Blazers @ Heat 7:00PM EST - 4:00PM PST

[Mr Odd]

This is why Roy is not a All-Star type of player, yet.

Its clear the Blazers need help scoring but hes not
stepping up. I know, easier said then done but its
still true.. .Roy has done VERY good this season,
but hes just not a All-Star, this game is showing it.

TBpup doesnt own the market on reverse cheering!!

MUWAHAHAAHAHAAA!!

[doogul]

Without Outlaw and Jones, we don't win this game. Blazers showed poise tonight. The great part about being in so many close games is that they know how to finish 'em. They're getting better and better at that, despite blowing the lead. God I love this team!

[mojomarc]

good win, but a lot closer than it probably should have been. I think Wade taught Brandon a lesson on what a superstar looks like in the third, and Brandon tried to put that lesson into practice in the fourth. I think l'il pookie had to at least give him a B+

[Walton'sBeard!]

That was a difficult game to watch. I had a few flashbacks to Boston in the third quarter. But I'll take any road win.

I keep expecting something will click in Miami's head and they'll revert to their old selves. I'm glad that didn't happen in the 4th qtr tonight.

[doogul]

That was a difficult game to watch. I had a few flashbacks to Boston in the third quarter. But I'll take any road win.

I keep expecting something will click in Miami's head and they'll revert to their old selves. I'm glad that didn't happen in the 4th qtr tonight.

Yeah, Miami is a lot better than they are playing. You could tell they started turning it around in the 2nd half. I think it'll carry to the next game. The big problem, I think, is that the loss of Mourning really hurts them because they have nobody guarding the paint when Shaq's out. Bottom line, as soon as they get somebody besides Shaq and Wade to step up, they'll start winning games again.

[swede]

Good win. What can you say. Gotta make this road trip .500 or so and get Roy some east coast exposure.

[J~Rush]

Theres a game in less than 21 hours? I am blessed

[PDXKnight]

It wasn't a good start for the Blazers but as usual, they came through in the end. The third quarter was a bit irritating but it's nice to add another win and once again (for the 1000000th time) take the division lead over Denver. I hope that this will give them some momentum going into Orlando tommorow.

[zzaj]

Thoughts:

I'll take a superstar that does what it takes to get the win (including taking charges, forcing turnovers and playing good D), over one that can score huge and still lose...any day of the week.

Brandon lost the battle but won the war tonight.

LA played pretty decent D on Shaq (who although still a shadow of his former self played much better tonight than last time these teams met).

Nice game by Outlaw scrapping for rebounds and loose balls. Is it crazy that I want to see what the team could do with James Jones starting? Martell has been playing decent D and been much more active than last year, but he still has a way to go before I feel comfortable with the ball in his hands.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

I thought the Daddy looked real good. He's still a disruptive force no matter how you look at it.

This was an OK game. Roy played well, Outlaw played well, Jones had moments, Jack had moments, and the rest of the game was forgettable. We didn't play well, and Nate should get on them for it.

[J~Rush]

Thoughts:

I'll take a superstar that does what it takes to get the win (including taking charges, forcing turnovers and playing good D), over one that can score huge and still lose...any day of the week.

Brandon lost the battle but won the war tonight.

LA played pretty decent D on Shaq (who although still a shadow of his former self played much better tonight than last time these teams met).

Nice game by Outlaw scrapping for rebounds and loose balls. Is it crazy that I want to see what the team could do with James Jones starting? Martell has been playing decent D and been much more active than last year, but he still has a way to go before I feel comfortable with the ball in his hands.

Are you really implying that wade cares more about scoring than winning? It's not his fault that the line up around him is absolute crap.

[Papercut]

Hey guys let's not forget the most important thing about tonight's game:

Roach Davis is on the losing team!

[breaker91]

James Jones is great. He does all the little things that other teams do to us. For example, he gets away with push-offs all the time. Plus, you can't beat the "James Jones flop," which basically consists of falling down after every three-pointer if a defender is in the area. He gets the call about 25% of the time. Sometimes it's nice to have someone in there who knows the little tricks.

Yep, he got that from Reggie Miller and hopefully Martell will start doing that too.

[The Emcee]

I'll take a superstar that does what it takes to get the win (including taking charges, forcing turnovers and playing good D), over one that can score huge and still lose...any day of the week.

Wade DID do what it took to win. The only difference is Roy has a supporting cast to do something, ANYTHING, when the whole defense focuses on him. Another one or two Heat knock down their shots, and we might be singin a different tuner here...

[Milkdud]

When you have Ricky Davis on your team you've already lost. It was nice seeing a good game out of Shaq and still come out on the winning side. He looks so much better then the Shaq I saw in Portland.

[pr0nny]

This game was way too close. I slammed my hat to the ground and cursed way too many times.

[roy7]

i think its time for brandon roy to be aggressive through out the game he always gets a ton in the fourth but in a game like this one he should of had 35 points if he was agressive

[Spykes]

That game was definitely a lot more tense than I expected judging from how the first 2 quarters went.

Miami was on fire from 3.

How sad was the crowd at Miami tonight? It's hard to believe this team is just a year and half removed from a title.

[KingDave]

i think its time for brandon roy to be aggressive through out the game he always gets a ton in the fourth but in a game like this one he should of had 35 points if he was agressive

Thats not in Roy's nature...If the rest of the team is scoring, he'll lay back and facilitate for most of the game.He saves his energy for the 4th quarter like he did tonight..

If the team is struggling, he'll be more inclined to score early in the game.Its just the way he is..He's never gonna be a Kobe or Wade type scorer, he has the capability but not the mind set.

[mojomarc]

If the team is struggling, he'll be more inclined to score early in the game.Its just the way he is..He's never gonna be a Kobe or Wade type scorer, he has the capability but not the mind set.

I think it's more a case that this team doesn't need him to have that kind of mindset at the moment. Last year, I don't think he was as confident nor quite as good as this year, and he could defer to ZAch. This year, I think he has the talent to put up Wade numbers night-in and night-out, but the rest of the team, partcularly Outlaw (and lately Jack) have been such producers that he doesn't need to force things like a Wade in order to get those numbers.

Think about it--Brandon averages about 5 points less than Wade and one less assist, so let's call this a 7pt delta. But Brandon averages 3 less turnovers per game. That closes the delta between them significantly, but it all comes from the fact that Roy can play a much more self-possessed game, not take the kind of chances he would need to take to be a top five scorer in the league, and he can use his teammates to make up for the points. This is a hugely ignored part of Roy's game by guys who just look at the scoring column and only see a sub-20ppg average, but it is a big part of what makes the Blazers so much of a surprise success this year.