Two teams with missing pieces collided at the Rose Garden Thursday night. In the end, the team with the most missing pieces lost to the team missing the biggest piece.
Portland, playing without Brandon Roy, Martell Webster and (yes) Greg Oden, fell to Houston 95-86. The Rockets, playing without Yao Ming, won their 50th game an impressive total that in the rugged NBA Western Conference might not even get you one round of homecourt advantage.
The Blazers' record dropped to 38-38, and the dream of a winning season -- it would be their first in five years -- grew dimmer on the horizon. Portland now needs to win four of its final six games. Granted, one of them against the dreadful Memphis Grizzlies, but find three more wins in this list of five games: San Antonio, Phoenix, LA Lakers, Sacramento (on the road) and Dallas.
Houston's Tracy McGrady led all scorers with 35 points, 26 of them in the second half. Ex-Oregon guard Aaron Brooks also had a nice second half and finished with 12.
LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 23 points and Jarrett Jack, starting in place of Webster, finished with 19 and had just two turnovers. But Portland settled for too many long-range jumpers, and once again shot less than 40 percent from the floor. The coldest hands belonged to Travis Outlaw (5-for-18 in 42 minutes) and James Jones, whose 3-point touch has vanished since Daylight Saving Time started. Jones was 0-for-4 overall and 0-for-3 behind the three-point stripe.
The game resembled the Blazers' other three losses to Houston this season. Fast starts in the first and third quarter made the games competitive. But each time, the Rockets forced the Blazers farther and farther away from the basket as the game went on.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
5:34 to play: Houston 86, Portland 74
Houston's comeback, unsurprisingly, has not been built around the offensive wizardry of Dikembe Mutombo.
Tracy McGrady's been the man, going off for 21 second half points.
For all their frustrations, the Blazers are doing some things right. They've hit 15 of 16 free throws, and they're outrebounding the Rockets by a 41-33 margin. They seem to have moved the ball well, with five guys in double figures scoring.
Houston, however, does the things that don't show up on the state sheet, but do show up on the scoreboard. The Rockets seem to force the Blazers into a lot of cross court passes, and they get their hands on more than their share of those, deflecting them if not stealing them.
Tracy McGrady's been the man, going off for 21 second half points.
For all their frustrations, the Blazers are doing some things right. They've hit 15 of 16 free throws, and they're outrebounding the Rockets by a 41-33 margin. They seem to have moved the ball well, with five guys in double figures scoring.
Houston, however, does the things that don't show up on the state sheet, but do show up on the scoreboard. The Rockets seem to force the Blazers into a lot of cross court passes, and they get their hands on more than their share of those, deflecting them if not stealing them.
3Q: Houston 74, Portland 63
Houston closes the quarter with a 13-0 run, and for all the talk about the team quitting last week against Charlotte, you have to wonder why the coaching staff didn't invest a timeout in trying to stop the Rockets run.
3Q: 5:36 to play, Blazers 59, Houston 58
A Jarrett Jack free-throw completes and 3-point play and 6-0 run that's put Portland back on top.
The key has been LaMarcus Aldridge, who's hit four of his last six shots and sent Luis Scola to the bench with four fouls. Unless Rick Adelman wants to try shutting Aldridge down with Mutombo, there may not be a good matchup on the floor against Aldridge at this point.
The key has been LaMarcus Aldridge, who's hit four of his last six shots and sent Luis Scola to the bench with four fouls. Unless Rick Adelman wants to try shutting Aldridge down with Mutombo, there may not be a good matchup on the floor against Aldridge at this point.
Halftime notes
Stepping up: Houston's leading scorer at the half? No, not Tracy McGrady. he's got 9 points (and 4 assists). Dikembe Mutombo, at 41, tops the Rockets with 10 points.
Stepping out: Coach Nate called out the club a couple of weeks ago, and tonight Jarrett Jack struck back. A regular feature during timeouts is an "Ask the Blazers" feature that plays on the scoreboard. Tonight's question, posed by a fan, asked the team "Who is the worst dresser on the squad?"
Jack's response: He picked Coach Nate McMillan, and said some of Nate's suits date back to the Blazer's first championship.
Jarret Jack can't possibly remember leisure suits, can he? And I thought Dikembe Mutombo was old ...
Stepping out: Coach Nate called out the club a couple of weeks ago, and tonight Jarrett Jack struck back. A regular feature during timeouts is an "Ask the Blazers" feature that plays on the scoreboard. Tonight's question, posed by a fan, asked the team "Who is the worst dresser on the squad?"
Jack's response: He picked Coach Nate McMillan, and said some of Nate's suits date back to the Blazer's first championship.
Jarret Jack can't possibly remember leisure suits, can he? And I thought Dikembe Mutombo was old ...
Halftime: Houston 52, Portland 43
And the score flatters the Blazers.
The low-point came in the final minute. A mixup in the backcourt left the ball bouncing free between Steve Blake and Joel Przybilla at midcourt.
Blake could have picked it up and risked an over-and-back call and subsequent turnover.
Pryzbilla could have picked it up and risked an over-and-back call and the subsequent vertigo that having the ball 45 feet away from the basket would have caused.
Instead, they both stood and watched as Houston's Bobby Jackson swooped in, scooped up the ball and collected a layup.
The low-point came in the final minute. A mixup in the backcourt left the ball bouncing free between Steve Blake and Joel Przybilla at midcourt.
Blake could have picked it up and risked an over-and-back call and subsequent turnover.
Pryzbilla could have picked it up and risked an over-and-back call and the subsequent vertigo that having the ball 45 feet away from the basket would have caused.
Instead, they both stood and watched as Houston's Bobby Jackson swooped in, scooped up the ball and collected a layup.
2Q: 3:34 to play. Houston 45, Portland 32
Once again, Portland's got no one with a hot hand. LaMarcus Aldridge has been sporadically effective, but he's been settling for too many step-out jumpers, fading out the key and getting a kick-back pass from a driving guard.
Houston, meanwhile, is doing the little things. Example: Dikembe Mutumbo setting a perfect screen at the top of the free-throw circle that freed Tracy McGrady for a wide-open 18 footer. NBA players don't miss those, so it's important to be on a team that knows how to create them. The Rockets are one of them.
Houston, meanwhile, is doing the little things. Example: Dikembe Mutumbo setting a perfect screen at the top of the free-throw circle that freed Tracy McGrady for a wide-open 18 footer. NBA players don't miss those, so it's important to be on a team that knows how to create them. The Rockets are one of them.
Offensive Arithmetic
Some stats for ya:
Houston is 5-for-6 on three-pointers; Portland is 0-for-3.
Portland's big, jump-shooting forwards -- Outlaw, Aldridge and Channing Frye -- are a combined 8-of-20.
Houston is 5-for-6 on three-pointers; Portland is 0-for-3.
Portland's big, jump-shooting forwards -- Outlaw, Aldridge and Channing Frye -- are a combined 8-of-20.
1st Q: Houston 23, Portland 22
Blazer Coach Nate McMillan got some attention after the team lost at home to Charlotte about 10 days ago. The coach called out his team, questioning their effort and suggesting they'd quite on the season.
It wasn't one of McMillan's finest hours: Portland had outrebouded the Bobcats 57-32. Charlotte only shot 55 percent from the free-throw line. Sure, it's frustrating to lose under those circumstances, but you're not mailing it in if you outrebound your opponent by that kind of margin.
Still, McMillan may have brushed up against a hard truth about this young team. It's one that becomes obvious against Houston. The Rockets have gritty, sharp-elbows guys like Carl Landry and Luis Scola who do a lot of the grinding work of blocking out and establishing position on defense.
The Blazers? Not so much. It's particularly obvious when Joel Przybilla's not in the game. Przybilla's the only big man Portland has who'd rather block out than block a shot.
That role will be filled next year, everyone hopes, by Greg Oden. But McMillan's got to be a bit disheartened by the lack of scrappiness this team has showed over the past month.
It wasn't one of McMillan's finest hours: Portland had outrebouded the Bobcats 57-32. Charlotte only shot 55 percent from the free-throw line. Sure, it's frustrating to lose under those circumstances, but you're not mailing it in if you outrebound your opponent by that kind of margin.
Still, McMillan may have brushed up against a hard truth about this young team. It's one that becomes obvious against Houston. The Rockets have gritty, sharp-elbows guys like Carl Landry and Luis Scola who do a lot of the grinding work of blocking out and establishing position on defense.
The Blazers? Not so much. It's particularly obvious when Joel Przybilla's not in the game. Przybilla's the only big man Portland has who'd rather block out than block a shot.
That role will be filled next year, everyone hopes, by Greg Oden. But McMillan's got to be a bit disheartened by the lack of scrappiness this team has showed over the past month.
Congrats to Bill Bayno!
ESPN is reporting that Trail Blazer assistant coach Bill Bayno will be hired by Loyola Marymouunt of the West Coast Conference.
That means he'll still be spending some rainy winter nights up here in Portland, when Loyola plays the University of Portland in WCC Conference games at the Chiles Center.
That means he'll still be spending some rainy winter nights up here in Portland, when Loyola plays the University of Portland in WCC Conference games at the Chiles Center.
Starting matchup
Blake G Jackson
Jack G McGrady
Przybilla C Mutumbo
Outlaw F Scola
Aldridge F Battier
Couple of notes; Houston starting point guard Rafer Alston may not play ... Martell Webster goes to the bench, replaced by either Jarrett Jack of Travis Outlaw, depending on your perspective.
Jack G McGrady
Przybilla C Mutumbo
Outlaw F Scola
Aldridge F Battier
Couple of notes; Houston starting point guard Rafer Alston may not play ... Martell Webster goes to the bench, replaced by either Jarrett Jack of Travis Outlaw, depending on your perspective.
Blazers vs. Houston: Pregame show
It's "Green Awareness Night" at the Rose Garden, and the Trail Blazers are doing their part by ... by ... well, let's see here. A couple of lights do seem to be turned off up on the scoreboard. But that could be just for pregame.
Still, it's a start.
Still, it's a start.
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