Pick and Scroll

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

• UPDATE: Via @InsideHoops: Andrew Bogut and Brandon Roy today were named official NBA Players of the Week.   
• The Batum, he does not forget.
• You can’t always get what you want/You can’t always get what you want/You can’t always get what you want/But if you try sometimes you might find/You get what you need/Oh yeah, hey hey hey, oh…~Rolling Stones. Somehow, I imagine Mike Barrett listening to the above melody as he typed the following:

While it may be true that Turkoglu went back on his word, twice, during the free-agent signing period last summer and ended up signing with Toronto at the last minute, would you trade small forwards with the Raptors now? If sources with the Raptors are to be believed, Hedo would certainly like a do over. But, it’s way too late for that.

Nicolas Batum meanwhile, is Portland’s small forward of the present and future, and once again proved that he’s more than capable of handling the role.

• I’d like to point out that in my copy of Kevin Pelton’s Pro Basketball Prospectus, using the SCHOENE projection system Pelton accurately predicted that Batum’s three point shooting would “dramatically increase.” In fact, take a look at Batum’s HoopData shot locations, which shows that Batum is shooting 50% or better from everywhere but long jumpers inside the arc and he is shooting an effective field goal percentage of 65% outside the arc.

• According to The Oregonian’s Jason Quick, Nate McMillan is like the “good angel” in cartoons that would pop up on the protagonists shoulder. 

• Jarrett Jack still loves the Blazers fans and the organization. In other news, Jack still is unsure of the location of the baseline. No wait, it’s right under his foot.

• After relating a kidnapping fantasy…Ben Golliver from BlazersEdge thinks it might be time for Chris Bosh to move on:

I also wouldn’t blame Bosh for finding his way out of Toronto this summer.  As Raptors fans are the separated-at-birth and smuggled across the border twins of Blazers fans, I would hate to say anything that might cross them in the slightest. But there has to be a better fit for Bosh’s talents and a better collection of supporting pieces somewhere else. One can’t help but wonder if Bosh — in the midst of a 1-9 streak over the last 10 games, with his team back under .500 again — is reaching that same conclusion.   

• TrueHoop Network sister blog Raptors Republic has a hilarious recap of last night’s game. When I got to the part where Sam Holako contemplates assaulting Jay Triano with a lemon poppy seed loaf, I nearly snorted my coffee.

• LZ Granderson of ESPN thinks McMillan is the coach of the year.

• It’s a bit long, but you should really read this great article by a Spurs fan visiting Portland.

• One last look at the Sloan conference… at least until next year.

Credit Well Deserved

“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!”

Blazers vs. Raptors - Preview

Take your pick. Plenty available in all sizes.

To boo? Or not to boo?

That is the quandary the Rose Garden faithful face as the Toronto Raptors make their lone appearance in Portland. The boos in question will not be aimed at Chris Bosh (everyone loves Chris Bosh), or are they directed at former Blazer Jarrett Jack (he’ll be too busy stepping out of bounds while shooting a three). Instead the crowd has their sights set firmly on the mangled mug of Hedo Turkoglu.

On one hand, Hedo deserves the Rose Garden scorn usually reserved for Kobe Bryant or Trevor Ariza. One day last Summer, Turkoglu went from a free-agency signing coup, to a man who scorned Portland (allegedly) because his wife disliked our city. Then again, at barely 12 points a game (he has only hit double digits in the boxscore one time in his last six games) and in his first year of a mammoth contract (in his player option year in 2013-2014, Turkoglu will be making $12.2 million), we should be cheering Turkoglu—and Mrs. Turkoglu—for not enjoying their stay in Portland. In fact, a standing ovation might be in order. That man saved Portland’s season.

When Portland stopped by Toronto late last month, the Raptors were riding a win streak (without Bosh) and eyeing the home court advantage of the Eastern Conference fourth seed. But now, a few weeks later, the Raptors would be lucky to play Cleveland in the first round. Barely holding on to the final seed, Toronto has dropped four in a row, seven of their last eight. The team has fallen back to earth, saddled with a .500 record and Bosh has yet to fully recover from an ankle injury that held him out for seven games. Toronto is vulnerable, and an opportunity for Portland to dominate another Eastern Conference team at home for the second time this month.

Tip-off: 6 pm
TV: Comcast
Las Vegas Line: Portland -8.5
TrueHoop Network Blog: Raptors Republic

Blazers (Finally) Abuse Losers

It happened not once but twice—Old Man River goes coast to coast

Maybe it’s just Friday talking, but finally, I have nothing to criticize. No problems to harp on. No missed opportunities, blown schemes, or broken substitution patterns. The Trail Blazers walloped the Kings in their second meeting this week 110-94. It was nothing but luster—when the jump shot goes, everything else is gravy.

It was about time the Blazers demoralized an inferior team and in Sacramento they did just that. Portland stepped early on Arco Arena’s collective throat then swept the Kings right off the floor, exposing them as the chumps they are. For God sakes, even Travis Diener got to play.

Simple. Done. Brush your shoulders off—it’s what playoff teams do.

A night after raining 41 on the defense-adverse Warriors Brandon Roy proved it was no fluke, pouring in another 28 on 10 of 13 shooting from the floor. Finally Roy looks to be rounding into shape. These last two games are the best two the All-Star has put together since two 30-point+ nights back in the second week of January. (But before we all go driving off the cliff let’s wait and see Roy keep it going against a team with over 25 wins, alright?)

LaMarcus Aldridge overcame another slow start to finish with with 18 points on eight of 17 shooting. He was one of six Blazers in double figures. Andre Miller (15), Nicolas Batum (11), Rudy Fernandez (10) and Jerryd Bayless (10) all got in on the action.

Neither team played much defense Friday, as both teams shot over 50% from the field (54.1% for Portland, 50.6% for Sacramento). Still, the Blazers managed to collect 20 turnovers to their own nine. The Kings had worse than a 1:1 turnover ratio, as they handed out 19 assists (although the Blazers tallied just 15—ok, so maybe there is something to harp on after all…Andrew you lying bastard!).

Hosting the Kings last Tuesday, many were surprised at rookie star Tyreke Evans’ below average scoring output (just 17). But at home Friday, Evans was even worse. He finished with just 10, hitting only four of 12 attempts from the field. So it goes.

NOTES
- Portland scored 100+ points on the road for their 12th straight game, a feat the team hasn’t accomplished since 1991.

Warriors Breakdown

Are you into nuts and bolts, X’s and O’s? Our TrueHoop network pal Sebastian Pruiti of netsarescorching.com and nbaplaybook.com put together an AMAZING breakdown of the Blazers 17-3 that sunk the Warriors last night. Read it here—there’s video of EVERY ONE OF THE 11 STUNNING POSSESSIONS! Do it and you’ll know more than your mongoloid basketball watching friends who spout stupid things when you watch the games together. Put idiocy in its place!

An Excerpt:

This match-up zone that the Blazers were running really gave the Warriors a ton of trouble the final 6 minutes of the game. Up until this point, the Warriors were getting into the lane whenever they wanted, whether it was in transition or in the half court. Right before this play, Stephen Curry tried to drive the lane and throw a kick-out pass. It was deflected out of bounds. It really had an effect on him, because the next time he caught the ball, he pulled and shot a bad three. He had no interest in trying to get into the paint. 6-0.

Pick and Scroll, back to back edition.

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

• It might not have been a pretty win, but Mike Barrett will take it:

Okay, now as for this win. I realize some of you are wondering why it took a huge turnaround for the Blazers to beat a team that came into this game with 17 wins. Clearly, it would have been more enjoyable had Portland blown this team out. But, considering our recent history in Oakland, and keeping in mind their awkward style of play that always seems to cause the Blazers fits, I wasn’t complaining after this one. And, nothing right now is taken for granted. There are no “easy wins.” Look around. Golden State has had many games just like this one. They just can’t win the close ones. And, you hope they don’t get well against you.

• Bust a Bucket’s Sophia Brugato agrees with Mike Barrett.

• From the Motherblog, Henry Abbott relates the Tao of Roy-Jitsu:

It’s like a martial arts movie: Can the hero really win a one-on-five battle? Not normally. But if the five are going to fight (or not) like that … well then, maybe.

• The Rip City Project has a detailed possession-by-possession look at how Portland came back to overcome the Warriors.

• For the Oakland perspective, check TrueHoop Network sister blog Warriors World.

• Joe Freeman of The Oregonian thinks that we can finally stop asking questions about the Blazers’ performance in Oakland. I disagree. Portland was still pathetic and won the game in a largely unsustainable way. The victory provides a nice band-aid, but there is a nasty wound underneath. The Blazers (sans Roy) played terribly and got their act together just enough in the fouth quarter to pull out a win.

• The Oregonian’s Jason Quick reports that the Blazers have each other’s back, Roy doesn’t care about Monta Ellis’ defense, and he just “had to hoop”:

“It was one of those games where I was just hoopin’,’’ Roy said. “That’s what I said to the guys on the bench: ‘This is one of those games where you just have to hoop.’ You know? Because (Golden State) makes it so funky. So once we stopped thinking and worrying about the refs, we started to hoop. And that’s the way I was the whole time, like, ‘So what.’ Just play. Go back to when we were just kids. Hoop.’’

• Nic Batum blocks, they rock, they rock…

• What is Rudy Fernandez plotting?

• Dave from BlazersEdge answers some mail.

• And for tonight’s game, be sure to head on over to TrueHoop Network sister blog Cowbell Kingdom, where they like PRS’s take on the ROY race.

Blazers vs. Kings - Preview (Again)

Wait, didn’t we just do this? The Blazers’ second meeting this week with the Sacramento Kings should be infinitely tougher than Monday’s 88-81 victory. Portland’s seven point win was respectable, but hardly the thumping many Portlanders hoped for when facing a seven road win Kings team. Sacramento followed that loss by going home and dispatching the Toronto Raptors (now with 100% for Chris Bosh) by 23 points. The Kings have a bone to pick with Portland, they have a winning record at home (73% of their wins have come inside Arco Arena), and the Blazers are exhausted from coming back in dramatic fashion against the Warriors… you can see where I’m going with this…

IT’S A TRAP!!!

Coach Ackbar is right, this game has all the makings of a trap. After exorcising their demons in Oakland, this matchup is the other game in Portland’s roadtrip, and that’s a dangerous thing. Tyreke Evans was Batumed (you know what I’m talking about) and held to a quiet 18 points on Monday, he then took out his frustrations on the Raptors with a triple-double. He might not repeat that performance against Portland, but on his homecourt he’ll surely have more of an impact for the Kings. Tread lightly Portland, this game might not be as easy as you think it is…

Tip-off: 7 pm
TV: KGW
Las Vegas Line: Portland -2
TrueHoop Network Blog: Cowbell Kingdom

It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

In Oakland Thursday, the Blazers played the tortoise to the Warriors’ hare. Golden State ran laps around Portland through three quarters building a lead that swelled to 16. But their sharp shooting, high-octane offense eventually flamed out. After holding the Warriors to a dismal nine fourth quarter points—tying an all-time best—the Trail Blazers finally squeaked away to steal a 110-105 win in Oracle arena. It was Portland’s first victory in Oakland in 10 tries, and the first for any current member of the Blazers roster, save for Joel Przybilla.

Thursday’s Blazer victory shared some parallels with Tuesday’s over the Kings, as Portland again beat a vastly inferior team, but failed to do so convincingly. On one hand, any win in a tight playoff race is a good one. On the other, this is the time of the season that the Blazers should be playing their best ball if they hope to make waves in the playoffs. In fact, the Warriors are the one team in the NBA who’ve lost more games to injury than the Blazers. Don Nelson joked in an interview that he should be D-League Coach of the Year, as his team has so many NBDL call-ups.

Brandon Roy led all scorers with 41 points, the third most of his career (all three of which have come on TNT televised games). Roy was extremely efficient in getting there. He hit 14 of 22 attempts from the field, while racking up fouls on Golden State’s guards.

Monta Ellis, who would eventually foul out, added 17 points, but was limited to just 28 minutes largely because of Roy’s aggressive play. Warrior Corey Maggette also fouled out as Stephen Curry and former Blazer and D-Leaguer Anthony Tolliver each picked up five personals apiece.

The discrepancy in fouls, 31 to the Portland’s 17, played a critical part in the Blazers win. Portland piled up 31 points from the line to Golden State’s 19.

During the Blazers’ fourth quarter comeback, Rudy Fernandez buried two crucial, back-to-back three pointers that seemed to break the back of Golden State, tying the game for the first time since early in the opening quarter. Fernandez had 12 points, on four-of-six shooting from behind the arc. Andre Miller also had a fine all-around game. He added 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals. Marcus Camby, who was quiet offensively, pulled down a staggering 17 boards, leading the Blazers to 53 to 36 rebound advantage. Eight of Camby’s rebounds came on the offensive end, and Portland’s 22 offensive boards were twice as many as Golden State.

As the Warriors played three solid quarters before falling apart, the journey of LaMarcus Aldridge was the exact opposite. Aldridge was atrocious early, failing to make a field goal until the final quarter. But finally he came alive. With 10 fourth quarter points, Aldridge outscored the entire Warriors team in the period (they had nine).

But for Aldridge’s fourth quarter turnaround, his pitiful play early against the non-existent front-line cannot be excused. Through the first three quarters the Blazers power forward hit just one-of-10 attempts from the field, all while being guarded by the 6’6” small forward Corey Maggette.

In an in-game interview, Warriors coach Don Nelson announced that they had “found a chink” in the Blazers’ offense. From the looks of things, it seemed to be the exploitation of Aldridge.

Normally a large portion of Aldridge’s points come from his jump shot, a few feet inside the three-point line. Opposing power forwards are loathe to follow him out there, which leads to Aldridge getting spot up, open looks. When Blazer guards drive, Aldridge often drifts out—or runs the pick and pop—as his defender stays down low to provide interior help defense. This wasn’t so with the Warriors and Maggette, who would either switch or stick on Aldridge, thereby taking away his most consistent shot. The scheme also illustrated how uncomfortable Aldridge is with his back to the basket when he doesn’t have a quickness advantage—he picked up fouls and lost balls to help defenders. It should be interesting to see if other teams try putting their small forwards on Aldridge, piggybacking on the matchup issue Don Nelson seems to have unearthed.

In more ways than one, Thursday’s victory was reminiscent of last year’s Blazers. They overcame a huge deficit (16), and Brandon Roy looked like an absolute hero. Now only if this Portland team could find a way to crush these inferior opponents. Fortunately, Friday provides yet another chance, as for the second time this week, the Blazers meet the hapless Kings.