# GAME THREAD: Minni



## handclap problematic (Nov 6, 2003)

Just thought I would start one of these bad boys.... so we can argue in the thread long after the game...yeah....


Prunetang


----------



## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

Good start so far, Kryapa played well as a starter. Webster looks good tonight, his defence is getting better. I like the Lineup in right now where they have gone big, it should be tough to score on the inside.


----------



## chromekilla (Aug 21, 2005)

18-16 blaze


----------



## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

That block by Joel was flat out craazy.


----------



## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

Please take Dixon out and put Webster back in.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

We've got sloppy, but so have they just not as bad.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Good hit on the ref!


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Monia has to be more aggressive, but has to take shots as they come to him. His problem was passing up shots.


----------



## myELFboy (Jun 28, 2005)

I'm actually pulling for the Blazers in this game....don't want Minny to get too far ahead in the NW division.....


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Ya, perfect example, Monia had a wide open shot but didn't take it. Then he forced it.


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

where is webster? i don't understand the substitution pattern.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Get Martell back in there!


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Wish they'd just run a play. Now they have to worry about inbounding it which they've had problems with. Hope they get a good shot and take the time off the clock.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Not a bad half. Lot better than last nite! Now if we come out strong at the start of the 3rd quarter.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 12 (10 members and 2 guests) 
mgb, Gunner, mixum, crowTrobot, Sambonius, Prunetang, Chalupa, Zidane, vadimivich 

Come on guys, no comments?


----------



## handclap problematic (Nov 6, 2003)

Yes, much better than last night...haha
This was not a "disaster"...haha
Let's see if they can put out the same kind effort in the second half.

Prunetang


----------



## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

mgb said:


> Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 12 (10 members and 2 guests)
> mgb, Gunner, mixum, crowTrobot, Sambonius, Prunetang, Chalupa, Zidane, vadimivich
> 
> Come on guys, no comments?


I'm in SD man, I lurk the boards for comments of the game because I'm not hearing it or watching it. Tell me about Martell, anyone.


----------



## Gunner (Sep 16, 2005)

TVs in the other room and if I want to type fast I use 2 fingers. So...Yeah,wheres Webster???


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

don't want to jinx them : )


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Prunetang said:


> Yes, much better than last night...haha
> This was not a "disaster"...haha
> Let's see if they can put out the same kind effort in the second half.
> 
> Prunetang


Still haven't scored more than we were beat by!  But at least the Wolves hasn't either.


----------



## vadimivich (Mar 29, 2004)

I'm lurking because I can't watch the game, so I'm trying to get an idea of how it's going!


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Gunner said:


> TVs in the other room and if I want to type fast I use 2 fingers. So...Yeah,wheres Webster???


He was taken out and didn't return, but he's in to start the half.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Viktor is doing well. I didn't see the starting lineup but I guess he got the start at the 3.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Webster for 3! 50 to 44 Blazers


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Joel, with the fade away foul plus the basket!

53-44


----------



## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

Kryapa has been playing excellent. Webster has as well.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Viktor 4th foul has to sit and Ruben comes in.


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

the crowd needs to get their butts off their hands. blazers are hustling like mad and they should be into this more.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

hasoos said:


> Kryapa has been playing excellent. Webster has as well.


Kryapa does have a excellent game. He does so many things and has a lot better offensive game than I thought.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

crowTrobot said:


> the crowd needs to get their butts off their hands. blazers are hustling like mad and they should be into this more.


I couldn't agree more! Like they are surprised and don't know what to do. Well I'll be there Sunday and be into it.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Patterson to wild and throws it away.


----------



## Gunner (Sep 16, 2005)

TELFAIR GOT A BLOCK ON FRAHM! There is a god! :clap:


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Lighting up the key for a lay up too.


----------



## Nightfly (Sep 24, 2002)

59-48 Blazers, 2:20 remaining in the 3rd.


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

dixon better not kill the momentum


----------



## Spoolie Gee (Feb 3, 2005)

Dixon needs to learn what ball movement means.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Dixon sucks.


----------



## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

Nate needs to put Martell back, seriously.


----------



## Spoolie Gee (Feb 3, 2005)

Mike Barret's voice = :dead:


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

Sambonius said:


> Nate needs to put Martell back, seriously.



?? he's played the whole 3rd quarter.


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

martell was playing 3 at the end


----------



## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

crowTrobot said:


> martell was playing 3 at the end


that's not good enough, he needs to play more.


----------



## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

Up by 10, but my gut feeling is it will be close. Crunch time is coming. So far tonight though, they have played well, some guys are making progress, looking comfortable finally.


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

Sambonius said:


> that's not good enough, he needs to play more.



playing THE 3 with dixon/jack 2-1. webster has played the entire 2nd half so far.


----------



## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

crowTrobot said:


> playing THE 3 with dixon/jack 2-1. webster has played the entire 2nd half so far.


I was joking and I'm glad he's been playing the second half, he deserves it. I'm not watching or listening to it so I wouldn't know.


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

i don't like this lineup. get telfair in and tell him to penetrate.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Joel fouls out and they can cut the lead to 7.


----------



## BlazerMania (Apr 5, 2004)

Pryzbilla out.


----------



## BlazerMania (Apr 5, 2004)

AHHHHHHHHHHH.

13 pt lead down to 4.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

We're giving this game away. Stupid turnovers! Down to a four point lead. Have to respond and get it back into double figures.


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

nate needs to pick his rotation and go with it. too mixed up, too many guys cold when they shouldn't be.


----------



## Gunner (Sep 16, 2005)

This is starting to look familiar.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Jack! Comes through with a basket and foul shot for a seven point lead.


----------



## BlazerMania (Apr 5, 2004)

YEEEAH! 3 pt play from Jack.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Just like that, 2 point lead.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Goal tending, down by two.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Down by two and we turn it over. Well just stoled it and gave it right back for a easy basket!


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Nice game until when it counted. We have to learn how to execute when the game is on the line. Still a couple mins left but we are down four and Kevin can score when he wants to so even if we score we can't stop them.


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

we have to learn not to play dixon almost the entire 2nd half.


----------



## Sambonius (May 21, 2003)

****ing ****, this is unacceptable. We should have won this damn thing.


----------



## wastro (Dec 19, 2004)

Oooooh what an ugly 4th quarter! Their best chance to snap the losing streak, and they fumbled it away!

Zach really becomes a different player down the stretch. I'm starting to wonder if he will ever come up big in the 4th quarter of close games.

For that matter, the whole team just played really unsure of themselves - even with the huge lead.


----------



## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

That loss is 100% on Nate. 100 ****ing percent. When we were up 14, Nate decided to take his foot off of Minny's throat and put in a defensive lineup. From that point, we totally got out of our offensive rhythm and Minnesota destroyed us after that.

I'm so ****ing pissed off at Nate McMillan right now. We had a chance to steal a game from a team we shouldn't beat, and Nate pissed it away.

Nice job, coach. I hate it when teams play "not to lose" instead of going for the win.

****.

-Pop


----------



## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

If this team wins 10 games all year, count me ****ing surprised. Up by 14 in the fourth quarter, and our coach doesn't know how to keep the lead.

Un-be-****ing-lievable.

I think Nate's a good coach, but he better accept full ****ing responsiblity for this one. HORSE ****.

-Pop


----------



## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

Outscored by 20+ in the fourth quarter. Wow. Nice lineup, Nate. Nice game management. Did Mo Cheeks somehow sneak back into the house?

-Pop


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Sambonius said:


> ****ing ****, this is unacceptable. We should have won this damn thing.


Yea, we should have. Bad execution, bad shot selection, and stupid turnovers. I can't say it was so much youth, because Martel, Viktor, played well while some of the vets played bad down the stretch. Maybe they were trying to do to much.


----------



## SodaPopinski (Aug 10, 2004)

mgb said:


> Yea, we should have. Bad execution, bad shot selection, and stupid turnovers. I can't say it was so much youth, because Martel, Viktor, played well while some of the vets played bad down the stretch. Maybe they were trying to do to much.


Any time you lose a game after being up by double-digits in the fourth quarter, it's gotta go at least partially, if not fully, on the coach. It's the coach's job to understand matchups, situations, foul trouble, YOUR OWN ****ING PERSONNEL, etc. If a guy can't manage that in a 12 minute span when you're spotted a 10+ point lead, he had an off day.

Nate had himself an off day. The teacher gets taken to school by the pupil.

-Pop


----------



## mook (Dec 31, 2002)

*shrug* young teams blow big leads in the 4th. we have the second youngest in the league. we got outrebounded by 12. it's not really Nate's fault. 

Webster was doing pretty well, and I was disappointed to see him get yanked out later in the game. oh well. 

this team stinks.


----------



## barfo (Jan 2, 2003)

It's just one loss, blowing a big lead isn't any worse than, say, getting blown out by 45. Each game is just one loss.

Yet each one is unique and precious, and we must cherish them all. 

barfo


----------



## e_blazer1 (Feb 3, 2004)

This "rebuilding plan" stinks.

Going to an entire roster of inexperienced players is insanity. I have yet to understand how Nash & Co. think that this type of season is going to lead to anything but a disheartened bunch of young players and an even more uninvolved fan base.

Rebuild? Yes. Turn this franchise into Atlanta? No.


----------



## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

That one really hurt...painful. But there were a few things that happened that IMO take teh pressure off Nate abou tlosing this one.

The steal, that was tipped then stolen again by Theo, by a lazy pass that Jaric intercepted for an uncontested layin. 

A rebound that Dixon had, but didn't actually grab it but kinda tried to use one hand to coral it, result, ball tipped to minnesota player.

Portland letting the clock run down getting an offensive board and Dixon launching an off bablance 3 with 20 seconds on the clock.

An obvious flagrant foul, should be a flagrant 2, but no flagrant at all....SHould have been 2 shots and the ball back.

Phantom foul on Joel when KG slips.

Main thing I saw that was a flaw on Nates part... Minnesota came out with 4 guars and KG, Portland had Joel and Zach in...Zach can't guard KG, so Joel has to. Zach can't guaard a gurad on the perimeter.

And then a season long gripe...too much Dixon, I've seen him shoot us out of too many games already this year, and on top of that he had at least 3-4 dumb mistakes this year.

I pointed out the Calls by the officials because they coincided with a shift in momentum from Portland to Minnesota. More than anything though it was a matter of having young players who aren't truely ready to finnish out a team that comes charging like Minnesota did.


----------



## e_blazer1 (Feb 3, 2004)

barfo said:


> It's just one loss, blowing a big lead isn't any worse than, say, getting blown out by 45. Each game is just one loss.
> 
> Yet each one is unique and precious, and we must cherish them all.
> 
> barfo


You have a warped sense of humor, barfo.


I like it. :laugh:


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

amazing that webster looked like our best player tonight. silver lining at least in terms of rebuilding.


----------



## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

One thing I am trying to dwell out in my ownmind is the obsession with getting the ball to Zach. Outside of Zach our team is more of a motion team a team that should thrive on moving setting picks swing the ball slashing etc etc... Even Joel is better in that kind of game, and Theo for sure, yet we are running an offense that relies on getting the ball to Zach deep in the block where his only outlet is into the corner, virtually eliminating the other 3 players on the court. As a result the weakside 3 players seem to kinda just float.


----------



## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

I have a new nickname for Zach...The Albatross.


----------



## e_blazer1 (Feb 3, 2004)

Schilly said:


> One thing I am trying to dwell out in my ownmind is the obsession with getting the ball to Zach. Outside of Zach our team is more of a motion team a team that should thrive on moving setting picks swing the ball slashing etc etc... Even Joel is better in that kind of game, and Theo for sure, yet we are running an offense that relies on getting the ball to Zach deep in the block where his only outlet is into the corner, virtually eliminating the other 3 players on the court. As a result the weakside 3 players seem to kinda just float.


I agree completely, Schilly. I just don't think that Zach is a good fit for the rest of the pieces that we've assembled.


----------



## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

I'm not sure Zach should have played tonight. Not because of my rants about him tonight and in the past, but because he was obvioulsy hampered by his knee. I know they are saying he banged it last night and that's the cause. Hopefully that is the case because we will in fact need him throughout this season. I'm concerned though that whatever happened to his knee last night is more than just some bruising from a knee to knee bang.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

I don't blame Zach because we are not utilizing him. He will kick it out, but who's been making the shot consistently when we do? We've been asking him to come out and set a pick and he's been hitting the shot more than any other player. I didn't like him dribbling it off his foot or having KG pick him, but other than that we probably if anything should run different plays. I think without Zach we'd be hurting even more than we are.


----------



## myELFboy (Jun 28, 2005)

I don't think Nate is necessarily the problem. I mean, look around the league right now; Adelman, a guy who's brought the Kings to the playoffs for how many consecutive years & has gone to the 2nd round how many years [broken last year by the Supes ], & now they are playing unmotivated basketball....is he all of a sudden an awful coach, or is that he had better talent to work with in the past 6 or so years. Same with the Van Gundy's, & Larry Brown & Phil Jackson. All are good coaches when their teams are talented & playing well, but when they aren't, they get bad mouthed. 

Now, many Sonic fans have a clear disliking for Bob Weiss, including myself. But really, it isn't his fault that he doesn't have a good veteran center or guards that can play defense. If he had a good center with some experience and size that could block shots & rebound & occasionally score, he'd look like a genious. & if Luke & Ray played a speck of defense & could contain their man, he'd look like a genious. Unfortunately, the Sonics don't have that, & he looks like a clueless moron. 

So anyway, give Nate time. He is trying to develop players & motivate them, which is not easy to do when you have a young roster & a team that is on a 6 game losing streak. Sonic fans used to tear into him when the Sonics were under .500 & lotto bound a few years ago. & then last year, with essentially the same roster but different starters (Jerome & Luke, & healthy Ray) & Danny Fortson/AD/Nick/Vlad coming off the bench, he looks like the next coming of Larry Brown or Greg Popovich.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Schilly said:


> I'm not sure Zach should have played tonight. Not because of my rants about him tonight and in the past, but because he was obvioulsy hampered by his knee. I know they are saying he banged it last night and that's the cause. Hopefully that is the case because we will in fact need him throughout this season. I'm concerned though that whatever happened to his knee last night is more than just some bruising from a knee to knee bang.


Now that I'd agree with. I was impressed he played, because after last nite it'd been easy to just say no, I can't play. But he didn't. He hasn't been able to get up like he did before he hurt his knee and once in this game I tried to block and couldn't get off the ground. Probably he shouldn't have been in the second half near as much because when he gets tired it's even more noticeable.


----------



## Fork (Jan 2, 2003)

Schilly said:


> Main thing I saw that was a flaw on Nates part... Minnesota came out with 4 guars and KG, Portland had Joel and Zach in...Zach can't guard KG, so Joel has to. Zach can't guaard a gurad on the perimeter.


I agreed with a lot of what you posted, but not on this one.

Zach ended up guarding Richie Frahm, if I'm not mistaken, for that brief stretch. Frahm shot 1-4 for the game, so he didn't hurt Zach on offense and you know...you have to play both ends of the floor. KG guarded Przybilla and one of those guards had to take Zach on defensively, giving us a great mismatch. I didn't mind Nate leaving Zach out there and it didn't last that long.


----------



## Ed O (Dec 30, 2002)

theWanker said:


> *shrug* young teams blow big leads in the 4th. we have the second youngest in the league. we got outrebounded by 12. it's not really Nate's fault.
> 
> Webster was doing pretty well, and I was disappointed to see him get yanked out later in the game. oh well.
> 
> this team stinks.


Totally agreed.



barfo said:


> It's just one loss, blowing a big lead isn't any worse than, say, getting blown out by 45. Each game is just one loss.
> 
> Yet each one is unique and precious, and we must cherish them all.


100% right.



e_blazer1 said:


> This "rebuilding plan" stinks.
> 
> Going to an entire roster of inexperienced players is insanity. I have yet to understand how Nash & Co. think that this type of season is going to lead to anything but a disheartened bunch of young players and an even more uninvolved fan base.
> 
> Rebuild? Yes. Turn this franchise into Atlanta? No.


It's too late. We're already Atlanta. But other than that, I agree.

Ed O.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

e_blazer1 said:


> This "rebuilding plan" stinks.
> 
> Going to an entire roster of inexperienced players is insanity. I have yet to understand how Nash & Co. think that this type of season is going to lead to anything but a disheartened bunch of young players and an even more uninvolved fan base.
> 
> Rebuild? Yes. Turn this franchise into Atlanta? No.


Do you remember the end of last season? That team got better with young players than when they started with the young players and so will this team. We got a new coach and a new system as well as a couple new young players while losing vets. We are going to get worst before we get better, but as long as management stays the course we will get better. Now if they panic and don't stay the course then all this would be for nothing.


----------



## hasoos (Jan 3, 2003)

While it is disheartening they lost, I don't think last night was so bad. 

I do agree that the lineup that was in the 4th cost the game, because it had no offensive punch and allowed Minnesota to gain momentum. Here is the thing. Nate is still feeling out the team and figuring out who will play well for him, and who are the finishers on this team for closing out a game. Just like he is still figuring out who to start and such. So yes he is the blame for that horrible lineup in the 4th. At the same time, nobody on the team is stepping up to separate themselves, so it is making his job of figuring out who deserves the playing time very hard. 

Zach is definitly hurt, and trying to do too much. Enough said. 

On the bright side, Viktor and Martell played well, and I was happy that Martell is finally earning his minutes, not just showing up for some token minutes before dissappearing each half. You can tell this guy can score, his game right now reminds me of Michael Redd's an awful lot. Viktor did great. He is agressive, defensively aware, and he knows where he is supposed to be on the court. His passing skills are very good as well, a couple of times he hit guys with passes, and they were just not ready for the ball. His game is more complete then Rubens, yet he still has excellent defensive intensity. I sense a lot of PT for him this year, I think he has finally broke into Nates good graces. 

Ruben still showed he is Ruben. 2 bonehead plays for every good play he makes, and an offensive black hole whose only move is to try to back down his guy even if he is going to be demolished. 

I also think this team misses Darius presence a lot.

Last but not least, I think the question is, how many quarters will this team come to play each night? If they play well and hard, the best they can hope for in most quarters it to come out a little bit ahead or even. If they don't, they get destroyed. Phoenix game was 0 good quarters of basketball. Tonight they played 3, and still lost. Until the team figures out you need to play hard all 4 quarters, and that any time you are up on a veteran team, they are going to make a couple of runs at you, they are going to have a tough time.


----------



## Ed O (Dec 30, 2002)

mgb said:


> Do you remember the end of last season? That team got better with young players than when they started with the young players and so will this team.


Huh?

The team went 6-25 after the all-star break. They didn't really get better.

Well, I guess they went 2-1 to end the season, but a three game stretch doesn't really mean much, especially when it came on the heels of a 1-10 showing in the previous eleven games.

Ed O.


----------



## Zybot (Jul 22, 2004)

Do not have time to read this long thread, so may be restating other opinions.

My thoughts:

This game is evidence of what life will be like if we are unable to resign Pryzbilla. Pryzbilla was playing very well for the Blazers, particularly gobbling up every available rebound. That 5th foul is what made the difference in this game. Garnett clearly slipped without contact (I was very close to the action and I could tell right away that's what happened). The refs knew too, but gave Garnett the allstart treatment calling the foul. I understand they have to call the foul (frankly I would be mad if I was Garnett and was not saved from embarrasment), but couldn't it have been on someone less important than Pryzbilla???? Without Pryzbilla's rebounding, we gave the T-Wolves too many chances in the 4th quarter to catch up and surpass our 14 point lead. Garnett was extremely quiet until the 2nd half, 4th quarter iirc. The Blazers played Defense extremely  well, just not for 4 quarters. When the team is able to do that, we will start seeing some W's. Here is to hoping that we are able to resign Pryzbilla this summer :cheers:


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

Ed O said:


> Huh?
> 
> The team went 6-25 after the all-star break. They didn't really get better.
> 
> ...


Compared to how they start, when they first went with the youth, they played well at the end of the season. Yes the last few games. Especially the final quarter against LA with Kobe in against them. Sure LA isn't that good but finishing like we did showed growth.


----------



## mgb (Jun 26, 2004)

mgb said:


> Yea, we should have. Bad execution, bad shot selection, and stupid turnovers. I can't say it was so much youth, because Martel, Viktor, played well while some of the vets played bad down the stretch. Maybe they were trying to do to much.


Looks like Canzano's article is agreeing with what I said. It wasn't the youth that blew this it was the vets. Now I'm not a big fan of some of what Canzano writes, but when he agrees with me... 



> That was veteran Theo Ratliff making an awful pass that resulted in a lay-up during Minnesota's big comeback. And veteran Juan Dixon failing to grab a rebound with both hands. And veteran Ruben Patterson forcing a bad shot with his team in desperate need of a basket. And it was Zach Randolph -- the $84 million man -- going scoreless in the fourth quarter while Kevin Garnett was busy winning this game.
> 
> Blame the kids? The kids?
> 
> Sorry, you can't hang this one on youth. In fact, if you really want to wonder where the Blazers lost this game, you have to hang it on the veterans, who should know better.


I read in some article Dixon using the youth as a excuse which is pretty convenient when he was part of the problem not the youth.


----------

