Search For "smash"

By now you’ve been over every single angle of the admittedly-blown goal-tending call… that cost the Portland Trail Blazers a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder two nights ago in the Rose Garden. You’ve seen the camera angles, heard the howls of protest, and you realize fully that the standings now say, “Portland: 14-11″ instead of “Portland: 15-10″ when for the last few years Western Conference playoff standings have been bunched with a single game or two making the difference between high seeds and low. That’s the obvious cost of this blown opportunity.
You also know that of all

Continue Reading The Hidden Cost of "The Call"

…

We apologize for the site being offline in spurts tonight. It was a network-wide problem that we now hope is fixed. On to the recap…
In a Nutshell
Behind LaMarcus Aldridge and Raymond Felton the Blazers play an inspired, physical first half only to fall prey to their old bugaboo, losing steam as the game progresses. They leave themselves in need of a three to tie at the end but having forced an impressive last-possession turnover to get their chance, they can’t make either of their long attempts.
Game Flow
This game was the classic Tale of Two Halves.

Continue Reading Game 23 Recap: Portland Trail Blazers 92, Sacramento Kings 95

Game Time: 7:00 p.m. TV: CSNNW
The Phoenix Suns aren’t the worst team the Portland Trail Blazers have played this season. They’re just the team that has laid the worst whuppin’ on the guys in red and black. At 6-11 on the season such blowouts are rare for the Suns. I’m sure they remember it well. Hopefully so do the Blazers.
The Suns have managed a 2-2 record over their last four games, beating New York and Boston while narrowly losing to the Mavericks and Raptors, all but the final contest played on the road. They’ve managed this small…

Continue Reading Game 20 Preview: Phoenix Suns vs. Portland Trail Blazers

…

In a Nutshell
The Grizzlies fare well in one area–forcing turnovers–and miserably everywhere else. They can’t hit a shot, don’t get any whistles, and get pounded into submission by a Trail Blazers team that kept the physical pressure on for the second game in a row. Marcus Camby becomes the transcendent star for one evening, ripping down 22 rebounds and adding 5 blocks, keeping the Grizz on the perimeter and missing.
Game Flow
Sadly a local windstorm kept killing power at Chateau de Dave, interrupting this game with frequency. The big picture came through fine but “flow” was not

Continue Reading Game 18 Recap: Portland Trail Blazers 97, Memphis Grizzlies 84

…

In a Nutshell
The Blazers ride physical play and huge nights from Jamal Crawford and Gerald Wallace, disposing of the Kings as expected.
Game Flow AND Take-Away Points (since they melded into each other tonight)
The Blazers started the game playing down to the Kings’ level. They fell prey to the same trick that’s been pulled on them over and over again this season. As mentioned in the preview, the Kings are a bad defensive team. There’s no way around that, no permutation of their lineup that changes it. But the Blazers make any opponent look good defensively when

Continue Reading Game 17 Recap: Portland Trail Blazers 101, Sacramento Kings 89