Friday
Jan152010
No Center, No Star, No Problem. Blazers Throttle Magic, 102-87
Andrew R Tonry | Friday, January 15, 2010 at 11:46PM
After being mauled by the Blazers Friday night, Orlando guard-forward Matt Barnes was cursing up a blue streak in the Orlando
locker room to a couple of Magic beat reporters. It was almost soul searching. Barnes' tone was hushed, but it didn't hide
his absolute disgust. He was unguarded and shockingly honest--rare qualities in an NBA locker room.
Barnes made his way out. Referring to his comments, one reporter leaned to the other and pointed towards Dwight Howard, who was dressing at the pace of a two-toed sloth. "He should be saying that," the reporter whispered.
Despite the finger-pointing and admissions in the Magic locker room, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy hung the loss squarely on Portland's near-perfect play.
Indeed, the Trail Blazers 102-87 drubbing of the Magic was almost boring in its totality. It becomes surreal, however, when taking into account Portland was without Brandon Roy. Coach McMillan noted that the year of injury-related tumult has prepared, and even steadied the team for nights like this. His comments:
Coming into the game, everyone expected Howard (the young) to run over Howard (the old). It seemed a safe bet--the kind of odds that pay back pennies on the dollar. Only the long-shot came in. Dwight Howard scored 11 and rebounded the same--pedestrian stats for Superman. I asked Juwan if he could've possibly imagined the matchup going any better. The veteran played it cool, and even brushed the dirt off his shoulders. Have a look:
Offensively, the Blazers were flawless. That their leader in points and assists was wearing a suit, nursing a strained hamstring, meant nothing. Every player chipped in, but two stood above the rest: Martell Webster and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Webster was on fire from deep, making five of his nine three point attempts. He finished with a game high 24 points. It was his eighth straight game in double figures (which was secured in the first quarter with a buzzer-beating fast break dunk). He was three points off his career high, but more upset that he didn't grab that tenth rebound (he had nine). Still, after the game, Webster was bubbling:
Aldridge, meanwhile, showed a more steely side. He played tough defense, scrapped, and even hit the deck running for a couple of loose balls. He finished with 14 points and 14 boards.
In his second game back, Rudy Fernandez seemed closer to finding his rhythm (still, he finished just two of seven). After making a late-game three Fernandez was especially juiced, considering the win was already sealed. I asked him about that moment:
After taking about ten minutes to put on his shoes and bow tie, Dwight Howard finally addressed the media, though he wasn't quite as upset as Barnes.
Howard also talked about the game's potential David & Goliath moment, as he tussled with Steve Blake prior to halftime. I also asked him why his nickname is "Superman," when "The Hulk" seems more appropriate.
Notes:
- Steve Blake's hot shooting continued. He hit four of six from behind the arc.
- Portland hit 11 of 21 attempts from deep.
The following three stats were dug up by the illustrious Joe Freeman:
Something I forgot--in the Magic locker room, Dwight Howard could not help himself from joking around with one of the Blazers' young attendants. The kid, who looks awfully young despite his mustache, took a continuous--albiet good natured--ribbing from Dwight for looking like Martin Lawrence. "Martiiiin," Dwight kept calling out. "Yo," he'd yell across the room. "Doesn't this little dude look like Martin?!"
It might seem off track, as most of the Magic players were sulking in the loss. But it also showed off Dwight's good humor and striking charisma.
Barnes made his way out. Referring to his comments, one reporter leaned to the other and pointed towards Dwight Howard, who was dressing at the pace of a two-toed sloth. "He should be saying that," the reporter whispered.
Despite the finger-pointing and admissions in the Magic locker room, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy hung the loss squarely on Portland's near-perfect play.
Video removed after 72 hours in accordance with NBA Content Policy
Indeed, the Trail Blazers 102-87 drubbing of the Magic was almost boring in its totality. It becomes surreal, however, when taking into account Portland was without Brandon Roy. Coach McMillan noted that the year of injury-related tumult has prepared, and even steadied the team for nights like this. His comments:
Video removed after 72 hours in accordance with NBA Content Policy
Coming into the game, everyone expected Howard (the young) to run over Howard (the old). It seemed a safe bet--the kind of odds that pay back pennies on the dollar. Only the long-shot came in. Dwight Howard scored 11 and rebounded the same--pedestrian stats for Superman. I asked Juwan if he could've possibly imagined the matchup going any better. The veteran played it cool, and even brushed the dirt off his shoulders. Have a look:
Video removed after 72 hours in accordance with NBA Content Policy
Offensively, the Blazers were flawless. That their leader in points and assists was wearing a suit, nursing a strained hamstring, meant nothing. Every player chipped in, but two stood above the rest: Martell Webster and LaMarcus Aldridge.
Webster was on fire from deep, making five of his nine three point attempts. He finished with a game high 24 points. It was his eighth straight game in double figures (which was secured in the first quarter with a buzzer-beating fast break dunk). He was three points off his career high, but more upset that he didn't grab that tenth rebound (he had nine). Still, after the game, Webster was bubbling:
Video removed after 72 hours in accordance with NBA Content Policy
Aldridge, meanwhile, showed a more steely side. He played tough defense, scrapped, and even hit the deck running for a couple of loose balls. He finished with 14 points and 14 boards.
In his second game back, Rudy Fernandez seemed closer to finding his rhythm (still, he finished just two of seven). After making a late-game three Fernandez was especially juiced, considering the win was already sealed. I asked him about that moment:
Video removed after 72 hours in accordance with NBA Content Policy
After taking about ten minutes to put on his shoes and bow tie, Dwight Howard finally addressed the media, though he wasn't quite as upset as Barnes.
Video removed after 72 hours in accordance with NBA Content Policy
Howard also talked about the game's potential David & Goliath moment, as he tussled with Steve Blake prior to halftime. I also asked him why his nickname is "Superman," when "The Hulk" seems more appropriate.
Video removed after 72 hours in accordance with NBA Content Policy
Notes:
- Steve Blake's hot shooting continued. He hit four of six from behind the arc.
- Portland hit 11 of 21 attempts from deep.
The following three stats were dug up by the illustrious Joe Freeman:
- The Blazers are 2-0 playing w/out B. Roy this season and 14-25 since he's been in the NBA.A few more stats from Mark Bowers and our pals at ESPN:
- The Blazers have won 42 games in a row when they hold an opponent under 90 points. They're 15-0 in such games this season
- Blazers held an opponent under 100 pts for the 28th time this season, tied for the most in the NBA with the Spurs.
In fact, during the decisive second quarter (Magic were outscored 28-18), Howard was essentially a non-factor, not getting enough touches to draw fouls or score points. ‘Superman’ touched the ball five times in the second and passed out of those opportunities three times. Even when the Magic center was fortunate to get to the line he struggled to the tune of 3-10.Update:
Dwight Howard Friday vs Trail Blazers
Touches 24
Shots 7
Fouled 6
Passes 9
Turnovers 2
Something I forgot--in the Magic locker room, Dwight Howard could not help himself from joking around with one of the Blazers' young attendants. The kid, who looks awfully young despite his mustache, took a continuous--albiet good natured--ribbing from Dwight for looking like Martin Lawrence. "Martiiiin," Dwight kept calling out. "Yo," he'd yell across the room. "Doesn't this little dude look like Martin?!"
It might seem off track, as most of the Magic players were sulking in the loss. But it also showed off Dwight's good humor and striking charisma.
Reader Comments (6)
The B's we're like greased lightning tonight. They couldn't have been more perfect if they we're my own mother.
I guess that says it all.
Love all the locker room interviews. Thanks for the effort and insights 'drew!
The Blazers played fast, shot well, and kept their mistakes to a minimum.
Interesting how B. Roy controls the speed of the game, and it is never more conspicuous than in his absence. Roy means everything to his team. He is the difference between hope and mediocrity, but he is without a doubt a human restriction plate, the Blazer Pacemaker. Aldridge, Rudy, Andre, even Steve Blake seemed to enjoy their hall passes. Of course, Martel Webster was the key. If he didn't hit his shots, this would have been perhaps the worst NBA game in years. Martel was huge on both ends, and his greatness on this evening juxtaposed Vince Carter's outright and complete suckiness.
The Blazers had only one starter from last year's 54 win team to begin the game- AD, but the Magic brought nothing, so there's not all that much to take from the victory, except victory, which is generally good enough at this time of the year.
The front office still needs to bring in another front court piece. The Blazers can not go the rest of the season and into the playoffs w/ J Howard playing 35 minutes. For McMillan's long term health, the rookies will need to be fazed out for a playoff rotation. Bayless needs to become consistent- you never know what you're going to get there. Martel, though, how nice would it be if these last 10 games are actually representative of what he's all about? Andre can really finish. His below the rim game is so good that his pathetic jumper is almost forgivable, as long as there's 2 seconds or less on the shot clock and everyone else is triple teamed.
I can't believe you couldn't even spare a mention for Andre Miller. He absolutely controlled the tempo of the game, allowed ball movement, had a bunch of nice dimes and sliced to the basket when we needed baskets. Every time he went out, the offense stagnated and the ball stayed on one side of the court. Then he would come back in and either score at the rack or set up open jumpers through ball movement. By far my player of the game.
I like the video interviews and your writing style. Just thought I should give some positive feedback on what is good in my opinion.