THE BOOTH ON THE LOSS TO LAKERS
Mike and Marv talk about New Jersey’s 99-92 loss to the Lakers on Sunday.
From the Booth
December 13 by Leave a Comment
Fratello Telestrator: Dwight’s Superman-style Block
December 10 by 2 Comments
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Gameday Dish: Magic in the Rose Garden
December 9 by Leave a Comment
The Orlando Magic, owners of a 15-6 record (second best in the Eastern conference) come to Stumptown for their only Oregon appearance at the start of a 4-game road trip. The Trailblazers, 10-11, are one victory away from getting to .500 after winning the first two games of their current 3-game homestand.
The Magic lost Monday night in Florida to the Atlanta Hawks 80-74. However they were missing their starting point guard Jameer Nelson for the third straight game. Nelson was still recovering from a nasty flu bug that also affected Dwight Howard, J.J. Redick and Mickael Pietrus the previous two games. Orlando went 37% from the floor and were only 4 for 22 behind the arc.
The Blazers beat the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night 106-99. They also were without their starting 1-guard, 12-year vet Andre Miller. Miller was suspended by the NBA for “excessive and unnecessary contact” with rookie sensation Blake Griffin in Portland’s victory on Sunday against the L.A. Clippers. Miller had played in every game since January 24th, 2003 – a streak of 632 games (the longest among active players) until 
he was hit with the suspension.
Both of these squads are excellent on the defensive end of the floor. The Magic lead the NBA in points allowed at 90.8, and the Trailblazers currently are 7th in that category at 95.6.
Yesterday was seventh-year big man Dwight Howard’s 25th birthday. Maybe as a belated gift to himself, the 3x-first team all-NBA center can raise his 12.7ppg against the Blazers in Portland, his lowest average against any road opponent over his career.
In addition 13th year vet Vince Carter averaged a measly 7 ppg against the Blazers in two meetings last year as these teams each won on their homecourts.
Tune in tonight at 10:30PM ET on TNT to see if the Magic can regain their health and winning ways against the host Trailblazers in Portland, aka “The Greenest City in America”.
Czar Asks You
December 9 by Leave a Comment
The Portland Trail Blazers are second in the league in free-throw percentage behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their clutch shooting ability from the line translated into wins this week.
In Tuesday’s 106-99 win over the Suns, the Blaze went a remarkable 32 of 33 from the foul line, finishing with 17 straight freebies in the fourth quarter. LaMarcus Aldridge sank 10 consecutive free throws in the game while Roy went 9 for 9.
Miller was sidelined against the Suns due to a one-game suspension following an altercation with Blake Griffin. But he was on a roll from the line prior to the miss, knocking down over 30 consecutive free throws, 9 of which helped cement a win over the Clips to snap a 6-game losing streak.
Miller doesn’t get to the line quite as often as Roy and Aldridge, but when he does he hits the mark. Ranked 9th and 10th overall respectively, guards Brandon Roy and Andre Miller lead their team in FT%.
All three guys will get a chance to hit some more foul shots tonight when they host the Magic at the Rose Garden.
Will Miller be able to keep his streak alive? Who will finish the season with the highest FT% – Miller or Roy?
Ask the Czar
December 8 by 1 Comment
Mark wants to know:
Isn’t the reason for the low rebounds for the Celtics a longstanding problem that only recently has been partly improved by the addition of Shaq? If they have high FG% they still have low rebounds for the 100% rebounds that could have been made?
The bottom line is the Celtics were small in comparison to the Lakers team they faced in the 2010 NBA Finals and came up short in Game 7 as a result. The loss of starting center Kendrick Perkins to a knee injury in Game 6 cost the C’s rebounds and ultimately the championship.
Boston recognized that they were deficient in the RPG column prior to the loss of their best rebounder. So this summer they went out and got three 7-footers to crash the glass: Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal and Semih Erden from Turkey. If they’d had Perkins or one of these other super-sized guys to pull down just a couple more rebounds in Game 7, they probably would’ve won the title.
The Celtics have improved on the boards, but they’re still waiting for all their bigs to get healthy. Jermaine went out with knee problems in early November; Perkins won’t play until February, and Erden has a labral tear in his shoulder that will likely require surgery in the off-season. KG is just now getting back to 100% after his right knee surgery in ’09. He’s much stronger and is jumping higher and rebounding better than last season. The Celts have made attacking the boards a priority this year. When all Boston’s bigs return to the court at full strength, their rebounds should go way up.
