The Men of the Red and the Black opened their 40th season this evening at the Rose Garden, before a typically involved crowd whose emotions and outbursts paralleled the play: expectant and unsettled at first, excited and boisterous as the Blazers made their game changing run in the 2nd, desultory as both teams floundered in the 3rd, beer-line confident to open the 4th with a 20-point lead, murmuring and a little antsy as that lead got down as low as six--and then almost audibly relieved as Brandon Roy and Greg Oden took charge to close out the game with a 9-point win over the Houston Rockets. Watch out, Blazers--your town is once again "basketball-involved."
The suspense on the floor was a nice adrenaline-capper to what had been, for many of the "involved," a greatly anticipated evening with new faces and old ones that had apparently gotten better since their exit to the same Rockets in the first round of the 2008-09 playoffs. I especially liked the montage of great Blazer moments since 1970, mashed together without respect to era. Clyde became TP became Petrie became LaMarcus, high def went to grainy TV lines and back. And there are apparently new bands for the opening theme; so far so good.
The introduction seemed like a good idea--players descending to the court from the first-floor section portals, spotlight and framed by adoramus--but it came off rather awkward. First of all, the timing between spotlighting, announcement and descent was off, so in a number of cases the players were mostly in the dark, trying not to trip down the stairs.
But they had been given a pair of team mini-basketballs...not to immediately toss happily into the crowd or to bless small children in the aisles with, but to carry while coming down as Variously Uncomfortable Gods From the Mezzanine. I can't remember who it was, but someone held them for safety to their chest as if modeling prospective plastic surgery (and a gender operation I guess), and I think Andre was concerned someone was going to try to knock one out of his hands.
As for the game, here's a little something, the NBA highlight reel for the first half for the game--just to give you a little flava. I'll give you my take below the fold:
As I mentioned, things started out a little hesitant and slow. Oden got good position early on and jerked a hook shot over Chuck Hayes on the short baseline (one of only three shots he would take all game), and on a subsequent possession trying to turn on Hayes on the upper block but travelling. They were not rotating well to the outside, leaving Ariza open for a couple of threes, and for Brooks to blow by guys and pick up a couple of early, cheap fouls.
Roy's preseason shot was mostly rusty in only limited work, but he came out well to start tonight, including a sweet drive and jam from the topside through the lane. When LA got his second foul early on, the game had its watershed moment--Travis Outlaw stepped onto the court. He quickly nailed an open top of the key three, and also a midranger from the bottom wing.
Oden wasn't in full sync offensively, but he was clogging the lane like a seven foot hairball, showing new tricks: standing straight and firm, forcing the attacking player to suddenly discover there is an immovable object in their way; and jumping straight up and down and getting blocks rather than jumping into players as a result of slow feet. Those features of his game are partially why he rang up 12 boards and 5 (6 says Mike Barnett), but he contested and changed so many other shots, and discouraged a fair number too.
Still, with a couple of minutes in the quarter and the Blazers winning the FG% game 60%-40%, thanks to the fouls, slow reaction and some weird replacement-like calls (a silly "clear path" call on Rudy comes to mind) the game was tied at 20 and would remain tied after one, 23-23.
Outlaw and Andre Miller took control early in the second, Travis with a great block, a sweet oop-finish of a Miller setup, and a really nice three from the bottom corner. And then, on a loose ball that rolled quickly towards the Rockets' bucket, Travis beat everyone to the ball and rammed it home. Martell and Andre pushed the run to 9-0, all of a sudden looking very fast and pressing the advantage downcourt quickly after Rockets misses.
I have to say, after just one game I can see the arguments for leaving Blake where he is in a comfortable position, and having Miller just torch second units as he did tonight--but you have to wonder what he could do for 30 minutes pushing this team upcourt and keeping a flow going. When he's in the game the team just looks more fluid.
Battier and Rudy traded treys (or tres's, I suppose), and then the foul advantage seemed to turn Portland's way. Martell drained a couple of FT on a good aggressive move to the hoop, and also drained a really nice three. Andre Miller kept it up, stealing and feeding LA for a monster jam, then a post-Spanish Connection backdoor pass to Rudy for the easy layin. Scola and Hayes run into Mount Oden on consecutive possessions, Blake drops a couple of bottom wing threes, and at the half it was 54-41.
In the third quarter it seemed that everyone was simultaneously feeling to themselves, "Wow, preseason is sure NOT as exhausting as real games!" It showed. With nearly half the quarter gone, the Rockets had scored all of three points. Ha-HA! said the Blazers, who had four. Aldridge's fourth foul early in the third seemed to throw the offense out of sync, and for a while they seemed inclined towards long jumpers at the end of the shot clock, never a very good strategy.
That is, except for Travis, who had a very tough pair of running jumpers from the top side of the key, and a sharp looking three that made it 72-52--and most fans surely figured it was mostly cruising time from here on out. The quarter ended with the Blazers holding Houston to just 15 points in the third, and despite underlying foul trouble seemed largely in command.
But things started to get hairy, particularly when Prizz picked up his fifth foul, and then his sixth with over 7 minutes to play. It got so bad, Oden and Aldridge also tallying five by that point, that Travis got in some time at the center position--which you can do for the most part against the recently shrunken Rockets. But it showed, as Buddinger, Anderson and former Duck standout Aaron Brooks exploited the relative disarray in the Portland defense.
The game got as close as six, and then in three decisive steps the victory was secured: Andre Miller hit a clutch jumper and then a rare three to get them back up by 14; Brandon Roy went into his fourth quarter "stop me or hack me trying" mode and began hitting FTs; and Greg Oden returned for the final two minutes and started swatting balls and grabbing O-boards. He scored his only points on a putback with a minute to go that made the lead 10 at 95-85, and the game was over.
This wouldn't be one you'd file away as a marquee performance against an elite team; it was neither. And I'm still not sure how a team turns the ball over 26 times and threatens to win by 20. But it was a thoroughly enjoyable performance with a lot of things to love:
Oden is going to frighten people all year. Whether he scores points or not, he is going to significantly impact games for the better. That's going to be a powerful frontcourt for the league to deal with when he and LA get going.
Andre Miller makes a lot of things click. Right now there's a comfort level with Blake, and he can spread a defense like Miller normally cannot. But there's just clearly more movement both on and off the ball when Miller is on court. Either way, he is looking like a great veteran investment.
Martell looked pretty sharp, although I think he tired some which would be totally natural. His defense started out shaky but improved some, especially inside.
The whole team still needs to work on rotations, particularly the guards and 3-forward of course--but if they can offer team help D like that all season inside, they are going to shut some teams down. Oden has notably improved his weakside D, but players like Outlaw and Martell also showed some things.
Foul trouble, rustiness and getting used to new personnel in chemistry contributed to a fair amount of the hiccup in the 2nd half. But on a regular basis, this team has the chance to operate as an elite unit. You could tell they were just scratching the surface of the pressure and attack they can put on teams, their ridiculous depth and balance.
So, 1-0. The Nuggets come to town Thursday for a national TNT game, and then it's out to Houston for a rematch on Halloween. Two more solid performances and a good 3-0 start is eminently doable. It's gonna be a fun season.
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