Blazers drop another one on the road

Portland Trail Blazers

92

Final Recap | Box Score

95

Sacramento Kings

	Gerald Wallace, SF 40 MIN | 4-7 FG | 0-1 FT | 3 REB | 2 AST | 8 PTS | +6 Wallace was able to impact the game more than his mediocre stat line will show, but he left his fire in Portland last night; Portland could have used the relentless aggression he brought against Charlotte to Sacramento. 0-1 at the line in a game where the Blazers needed guys to step up and take the ball strong to the basket for easy points against a terrible defensive team. Opponents have scored 70% against the Kings at the rim (a league-worst) but the typically aggressive Blazer couldn’t find the paint.
	LaMarcus Aldridge, PF 35 MIN | 12-19 FG | 4-8 FT | 14 REB | 2 AST | 28 PTS | -4 Aldridge played well, but couldn’t manage to lead his team to an easy win on the second night of the season’s most favorable back-to-back. Sure, he got to the line eight times but was only able to convert half of those. In a game decided by three points, those four misses were easy baskets Aldridge needed to convert. His line looked solid, but only five of his 19 shot attempts came in the paint.
	Marcus Camby, C 25 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-2 FT | 4 REB | 4 AST | 2 PTS | -5 Five blocked shots was the highlight to an otherwise average performance. The Blazers need veterans like Camby to help lead when they are struggling on the road, but he wasn’t able to energize his teammates the same way he has in the past.
	Raymond Felton, PG 36 MIN | 7-17 FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 10 AST | 15 PTS | -13 Felton stood out in this contest for all of the right reasons. On offense he powered the ball inside time and again and continued to hit the cutter, finishing with 10 assists on the night. But if the price of 10 dimes is 1 - 7 from behind the arc, I’m not buying.
	Wesley Matthews, G 38 MIN | 4-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 9 PTS | -4 Matthews will now be known in Sacramento as the guy who let Isaiah Thomas thwart a 1 - 3 break.
	Kurt Thomas, C 18 MIN | 5-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 0 AST | 10 PTS | +2 If anyone deserves an A for the night, it’s Thomas. But, when you lose to Sacramento the team GPA can’t really peak above 3.0. Thomas hit 5 - 7 in his 18 minutes, providing much needed offense during a second quarter drought that saw the Blazers’ lead dwindle from 13 to four.
	Jamal Crawford, G 28 MIN | 6-17 FG | 4-5 FT | 4 REB | 3 AST | 17 PTS | -4 Jamal’s hot streak from last night carried over in part, but he wasn’t able to help his teammates slow down Sacramento’s guards tonight. Don’t worry, he still took a few contested threes and over-dribbled enough to cough up the ball four times.
	Elliot Williams, G 6 MIN | 1-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 3 PTS | +6 It feels unfair to give a guy a grade who was only in for six minutes, but he hit a nice three and continued his solid play from last night.

Three Things We Saw

1. We mostly saw another disappointing road loss to a team that should have never had a chance. The Kings’ energy on defense was certainly admirable, but the Blazers couldn’t match their defensive tenacity with anything more than a couple of forced turnovers.
2. The Blazers had two chances to score on 1 - 3 fast breaks and came up empty both times. It was truly embarrassing.
3. Even Power Balance Pavilion has better arena music than the Rose Garden. Can we do something about this?

Comments

[Scrabble Kai]

Ray Ray put up the ugliest 15/10 I've ever seen plus pick and roll defense is his kryptonite.