Half Right is Better Than All Wrong

What a difference a total lack of defense makes, eh? After getting waxed by the Artists Formerly Known as Seattle on Tuesday, the Blazers did a little bit of waxing themselves against Phoenix last night. As I predicted, Portland fared much better against the run-and-gun Suns than they did against the Thunder, despite the fact that they were on the road and facing a more experienced and offensively explosive team in Phoenix than they did on Tuesday against the Thunder. It seemed like the Blazers were due for a strong response after getting so thoroughly embarrassed, and although I have no doubt that this was the case (along with the inspiration they got after Juwan Howard laid into them on Tuesday night), you can really chalk this victory up to a complete lack of defensive pressure from the Suns.

From the opening tip, the Blazers got just about everywhere they wanted to go and met little resistance from Phoenix en route to an impressive 108-101 victory that saw Portland ahead by almost 20 at one point. In addition to getting where they wanted to go with ease, Portland got plenty of good shots that they were able to knock down thanks again to a lack of pressure from Phoenix. With six players in double figures, the Blazers rode a balanced attack past the Suns and are now headed into the All-Star break on a positive note.

And as I postulated yesterday, the match-ups were more favorable for Portland and proved to be the difference last night. On Tuesday night, the Thunder hounded LaMarcus Aldridge and prevented him from getting the ball in his comfortable shots (or at all) and took him out of the game for long stretches. Against Phoenix last night, Aldridge repeatedly caught uncontested entry passes and was able to get into the paint with little resistance time and again. The result was a scalding hot shooting performance from the only LA we like in Portland, as he finished 11-17 from the field for a team high 22 points. Amar'e Stoudemire and Channing Frye were conscientious objectors for most of the game and paid the price for letting Aldridge establish a rhythm early on. Once LA sank a few jump hooks, the jumper started falling from all over and that was pretty much all she wrote for Phoenix.

The other match-ups I liked going into last night's game were in the backcourt, where the Blazers were able to exploit Steve Nash (and the other Phoenix defenders) all night long. Benefitting greatly from a lack of ball pressure, the Blazer guards were able to initiate their offense without impediment and established a good rhythm in the first quarter. Dribble penetration wasn't met with so many help defenders last night, and so both Andre Miller and Steve Blake were allowed to cut the Suns to ribbons by either scoring or dishing to an open teammate. Both players finished with 20 points and thoroughly outplayed the Phoenix guards on both ends of the floor.

While we're on the subject of Blazer guards, I'd like to highlight a great decision by coach McMillan: starting Steve Blake. Blake was the player of the game, pouring in 20 points and dishing out 12 assists with only one turnover. After the Blazers killed themselves with turnovers against the Thunder, McMillan inserted Blake to keep the Blazers under control and to take care of the ball, two of his specialties. Blake was aggressive early on and rose to the challenge of playing against Steve Nash admirably. When the Suns played Blake to pass, he made them pay by knocking down shots and did the opposite once they started playing him to score. Add in good defense on the other end and Blake was easily the difference between a humiliating loss to OKC and an impressive victory over Phoenix.

While it was a good win for the Blazers (they all are, aren't they?), I feel like this game said more about Phoenix than it did about Portland. It seems to me that Phoenix has only one way to win and are ill-equipped to compete in a game where their shots aren't falling and they don't establish a huge lead early on. Since they really play no defense at all, they have no recourse if they can't suck you into their style of game. In any sport, the best way to beat an opponent is to make them do things that they're uncomfortable with. To be really successful, you need more than one way to do that, and it is plain to see that Phoneix lacks this kind of balance.

The Suns way of forcing people out of their comfort zone is to outscore you and force you to play their style to try and catch up, which works great as long as Phoenix can score points and you actually fall for their trap (so many teams do). But if their shots don't fall and they can't force you to start playing from behind early on, what can they do? Most teams would use defensive effort and energy to take away your offensive sets, but the Suns can't or won't do that so they are really up a creek, especially against other elite teams that thrive on the kind of balance they lack.

Does Phoneix need to become the best defensive team in the league in order to be more successful? No, but they do need to be willing to at least make some kind of effort to keep their opponents from getting the shots they like to take. There's really no reason that a team that talented should lose to a Portland squad like this one that is so decimated by injuries (especially at home), but they have no recourse if their shots don't fall. And it's a freaking shame, because Phoenix is great to watch and Steve Nash is one of the most likable guys in the Association today. So it goes.

Check back after the All-Star break for more world class content (or not...).

Everything Turn, Turn, Turn (overs)

Well, consider me 0 for 1 as a Blazer Blogger thus far. I thought that rebounding was the crucial element of last night's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, and I was wrong. The Blazers actually grabbed more rebounds than the Thunder did last night and control of the glass was not the deciding factor in last night's contest. No, what killed Portland last night was something quite uncharacteristic for this Portland team and their system: turnovers.

If you watched the game last night, it was plain to see that the Blazers inability to take care of the basketball killed them repeatedly (a few times I thought I was watching the Celtics play, yeesh). Currently 26th in the NBA in turnovers per game, the Blazers coughed up the rock 24 times, leading to 30 points for Kevin Durant & co. That's the ballgame right there, folks, and you can thank some surprisingly stifling defense from the Thunder for making that happen. OKC is a long and athletic squad, and they swarmed the Blazers mercilessly and took Portland right out of their game from the get go. Andre Miller and others were routinely met by two, three and sometimes even four bodies when they got into the paint, and the Thunder did a great job of cutting off passing lanes and running shooters off of shots on the perimeter when the Blazers were able to kick the ball out to the perimeter.

Now, Portland missed plenty of looks that might normally go down, but explaining the loss that way would be selling the defensive effort of the Thunder and the progress they've made this year woefully short. I am a firm believer that basketball is a game of rhythm, and taking a team out of that rhythm makes good shooters miss open shots after long enough. That's what happened to Portland last night, and on the other side of things, the Blazers just didn't have an answer for the length, athleticism and overall game of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and the rest of the Thunder.

Not that I'm in the business of letting the Blazers off the hook, but they just got outplayed by a healthier team that right now is more talented than Portland and has been giving even the top squads in the NBA boatloads of problems this year. The Thunder are vastly improved on both ends of the floor and seem poised to make some noise down the stretch of this season. And although Kevin Durant was fantastic again (33/11), the Thunder are more than just him, and they proved it last night. Jeff Green did the little things (including mediating a shouting match between Durant and Russell Westbrook in the second half), played great defense on LaMarcus Aldridge (he only got 10 shots all night and had 4 turnovers), and rookie James Harden hit some big shots just as Portland was attempting to close the gap in the second half.

Looking ahead to tonight's game against Phoenix, the Blazers should have an easier time running their offense, which can hopefully translate to more makes and a Portland victory. Phoenix plays no defense at all and don't rebound particularly well, so they don't seem well equipped to exploit Portland. That doesn't mean they aren't a threat, the Suns have been playing fantastically and have as much offensive firepower as anyone in the Association. Still, I like the Blazers to go get a win tonight, partially because of a few match-ups but also because they got embarrassed on their home floor last night and most NBA teams respond well after a loss like that.

The caveats, however, are as follows. First, this is the second of a back-to-back for the Blazers, and they had to travel to Phoenix after the game last night, so fatigue could be an issue against a team that runs and guns as much as the Suns do. Also, life will be difficult for Portland if Martell Webster can't go at all or is limited in his ability to impact the game. His nasty fall last night visibly affected his game on both ends and the Blazers desperately need him to have a chance at success tonight and for the rest of the season. Also, there is potential for a Channing Frye revenge game, as the Suns new sixth man may be keyed up and determined to show Portland what he can do in a system that isn't as restrictive as Nate McMillan's is.

on the flip side, I actually like the match-ups for Portland a lot more in this game than I did against the Thunder. Andre Miller should be able to post up Steve Nash all night long and exploit his defensive deficiencies easily (not possible against the physical specimen that isRussell Westbrook), and if they take Nash off of Miller Captain Canada will have to try and contain Jerryd Bayless, who shreds the NBA's quickest perimeter defenders off the dribble on a nightly basis. And while we're on the subject of Bayless, I like the potential of him against Leandro Barbosa. On the interior, LaMarcus Aldridge should have an easier go of things against Channing Frye and Amar'e Stoudemire, both of whom have never been accused of playing a lick of D in their respective NBA careers.

Still, this game is a toss up at best and the Blazers, as they have had to do all season, will have to find a way to win and compensate for the talent and health differential. If shots fall for Portland tonight, they should win (there's my push for the John Madden Memorial Captain Obvious Award), otherwise things could get ugly once again. Win or lose, the All-Star break is coming and on the other side of it hopefully lies a healthy Brandon Roy, so let's try and hang on one more time and gut out another impressive win.