Just got done watching the replay of the Blazers and Hawks game (damn the 11am start time) and wowzers!! What a game!! I don't know where to start but I must say my man Sergio Rodriguez is magnifico!! From driving layups to burying threes to pump fakes to razzle-dazzle no look passes, Sergio was firing on all cylinders... He only played 16 mins (I guess Nate is still a non-believer of Sergio) but made the most of his time going 6-7 from the field (with the only shot he missed was a shot being rejected by Josh Smith), 2-2 from the line, 2-2 from downtown, dished out 4 assists and had 2 rebounds... Without his play tonight, there was no way the Blazers would have come back from an early 11 point deficit.
How big has Travis Outlaw been on this road trip?! With the exception of that missed dunk "T-Law" aka "Trout" aka "TO" has been automatic with his outside sharpshooting! The game winner was pretty sick in which he was guarded by Superman-superhuman defender Josh Smith and with a hand in his face, Outlaw sunk the long deuce game-winning shot in OT.
This game could have easily been lost thanks to poor coaching of Nate McMillan, the so-called Coach of the Month in December... How can somebody play someone scorching hot as Sergio for only 16 minutes and not let him play in the OT at all?! Instead, Nate puts in a struggling Steve Blake in the 4th quarter, who air-balled a three pointer immediately after entering the game... Blake was completely removed from the OT for shooting guard that played the point Jarrett Jack, who by no means, was on efficient tonight as Sergio...
If the Blazers were to have lost this game, I'm sure the forums would be all over Nate for this... Even though the Blazers won, he still should be drilled for his incompetence of leaving Sergio out... I mean, did you see the Blazers blow a 6 point lead in the 4th with him out and not to mention, that we almost lost this game in OT because of Nate's mind-boggling decision... Need more proof... Here were the lines of guards of the night:
* PG Steve Blake: 7 points in 32 minutes going 3-8 FGs with 2 rebounds and 7 dimes. Overall +/- in the game was +5
* SG/PG B-Roy: 18 points in almost 41 minutes on 8-22 FGs with 2 rebounds and 3 dimes. Overall +/- in the game was -10
* SG/PG Jarrett Jack: 4 points in almost 17 mins on 2-2 FGs with rebound and 1 assist. Overall +/- was -5
* PG Sergio Rodriguez: 16 points in 16 minutes on 6-7 shooting; with 2 rebounds and 4 dimes. Overall +/- was +14
Another footnote that shouldn't be ignored is Nate leaving in a struggling LaMarcus Aldridge instead of a hot Channing Frye... Aldridge is one of my favorite Blazers, but when you're shooting abysmaly and getting outhussled on the glass, you need to benched in the crunch time. The main reason why Frye got to play the OT was because the same Atlanta crew that messed up Shaq's personal foul count (got fined $50,000 for that) and couldn't figure out how many foul's Aldridge had.
Aldridge/Comparsion:
* Aldridge: 8 points in 28 minutes on 3-12 FGs with 5 rebounds and 0 dimes/steals/blocks. Overall +/- in the game was -12
* Frye: 9 points in 25 mins on 3-8 FGs, with 7 rebounds, and 1 dime, steal, and block a piece. Overall +/- in the game was +10
And what about Joel Przybilla's almost no show in OT... He was subbed into the OT to rebound a possible FT miss but then was never put back into the OT... It felt like Atlanta had 20 offensive rebounds in the OT which second chance opportunities kept them in the game... Why would Nate put in his best defender and rebounder to limit their 2nd chances?! Mind-boggling isn't it yet somehow, this team young, inexperienced team is good enough to overshadow McMillan's questionable decisions...
Joel was effective in the limited 18 minutes he got... Ended with 7 pts on 2-2 FGs, 3-3 FTs with 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block (felt like more since he alters so many shots).
On to New Orleans...
(Sidenote: made a new blog: trailbloggingblazerfan.blogspot.com where I will now move all my Blazer blogs to from now on after today)
No comments:
Post a Comment