Tales of a Blazer Meltdown or GET THE #@*% REBOUND!!!!!!!!!!

Riddle me this: what do you get when you don't finish good defensive possessions with rebounds in the postseason? Any guesses? Anyone? Bueller? If you answered "a blowout loss in a pivotal postseason game," then you're a winner! (the prize is a longer summer vacation for the Blazers)

NBA defense can be hard to quantify and it is often difficult to tell what specific aspects of team defense affect the outcome of the game, but last night's evisceration of the Portland Trail Blazers at the hands of the Phoenix Suns came down to one thing: rebounding. Portland could not rebound the basketball to save their lives and it cost them this pivotal game five and perhaps the whole series as a result.

After jumping out to a seemingly dominant lead in the first quarter, the Blazers pretty much rolled over when Marcus Camby (who sparked the early surge with his interior defense and passing) went to the bench with his second foul. At that point, Portland was leading by 12 points and seemed to have the game moving at their tempo. In the last 4 minutes and change of the quarter, however, the Suns got three scores directly from offensive rebounds and closed the gap to 1 while also completely changing the character and tempo of the game to favor themselves and their brand of basketball.

All night long the Blazers threw away their own possessions (15 turnovers for 20 Phoenix points) while simultaneously giving Phoenix extra chances to score (the Suns had 15 offensive rebounds) and paid the price. This was especially frustrating because the Blazers actually played decent defense before the shot went up, they just couldn't rotate with the Suns and still box out underneath the basket. Because they were unable to limit the Suns' possessions, the Blazers also lost the ability to control the tempo of the game and force Phoenix out of their comfort zone. Instead, extra possessions lead to easy baskets, transition opportunities and big swings that knocked the wind right out of Portland's sails.

Marcus Camby was the only Blazer with more than 5 rebounds last night, and the only other Blazers with more than 2 rebounds were Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless, who each had 4. Yes that's right, the two shortest rotation players for Portland out rebounded most of the Blazer front court. Despite playing 40 minutes and being almost 7 feet tall, LaMarcus Aldridge managed to grab only 2 rebounds and make Amar'e Stoudemire and Channing Frye look like the second coming of Charles Barkley and Moses Malone. Maybe if LaMarcus did something besides fade away for jumpers he'd be in better rebounding position, but hey, what do I know about basketball?

This loss was especially hard to take because it wasn't a case of Phoenix coming out scorching hot and draining everything they threw up, the Blazers clearly just didn't want the game as much as Phoenix did. Rebounds are about desire, drive and toughness. Every Blazer not named Marcus Camby was lacking in those areas last night and it showed. Defense and rebounding are the areas of the game that Portland needs to dominate in order to win, but last night they failed to match the intensity and effort of a middling defensive team and got their butts kicked. If the Blazers don't find their stones and figure out a way to keep Phoenix from beating them on the glass the Blazers will be on vacation by Thursday night despite having home court for game six. Alarm bells are ringing.

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.

Getting Set For the Nets

There's nothing like a game against a historically awful team to help wash the awful taste of a fourth quarter collapse against a divisional opponent away, so let's all take a moment and praise the scheduling gods for giving Portland an easy match-up against the hapless New Jersey Nets tonight (amen). The Nets are currently 5-51, which looks bad enough on its own and even worse when you consider that means that they've won less than 10% of their games this season (in case you were wondering, the 1972-73 76ers set the current mark for futility at 9-73, which comes out to an 11% winning percentage). So in theory this should be an easy win for a Portland team that is getting as healthy as they will get his year.

But this is still the NBA, and even a historically bad team like the Nets can surprise you at any time. They may not have superstar players, but New Jersey does have some talented players and could conceivably upset Portland tonight. I don't think it will happen, especially after a humbling and embarrassing home loss to the Jazz on Sunday night. The Blazers should be very focused and ready to play, which doesn't bode well for New Jersey as their best hope for victory on a nightly basis is to be underestimated and overlooked by the opposition.

As far as match-ups go, the Blazers should do very well across the board, especially up front. Offensively, LaMarcus Aldridge should have his way against the likes of Yi Jianlian either facing up or in the low post. Yi isn't exactly a physical beast and probably won't be willing to bang bodies with LA (which is only the best way to take Aldridge out of a game), so look for LaMarcus to have a big game tonight. I'm not sure how New jersey will counter that match-up, and on the other side of the ball Aldridge's foot speed and length should help contain the Chinese forward on the perimeter.

But as the Dude might say, "the Chinaman is not the issue here!" (Asian American is the preferred nomenclature) The match-up I'm really interested to see is Brook Lopez against Marcus Camby. If there has been a silver lining to this season for the Nets, it's Lopez, who has played strong, consistent basketball all year despite the fact that he's toiling for a team who's only motivation to win is to avoid being crowned the all time worst team in NBA history. Lopez is physically gifted, skilled and has a soft touch that extends out to 18 feet and beyond, making him a tough assignment for most of the NBA on a nightly basis. Marcus Camby has enough length to counter Lopez and is mobile enough to stick with him on the perimeter, but Camby won't be able to help out on defense (his biggest strength) and will be drawn away from the hoop for much of the night. The other Blazers will have to do a good job of containing dribble penetration tonight to keep Marcus in position and to prevent the Nets from creating open looks on the perimeter.

In the backcourt, it will be interesting to see how Andre Miller and Devin Harris play against each other, as they represent opposite ends of the NBA's spectrum of point guard types. Miller is crafty, methodical and physical, while Harris is a lanky speedster that thrives on quickness, dribble penetration and getting into the teeth of the defense. I don't know how well Miller will do against a speedy guard like Devin Harris, nor am I optimistic about Harris' ability to guard Andre in the post. I'll give Andre the edge here because Devin Harris hasn't been great this year while Miller has been everything Portland could have hoped for and then some. The Blazers will probably put Bayless on Harris for stretches to match his athleticism, though I'm not sure that Portland will even need to given the way Harris and the Nets have played this year.

Portland should win this game easily, although it is the first of a back to back which can be a trap if the players start thinking about the next game before this one is over so we'll just have to wait and see. If Brandon Roy is feeling good tonight, I doubt there will be another collapse like the one we saw on Sunday against Utah. it will be important for the Blazers to get on the Nets early and then keep the pressure on in the hopes that they will fold and resign themselves to a fate that seems inevitable. If Portland plays some defense (they almost always do), takes care of the ball and controls the glass (shouldn't be a problem), then they'll be in great shape to start this road trip off on the right foot.

Smothered

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy, nothing gets me going quite like being able to go see my beloved Celtics take on the pesky Portland Trail Blazers in an environment as electric and hostile as the Rose Garden on a friday night. Tyler's mom deserves a big hat tip for scoring the Fox and myself some sweet tickets to the game, and the Celtics deserve an equally big hat tip for coming out and playing with effort, intensity and strong resolve just one night after slugging it out with the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Speaking of the Lakers, I have to get this off my chest before indulging y'all in any more basketball commentary. The two guys sitting next to Tyler and myself at the Rose Garden were Laker fans, why they were at this game is beyond me (though they both seemed intent on scoring with some fat chicks later so maybe that was their motivation). I mean, you're coming to a game featuring two of your most hated rivals and stepping into an arena full of people that think you're assholes and probably wouldn't go R. Kelly on you if you were on fire, so what gives? These guys looked like they just got rejected from some horrible reality show (the one sitting next to me was wearing a muscle shirt, while his buddy had on a ridiculous looking white hat and some kind of designer shirt and jeans), like the West Coast version of "Jersey Shore" or something.

They'd clearly been pre-gaming somewhere, and when they came up to their seats each had two cocktails with them (looked like cosmos, which is very ironic considering how macho and homophobic they were trying to be once the game got underway). They then proceeded to get plowed, talk shit, sexually harass me and everyone else within arms reach and then disappeared for the half of the game. Even when they were in their seats they weren't paying attention, clearly they spent a ton of money on their seats and their drinks and everything else just to do it and be seen and make sure that everyone else knows how loaded they are (and we did notice that they were loaded, but not in the way they were hoping for I'm guessing). They didn't come to watch the game, and they didn't care about the score or the level of play or anything else. In short, this is why I hate LA and the Lakers. Sure, Kobe Bryant is an insufferable prick and the fact that their third string center has a freaking publicist is grating, but the Laker fans are the primary reason that I loathe anything wearing purple and gold. These two guys personified everything that is wrong with being a sports fan and were so distracting and offensive that they took away from the game experience for us (well at least for me, Tyler was fortunate enough to have me between him and them and was flanked on his other side by some hipster girl who only wanted to dance to the arena music). Ugh, LA just needs to hurry up and fall into the ocean already, we've been tormented for long enough.

In other news, the Celtics played smothering defense from wire to wire and raised their intensity level against a weaker team (something they have been struggling with since Christmas) and prevailed easily in a defensive contest. Kevin Garnett provided a spark early on, finishing with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in just 22 minutes, while Ray Allen had his jumper going throughout and lead the Celtics with 21 points on 9-14 shooting. With the exception of Ray Allen, every Celtic played limited minutes and got plenty of rest on the second night of a back-to-back (we barely saw KG or Pierce in the second half), and solid contributions from the entire bench helped the Celtics coast to victory. Boston did a great job of forcing turnovers, running shooters off the three point line, changing shots around the paint, and played Portland to a draw on the glass (at half time the Celtics were dominating the glass on both ends) to help themselves get a much needed victory on a tough West Coast road trip.

On the other side of things, the Blazers definitely played hard and competed with intensity but fell short because of Boston's defensive effort. Portland had only three players (Bayless, Aldridge and Andre Miller) in double figures, and despite a 40-23 free-throw advantage couldn't keep the game close for most of the night. The Blazers got killed by their own poor shooting (less than 34% overall and only 2-12 from distance), turnovers (they had 18 which lead to 20 points for Boston), and by giving up 44 points in the paint to a team of jump shooters. The intensity and effort was there, but the execution for the most part was non existent.

Perhaps the Blazers struggled a little bit to adjust to life without Steve Blake and to integrate Marcus Camby into the team (Camby was on and off, grabbing rebounds, changing shots and doing some little things well but also turning the ball over 5 times in 29 minutes), but really the Celtics perimeter defenders played extra hard and moved well, forcing tough shots that were out of the Blazers' comfort zone. Rudy, Roy and Martell Webster all struggled to find breathing room out there, which put too much of the burden onto LaMarcus Aldridge (who actually played a solid game with a 16/9) to keep things close. Mostly, I feel like the Celtics just played very hard, determined defense against these Blazers and took them out of their game, which proved to be the difference.

In the past, the Celtics have underestimated Portland and taken a lax attitude towards this Blazer team, however after losing in Portland last year, you could see that the Celtics had a totally different mindset on Friday night. While it's frustrating for Portland to lose, it is a huge sign of respect from the Celtics to be so attuned and focused on this game. In the long run, the Blazers will be ok and just need to learn from this experience to see what it takes to separate themselves from just about everyone else out West. Fortunately, the Blazers get to play the Nets on Tuesday, so a bounce back win should be coming right up. Until then, take it easy and remember that Laker fans suck!

Reenforced by Minutemen

I'm not even going to pretend like I am breaking the news hear or that you hadn't already heard that the Blazers traded Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw to the Clippers for Marcus Camby, so let's cut straight to the chase: this is a home run for Portland and Blazer fans should be smiling right now. Yes, it hurts to lose Steve Blake and Outlaw, two extremely hard workers and likable guys, however this deal was the best possible scenario for the Blazers and could potentially catapult them from out of the running to right there in the mix with anyone in the NBA.

And it's not that a soon to be 36 year-old Marcus Camby is the second coming of Bill Russell and that this Blazer team is now the favorite to win it all in the NBA, but of all the players available, Camby clearly fills the Blazers' needs and the asking price was relatively low. And I love both Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw as much as anyone, but their production and value to this team is replaceable, while Camby will plug many if not all of the holes that have had the Blazers struggling so mightily this year (well, he's not a doctor who can heal season ending injuries or someone who can go back in time and select Durant over Oden, but bear with me for a minute).

If I made a list of all the things that Portland was lacking this year, rebounding, shot blocking, front-court depth, help defense, size and length would be at the top of the list. Marcus Camby is extremely tall and long (check and check, even though he is skinny as hell), provides exceptional help defense (check), is currently second in the NBA in rebounding (check) and averages just under 2 blocks a game (check, and I would add that his career average is 2.59 and he has compiled 2,093 blocks in his career, good for 13th all time). Adding Marcus Camby to Portland's roster solves all of these problems.

Since front-court depth was the Blazers' most glaring weakness (and the root of all their other problems), let's start our analysis there. With Camby starting and playing the big minutes, Juwan Howard can stop killing himself every night and go back to the second unit where he and everyone else will be more comfortable. Howard is more likely to hold up this way because of reduced minutes and more favorable match-ups, and the second unit players will benefit greatly from the calm, focus and consistency that he delivers. As a consequence, Jeff Pendergraph and Dante Cunningham will feel less pressure and won't have to play out of position, so this can only be seen as an incredible positive for all of them (though I suppose there is something to be said for developing rookies by giving them meaningful minutes).

As for Portland's length and shot blocking issues, Camby will help immensely here as well. Although Camby is not a totally complete defender, he does provide excellent help defense (sometimes to a fault) and likes to patrol the rim and changes the way opponents attack the paint. Until now, if you pounded the Blazers in the paint they had very little recourse and no way to intimidate opponents or contest and alter shots effectively. None of the healthy Blazer big men were shot blockers, and all of them but Aldridge lack the length necessary to bother elite low post players or the best slashing guards and wings. Add Camby tothe mix and all this changes. Now when one of the Blazers gets beat on the perimeter, the opposing player still has something to think about other than how easy it is to score at the rim against such a woefully undersized team. And when Pau Gasol posts up down low, instead of being able to look over Juwan Howard or Jeff Pendergraph and realize that nobody on the court can affect his shot, he'll either be faced with the length of Camby immediately or soon after he drives toward the rim.

And even though Portland ranks first in opponents' rebounds per game (a paltry 38, tied with Cleveland) and are an outstanding 6th in rebound differential this year, they desperately need help on the glass. Right now, Portland has to gang rebound to control the glass, and this takes a toll on the smaller Blazers, who are often left to box out a bigger man. Adding a solid, reliable rebounder like Camby will reduce the stress on the other Blazers and should also help Portland's overall defense and transition game in the process. And Camby has only gotten better at rebounding with age, so any concerns about that area of the game should be squelched immediately.

Admittedly, this is the sunny evaluation of Camby, and it's focused more on the things he does well than the opposite at this point, but here is my thinking on the matter. In Portland's system, with a collection of solid to good defenders around him, Camby's strengths can shine and his weaknesses will be obscured. Similarly, I feel like he's the kind of player that can make everyone else better at the same time, so this trade could stand to benefit Portland greatly. The advanced stats support Camby as an excellent defensive player, and while his detractors point to things like poor screen/roll defense and his unwillingness to leave the basket area, the thing that matters more to me than anything is this: Marcus Camby made the Allen Iverson/Carmelo Anthony Nuggets a solid defensive team and raised everyone else's game on that team when the Nuggets played defense. Before this Denver renaissance that got them to the West Finals last year, Camby was the only thing preventing opponents from having a lay-up line against that team. Without Camby, that Nuggets squad would have been worse than Phoenix, Golden State or anyone else for that matter. He anchored that team and was instrumental to their success as a group, 'nuff said.

And what is the cost of this rental? The biggest loss is Steve Blake, who despite a recent shooting slump had been the Blazers' most consistent shooter and did everything the right way to help his team win. Blake plays defense, he hustles, he moves without the ball, he can shoot, and he doesn't take risks with the basketball, but at the end of the day Andre Miller is the better player both for this Blazers squad and in general. And with a creator like Roy at the other guard and guys like Jerryd Bayless and Rudy Fernandez in the mix as well, it shouldn't be too hard to replace Blake's production in the rotation.

As for Travis Outlaw, I will surely miss him and the energy he brought to the Blazers, but he truly was a confounding player and is very expendable. Even though he is still young, freakishly athletic and had become quite a good shooter recently, Travis Outlaw is not the most aware player and I always felt like his ceiling as a player was much lower than other people thought. The only thing he did really consistently was subject himself and all of us to the most painful brain farts and provoke more "what ifs?" than almost any other current Blazer. Watching him play, I was always impressed by his speed and athleticism, but confounded by his inability to convert easy baskets and finish in traffic. Yes, his pull up jumper was untouchable and even won a few games for the Blazers, but at the same time he made far too many easy shots incredibly difficult by painting himself into a corner and having only one move to get free.

And for a guy who stands 6'9," Outlaw was never a force on the glass nor an impact player on defense. I hate to see him go, but I get the feeling like ten years from now we could easily be asking the same questions about Travis that we are today. Plus, with a logjam at forward, he really has become expendable for the Blazers, who have younger and cheaper options to fill his void. Nicolas Batum has a better body (if that were possible) and does all the little things that Travis would never be able to do, and yet he can still stretch the defense and find ways to score even without having plays run for him.

The only part of this trade that gives me pause is the question of where and how far this gets Portland this year. Camby's contract expires after this year, and Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla will be back next year, so we must weigh this trade on what it does for Portland now. Yes it fills all of the holes in the Portland roster and yes it will help to cover many of the "warts" that these Blazers have, but does this piece put Portland over the top this year? Maybe there's a 0.5% chance that it does, but in all likelihood the Blazers are not getting to the promised land with this Marcus Camby deal. At this point they're in the playoffs and could make serious noise if Brandon Roy and everyone else ends up healthy, happy and firing on all cylinders, but man those are some big ifs.

What is realistic is to assume that Portland can and will make the playoffs, and depending on who they play win a series. But at this point I don't see the Blazers getting too much farther than that against a loaded Western Conference, nor do I see them stacking up against the elite teams in the East. So this deal can salvage this season and keep hope alive, but I don't think it puts the Blazers over the top and means that they can hang with the Lakers or Denver. Only time on the court will tell, so we'll just have to watch the games and see for ourselves.