ron punched Roy in the kidney’s 10 times a game, like Stockton continually did, you’d understand what dirty is.
'Hate list' is a sign of respect
Flopping on Yao is a proven tactic by many many teams. Przy is on the hate list because unlike many big men, he is able to pull it off. Its a complement to him, but we still hate the guy for doing it.
Also, the refs playing that tight is worse for us than you. We rely heavily on defense and tight calling hurts us more than you.
agreed. we're a "big" team but your wings just outmuscle us. yao is a foot taller than przy. keeping it a "finesse" game helps us.
Please, for the love of all that is holy, please stop using the following: "Book it.", "FTW", "Epic" & "Fail".
...no seriously--stop.
No one on this thread as a Houston fan has ripped on Portland at all
The most that has been said is that Przy is a flopper, and he is, period
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
hard to argue with that ...
… although the Pryz as a flopper issue is not agreed. The fact that you can’t acknowledge that Yao does it makes your own argument about Joel less credible.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Are you freaking serious?
Why on earth do you guys think Yao is a flopper. He’s just not coordinated, it really is that simple.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
I didn't classify Yao as a "flopper" -
… I said that he flops. There have been two silly instances where he went down hard after contact with Roy (game 1) and Sergio (game 2). I know you guys keep saying “physics”, but an honest, objective viewing of those instances should lead you to conclude that Yao was trying to get a call. This, by the way, is perfectly fine by me. That is what he should be doing. The fact that you don’t see it, however, puts your objectivity into question when drawing the same conclusion about the opposition.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
I assume you mean Rudy in Game 1
And that wasn’t a flop, you have Blazer glasses on for that one.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Reading all this stuff about Deke today
is causing me to choke up a bit. Here’s to hoping he recovers quickly so he can continue the outstanding work he has been doing with the unfortunate situation in his homeland.
We lost one of the games true class acts last night.
Przybilla.... And Refs
It’s so silly to pick out one games circumstances and talk about them as if they are the norm. Przybilla would easily be among the lead leaders in charges taken if they kept track of that stat. He, like many other players (including the greats) ‘sells’ a call every now and then. I mean hell, I’ve seen Yao do it enough to know he does the same damn thing. The call out Pryzbilla for being smart in a game is silly. I admit, it frustrates me when the call goes the other way for an obvious flop… but it’s the official’s fault, not the player’s.
Secondly, come on, the officiating was much better last night than in game 1. Players were getting away with everything. Sometimes the Blazers get the calls but it sure as hell wasn’t in game 1. Now, when the calls start to be called against you you start to call foul. Are you objective enough to say the same about game 1?? Or is it only when it hurts your team??
Yes, I am objective enough
Foul calling in game 1 was laxxed. Not better for either team, unless you take into factor play style. Houston is phycal defense and relaxed calling is really really good.
Game 2 was tight which hurts us big time. There were in no way unfair calls on one team over another. Just that more foul calling hurts our style more than yours.
Truly appreciate the objectivity
I truly do appreciate the objectivity that you responded with. Beyond the series (which is damn fun)… it is always great to have fans be kind to one another. I remember when Portland played the Lakers in 2000… I really had a hard time talking to Laker fans that could be respectful and objective.
Thank you.
Our entire front line was in foul trouble...
… in game 2. We were just as “hurt” by the tight calling as you. Oden fouled out in just 12 minutes. He might be prone to more fouls, but he still gets less per 48 on the season than Yao … so I’d say the tight calling is just as harmful to the Blazers.
I would agree, however, that going forward, the Deke situation makes fouls on Yao much more difficult for your team to adjust to. This will be an interesting subplot.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
where've you been the past week?
we’ve been over this already. sure some of the calls in game one were unfavorable to the blazers… but not even close to the extent most of you were bitchin’ about. like seroiusly you guys made it sound like yao was karate chopping ur entire team. we only told you guys to stfu because we blew you out by 30 pts.
Only a comparison
I was only bringing up game 1 because of the article’s obvious attack on the refs for game 2. I am actually of the same opinion (generally) as ‘texasag’ who posted above. I think the Blazers lost game 1 themselves. They put too much pressure on themselves and lost the game THEMSELVES. The officials didn’t help, but we would have lost anyway.
Anyway… I’m not one of the ‘bitchers’. Though I do like consistency in officiating. I also like objectivity of writers…. My question/point was that if you complain about calls being lopsided in game 2 because they hurt the Rockets, were you also on the lookout for lopsided calls that benefited your team as well?
It was mainly the Pryz flop
I think the big complaint was a center flopping on another center. Its like black on black crime.
Its expected for little guys to do it, how else can they stop a big man. Lowry had a great flop which was a no-foul but was called for a foul.
Its just frustrating knowing that the only thing your center can do to stop Yao is flop. If he played Yao like Yoa plays him, Yao would go 9-9 like in game 1.
In my opinion...
While ‘flopping’ helps sell calls it isn’t the reason the Blazers were successful in slowing Yao. It had more to do with fronting him and having more help defense and double-teams. Using Przybilla and Oden together is quite new but may also be effective, if only, against Yao.
Yao easily frustrated
Flopping frustrates Yao and he plays worse. Double’s are nothing new, and usually he can feed the ball to his teammates making many open, easy plays.
If you haven’t noticed he complains alot and when its a flop where he actually didn’t do anything, his frustration goes up and he sucks.
noted
more flopping.
What a horrible way to win this series, but a teams gotta do what a teams gotta do.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Nope. You do that and Portland will never win another ring.
Just look at Utah. The basketball gods hate Utah, and with reason.
Yeah, because Chicago never won anything when that flopper Rodman was on the team.
And Detroit with Laimbeer? Zero titles.
San Antonio with Manu? Lottery team for sure.
Do you REALLY want to be like that though?
And I think you’ll get the Utah karma anyway, because you are relatively close to Utah.
Oh yeah,
The only one of those that’s in this “era” of basketball (meaning effectively no D) is SA.
And in every case I’d say the flop king on each team was not the main reason they won.
Sure, of course it's not the main reason, but it obviously doesn't bring the wrath of "basketball gods"
Oh, and let’s not forget the Lakers (Robert Horry, Rick Fox).
Maybe the better question is which champions from this “era” (Where do you draw the line? And if there’s no defense, why aren’t we seeing significantly higher scoring totals? Huh? You’ve confusimacated me) didn’t have a flopper?
in that case
my problem is not with you then. personally i would everyone to stop complaining about the refs altogether because we will never ever reach a consensus on who the refs are favoring.
my only gripe with blazer fans who feel that Roy deserves a call every time he yells and falls on the floor, even though he gets half of them with or without hard contact. same goes for people who think yao should be called for a foul everytime he touches a blazer. iv already given up trying to point out all the flops.
C'mon, the Rockets needed the refs help to blow the Blazers on our hardwood in game three.
Just keep acting surprised and saying all we’ve got are a bunch of floppers.
Did the refs shortchange you guys 50 FT's?
that might have made up the difference… Until we played our starters in the 4th.
Time to galvanize
There is a stat for offensive fouls drawn (total/per minute). Varejao and Nocioni are usually leading in that category
That stop and go by Roy is straight sick. I'm calling him "The Flu" from now on. - Wendell Maxey
yeah, looked it up
82games.com doesn’t have it for this year,
but Varejao led in ’07
http://www.82games.com/charges0607.htm
and Raja Bell led in ’06
http://www.82games.com/charge.htm
wonder where I can find this year’s?
Something I'm getting sick of
is the assumption that our loss had something to do with Yao not ever touching the ball. We shot 50% as a team and got a lot of free throws. If our offense plays like that, there’s no reason we shouldn’t win.
What concerned me more was the defense: the Blazers shot over 50% and had only 4 turnovers.
Time to galvanize
Broy had 42 and zero turnovers
Slow pace ftw?
"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''
by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 22, 2009 5:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Houston doesn't really play fast either
We only averaged about 3 more possessions per game during the regular season than you did.
Time to galvanize
the reason the Blazers don't come across as "playing fast"
is because they led the league in offensive rebounding which increases points scored on fewer possessions. They actually run to the tune of an average NBA team.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
So I suppose playing against a great *Defensive rebouding team like Houston*
should theoretically speed the game up. So the slow pace means you are playing slow.
Time to galvanize
We may just be moving at whatever level the Rockets choose.
Isn’t that how it usually goes with younger teams?
yeah - I never claimed that your Defense wasn't effective
… but I think Roy exposed your guys a little – that ought to be a concern. Plus, you’ve done a good job of taking our second unit out of their game – the are our running unit.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Roy's dominance could also have to do with being guarded by Artest instead of Battier.
Roy will score a bunch on Battier, too. It just won’t be as efficient I don’t think.
Same percentages
If Roy can continues shooting like he did in game 2 throughout the series, I will have some new founded respect. Technically he should be the MVP, but what I can’t figure out is why did he suck so bad during the regular season?
Is it possible that he had just an amazing game and was on fire? Not saying he won’t go for 30, but for 42 playing nearly perfectly and making virtually every contested shot and finishing almost every drive to the hole.
Actually
i’ve been less impressed with him during the play-offs.
his game is generally a more team first passing game. He picks it up in the fourth, but gets the team involved until that point. I don’t think the scoring is a fluke, I just think he’s chosen to play a different kind of game. I actually don’t like his scoring mentality at the moment and would prefer he revert back to his 22 6 and 7 game.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Agree.
I don’t like this new Brandon look if it becomes the norm. But for Blazer fans, we already knew he could do this, so it is no surprise. It is flattering that he did it against the Rockets, though. Still, Brandon should be the facilitator on our offense, not the constant finisher of every play.
The only silver lining for me is that in some playoff games (aka the last one) you may need someone to do that to win. The knowledge that he will be able to do that in future years is a nice tool in our arsenal.
Agreed
Sometimes, you need “that guy”. I’m glad we have one. Still, i’m hoping we see our old Roy and that the bench picks up the slack.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
also
he does tend to be a very high percentage shooter.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
Agree with Jack.
As a blazers fan, we think we are going to win if we get the game in the high 90’s because it means we will have beaten the strength of your team. Houston shooting at a 50%+ clip is unlikely to continue based on historical performance, so Jack is right in his observation. BRoy having zero turnovers despite dominating the ball all night ought to be the most alarming stat to you guys no matter how close the score was.
By the way – Blazer fans love Houston (serious). See Blazers Edge LINK
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
You have to admit
that Ron-Ron’s first quarter shooting, Lowry’s deep balls, and Brooks’ 80% 3 pt shooting for the series are all indicative of the kinds of shots the Blazers want the Rockets to chuck. These things will come back down to earth. The Blazers D was good last night – they blocked a ton of shots, got a few breakaways on steals and helped a ton on penetrators. They aren’t Hou on D, but they had a good night for them.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
What?
Ron Ron is a streaky shooter. He shot 40% for the game, and was WAY under his 40% average on 3 point shooting.
Lowry has hit only one 3 in the series, on 3 attempts. That’s roughly average.
Brooks is playing well, but a big part of his success has been that Blake flat out can’t guard him. And he’s the type of guy who shoots better once he gets it going.
Time to galvanize
Can't count blocked shots
Over half you blocked shots were from our small guys cutting in side, drawing a foul, and then throwing it up to get blocked. I don’t really count those cause if your players moved out of the way and avoided the contact, there is no telling if they would block it.
only houston fans would not count blocked shots as good defense
blocked shots on fouls drawn do not count, just like the shooter does not get charged with a shot taken.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Ron ron is not a 40% 3 pt shooter.
and Brooks is not an 80% 3 pt shooter. Houston is who they are – a below average offensive team with an excellent group of team defenders. If you are counting on your offense to carry you through the playoffs, good luck with that.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
This series is just starting
We took a game in Portland, you took the second one, but the homecourt advantage is now ours. 5 games left, 3 in Houston, so far I haven’t seen anything to make me believe that Portland can win at the Toyota Center. Last night we chucked bricks all night and STILL only lost by 4 points. I believe I heard last night that Portland is 3-11 on the road against +.500 Western Conference teams?
chucked bricks?
Did you see Brooks’ prayers that resulted in 11 pts in the last two minutes? or Ron Ron’s fade aways throughout the first quarter? Your team is shooting well beyond their average and, just like all numbers, will even out over time.
But you do have the home court. good luck with it.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
I also guarantee Yao will get his
I GUARANTEE Yao will not be held in check again, and especially not in Houston.
they did a decent job on guarding Yao
but not so good that they couldn’t get the ball to him if the Rockets tried a little harder instead of jacking up 3’s when we didn’t need them yet.
At times it seems like everyone but the Rockets know that they need to get the ball to Yao, and it gets pretty aggravating.
I assume he will
…. I’m just arguing that Brooks, Ron-Ron and Wafer won’t keep shooting at the high ’s they have been. The Rockets are a 45 shooting team over the course of the year – they will revert to that over a 7 game series even if Yao goes off.
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
Or Wafer, Battier, Landry, and Scola's amazing shooting
Did you see Scola hit that outside jumper over and over.
Or Wafer hitting the three all night.
Or Battier draining it in the corner play after play until he forces a double team.
Or Landry dropping the nice 12 foot jumper.
We have more shooters than you think. If you honestly think we rely on just the guys you mentioned, you are in for a shocker tomorrow.
Hell, Landry will get back in tempo soon. He is recovering from his bullet wound still and just trying to get that mental focus back.
Aldridge hasn’t played D at all on Scola outside the paint. Had he shot like normal, he would have easily won that game.
so your team really is a 50% shooting team that just underperformed during the season?
"Greed is Good."
So is Rudy.
You're right,
It is up to Portland to show that they can break out of their mold. Houston can now stick to their game plan and they’ve got this series.
I’ll always believe in the Blazers, but even with the win last night Houston is still very well situated in the drivers seat.
I’m interested to see how much better Houston’s defense gets in Houston. Maybe you think I’m crazy, but I’m one of the few who thinks that Houston’s offense will regress a bit too (as long as we keep fronting/triple teaming Yao).
Chucked bricks all night?
Houston shot over 50% from the floor. That is pretty damn good. Better than usual
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
I guess that should have read "chucked bricks at critical points in the game"
Overall we shot a high percentage but we couldn’t make crucial baskets when we needed them. And we were lit up by Roy and Aldridge (unstoppable)
There is a simple fix to that.
Take the ball out of Ron-Rons hands at crucial times. Although i hope he continues to jack up ridiculous shots at bad times so the Blazers have a better shot at winning ;-)
"And once again we can say, it's a GREAT day to be a Blazer."- Brian Wheeler
It only happens when we're in close games
Like everyone says, Ron tries to be Kobe when he isn’t. In game 1, we lead from the outset by a lot and that’s why Ron distributed more and it was a balanced game. I would say if Ron is going to keep doing that, get him the hell out of the game, put Chuck Hayes in..we know he won’t shoot the ball.
There is a simple fix to that.
Take the ball out of Ron-Rons hands at crucial times.
I don’t think you will find many people here that will argue that comment. Artest should only be taking shots when we’re early on in the game or coasting to a win. Crucial game moments are not his forte, no matter how bad he wants to pretend he’s Kobe.
haha right?
Same here. I usually never comment but some of the morons in this thread talking about how cool it was that Deke’s legendary career is over / Oden should be suspended made me come out of the woodwork.
?
really? someone said it was cool? I missed that or it was deleted. I’d smack da foo.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
JUST FYI: I deleted the Oden finger wag
Because it was stupid and pointless. I’m all for jokes, and class IS for losers, but that was absolutely classless
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Every great team has had floppers
Admittedly, I am a Portland fan. But lets not make this about that. Joel has learned to flop because flopping is a very valuable play, and it’s one way he makes himself an asset to the team.
Like it or not, great teams have floppers – with a clever play or two, they can severely limit the touches of an offensive player. Like it or not, it’s NOT against the rules. And like it or not it DOES help you win. Come playoff time, winning becomes everything.
I can think of so many times I saw one of the Spurs role playing big men take some BS charge or collapse backwards while playing post defense and get the call. Kurt Thomas was great at that. Horry’s done it for years, both as a Laker and a Spur.
I’m sure many more of you can come up with great examples, because having a backup big man that can rack up fouls on the other team is very important! It wins games! And like it or not Joel does it, the league does it, and your Rockets do it too.
The Odenphant is true king of the jungle.
Joel is a flopper.....
RIGHT….
I think Joel is kind of like how Danny Ainge used to be: You hate him unless he’s on your team. I think Birdman has that same thing going, albeit with significantly more poser attitude, but I digress.
You can’t critique Joel for anything when you have Yao in the middle. That freak gets so many calls, and based on his facial expressions has never committed a foul in his career. Hate Joel all you want, all he does is come to work and close the lane everyday.
Golly Gee, I sure hope I didn't huwt anybody's feewings.... sniff...sniff....
I'm an elitist jerk, and I won't lie about it.
The WAVE is bad karma. When we lose, I'll blame it on our fans doing the wave......
nba players shaking their heads after a foul? preposterous!
then again, how often do you see players nod their heads and say “yes thats me!” after being called for a foul? i don’t mean to bring up any past arguments, but have you forgotten broy in game one? the man belongs in hollywood; without looking at the replays you would think he was getting stabbed out there.
also, blazerfans who complain that yao gets too many calls need to look up yao’s stats. he is averaging 5.7 free throw ATTEMPTS a game. that is half the amount dwight howard attempts each game. and the “hack a howard” response doesn’t work because SVG always takes him out when it happens. perhaps the reason yao gets so many calls against the blazers is because they don’t play legitimately good defense on him? maybe its not yao’s fault that defenders like to foul the big guy.
finally, nobody is saying Joel is dirty on the level of bruce bowen… we just don’t understand why he is frequently spotted hugging the floor whenever yao ming is in the game. if you can enlighten us on his mysterious ailment of his, perhaps we can correct the misunderstanding.
LOL@DREAMSHAKE
I thought the dreamshake was a little more free wheelin’ than BEdge because you could, you know, swear. But I have to say, this sight is a little more sensitive than BEdge. My HILARIOUS finger wag post was deleted even after a very respectful follow up.
A. If Oden got hurt, EVERYONE here would be jumping all over it with off-color jokes.
B. Really? Joel’s fifth flop of the season lost you the game? Would you like some cheese?
C. The refs? Bush league. I didn’t see any bad calls that weren’t made up on the other end.
BEdge continues its reign as one of the greatest sports blogs on the internet.
Life is hilarious.
You can write whatever you want here
Doesn’t mean it will stay up
And I didn’t delete it because of what you wrote so much as for what was being written after you. I’m all for funny, in the right context that was funny, and I’m sure you meant it that way. That doesn’t mean that others took it to mean what you did.
www.TheDreamShake.com Co-Founder and Writer
Well at least someone appreciates what's intended.
I didn’t see follow up comments. Always glad to start an uproar.
Life is hilarious.
since we're making you irritated...
it means we’re doing something right. and yes disguising that irritation with "LOL"s won’t work.
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