A Hard Fought Final 5 Minutes: Blazers Beat the Lakers, 119-111

LaMarcus Aldrige...
Well, you can call him Mister Big Dunk, now*.

(*The nickname expires at midnight.)

With 5:08 remaining in the fourth quarter,Aldridge threw down a power dunk that brought the Rose Garden fans to their feet.It was an exclamation point after a hard fought 3rd and early 4th quarter. The jam--a tremendous rebound dunk off a missed shot--came as a surprise to everyone, including Aldridge himself.

After that Roy, Outlaw, Jones and Jack pushed the point, making shot after tough shot. And the Blazers didn't rattle when the Lakers dropped in a pair of 3's late and Kobe threatened.

(Note to Reader: Jones knocked down several clutch shots late in the game. It's good to have him back and prowling the perimeter)

Roy's clutch free-throws with 39 seconds left, confirmed his leadership ability and toughness.

The ankle injury which kept him out against the Clippers was treated as an afterthought. When it came time to take over, he did.

Roy matched Kobe's aggression one to one. His confidence against Kobe was a catalyst for his teammates' success.

So here's the low down:

The Blazers showed toughness and shared the ball. Roy and Outlaw led the way. The Lakers' ten game win streak is over. And LaMarcus Aldridge will sleep well tonight.

Death by Crossover: Roy takes Luke Walton to the Hoop.

Brandon just gave Luke Walton a strong taste of his ailing ankle by breaking him down with a sick crossover move to the basket. A very pretty 2 points. Roy's change of speed and explosiveness are so deceiving.

Blake is starting to heat up as well. Three 3's in the 2nd quarter. He's shooting with confidence and the crowd is loving it. Can you say "En Fuego!!!" After being down by 10, The Blazers are up by 5 going into the half.

Halftime Score:
Lakers: 59 (55% FG shooting).
Blazers: 65 (55% FG shooting).

That's the End of the 1st Quarter

LA: 32
Blazers: 28

The Lakers are carving through the Blazers' interior defense much too easily. I guess that's the beauty of the triangle offense. But put a body on someone. Hell, a hard foul now and again wouldn't be such a bad thing. LA is shooting 67% and getting pretty much any kind of shot they want.

Thank goodness for the skill of the Blazers' perimeter players. Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake are stroking it from deep. 3 is better than 2, you know. To keep the easy buckets coming, Jarret Jack needs to continue driving to the basket and kicking it out to the Blazers' sharp-shooters. He's at his best when he's being aggressive and not trying to orchestrate the offense.

Roy Shines Early. But So Does Kobe

Welcome back Brandon!

With two early buckets, it looks like the Blazers' team captain is feeling pretty good on that sore ankle. He's got all 5 of the Blazers early points, including a tough pull-up jumper. But the team is down by 8 and Kobe is heating up already. Doesn't he know that he's supposed to come out flat in the second game of a back-to-back. Some physical D is in order. I'm waiting to see which Blazer steps up to the challenge.

Pregame Musings: Taking the Kobe Challenge

So Kobe's in town and ready to do his usual assassin's act. In all honesty, the man scares me, and I think this much improved Laker's team scares the Blazers a bit as well.

Let's see if the Blazers can get off to another hot start but follow through with a win this time. They did a nice job beating LA's other team earlier this week. With Brandon Roy and James Jones back in the line-up, let's see if they can build on that momentum.

After watching the pregame segment featuring Greg Oden doing Pilate's, I'm pretty optimistic the Blazers can channel their "positive energy" and come up with a much needed home victory.

Regrets; What's Going on Here; So Long Taurean

First off, that was my broken promise to blog last Thursday. My regrets. I thought about trying it from my smart phone, but you know, my thumbs just aren’t that fast, or smart.

These last two games against Seattle were very hard on my Blazer psyche. Like most of you, I've got the red-and-black blues bad. What is going on here?

I'll give it a shot to provide some sort of however-less-than-satisfying. answer The recent swoon is a combination of things. Tired legs, injuries of sorts, and much-improved opposition fighting for the playoffs. But most off all, it is the lack of an inside game. This team should keep its motion offense and jump-shooting ways, but the lack of any interior presence is dictating how other teams are playing us, double-teaming guards and in particular Roy. They're overplaying passing lanes and pushing us out farther and daring the Blazers to shoot open but long-range shots. Instead of all those mid-range shots we were getting earlier in the season, we're being extended too often into three pointers or contested deep shots. All of this because we don't have any threat down low that can force a double-team once in a while or force guards to sag from the outside. There's more to it than that (including cold shooting) but we need to change it up once in a while from the motion to a more traditional scheme. Sometimes it seems like this team has only one set of plays on offense.


So long to Taurean Green. This seems like a small move but one that the Blazers might regret in a few years. What bothers me is that we are trading a player with unknown potential at the pro level for a player that has demonstrated to play a fairly limited role on any team.

For the record, I haven't given up on this season This team is young and streaky. And it's that streaky part that needs to turn. I'm convinced that the mentality has to be us against the world, which begins tomorrow against the mighty Celts.

—TLW

Next game Blazers vs Seattle

Don't forget to return to this blog for play by play Blazer Beat commentary, Thursday February 21st, at 7:30pm when the Blazers go toe to elbow with the Seattle Supersonics.

Final: Houston 95, Portland 83

The Portland Trail Blazers, the youngest team in the National Basketball Association, looked like a weary bunch in the second half Monday night against Houston.

Playing their third game on a four-game road trip, the Blazers hung tough with rising power Houston. But a 10-1 Rockets run at the start of the fourth quarter closed the deal. For Houston, it was a seventh straight victory and a win that put them three full games ahead of Portland in the race for one of the final Western Conference playoff positions.

Since their 13-game winning streak was snapped in Utah, the Blazers have gone just 10-11. Where has the magic gone? The last two games against Houston offer some insights.

First, Portland lacks a consistent inside scoring threat. A lot of NBA games are won by dominating the space under the basket. In that kind of game, Portland has just one card -- LaMarcus Aldridge -- to play.

Second, we've reached the portion of the season where experience and execution begin to trump energy. Come January, the veteran teams -- you know the names ... Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix -- shift into a higher gear.

On Jan. 25 in the Rose Garden and again in Houston Monday night, Portland started off in command against the Rockets. Superior speed and shooting put Portland on top early in both games.

Then Houston began dominating play around the basket. The 7-6 center Yao Ming used his long arms to intimidate shooters and deflect passes. Role players like Carl Landry and Luis Scola collected the loose balls and rebounds that were going to Travis Outlaw and Channing Frye in December.

4:00 to play: Houston 86, Portland 72

After building a six-point lead in the first quarter, the Blazers scored just 48 points in the next 32 minutes. That's a 72-points-per-game pace, which won't win you too many ballgames outside the Pac-10 Conference.

4Q: Houston 73, Portland 62

First five Portland possessions of the quarter: Long, late clanging jumper from Jack ... Late jumper by Outlaw, partially blocked ... Turnover ... Missed turnaround 10-footer by Aldridge ... Long missed jumper by Outlaw ...

It's not quite a meltdown: Houston is playing very good defense. But Portland hasn't got anything in its playbook. Still, McMillian waits until the lead hits 11 before calling a time out.

After 3 quarters: Houston 69, Portland 62

With Houston up by five with about 2:30 to play, Blazer Coach Nate McMillian ordered up a zone defense ... Pryzbilla picks up his four foul with 1:12 to go, banging Yao from behind in pursuit of an offensive rebound ... Channing Frye, in for Pryzbilla, gets called for traveling while serving as the high post, then picks up a 3rd foul by holding Yao ... Roy goes scoreless in the quarter.

Midway through 3Q: Houston 58, Portland 51

Fraying at the edges? Joel Pryzbilla picked up a foolish third foul early in the quarter jostling with Yao at center court ... Brandon Roy is back, but his touch from the foul line isn't. He's a very uncharacteristic 2-for-6 .

Halftime: Houston 44, Portland 43

In our last Blazer Beat game, we lamented the lack of an inside game against Chicago. Tonight against Houston, Portland's had a huge edge -- 26-12 at one point -- in points-from-the-paint. LaMarcus Aldridge had 14 first-half points.

So trailing at halftime by one point is discouraging. In the Jan. 25 matchup between these two clubs at the Rose Garden, Portland got out to an early lead only to see Houston gradually tighten down the lane.

Brandon Roy at the half: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists.

Midway through 2Q: Portland 39, Houston 32

Is Houston worried? Coach Rick Adelman brought the starting frontcourt -- Yao, Scola and Shane Battier -- back in.

Battle of the second units

Both coaches have gone pretty deep into their benches early in the second quarter. most nights, this would be Advantage, Portland. But Rick Adelman has developed a nice second unit with former Duck Aaron Brooks, forward Carl Landry, and ex-Blazer Bonzi Wells.

In addition, Adelman has moved Argentine forward Luis Scola into the starting lineup. Scola's sound fundamental game is the perfect complement for the unique skill set of Yao Ming.

First Quarter: Portland 24, Houston 18

Very active group of Trail Blazers on the floor. Roy quick on the double teams, Aldridge twice beating Houston back down the floor for fast-break layups. Portland is taking care of the ball better -- just three turnovers thus far -- and outrebounded Houston in the first quarter.

Double teaming the biggest guy

Portland takes a 21-16 lead with two minutes to go in the quarter. The Blazers have taken command because Brandon Roy stole the ball from Yao min on back-to-back posessions after Yao had set up on the left side of the basket.

Houston 15, Portland 13; Webster with a 3

Martell Webster's role with the Trail Blazers has been something akin to Ed McMahon's on the old "Tonight Show."

McMahon would warm up the audience before Johnny Carson took the stage. Webster's primary role with Portland this year has been to hit three-pointers in the first and third quarters while everyone else is stretching their legs.

Starting matchups

Blake G Alston
Roy G McGrady
Pryzbilla C Yao
Webster F Battier
Aldridge F Scola

Time to make a stand

Is Feb. 11 too early for a must-win? Yes.

But is it too early for a crucial game? No, it turns out. A short month ago, the Trail Blazers were knocking on the door of the Northwest Division lead. Now, they find themselves as the No. 10 team in the NBA's topheavy Western Conference, looking uphill to a playoff berth.

Houston was one of the teams left in the dust by Portland's 13-game winning streak. The Rockets, though, come into tonight's game powered by a six-game winning streak of their own. With Brandon Roy scheduled to return to the lineup, tonight's a chance for the Blazers to reassert themselves.

Too Close for Comfort

A good win, but rising expectations say that it shoudn't have been this tight.

J. Jack redeems himself with a great assist and clutch foul shooting. B-Roy bails out the team in the fourth quarter, can't miss a free throw on purpose.

Onward and upward. In a strange twist, the road trip might do the team good.

Kissing Your Sister

Ok, that first half was better than nothing but the Blazers should be up by a whole lot more. The crowd is really not into it either. The refs really should swallow their whistles.

I think this three-guard lineup is just an experiment until James Jones comes back. I do like the fact that coach is willing to change up the starters. That says something about his trust in Martell's fragile ego.

Short People Rule

Coach's decision to start three guards appears to be working. Blazers are a step faster than road-weary Chicago. And wouldn't you know it, even with shorter players on the court, the team is getting more inside looks. Let's put in five guards.

Running with the Bulls

This here is another tough matchup tonight against the Bulls, which perhaps is a test of the team's resolve after that tough loss to Denver. (Let's not talk about that game anymore, okay?) Furthermore, the Bulls are looking to avenge that double-overtime victory the Blazers took at their place a couple weeks back.

The Bulls are physical inside with big Ben Wallace and not-so-little Joe Smith, and while I wouldn't expect to beat them on the boards, the team better be close off the glass or it could be tough. Don't expect Smith to go for a season-high 31 points like he did last time, but for some reason this guy enters a time warp against P-town.

Victor Khryapa, the Blazer fan favorite from a few years ago, is still with the Bulls and getting more playing time given injuries and now that Bulls' coach Scott Skiles has hit the road. Look for the Russian forward to play 10-15 minutes tonight. He's only averaging 3.6 points a game in nine games played, but VK might have something to prove against the team that dealt him away.

Does anyone have James Jones' phone number? I'd like to meet his tailor.

Iverson Wins on Final Shot, No Kidding

Unfortunately the Blazers gave this one away. A missed free throw at the end of regulation and a loss of dribble (turnover) with less than 15 seconds in overtime turned what could have been a sweet win into a bitter pill. And again, as in the loss to Cleveland, we have to ask: why didn't a double-team on a Hall of Fame player come at the end of the game? Jack on Iverson, any one player on Iverson, at that point, just doesn't work. Just as with Lebron, you have to make someone else beat you.

And for the record, I saw one player (Travis) try and post up in the second half. Why is it that this team can't play with its back to the basket?

Last year, this would have been a moral victory. No more.

Dogfight Goes to OT

The dogs must be barking...another overtime game. This is becoming a strange habit.

No Post Offense

A great second quarter, but it is becoming painfully obvious that the Trail Blazers have NO inside game. They didn't post up a single time the entire second quarter. LA made one phantom attempt but that's it. This is something to watch down the road. Granted, the team runs a motion offense but it can't count on outside shooting to carry them all the time...when the shots go cold, leads evaporate or deficits mount as teams go on huge runs fueled by long rebounds and fast breaks...see first quarter. LA and Travis are able and should be forced by Coach Mac to post. B-Roy can and should do more of it as well. I'm tempted to boycott my blog posts until somebody on the team acutally posts...but that could be a long time coming.

Good to know that Nate Boy is in the house...straight from the LC campus. He got a tic outside the Garden for $41, a bit of splurge but the kid is working hard.

Can someone answer my long-standing question about the Garden: How come there isn't a single rose in the place?

Ketchup with those Frye's

Channing Frye is on an early sizzle. He just might be the new Blazer Beat poster child. Just imagine if they let him bring his dogs to the Garden.

Rivalry Continues

In what has become a great divisional rivalry, the boys of winter take on the Nuggets. Has the makings of a spirited game and one of the most important mid-season match ups with potential play off implications down the road. Both teams want and need this win. I'd look for Roy to take (a) charge early.

BTW, I learned the other day that Frye and his girlfriend are big dog peeps. Where's the off leash area at the Garden?