Credit Well Deserved
Andrew R Tonry | Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 10:04PM “Mrs. Turkoglu,” the homemade sign read, “Thanks for Andre.” And indeed, we are thankful.
Thankful for a whip-smart ball handler. Thankful for a cagey veteran. Thankful for a guy who’s finally pushing the tempo (at least a bit). Thankful for one of the best rebounding guards in the league. And last, but not least, thankful not to have a big, dopey, bad-shot taking, constantly complaining, junk-food scarfing small forward clogging up his arteries, the Portland payroll and the Blazers starting lineup.
So yes, thank you Mrs. Turkoglu—for from saving us from ourselves (or at least the whim of Paul Allen). Because of you, the correct and natural order of things were maintained.
Had the balky, faux-hawked Turk signed with the Blazers as he originally promised (and for the record, I detested) certainly Nicolas Batum wouldn’t have seen the 30 minutes he did Sunday against the Raptors. And without those minutes, Batum wouldn’t tied a career high, hitting five three pointers (on six attempts). Nor would he have tallied 22 points (second best of his career). The thought of Turkoglu taking away minutes from the Frenchman stirs bile in my throat—it’s heresy, not to mention unimaginable that anyone would’ve been so stupid.
Batum was one of three Blazers—along with LaMarcus Aldridge (22) and Brandon Roy (20)—to score 20-plus, as Portland went on to handily defeat the Raptors for the second and final time this season, 109-98.
Then there was Miller, who the Blazers instead signed for less money ($6.7 million to Turkoglu’s $9) and less years (three against five). A bargain, Miller outperformed his more expensive counterpart. He finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and no turnovers to Turkoglu’s 14 points, five rebounds and four giveaways.
Portland fans “boo ‘d” Turkoglu every time he touched the ball, all the way into the fourth and final quarter. I make the assumption that, as educated fans, the Blazer faithful were more upset with the Turkoglu family’s belief that Toronto is a better, more culturally rounded city than their own, as opposed to being sad he doesn’t wear the Blazer uniform. Certainly Turkoglu would’ve liked a better outcome on this visit, but it just wasn’t in the cards.
By half-time the Blazers built a double-digit lead. With 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Portland led by 11. The Raptors then made their run, cutting the deficit as low as two, with 6:15 to play. Brandon Roy scored four-straight, and Portland never really looked back. He said afterwards that the team was never rattled—they talked about defense in the huddle, then came out and clamped down.
The win was Portland’s fourth straight, and seventh of the last eight. During the stretch the Blazers have beaten just one team over .500 (Memphis). Their lone loss came at Denver.
Portland’s 19 offensive rebounds played a big part in offsetting Toronto’s 54.9% shooting for the game. The Blazers scored 22 second chance points.
Coach McMillan appears buoyed by the better play of late, and seems especially happy he’s been able to settle into a solid rotation as the team has stayed relatively healthy. The starting lineup of Roy, Aldridge, Batum, Camby and Miller have put together an record of eight and one. McMillan spoke about finally getting some consistency, and what it means that these last two wins came relatively easy against inferior competition, something that hasn’t always been the case.
Every Blazer starter Sunday finished in double figures. Rudy Fernandez kicked in 12 from the bench. He hit three of five attempts from deep.
As team, the Trail Blazers were on fire from behind the arc. Their 12 makes were a season high, as was their efficiency (60% on 12 of 20).
LaMarcus Aldridge helped the Blazers spring out of the gates, amassing a stunning 10 points and seven rebounds in the game’s first six minutes. By the end of the first he had scored 16. But from then on out, Aldridge wasn’t as effective. He finished with 22 points and 12 boards. I asked the power forward what caused his productivity to drop as the game went on.
Finally, just for the warm feeling it gives me—and that I don’t have to cover what would’ve been a team-bursting move—one more time for the road: “Mrs. Turkoglu, Thanks for Andre!”
Reader Comments (6)
According to Canzano, Turkoglu's wife had nothing to do with his not playing here.
Of course, according to Canzano, Hedo's apology last night should stop the booing at the Rose Garden. I would take his interview with Hedo with a grain of salt.
As a Raptor fan, who has been against this mind-boggling contract from day one I can only say — good for you guys. It is hard to find the words for Hedo's play and his attitude from day one. Just horrible. I cannot even imagine that this punishment will go on for another 4 years @ 10+ mil/year.
You are one of my favorite west conference teams (along with the Suns), so all the best to your young and upcoming crew.
The thing that disappoints me the most as a Blazers fan is the Blazers defense. We have allowed teams (even the bad ones) to shoot a high percentage from the field (50-60%). For example, had the Blazers not had so many rebounds or forced turnovers or 12 3 pointers, the Raptors would have stole one at the Rose Garden. I almost have to close my eyes every time I watch our defense get dismantled by teams and flinch every time they turn each possession into easy layups and high percentage shots. It's actually more annoying than it is disappointing.
So pretty much what I am getting at is, regardless of who we face in the first round (Lakers, Nuggets, Mavericks, Jazz or OKC), we will get crushed. It would be a miracle if we surprise any of these teams and actually pull of an upset. We are just too weak, although Camby helps and Batum is great 1 on 1, the total team defense sucks. No good team can allow another to shoot that great consistently. You can't just rely on your 3 point shooting to win you games. It may win you 1 or maybe 2, but not 4.
Am I the only Blazer fan that is not yet convinced of this 8-2 run as of late?
@ Mladen - I totally agree with you that this recent run may be a bit over-rated. I think I'm the only one who has noted that seven of those eight wins came against teams with sub .500 records.
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