[Game Thread] Portland @ Houston

[d-train]

It's hard to believe the Rockets aren't in the playoffs, makes you realize how far Blazers have to go to make it.

[Mr Odd]

lol Jack dribbles the ball all around while Roy
is standing there with his arms out waiting.. .

[PDXKnight]

The Rockets have had our number all season. Don't see why tonight would be any different.

No, the rockets have had our number for two seasons. I remember always having close first halves than collapsing in the 3rd quarter and ultimately losing in recent history. Though the Blazers won 1 game vs the rockets last seaon (I believe), they've always seemed to have a way with us lately.

[d-train]

This Rockets team is built to do well in the post season and they aren't in the playoffs as of now. Blazers don't possess any qualities of a successfull team other than Roy.

[PDXKnight]

This is rediculus, 5 pts in the final quarter. I know a team can go cold but I've always believed that a team's character is tested in the final minutes of a game and today they're not trying at all.

[Fitz303]

Roy must get so frustrated when he generates a wide open 3 for Jack, but then instead of shooting it Jack drives and turns it over (even though he gets the ball with 7 seconds on the shot clock).

hahaha and im sure hes not at all frustrated by all the wide open shots hes gotten LMA that he has missed tonight... If anything, Aldridge is the one KILLING this team tonight

[Fitz303]

At least we might see a McRoberts and Green sighting here shortly

[PDXKnight]

-= original quote snipped =-



hahaha and im sure hes not at all frustrated by all the wide open shots hes gotten LMA that he has missed tonight... If anything, Aldridge is the one KILLING this team tonight

It's annoying that LA doesn't go to the post at all in the second half. He has the capability to score in the post but insists on continuing to shoot that damned jump shot. I'm not saying he shouldn't take it now and again but he needs to go inside more.

[PDXKnight]

Wow, don't the Rockets have enough class to run the clock down? Battier's really starting to piss me off.

[d-train]

Roy is our best post player. He is our PG, SG, SF, and post presence.

[Fitz303]

11 days until the trade deadline.. Come on KP!!

[Spykes]

This Rockets team is built to do well in the post season and they aren't in the playoffs as of now. Blazers don't possess any qualities of a successfull team other than Roy.

The Rockets are supposed to be built to do well all year, not just the post season. They got off to a rough start, but are starting to get back to where they should be.

The Blazers are a perfect example of why a good NBA team needs 2 All Stars to win night in and night out during a 82 game season. We're seeing what happens when a team only has 1 All Star. He'll be able to keep you competitive on most nights, but when he has an off-game (which every player has from time to time), the team will more likely than not be sunk.

Considering how tough the West is, you have to have those 2 All Star players just to be in the bottom half of the Top 8. The best of the best have 3 All Stars. You just have to have someone to take the pressure off of the goto guy. The Blazers clearly don't have that right now.

And if you want to see what it looks like when a team has no All Stars, look no further Seattle, Minnesota and Memphis.

[doogul]

We don't do a good enough job of taking advantage of Roy double teams. I guess it works when Aldridge is making baskets, but we can't keep relying on him to make long jump shots, and that's exactly what we did today.

[d-train]

Seeing Aaron Brooks on TV makes me feel old. I remember Aaron when he was a little kid. I used to work with his uncle Robert.

[PDXKnight]

I remember the Atlanta gamer where Monte Williams was talking about "not waiting for superman to come" at the halftime referring to Brandon Roy and the team's need to step up. Although Roy did come through, I though that Monte Williams made a lot of sense. This team was expecting Roy to come through at the end at just sitting back all the while IMO. The other players really needed to fill in Roy's absence today and quite honestly, I'm disappointed in what I saw in this team as a whole. While it's easy to blame Roy for the Blazers' problems tonight, basketball is a team effort and the team as a whole failed Roy.

[taufblazers33]

...long story short, our 13 game winning streak was a fluke.

[d-train]

And if you want to see what it looks like when a team has no All Stars, look no further Seattle, Minnesota and Memphis.

Or, just remember the Blazers before Brandon.

[cucad8]

When was the last time anyone has stepped up for an entire game other than Roy? We seem to get maybe, MAYBE one good quarter of play out of most of our players, and our coach, and that is about all. No, here Brandon, you take it. WTF? Damn, I can't stand to watch our offense when it is like it is tonight. Might as well just pound the post with Z-Bo. He might have put up as many shots as LMA, but he might have drawn a foul and grabbed a god damn rebound. Sorry, just frustrated, and I know we're young and all that, but someone else needs to show the slightest bit of consistency.

[Spykes]

Also, I don't think we can overlook just how important James Jones has been. The timeline of Jones and the timeline of the Blazers successes parallel almost exactly....

*At the beginning of the year when Jones was out, the team struggled mightily.

*Jones comes back around 85-90% healthy, his shot is falling at a record pace, and the team starts winning games hand over fist.

*Jones' knee problems start re-appearing, his shot becomes less reliable, and the Blazers start falling back to earth.

*Jones goes out, and the team is right back where they were at the start of the season, struggling on offense and having a hard time winning games.

It just shows how important having a sharp shooter is to teams. Also, just look at Utah this season. They stunk up the early part of the season. Then they make a fairly minor trade for Korver, and all of a sudden, they're right back where they left off from last season.

[A.J.]

good game guys