The Blazers returned home to the friendly confines of the Rose Garden after a successful six game road swing. Nothing like a little R & R and a game against the completely unrecognizable Detroit Pistons to welcome you home. Just like a chocolate milkshake on a hot summer’s day.
Portland drank their milkshake; they drank it up. The once-mighty Pistons fell behind big in the third quarter. The Blazers seized a 20-point lead, then promptly hit the snooze button.
Whoops.
The young and scrappy Pistons did what any capable NBA team should do when their opponents turn complacent. They almost came back and won the game.
Lanky rookies Austin Daye and Jonas Jerebko pressured the Blazer backcourt. They drained the shot clock every possession in the fourth quarter. The Blazers couldn’t construct any semblance of an offense. Thankfully a Steve Blake three-pointer ultimately sealed the deal.
I’ll chalk up this performance to the old “first home game after a road trip” excuse. This team is struggling to find a nightly rhythm. The schedule is still accommodating. There is no “Murderer’s Row” in the next week (Grizzly and T’Wolves Paella, please). Portland is still sitting pretty at the moment, although any more injuries could prove to be devastating.
Meanwhile, the Blazers’ defense continues to improve. I’m still not sold on this being some “elite” defense. Let’s see if the zone keeps Deron Williams or Derrick Rose out of the lane. The fact is, Portland’s opponents are not shooting the ball well. In some cases that can be attributed to simply putting a hand in opponents’ faces. You can also point to the overall defensive scheme. It also is indicative of just plain old poor shooting. I’m anxiously awaiting the Bulls and Jazz games in coming weeks. The Blazers are still rounding into form, and they need more tests from playoff opponents to gauge their growth. Other links:
- Kerry Eggers breaks down the Blazers’ salary cap status. He notes the Blazers are still in pretty darn good shape financially. Fernandez and Batum combine to make 2.25 million. That’s a bargain.
- On a similar financial note: the Blazers’ road trip really highlighted how some franchises are struggling to fill seats. Last night it seemed Portland had more empty seats than we are used to seeing in recent years. Can anyone verify this? Are there scores of empty seats in the Rose Garden these days? Even the young and exciting Blazers aren’t immune to the economic crisis.
- Great profile from Paul Buker on the Beavs’ defensive leader, Keaton Kristick. He just sounds like a football player.
- This story is completely unsurprising to anyone familiar with the UO Athletic Department. Ken Goe stands up and applauds the “I Smell Roses” producers for just having a good time. Goe says the UO should take a chill pill. In case you haven’t heard, the issue here is the use of “Donald the Duck” in the video. The University says this gives the impression that the UO endorses the video. If I can switch to Canzano-speak here: Something about this feels wrong. First off, nice to see some quality work coming out of the UO Electronic Media sequence. Second, the students aren’t trying to make money off the image of the Duck. There are no curse words in the video. It’s well-produced, clever, and something the entire Duck community can unite around. The whole town is geeked about the Rose Bowl run, then the administration comes in like a nagging parent telling you to put your beer away. Chill, mom. There are plenty of videos and pictures on Facebook of the Duck. Are they planning on contesting every image of the Duck? That sounds like an extraordinary waste of time. This just feels silly. There is no enemy here, and the product is clean. The Ducks could do the complete opposite and embrace the video. That seems like a better route here. What say you, lawyers? Is the UO protecting their intellectual property appropriately here? Or is this the unnecessary crackdown on a handful of students producing a creative, clean, and entertaining music video?
More Rose Bowl, UO-UA, Civil War and other analysis forthcoming.