Portland Falls Short in Mile High, 109-92.

Don’t worry, it didn’t go in.

Long story short, Brandon Roy left his jumper in Portland and Nene’ murdered the Blazers interior defense.

The game started off with a Nicolas Batum turnover and a quick foul on Brandon Roy. Unfortunately for Portland, the opening sequence was a harbinger of things to come as the Blazers played a step slow and an inch short the entire night.

LaMarcus Aldridge has been starting off well in the first quarters lately, so credit Denver’s coaching staff for making Aldridge’s life difficult. The Nuggets were quick to double team and keep Aldridge out of rhythm. At one point, Aldridge went to post up and four Denver players converged on him. One would think that with so much of Denver’s attention focused on protecting the paint, the three point line would be open for business, however Portland only took nine three-point-shots the entire game. 

Early on, the Blazers seemed to somehow manage to both rush their shots and settle for jumpers. In contrast, Denver moved the ball inside and got calls. Basically, Denver started doing to Portland what Utah has done to Portland in every game this season; using point guard penetration to force Portland to collapse into the paint and short interior passes to open big men for easy buckets. The Blazers are so concerned with the initial penetration that a simple interior pass completely unravels the defense. I miss Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla.

Martell Webster came off the bench with a few ill-advised jumpers alongside some iffy defense, but soon found his rhythm. This included a highlight dunk over Chris “The Birdman” Anderson and Chris “The Birdman” Anderson’s mustache (<i>Editor’s note: I LIKE it!</i>)

Andre Miller single-handedly kept Portland in it through first half. He refused settling for jumpers and instead took it to the rim (Miller finished with 24 on the night). Portland went into the break down one.

If Roy would have gotten in on the act, Portland might have pulled it off. Instead, he made just 3 of 13 attempts. 

As was symptomatic of the game as a whole, the little things just went wrong for Portland. Shots were just a tad off. Andre Miller forgot how to hit a technical free throw. All the while, Denver capitalized on misses and turnovers by getting out in transition for easy buckets.

The Playoffs are all about matchups, and if the Blazers happen to draw the Nuggets, they will get a steady diet of Nene’ cutting to the hoop, Chauncey Billups bullying into the paint, and Carmelo Anthony isolations—everything we’ve seen not just tonight, but all season. Portland did a decent job defending  Anthony through three quarters, forcing the Nuggets star into turnovers and keeping him off the line. At the same time the Blazer defense couldn’t hold off Billups, Anthony, and Nene. The trio finished with 68 of Denver’s 109 points. Portland’s offense was dull, uninspired and only managed 92 points against a Nuggets team who had been giving up 103.2 over the previous ten games. Funny how these things go up and down so fast.

Random Notes:

•  Chris Anderson went down with an ankle injury and while he writhed in pain, someone accidentally dropped some sort of coin into the Birdman’s craw. I half expected a gumball to pop out in exchange. Get well soon Mr. Anderson, and please shave (<i>Ed: No Way!</i>).

• John Elway looks more like Gary Busey every day, it’s terrifying.

Playoff Tickets & More

First, let’s have another look at last night’s dunk by Brandon Roy—perhaps his best yet?

And now, a some information from the team regarding playoff tickets. If you hope to get any, I’d be ready with credit card in hand on 2:00:01 PM on April 15:

PORTLAND, Ore. – Available tickets for the Portland Trail Blazers first two home playoff games will go on sale on Thursday, April 15, at 2:00 p.m.

By virtue of tonight’s 118-90 win over New York, and losses by Memphis and Houston, the Trail Blazers clinched a playoff spot for the 28th time in the team’s 40-year history. First-round opponent, game dates and times will be determined no later than April 14, after the conclusion of the NBA’s regular season.

Tickets will be available via trailblazers.com or by calling 1-888-716-5510. A maximum of four tickets for each game are available to each customer, subject to availability. Fans who have not previously ordered online are encouraged to set up an account in advance of the on-sale time to expedite the ordering process. Tickets will not be available at the Rose Garden box office.

The 2009 NBA Playoffs begin on April 17. The top four seeds in each conference will begin the playoffs at home; seeds 5-8 will begin on the road. Last season, the fourth-seeded Trail Blazers lost the best-of-seven series to the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets, 4 games to 2.

Currently, the Trail Blazers are seeded seventh in the Western Conference with a record of 46-29. With four wins in their final seven games, Portland would finish with back-to-back 50+ win seasons for the first time since 1999-2001.

Pick and Scroll, Back-to-Back Edition.

Your daily (Mon-Fri) roundup of links from around the blogosphere, typically Trail Blazers related.

• Brandon Roy will be getting a “Thank You” note from both David Lee’s chiropractor and his therapist. First, Roy nearly decapitates Lee with an elbow to the neck and then adds insult to injury with a vicious one handed jam. While not the career-ender over Cheikh Samb, it does probably have a place in Roy’s top ten dunks. I have a feeling that list will only improve over time. 

• Wendell Maxey reports that Mike D’Antoni likes McMillan for Coach of the Year. D’Antoni himself is unlikely to receive any COY votes from TrueHoop Network sister blog Knickerblogger, who is breaking down a three part series on “ways D’Antoni has disappointed David Crockett,” which reminds me of the airing of grievances.

• The Oregonian’s Jason Quick reports that while the Blazers are excited to have clenched a playoff berth, they are taking an all-business attitude and looking forward to trying to ruin someone’s day in the playoffs:

“We could have easily tanked it and said we don’t have this player, we don’t have that player, but it has shown the true test of character for every guy in this locker room,” said Juwan Howard, whose fill-in play at center prompted many on the team to call him the Blazers’ most valuable player. “Yes, we are excited and happy that we have achieved the playoffs, but our work is not done.” 

• Dave Deckard from BlazersEdge gives the Knicks a DNP, and Ben Golliver points out that Blaze the Trail Cat outscored McGrady. To Blaze’s credit, even a trampoline wouldn’t have helped McGrady last night.

• Our similarly nomenclature TrueHoop Network sister blog Roundball Mining Company takes a look at Denver’s remaining schedule and has this to say about tonight’s game: 

Portland comes to town Thursday playing their fifth game in eight days. Wednesday they bombed the Knicks, but still have to travel for the fifth straight game. Denver has been sitting at home since Monday night dwelling on how badly they have sucked for the past week. If we do not get a big effort from the Nuggets against Portland, it will be very bad news. I think the result is a win for Denver.

• Did you know you have a voice in the MVP vote now? Neil Paine says you should vote for Stephen Jackson. Check your calendar.

• Kevin Pelton says that this rookie class may have been the best PG class ever, and Ricky Rubio isn’t even here yet. I hope Pelton factored in the 25 career minutes of one Patty Mills as well.

Blazers vs. Nuggets - Preview

Kenyon Martin will not play. Trina is a gametime decision. 

For the first time this season, the Denver Nuggets are vulnerable. George Karl’s leadership has always been a valuable asset to the team, but few suspected that his absence for throat cancer treatment—coupled with Kenyon Martin’s left knee injury—would cripple the one team in the Western Conference that seemed on par with the mighty Lakers. The Nuggets dropped seven games in the month of March alone, including six of their past ten. The number two seed which once seemed like a lock is long gone, and the team has tumbled to a fifth seed, just two games ahead of the Blazers. The Denver Nuggets are by no means a bad team, just one that has showed weakness for the first time in recent memory.

This is perfect timing for Portland. Following their mammoth victory over the remnants of the once proud New York Knickerbocker franchise, the Blazers have won 12 of their last 14 games and are now—in the waning days of the season—playing their best basketball in quite some time. All that useless chatter and friction about chemistry is a thing of the past (November mostly), and right now—right this very second—the Portland Trail Blazers are significantly better than last year’s 54-win team.

 

Granted, few franchises find a way to win in the Pepsi Center. In fact only six teams this season have had the pleasure, and Portland wasn’t even close to joining those ranks when they fell 118-106 in on March 7th. But when you consider the trajectory of these two teams (Denver going down, Portland going up), and Portland’s stellar record in back-to-backs (14-3, the best in the NBA), if there was ever a time for the Blazers to walk out of Denver with a victory, it’s tonight.

 

Tip-off: 7:30 pm
TV: TNT
Las Vegas Line: Nuggets -4.5
TrueHoop Network Blog: Roundball Mining Company

Blazers Clinch Playoffs, Keep Cool

Decimating the Knicks 118-90 at the Rose Garden Wednesday, the Trail Blazers clinched a playoff spot. The news, however, seemed to excite the media more than it did the players.

“There were no streamers,” said Marcus Camby when asked if there was any celebration in the locker room. “No champagne being popped.”

“What do you expect us to do?” asked Juwan Howard, “act like a baseball team?”

Indeed the Blazers, whose long, injury-plagued season dipped at times to exclude the playoffs as a reasonable expectation, have finally emerged out the other side. Far from those who subsist on moral or mental victories, the Blazers are again a team of ambition.

And every bit of their focus appears zero’d in on the Denver Nuggets, who the Blazers face Thursday. The back to back of New York and Denver is highly reminiscent of last week’s match up against a pretender (New Orleans) a day before a contender (Oklahoma City). And so far, the results are the same—the Trail Blazers quickly crushed the highly inferior Knicks while getting their starters all kinds of rest. No Blazer player cracked the 30 minute mark—important, as the team travels to Denver tonight but don’t figure to be in their hotel rooms before 3AM.

McMillan said the plan—or hope—against New York was for Portland’s starters to build and lead that would only require starters to “play three quarters.” It’s not a normal type of NBA game plan, especially one to be admitted by McMillan, but the Knicks are not a normal NBA team—they’re absolute garbage.

Perhaps former Blazer and current Knickerbocker Sergio Rodriguez put it best. “They played great but we also played bad.” Actually, “bad” might be an understatement.

The Blazers dominated the Knicks statistically across the board. They built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and kept piling it until the game’s final few junk minutes. Portland pushed the Knicks down by as many as 36. In the end, the Blazers’ 28 point victory tied a season high.

Every Trail Blazer in uniform—including Traivs Diener and Jeff Pendergraph—scored. LaMarcus Aldridge was ruthlessly efficient. He led all scorers with 21 points on 10 of 12. Nicolas Batum poured in 20 points, while Brandon Roy (16), Martell Webster (14) and Juwan Howard (12) all finished in double figures. Websters 14 were the most since he scored a career-high tying 28 back on February 16.

Portland out-rebounded New York 50 to 30, out-assisted them 30-16, out-shot them 52%-43%, out-scored their bench 46-32, and forced 14 turnovers to their own scant seven.

The only statistical categories in which New York had the edge were three-point and free throw shooting.

It was hard to remember that Tracy McGrady is actually an active player for the Knicks. He gave up easy and early. In 20 minutes McGrady made one basket on four attempts to go with one assist and three personal fouls.

VIDEO:

NOTES:
- The Trail Blazers celebrated the 2000’s tonight, and had several speakers at half-time. None, including Republican gubernatorial hopeful Chris Dudley, got half the welcome of Brian Grant, whose early-onset Parkinson’s was clearly visible. The moment was both touching and humbling.
- The easy win was a cherry on top for the Trail Blazers terrific month. They end March with a record of 11-2, the second-best March in franchise history.
- Portland have won nine of its last 10 games for the first time this season.

Blake and Outlaw Challenge Bucks, Bogut

Pick and Scroll

Your daily (Mon-Fri) roundup of links from around the blogosphere, typically Trail Blazers related.

• Have you seen this yet? Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw got into a scrap with the Bucks last night. Now, we Portland fans know that Steve Blake plays with a chunk on his shoulder (when it’s that big, you can’t call it a chip anymore), especially against Milwaukee, a team Blake blames for never giving him a fair shot, but how about Travis Outlaw getting up in Andrew Bogut’s face? You can see the Blazer-forged bond in action as Outlaw runs up like Blake is his only friend in the world and just shoves the 260 lb Andrew Bogut back. Now I’ve seen Outlaw in tussles before, usually involving a Laker, but I’ve never seen him strike first and never with such desperation. Travis Outlaw = Enforcer?

One more thing I’d like to say about Blake and Outlaw (or, “our dearly departed duo” as I like to call them). They are Blazers. They may be wearing Clipper uniforms and I may have to root against them when they play against Portland, but they are Blazers and I’m sure that down the road we will see them back in Portland in some capacity. I could see Blake working as an assistant coach after he retires.

• Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian says the Blazers should beat the Knicks tonight. If that happens—couple with losses from Houston and Memphis—Portland is in the postseason. How great would clinching be if it happens on the Rose Garden court? Pretty damn great.

• Sheed from Bust a Bucket agrees with Mr. Arnold. However, Sheed thinks that Harrington may win the matchup with Aldridge because he can “grab a ton of boards and push people around inside.” To be honest, I don’t see it. Al Harrington is only 230lbs and has never averaged more than seven rebounds a game. Harrington has averaged 14/4 against Aldridge over his career, which compared to Aldridge’s 13/6, don’t seem like a world beating number. However, Harrington is shooting 45% from beyond the arc against Aldridge, so LaMarcus should perhaps consider closing out.

• For the New York perspective on tonight’s game, check TrueHoop Network sister site Knickerblogger.

• Coup from Rip City Project has been watching tape again, this time, Coup analyzes Portland’s defense on Durantula.

• Over at the TrueHoop Motherblog, John Hollinger thinks that the Blazers could move all the way up to 5th and that Portland could see Dallas (good, good) in the first round. I guess what I’m trying to say to the Blazers is don’t just stand there, bust a move.

• Joe Freeman from The Oregonian reports on Portland’s bench woes. As McMillan tightens the rotation leading into the playoffs, Rudy, Martell, and Jerryd have to find a way to produce in limited minutes.

Blazers vs. Knicks - Preview

Of all the beat writers for all the New York City publications that have followed the Knicks over the past few years, how is it that none of them have written a screenplay documenting the most entertaining team in league history? Isiah Thomas’ (unintentionally) hilarious reign, the franchise secretly bugging reporters, Larry Brown’s buyout, Z-Bo’s legendary step-back three, Stephon Marbury getting sexy in his backseat… there are just too many moments to describe. This article alone provides the material for a trilogy of wacky comedies based on the bumbling Knicks, any of which would make make all other NBA teams seem boring by comparison. 

While the Knicks have spent the past year or so polishing the furniture to make their home look nice for when a certain Cavs player starts looking for some new digs, we all know that this team is just as likely to end up with Jawad Williams as they are LeBron James. It’s a risky endeavor—to sacrifice multiple seasons in order to woo a player who very well might not change uniforms in the off-season—but one could say the same thing about trading an unprotected first round pick to the Suns (who passed it along to the Jazz), and that didn’t stop the Knicks from doing just that in 2004. (Four years from now when you see Evan Turner win a ring for the Jazz, be sure to stab another pin in your Isiah Thomas voodoo doll.)

But before you just tally up another win for the Blazers, keep in mind that the shell of a team that is the New York Knicks is still a worthy opponent. It just depends on what night you catch them. This month alone the bipolar Knicks have defeated Denver, Philadelphia (twice), Detroit, Dallas (on the road), and Atlanta. Impressive, right? Well, there were also the nine defeats; including a 16 point loss at home to the Nets, a 27 point defeat in Cleveland, and last week’s 36 point embarrassment in Phoenix. This isn’t a good sign for Portland, who, of the eight teams jostling for playoff position in the Western Conference, have the worst record (16-13) against the East. Of those 13 losses, few hurt more than an early December 93-84 defeat in New York. While it seems unlikely that the Knicks will sweep the season series for the first time since the 1999-2000 season, Portland should be cautious and hope that when it comes to playing the Knicks this month, they’re more like the Nets than they are the Nuggets. 

Tip-off: 7 pm
TV: KGW
Las Vegas Line: Portland -10
TrueHoop Network Blog: Knickerblogger