Monday, March 22, 2010

Danger Zone

Yeesh. That's about all I can say after last night's disappointing loss to the Phoenix Suns in a game that the Blazers could have and should have won. The tempo was slow and the game was ugly. Neither team effectively moved the ball or scored efficiently, which was exactly what Portland wanted, but the Blazers still found a way to lose and leave everyone at home in the city of roses with an awful taste in their mouths. Roy struggled, Aldridge disappeared and Andre Miller faded down the stretch in a game that Portland should have won by at least twenty points. How did this happen?

Strangely enough, it was the Phoenix defense that took the Blazers out of their game and allowed the Suns to steal the victory. Traps on pick & roll, sharp (by Phoenix standards anyhow) defensive rotations and physical play (again, by Phoenix standards) stood out as the Blazers looked lost and confused and could do little more than hoist contested jumpers all night long. The Blazers, on the other hand, had problems on defense with the Suns and left three-point shooters open down the stretch, which allowed the likes of Jared Dudley to get hot and spark his team to victory in an ever tightening playoff positioning battle.

What stood out the most about last night's contest was the fact that Phoenix absolutely KILLED the Blazers down the stretch with zone defense, cutting off all passing lanes and making it difficult for the Blazers to get the ball inside and create easy shots. Zone defense is a nice wrinkle that is underused in my opinion by most of the NBA, however Portland uses more zone than most so it was semi-bizarre to see them struggle so mightily against the Suns' zone defense during the fourth quarter last night. This was especially puzzling considering the Blazers have two excellent dribble penetrators in Brandon Roy and Andre Miller, both of whom can find creases in any defense and get a shot for themselves or kick to the perimeter to a teammate. Perhaps the Blazers were caught off guard, but the bottom line is that they had absolutely no answer for the zone and wilted down the stretch of a game that they lead for much of the evening.

The Blazers' shooting was absolutely abysmal, especially from behind the arc where Portland finished 2-17. The bench gave the Blazers almost nothing, and off nights from both Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge condemned Portland to defeat as inefficient and sloppy play (despite having only 4 turnovers) dominated the evening. Even with the off nights from the stars, Portland played Phoenix to a draw or narrowly won in nearly every crucial category except one: points on the scoreboard.

If there was a bright spot for the Blazers, it was Marcus Camby. Though he is still struggling on offense and going through the usual growing pains associated with learning a new system, Camby was a force on defense and on the glass last night. Although he scored only 7 points (albeit on 3-6 shooting), Camby grabbed 16 rebounds (ten in the first quarter) and blocked five shots while playing effective man to man defense and killer help defense all night long. Though he was credited with five blocks, the former Minuteman altered many more, and you could almost see the Phoenix players hesitate and think twice before trying to lay the ball in any time Camby was in the same postal code. This guy can flat out defend, and the Blazers will need that from him down the stretch of the regular season and into the Playoffs.

The other semi-positive from this game was Nicolas Batum, who despite submitting a muted stat line did all the little things we expect of him and helped the Blazers stand tough before fouling out in the fourth quarter. His jumpers weren't falling at a normal rate, but that didn't stop him from competing hard on both ends and staying focused on the game and winning. Not that I buy into +/- too much, but Batum was the only Blazer with a net positive result at +7 for the game. If only more players were like this kid, then the NBA would be so much better and more competitive from top to bottom.

Ultimately, this game is still just 1 of 82, and I don't actually like the idea of moving out of the 8 spot in the West so the loss doesn't hurt that bad. The Blazers will make the Playoffs, and if they do I'd much rather they meet a team like the Lakers in round 1 than anyone else. Portland already hates L.A. and plays them very well (especially at the Rose Garden), and a series like that is rife for the "nobody believes in us" element that could spell an upset. If the Blazers move up a seed or two, they'll likely meet Dallas, Utah or worst of all, Denver, in round one which would be way worse. We'll get into Playoff match-ups in the coming weeks, but just know that we want L.A. and something tells me they don't want us.

What I'd like to see more of from Portland down the stretch is crisp execution on offense with a goal of integrating Camby and maximizing his talents to the fullest. Camby can initiate offense from the high post and is the type of player who won't try to do too much, he just needs more time in practice and games to learn the system and his new teammates (and vice versa). I'm gearing up for an interesting and exciting playoff ride, so stay tuned for more pearls of wisdom.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Vive la France!

Forgive me for sounding like a little girl here, but Nicolas Batum is my favorite Blazer on this squad, and not just because he's a good looking Frenchman with an accent. Brandon Roy may be the team's best player and a remarkably likable guy, but for me it's no contest that Nic Batum is my favorite Blazer on this squad. What's not to like? He's young, super athletic, lanky and emerging as a serious player for this team. Sure, he only averages 9 points and 4 rebounds a game, but you have to remember that an NBA box score is as skewed and misleading as anything you'll hear on Fox News. Batum is a classic "little things" player, someone who does everything that doesn't show up in the box score to get his team in position to win, and without him these Blazers would be in way deeper trouble than they are right now.

I've heard comparisons to Scottie Pippen before, but don't worry, I'm not blowing that kind of smoke. Yes, they're both lanky forwards who defend multiple positions and play a solid all around game, but Scottie is one of the 15 best players EVER and Batum has done precious little to merit a favorable comparison like that (though it's more appropriate the time Tommy Heinsohn compared Leon Powe to Moses freaking Malone). Still, Batum has a high cieling and plays a similar game to Pippen albeit not nearly as well. The young Frenchman is one of the most valuable types of basketball players, someone who can positively impact the game without needing the ball or plays run for him to do so. Especially in today's world of dribble dominated one-on-one basketball, having a player like Batum is wonderful and necessary for a team to compete at a high level.

Offensively, Batum is emerging as a consistent threat who can both stretch the defense with his outside shot and bang on the interior against bigger bodies. While his jumper isn't as pretty and fluid as some, he's worked very hard on extending his range and is deadly from the corner on either side of the floor. Batum's improvement in his outside shot is what made Travis Outlaw expendable, and given the choice I'd pick the former over the latter any day of the week and twice on Sundays. While Outlaw is perhaps a better one-on-one scorer with his size and athleticism, Nicolas Batum (who is 4 years younger than Outlaw) brings a lot more to the table than Outlaw did for this Portland team.

Aside from reliably hitting the outside jumper, Batum moves well without the ball, crashes the boards at opportune moments and can get into the paint and finish, something that Travis always struggled with. Watching Batum last year and this season, it's been amazing and inspiring to see how much his game has improved and it gets me genuinely excited to see flashes of his full potential like the two games we witnessed from this weekend against Minnesota and Memphis. Against the Timberwolves, Batum slapped up 31/7/7 with 3 steals and took only 16 shots, hitting 11. 31 points set a career high for Nicolas, who then went out and put up 21 on 7-11 shooting against Memphis on Monday. For the season, Batum is shooting 57% from the field, 46% from 3-point territory and 91% from the free-throw line. While his action has been limited this year due to a torn labrum (he missed the entire season up until late January), he has improved significantly from his rookie campaign last year.

And the funny thing is that offense isn't the best part of his game. Where Batum helps the Blazers most is on defense, where he uses his size, quickness and wingspan to cover point guards and power forwards alike. This year, I've seen Batum match up with Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki and everyone in between with great results. And although the numbers don't necessarily reflect his exceptional play, consider this anecdote for a second: On Monday night, the Blazers were clinging to a small lead with the game on the line and the ball at half court. Andre Miller was set to inbound the ball, and as Memphis defended the play Miller was forced to throw a dangerous pass to Batum in the backcourt. From nowhere, O.J. Mayo (a player I would love to pluck and put wither on the Celtics or the Blazers) appeared and cleanly stole the pass towards the right corner at the three point line. Wasting no time at all, Mayo wheeled around and turned on the jets, driving towards the Portland basket. Batum was the only Blazer back and had to backpedal to stick with Mayo as he charged towards the rim. Batum stayed right with Mayo, and as the former Trojan elevated to lay the ball in and draw contact, Batum pulled his body away ever so slightly and managed to avoid fouling Mayo. The fact that Batum was able to stick with Mayo while backpedaling and still be in position to contest the shot was amazing enough, and the fact that he did so without fouling was incredible. But the best part of all was that Batum actually blocked the shot, using his incredible length to swallow Mayo whole and save the game. Any other 21 year-old player would have had a mental conniption after being hung out to dry like that, but Batum came up big when it mattered most and sealed the game on the road. It was simply amazing.

There aren't enough advanced stats in basketball that can account for how Batum's freakishly long arms affect opponents, or how many momentum changing blocks/loose balls he comes up with, but we need those to truly appreciate players like Nicolas Batum. This kid is already a heady player with all the athletic gifts you could hope for and is only getting better. If Portland is going anywhere this year, next year or after, Nicolas Batum will be central to their success. He's not a star and doesn't need to be, and that's just what these Blazers need. With Batum healthy, Brandon Roy doesn't have to guard the opponents' best perimeter player, and someone like LaMarcus Aldridge doesn't need to grab more than 2 rebounds a quarter. Batum fits so well with the rest of the Portland players, it's scary to think about what could happen during the rest of this season and next.

The young Frenchman is well on his way to becoming a dangerously complete player, and could potentially be someone who excels at nearly every area of the game. That's the kind of guy I want to help me win a championship, and if Kevin Pritchard, Paul Allen and Nate McMillan know what they're doing (they do), they'll make damn sure that no matter what else happens in the future they make space on the roster and in the salary cap for Nicolas.