Archive for the 'Trailblazers' Category

The view from Portland

Published by Matt Watson on January 8, 2009 in Games and Trailblazers. 48 Comments

My former HOOPSWORLD colleague Wendall Maxey was at last night’s game and wrote a nice piece about how the Pistons have started to come together since Allen Iverson’s arrival:

But with Iverson leading Detroit to a 10-4 mark in December and the Pistons losing on Wednesday night in Portland to end a seven-game winning streak, the adjustment period with Iverson getting used to a new system and team is officially over.

Winning is proof.

[…] Since the trade, Detroit has gone 16-12 in the 28 games Iverson has played for the Pistons. But change comes in different shapes and forms. There is change on the court – players learning Iverson’s tendencies and vice-versa – and then there is change off the court. That’s where Iverson has made an obvious impact.

“It’s an honor to play with him. Personally, he’s just very humble,” said center Jason Maxiell, thinking about what he’s learned about Iverson the past few months.

“He’s not the type of guy that goes around talking about himself all the time. He’s a winner inside.”

Continue reading ‘The view from Portland’

Pistons host Blazers

Published by Kevin Sawyer on November 30, 2008 in Guest Writer, Previews and Trailblazers. 204 Comments

I’ll post some pictures from Friday’s DBB Suite Night later today, but for now here’s a nifty game preview from Kevin. Ball tips at 3 PM on Fox Sports — do your thing in the comments. — MW

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By Kevin Sawyer

Trailblazers: 11-6 (4-6 away)
Margin: +5.1 ppg (2.8 away)
Last 10: 7-3 (margin +11.0)

Pistons: 10-5 (5-2 home)
Margin: +0.9 ppg (+1.0 home)
Last 10: 6-4 (margin -1.9)

Oppo research:

So far, so good for the Blazers, who boast the second best record in the Western Conference. They’re on a roll after dropping the Hornets by 16 on Friday night. Don’t let the road record fool you either; the Blazers are outscoring their opponents by nearly three points per game away from Portland, and have seen little drop-off in production despite a tough road slate.

Coach Nate McMillan uses a deep rotation, with only two starters averaging more than 30 minutes per game. Part of this is a function of necessity – his two centers average 6.4 fouls per game in 44 minutes of play. But Portland has the talent to pull it off. Ike Diogu and coveted rookie Jerryd Bayless have been tethered to the 11th and 12th man spots.

Portland has seen improbable success from a trio of rookies: Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum. They are also shooting a ridiculous 42% from the three point stripe, and Joel Przybilla is shoot 83% from the field. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge will keep doing what they do, but a regression to the mean may well be in order. No time like the present, eh?

Still this is a talented team of dangerous shooters, which keeps fresh legs on the court at all times.

Keys for Detroit:

Keep the ball away from the bigs:

For Oden, this means getting him off the court with foul trouble. For Przybilla, this means exploiting his high turnover rate. Rebounding has been a problem for the Pistons, and we can expect these two to easily win that battle, so the goal is to limit their effectiveness in other areas.

Stop the three:

The Pistons are among the league’s best in making teams put the ball on the floor. While some teams have exploited the Pistons’ lack of help defense, Portland doesn’t have the personnel to make Detroit pay at the free throw line. Let Brandon Roy get his, and make the rest of the guys earn it.

Annex the paint

Portland’s interior defenders are tall, but they don’t defend particularly well. Feeding Sheed, Maxiell, Brown and Amir in the post will take Oden out of the game, opening up the lane for Detroit’s dribble penetration.

Question of the game:

Allen Iverson was very productive in limited minutes. While he will almost certainly take back the starting job after a quick hiatus, Michael Curry had to like what he saw between Iverson and Walter Herrmann. Will we see more of Iverson with the second unit?

Pistons host Blazers

Published by Matt Watson on February 8, 2008 in Previews and Trailblazers. 79 Comments

(It was either this video or the insanely awesome interview Oden did with Miss Gossip, which I’m 99% sure already graced the pages of this site.)

Oden may be lost for the season but the Trail Blazers have surprised everyone by staying in the playoff hunt. They won 13 in a row at one stretch but have cooled lately, playing about .500 ball for the last few weeks. Their MVP has clearly been Brandon Roy, who’s emerged not only as the team’s leader but also a bona fide star. Unfortunately, Pistons fans won’t get a chance to see him, as he’s back in his native Seattle dealing with a death in the family. You still can’t count the Blazers out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they come out flat.

The ball tips at 8pm (FSN), and I’ll be at the Palace filling pre-game, halftime and post-game reports for HOOPSWORLD. As usual, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.

Late-night action with the Pistons and Blazers

Published by Matt Watson on November 13, 2007 in Previews and Trailblazers. 64 Comments

Ah, good times. Obviously this year’s iteration of the Trail Blazers (and last year’s … and the year before that …) are a long ways from returning to the Finals, but these two franchises will always be tied in my mind because of that highlight.

Tonight, Rasheed Wallace hopes to go 5-0 against his former team. The Blazers enter the game with a 3-3 record, which is a surprise to some considering their without their rookie cornerstone Greg Oden. But Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge have been playing exceptionally well, leading the team with 20.7 and 19.2 points, respectively, while both shooting over 50%. Containing those two (easier said than done) will obviously be key.

As always, leave your thoughts and observations in the comments. Game starts at 10 pm on FSN, so brew some coffee now.