Post-Game: Blazers vs. Suns, Game 6 8:18 AM

At the tail end of that 17-7 delirium, LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up to the line to shoot the potential tying and leading free throws. He took a quick breath, put it up, and saw it harmlessly bounce off the rim. A thousand fans behind the basket cringed simultaneously, stopping their jumps, clenching their fists, trying to look away. That was our last gasp. We couldn't take it.

Believe me, it was there for the taking. The Blazers played the kind of defense they needed to win the game, holding the Suns under 100 points. The Suns even coughed up the ball 17 times, giving us plenty of opportunities to pay for their carelessness. The Suns even only shot 52% from the free throw line (including a Louis Amundson airball that I truly want to take credit for the creation of). The home court advantage was there in spades. The opportunity was ripe.

Then, our two best players simply couldn't step up enough to win the game. Combined, LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy shot 9-33. That's the ballgame, right there. It doesn't matter that Martell Webster was looking to redeem his whole season and auditioning for sticking around on the team next year. Rudy's first appearance in what seems like months didn't make anything happen. Bayless' hot play wasn't enough. The Blazers needed something even remotely resembling production from their two best players, and the production wasn't there. Instead, we got traps on Roy at the top of the arc, and bricked jumpers from LaMarcus. The futility is summed up in Brandon's 1-8 mark from three.

Now, we can't analyze this game without noticing Nate's completely changed (for the worse) substitution pattern. The first man off the bench, to the delight of any fan who has actually watched a game in the last two months, was Dante Cunningham, and not Juwan Howard. Dante Cunningham stepped up accordingly, filling the stat sheet in a tragically low 9 minutes of play with 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 points. Despite this flirtation with smart substituting, Nate decided to get Juwan his minutes elsewhere, this time by taking them from Marcus Camby. There is absolutely no logic to this. The man, in 16 minutes of play, tallied a rebound, and no points. There may be some ballyhoo over the substitution at the end of the run for Roy over Bayless. The real problem was no Camby for Juwan. We forfeited our defense, and Phoenix walked right in for easy buckets.

Still, the fans continued on, even as the game became more and more unreachable, as the Suns hit one dagger after another. In the waning moments of the game, the fans let out one last cheer to let the Blazers know how much what they did meant to them. During the "Let's-Go-Blazers" chant, even Louis Amundson was joining in on the Suns bench.

The Blazers gave it their all, and this season, after so many injuries and so much turmoil, that all just wasn't enough.

RIP 2009-2010 Blazers 10:49 PM

We'll be missin' you homies.

Post-Game Blazers at Suns, Game 5 10:48 AM

I wish we could go back to the first quarter. Or better put, the first quarter of the first quarter. The Blazers were a good team then.

Too bad everything went wrong again, for the third time this series. I've never seen a team look as invincible and vulnerable as Phoenix has during this series.

It was yet another blowout and it was decided by yet another night of entirely listless play. You could count the Blazers who cared about the game on a Ninja Turtle's hand. LaMarcus couldn't be bothered to show up for more than two games in a row, tallying only 2 rebounds in 40 minutes of play. Juwan Howard retreated back into his senior moments after having a moment of clarity in Game 4. Rudy Fernandez was invisible again, despite inexplicably getting more playing time than Dante Cunningham and Martell Webster, and nearly equaling Nicolas Batum in playing time.

Just about everything was wrong. Yet, still, in the middle of the third quarter, the Blazers were only down 7 and were on a run. Then The Worst Call of All Time™ happened.



Yes, that was Marcus Camby called for his fourth foul, removing him from the game, for apparently choking Steve Nash, who was twenty feet away from him.We always knew Marcus had long arms.

After that it was pretty much a fugue state of Jared Dudley whooping and hollering like he just heard that there would be Double Downs in the locker room after the game.

Still, after this game, can we be depressed? Yeah, for a day. It sucks when everything goes wrong, and now we'll have to win two games in a row with our backs against the wall. Still, if there's a team that thrives on an identity centered around defying the odds, it's these Blazers.

Courtesy to Brandon Mitchell for the video.

Looking at Game 5 2:13 PM

There is absolutely nothing about these teams that is new. After Brandon Roy's return, nothing can be surprising in this series. We aren't going to see any adjustments from either team, as everyone knows what works and what doesn't. The Suns know to come hard and fast in the first quarter and discourage us as much as possible. Blazers know to hit the Suns again and again, discouraging that free-wheeling play. Unless of course the starting lineup tonight consists of Robin Lopez, Thunder Dan, and Greg Oden. But I doubt it.

Game 5 and after is where you just get to turn your brain off and enjoy. These two teams are fighting for their lives and know each other in and out. We all know what works and what doesn't, it's just a matter of execution.

The best part about tonight's game, though? It's on TNT, where the Blazers are 2-0 this series. TNT: Give Us Drama.

Post-Game: Blazers at Suns, Game 4 8:45 AM

What was that sound mid-way through the first quarter? No, it wasn't the whole of Arizona crapping their pants. No, it wasn't the Rose Garden exploding. It was Ch-ch-ch-ka-ka-ka. In Friday the 13th, everyone thought thought Jason would be finished after getting an axe to his head (or a torn meniscus), but yet again, some teenagers needed some killing, so you know what happens. Brandon Roy operates under the same principle (well, substitute "killing teenagers" to "giving grown men chills"). The Blazers were down 7 and Phoenix looked to be doing the same thing that they did in Games 3 and 4, simply running away with the game. Then Brandon stood up. Just having him exist in uniform near a court changed everything.

The game swung immediately back towards the Blazers, in just about every way. The pace got slowed down. Suns fast break baskets evaporated. Rebound became plentiful. Now, all of this can't be pinned on Roy's play (he scored ten points in 20 minutes), but it can be pinned on what his play represented. It fundamentally changed everything. The Blazers have hope again, and they're overflowing with it.

LaMarcus Aldridge, that happy second banana, showed up for the first time this series on Saturday. With Brandon Roy back, he was able to finally take a breath and make some good decisions. I only counted once that he held onto the ball as a double team came. Beyond that, he carried the team through the first and fourth quarters, just drilling jumpers all over the field. This was the best playoff game of Aldridge's short career.

Andre Miller wasn't the factor he was before during the Game 1 win, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a moment where he really screwed up. Shooting 4-13 isn't so hot, but when all those shots come in the flow of the offense, you can't really complain.

Nicolas Batum is showing as much heart and grit as anybody (and with Brandon on the floor, that's saying something). He's had to leave two games this series with soreness in his shoulder, yet he still goes. Is there any reason why the Blazers shouldn't just lock him up for the rest of his career right now? He's the ultimate hustle player, he has ice in his veins, he plays amazing defense, and his arms can span the Fremont Bridge. He also put up 10 points and 7 rebounds. Also, he shoved Amare, which was completely justified. Here's the deal with injuries in basketball. In a game, you should absolutely attack a player with an injury on defense. Make him move, go toward his bad side. That's fair game and part of the danger of putting an injured player on the floor. However, when you start hitting the guy in the injury during stoppages, you're just being a prick. In boxing, you can't even hit someone during a play stoppage. Amare is a prick. He's Kevin Garnett with better knees and less skill.

Mar-Cus Cam-By did the job he needed to do. Sure, it didn't stand out like that OKC game (who knows if he'll have another one of those), but he hit some big jumpers, and simply cleaned the glass and tipped out like we know he can. Basically, an aggressive LaMarcus severely limits Camby's rebounding opportunities in the best kind of way.

Jerryd Bayless showed the mean streak that the Blazers need, committing a hard foul on Richardson (It was called a flagrant, but, along with Channing's hard foul, wasn't. Good calls by the refs though to maintain control of the game, though. We would have seen a brawl if they hadn't made those calls.) He also made Nash work, bodying him close at the top of the key. Just a solid performance.

Finally, Juwan Howard woke up for the first time in months and played like an NBA player. He contributed and made some big hustle plays to keep us in the game. With Cunningham out of the game, that made it even more important. I severely hope that Juwan can keep that up the rest of the series.

No one else on the team really stood out, as Marty went scoreless with an amazing block and Rudy hit only one three pointer.

We're not back in the driver's seat for this series, but we definitely have called shotgun.

Post-Game: Blazers vs. Suns, Game 3 10:11 AM

It's really easy to think you're screwed. It's even easier when Jason Richardson drops 42 points.

Still, the Blazers are not screwed. They lose tomorrow? They're screwed. They absolutely lose Nicolas Batum for the rest of the season? They're screwed. But as of this moment, right here. They still have a season. They still can win three games. After all, they went 3-1 against the Suns in their first four meetings, why can't they repeat that feat? Of course, the response would be, the Suns went 3-1 in the last four meetings. To that, I would say I'm pretty done with your logic.

You could do a statistical breakdown and everything that made the Suns offense work, but for all intensive purposes, there's just one thing Jason Richardson. If Jason Richardson even plays okay, we probably are in this game, or are winning it. He's the guy that, when he's on, transforms the Suns offense from something really good to something transcendent. If the Suns were the TV show Lost, he would be Desmond, invisible for stretches of time, but takes it to the next level when he shows up. Honestly, what do you do in response to this? Do you start guarding him and laying off the double teams on Amar'e? If you asked any Blazer fan which poison they wanted to pick before the series, 99% of them would select Jason Richardson over Amar'e. Too bad we were wrong.

Let's get to the Blazers. The team showed life in the second half, and even had the lead whittled down to 12 in the fourth quarter, behind a parade of Rudy (or as the guys at the sports bar called him, to my endless adolescent giggles, "Fruity") Fernandez threes. Enter J-Rich.

Anyway, if there's one Blazer who has absolutely stood out in the past two turds of games, it's Martell Webster. He's the only one that is mixing both desire to take the series and actual production. In 38 minutes, he was a leader in +/- at -3. I know, that's not good, but consider that in the ten minutes he was out, the Blazers were outscored by 16. There is no excuse to not start Martell Webster in the 2-spot with Brandon out. Our biggest weakness in the last two games has been a lack of effort and confidence at the start of games. Marty is a massive improvement over Rudy in those departments.

LaMarcus Aldridge needs to grab an espresso or something. He just looks dazed on the floor. It took getting elbowed in the face for him to even wake up. He's missing shots, and he passes way too late out of double teams, killing our offense in its tracks. Credit to the Phoenix defense and Alvin Gentry for going after him, but LaMarcus should be able to handle this by now.

Another problem that overwhelmed the team was terrible free throw shooting, something that is inexcusable at home. The Blazers missed 12 free throws. Listen, I understand those clear backboards are confusing, but I figure by now the team would be used to it.

Beyond that, the rest was basically a product of malaise. This thing isn't over yet, and the fans need to be there on Saturday to let the Blazers and the Suns know that.

Wild Conspiracy Theory Update

We all know the Suns have serious issues while playing games on TNT. They basically disappear. They had an 18-game losing streak on the network. Now think: our first game was played on TNT, and won. Each game since has been on NBA TV. Coincidence? The next game is on TNT, so maybe we can expect a win. 

Post-Game: Blazers at Suns, Game 2 7:21 AM

The game of basketball consists of three main elements: offense, defense, and rebounding.

The Blazers did none of them last night.

Not all blowouts are created equal. Last year's Game 1 loss to the Rockets hurt especially badly because it seemed that it came from a parade of whistles going against us. Last night's atrocity was a total failure to play anything resembling winning basketball. Still, it's almost a relief. We're playing the Suns here, and we knew they were due to go off and not miss a single shot. We should count ourselves lucky that it was while they were playing at home in Phoenix instead of in Portland.

There's not too much to recap (and to be honest with you, I happily changed the channel in the fourth quarter to Lost with absolutely no regrets) as everything can be summed up in the sentence, the Suns did it, the Blazers didn't.

In the battle of the series' two x-factors, Nicolas Batum and Jason Richardson, Richardson came out well on top, and Batum looks to be injured yet again, a returning casualty of the cosmic joke which is this Blazer season.

The good news, if there's any, is that this game counts as much as the first one. Differential doesn't mean anything, only that you come out on top. Thursday, we'll have the home court and the score will be reset to 0-0. There's not much the Blazers or us fans can do but just put this game in a little black box, lock it up nice and tight, and throw it down a well, never acknowledging it again.

Suns-Blazers Game 2: The Amar'ing 8:22 AM

Considering I mostly covered what the adjustments for Game 2 will be in the last post, let's just quickly sum them up again. Amar'e will demand the ball. The Suns will try to outrun us harder, which makes sense, considering most of their offensive efficiency comes from that style of play, not to mention, when they ran against the second unit, they got all kinds of nice looks. The Blazers should simply stick with the strategy that won Game 1. If more guys hit shots, we can win this game, and really get the Rose Garden crazy for Game 3.

And now, as a final bit of celebration, the Search Story for Game 1:

Camby Resigning Imminent 2:11 PM

Moneybags!

As has been reported everywhere on the internet today, Marcus Camby has almost agreed in principle to a two year deal worth $25 million. You know what? That's just about right. We have the richest owner in sports and if he's willing to pay that much over the next two years, let him. The only danger coming into the free agency period with Camby was his potential need of a long-term contract that would hamstring the team for years.

Instead, this two year deal does two bits of work; the first, Camby will join Oden and LaMarcus next year to form the most frightening frontcourt in the NBA. The second, the length is a form of insurance. Injuries have been on every Blazer fans mind. If Marcus gets injured (I hate even writing those words), the short contract could make him the second coming of RLEC.

It's incredible that this team was able to take care of its biggest summer issue before we even got into May.

Post-Game: Blazers at Suns, Game 1 8:44 AM

 If only the Suns had you on the floor, Thunder Dan

My favorite moment from last night's game perfectly capped the journey that many Blazer fans have taken with Andre Miller this season. Of course, early on, he was named the scapegoat for everything that went wrong, because he couldn't fit in. Since the new year, he's become our most valuable player, and yes, I am including Brandon Roy (Honestly, which team would be worse - Roy-less Blazers or Miller-less Blazers?). Miller treated us to his best performance since the Dallas game, even duplicating its best moments. Of course, he weaved through traffic, getting layups, but there's a point during every game that Andre Miller goes off when it's heat check time. That's when he gets the ball on the right side on the top of the arc, his defender looks up at him and backs off, and Andre calmly shot-puts it in. The first twenty games of the season, everyone groaned at the shot. Last night, we all knew it was going in.

Yes, last night's game was all you could have wanted. Winners and losers aside, the competition was fierce, and the refs managed to call a great game, giving no clear advantage to either side when bad calls were made. That damn cliche of "I don't even care who wins" popped in my mind after the end of the third quarter, which led me to cool down on the beer a little bit. The Blazers won because they duplicated their strategy from the final meeting between these two teams during the regular season. They dragged the Suns down to their level, and muddied up the game. Except this time, the Blazers made their shots. While this was game was a perfectly conceived team effort, there's credit to be given out everywhere.

What We Can Sustain

Andre Miller abused everybody that was on him last night. He wasn't doing it through gaining space for mid-to-long range jumpers. He was simply blowing past the Suns. This is probably giving Alvin Gentry the shakes. As it appears right now, the Suns don't have an answer for him.

Nicolas Batum atoned for last season's pants-crapping against the Rockets. While he started off hot in the first half and cooled in the second, he hit the game's biggest shot with the three pointer in front of the Suns bench in the fourth, and had his best dunk of the season as he drove baseline and put it home (I want to see him dunk from the foul line). Of course, his defense was spectacular as usual.

Mar-cus Cam-by gave cause for clapping and chanting again last night as he collected 17 rebounds. No one can hang with Mar-cus as a rebounder on the Suns. The only way we can control tempo like we did is if Cam-by puts together dominant rebounding performances like this. Sure, the Suns outrebounded the Blazers, but they forfeited their entire game plan to do so. And yes, that missed dunk is the kind of play you laugh about afterward when you win, and haunts your dreams when you lose.

Juwan Howard came in for only 13 minutes, and put together a number of hustle plays and didn't take too much from the table. Would we rather have Dante in? Of course, but Juwan justified his minutes last night. He shouldn't top 13 minutes in a game the rest of the series. If he does, we lost.

What We Shouldn't Count On

Jerryd Bayless scored 18 points. That probably won't happen again. It was a big-time performance in his home town, and he desperately needed it. We desperately need it to happen three more times this series. It might not happen. Just savor it now, and forget it for Game 2, Jerryd.

The Suns shot only 41.8%.

What Can Be Improved

LaMarcus Aldridge tied for the lowest number of rebounds on the team, except he did it in 40 minutes of play. That has to change. Sure, he was dragged out by defending guys like Frye, but he has to crash the boards afterward. Also, he needs to focus on his post game during the off-day because the Suns are giving him the one-on-one down low. He should be drinking Channing's milkshake.

Rudy shot terribly, but he did do a great job running Steve Nash ragged with off-the-ball movement. This is one of those situations where it wasn't his night, but Rudy made contributions to help with the win.

Aside from a couple of monster blocks in the fourth, Marty was a bit invisible during the game. Yes, his defense was solid, but he also was throwing up misses. If he, along with Rudy, improves to a normal level of offense, this game is a blowout. Hilariously, he also tied for the worst +/- of any player last night with Amar'e Stoudemire for a -16.

Going Forward

The Blazers snuck out of that game with a win, and now they know they can do it again and again throughout the playoffs. They did it due to the gameplanning and strategy of Nate McMillan and the coaching staff, completely taking the Suns out of their offense, and taking the crowd out of the game. Don't expect that to happen so easily next time. During the first few minutes, the pace of the game was decided, which brought it into a winnable range for the Blazers. If the Blazers keep the Suns out of their game like they did tonight, we can look forward to seeing Brandon Roy again this season.

Image courtesy of Obsessed with Sports.

Breaking Down the Suns 2:21 PM

It is generally agreed upon that the Suns are our best possible matchup for the playoffs whether Brandon was around or not. They're weak rebounders, they play mediocre defense, and they really aren't physical. Unfortunately, they're the most high-powered offense in the NBA, well above our sixth ranked efficiency. What is a Blazer team to do? Let's break this down, Bust a Bucket style, position by position.

Steve Nash vs. Andre Miller

Before the Brandon Roy injury, this would have been a big matchup, but now, this is the matchup of the series. Steve Nash is the Suns. He, along with guys such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, is the definition of the term "valuable player." You cannot imagine the Cavs and Nonics without those guys, and you can't imagine the Suns without Nash. This team wins maybe 30 games with Dragic running the show. Miller is settled in, performing strong since the turn of the decade. We all know Andre can't play defense on Nash, and with that, we can expect Nash to get his shots and his assists. There is a way to stop this, though. Follow the game plan from that ruinous third regular season matchup between the two teams, and attack the Canadian. Andre's best defense against Nash is his offense. Make Steve Nash work on defense low, and drive on him. He needs to force Nash out of the game by making him foul. That's the only way the Blazers this matchup.

Jason Richardson vs. Rudy Fernandez or Martell Webster

We're screwed. Jason Richardson always kills us. Seriously, though, we should hope for Martell Webster to continue his mini-reawakening into the playoffs. This his first time here, and maybe he can bring some of that early-season form he showed off during the first month. His defense coupled with a 3-point percentage above 35% could elevate this matchup to a wash. Rudy can make the Suns play into their largest weakness, ball maintenance, as he could disrupt passing lanes. He's a player who has had his best performances against the Suns, and he's also known for saving his best for the bright lights. That's a lot of what ifs and maybes, so we're probably screwed here.

Grant Hill vs. Nicolas Batum

This is our one defined advantage. Expect Batum to roam on defense, picking up Nash for stints, and disrupting passing lanes. This series could be his coming-out party. There's no way Hill can hang with Batum in any way. The Suns can only hope to get the jeune Francais in foul trouble.

Amar'e Stoudemire vs. LaMarcus Aldridge

Technically, this is going to be the starting power forward matchup, but we should really expect a lot of switches defensively and offensively between the front court duos of both teams, as they both consist of long and lean guys. Amar'e's the closest thing you'll find to a bruiser in this series and has been putting up contract year numbers. LaMarcus has been playing his best low post game in his career over the last month. This matchup goes to the Suns on paper, but LaMarcus definitely has a chance to turn it to his advantage, especially if he brings the effort on the boards.

Channing Frye vs. Mar-cus Cam-by

Starting center Channing Frye (oh how we miss you) is so soft he makes LaMarcus Aldridge look like Charles Oakley on roids with a bad poker debt. He'll float outside to hit threes, but we can expect LaMarcus and Cam-by to switch on these. Marcus Camby's rebounding will be the other big determining factor of this series. Blazers want to control the ball and control pace. Rebounding's the way to do it. We rebound, the Suns can't fast break. Suns don't fast break, they don't get easy shots. They don't get easy shots, their league-best offensive efficiency disappears. It's easy to pick up that efficiency when you're getting high percentage shots down low in transition. It's much more difficult getting them later in the clock. The Blazers have experience doing this - the Suns don't. Dominate the boards, win the series. It all comes down to the bechanted one.

Benches

There's some worthwhile guys playing in the back with Leandro (The Artist Formerly Known as Leandrinho) Barbosa, Dragic, Blazer reject Jarron Collins, and Jared Dudley. Simply put, though, they don't make you afraid. Although, screw Jared Dudley. I hate that guy.

The Prediction: The realist in me sees this series going to Game 7, with the Suns pulling it out. The hopeful me believes the Blazers can pull a win out in Game 1, change the identity of the series and shock the Suns at the Rose Garden in Game 6.

Welcome to Trail Post 1:37 PM

This is the second incarnation of the internet's seventh greatest Blazer website, Trail Post. Come here for your share of Blazer-related commentary, essays, photos, recaps, previews, jokes, and occasional life lessons. This is also the number one stop for deciding who the Blazer scapegoat is throughout the season, so that has to be worth something. If you aren't familiar with Trail Post, check out some of the best work from the site on our "Best Of" page, which as of now, hasn't been transported over.

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