[Brandon Roy reacts as referee Courtney Kirkland points toward him, indicating a foul will be called on Roy, canceling Portland's possession of the ball and an Andray Blatche technical foul.]
With just over two minutes left in Friday night’s game, and the Wizards holding onto a 73-69 lead over the Portland Trailblazers, Brandon Roy took a three pointer.
He missed. Nicolas Batum got an offensive rebound and passed to Wesley Matthews in the corner. He missed a three. Joel Pryzybilla then missed a controlled tip from point-blank range. LaMarcus Aldridge tipped the rebound, and missed, and tipped the ball again, and again, and again, just swatting with the hope that something would go in his team’s favor for a change.
The final rebound then brushed past Roy’s hands. Andray Blatche swooped in to try to gather the ball as he teetered on the baseline, but in one move, Roy punched the ball away. As it left Blatche’s grasp, Roy grabbed him around the waist with one arm to prevent recovery. The ball went out of bounds, and having last touched Blatche’s hands, referee Scott Wall blew the whistle, signaling possession in Portland’s favor. Wall’s view of Blatche getting grabbed was blocked.
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[Portland's Brandon Roy expresses his displeasure at a changed/overruled call that could have meant a three-point swing with less than two minutes to go in a loss to the Wizards. Photo: K. Weidie]
Prior to last night’s game against the Wizards, Portland Trailblazers guard Wesley Matthews declared it a must-win situation. When coach Nate McMillan got wind of this during his pre-game press conference, he bluntly refuted that premise.
“I think all games are a must win, so what happens if we don’t?”
Three and a half hours after he made that statement, McMillan got his answer when his team lost to the Wizards, 83-79. They scored 10 points in the third quarter, 23 in the fourth and they shot 33% for the entire game. The Blazers looked lost on offense, lethargic on defense, and they allowed a struggling Wizards team to overcome a 12-point Portland lead and steal the game.
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You sit courtside at an NBA game and you must pay attention.
It’s somewhat similar to how there are certain seats in a baseball park where you must have a heightened sense of foul balls. But that’s a ball, not a person.
NBA basketball, unlike football and hockey as well, is the only pro sport where players can come in physical contact with fans. Sure, you’re thinking of Ron Artest now, but that’s not what I mean. Players from any sport are capable of going into the stands to fight fans. I mean contact during the course of play. Maybe the Lambeau Leap could classify as a unique fan-player interaction, but if you’re sitting in those seats, you have a crappy view of the field.
NBA courtside seats provide a unique sporting experience that can’t be topped.
Sitting courtside also comes with a cost, in the wallet of course (unless you’re a blogger with a photo credential), but also in the risk of receiving the errant limbs of sweaty occupants from the tall gene pool into unknown areas of your body spilling beer and lord knows what, where. And that’s part of the fun.
Photo of the Night.
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A D.C. pic, links, commentary and tickets for free ….
The Portland Trailblazers are in D.C. tonight to take on the Wizards … and guess what? They’re giving away John Wall bobble-head dolls to the first 10,000 fans. So if you want one, you best show up on time. What else are you going to do on a cold Friday night in D.C.? Watch Miami (Ohio) take on 25th-ranked Northern Illinois in college football? Sure buddy. Plus, if the game sells out, there’s a chance you could see Ted Leonsis do the “Dougie” … which would most certainly be better than Wolf Blitzer’s “Dougie” (who did it on ‘Soul Train’ of all places? Weird).
In any case, check out my column at the DCist this week where I ponder if the Wizards are still worth watching?
And from the other side, Portland fans have it pretty bad too, Wizards fans — just admittedly not as bad as Wiz fans, at least according to one Trailblazers blogger. Check out what the Portland Roundball Society has to say about tonight’s game.
GIVEAWAY: Wizards-Heat Tickets, December 18, 2010
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Published in
2010-11 Wizards,
Cleveland Cavaliers,
John Wall,
LeBron James |
1 CommentTags:
Antawn Jamison,
Cleveland Cavaliers,
John Wall,
LeBron James,
Pixelated,
Portland Trailblazers,
sharebullets,
tickets
Well, who was I kidding with this? Watched the game this morning despite my protests….newsflash: we’re terrible. Keep reading.
Q1
Caron starts by shooting a three….miss…no surprise.
McGuire is all over on D…..deflections, etc.
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Published in
2008-09 Wizards,
Portland Trailblazers,
Wizards Game Blog,
Wizards Game Coverage |
No commentsTags:
Andray Blatche,
Antawn Jamison,
Caron Butler,
Darius Songaila,
ed tapscott,
JaVale McGee,
mike james,
Portland Trailblazers
There’s been talk, mostly from Ed Tapscott, about the Wizards needing to do more of the ‘little things’. The Washington Post reports that Tapscott recently wrote ‘Little Things’ on a dry-erase board and then had this quote after the game last night, “We’ve got to take a look at the little things that cause us to have poor possessions at the end of games or some of the plays we have to make defensively against a drive. Those things will be addressed.”
The need for little things works on a sliding scale. The better the team, and talent, the more room there is to fudge on those little things. With injuries and the what-not, the Wizards have no wiggle room. Of course, teams like the Spurs have talent and do the little things; that’s why they have multiple championships under their belt.
Last night, some of the ‘little things’ the Wizards did not do include:
- Andray Blatche using only his upper body on block out attempts (although, I believe this has blossomed into an epidemic).
- Caron Butler lacking consideration in blocking out Rudy Fernandez, who was allowed to get a running start and a huge offensive put-back to put Portland up three with 2:24 left.
- Caron Butler using too much shot clock and then putting a rookie, JaVale McGee, in a difficult position to hit a contested baseline jumper from a though angle with the shot clock running down and 1:30 left in the game.
- Nick Young turning the wrong way (270 degrees instead of 90) in trying to defend a cutting Rudy Fernandez which led to a bucket and a foul at the very end of the 3rd period.
- DeShawn Stevenson not stopping the ball, and Sergio Rodriguez, after made FTs, which set up the previously mentioned gaffe.
- Ed Tapscott going with Darius Songaila instead of Dominc McGuire on a crucial defensive possession with the Wizards down two, 13 seconds left, and mostly perimeter players in for Portland.
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The passing of Kevin Duckworth at only 44 years old should serve as yet another cautionary tale for the health of all Americans. Medical examiners have concluded that Duckworth died of “hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure.” The initial report from The Oregonian indicated that Duckworth appeared to have gone into cardiac arrest, according to fire rescue officials on the scene.
We are all aware of the weigh problems Duckworth dealt with throughout his career and more so into his retirement. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy involves the thickening of the heart muscle, thought to be primarily caused by genetics, but could be affected by non-genetic factors. There is no definitive connection between Duckworth’s heart problems and being overweight, but an easy conclusion to make would be that the latter certainly did not help the former, especially since his high blood pressure played a role in his heart failure.
Memories of Duckworth have focused on his positive contributions, especially those of his days with the Portland Trailblazers, the team he was most associated with. True Hoop’s Henry Abbott and Wayne Thompson of Blazers.com will recall his performance in a Portland game 7 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the 2nd round of the 1990 NBA Playoffs. Current Blazers team president, Larry Miller, remembers Duckworth “as one of the warmest and biggest- hearted.” Duckworth was in Lincoln City, OR to host a free clinic for kids.
My memories will, of course, stem from Duckworth’s days as a Bullet. While the on-court recollections weren’t always fond, I do remember the big fella having a smile on his face, for the most part.
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Published in
Bullets-Wizards History,
Ex-Wizards,
Washington Bullets |
No commentsTags:
calbert cheaney,
gheorghe muresan,
jim lynam,
john nash,
kevin duckworth,
pervis ellison,
Portland Trailblazers,
scott skiles,
Washington Bullets
The Washington Wizards would like to have a small forward to backup Caron Butler. Darius Miles would like to be a member of an NBA team. Could the two be a match?
At face value, Miles would be far from the shooter the Wizards should desire for spot action. On the other hand, he is still freakishly athletic and could provide a combustible punch of energy off the bench for a team needing a push. Darius Miles could be seen as a low-risk, high-reward option, and he’s only 26.
Darius Miles the person raises several red flags. Number one is knee issues. He had microfracture surgery in November 2006 and an independent source dubbed his injury as career ending this past April, allowing the Portland Trailblazers to release him without salary cap implications. The last NBA game the guy play in was over 26 months ago. However, reports say that his knee has fully recovered, but that Miles is just not yet in ‘NBA Shape.’ Should he play again, Portland’s cap space would shrink.
Red flag #2, attitude. Most accounts don’t dub Miles as an absolute menace, rather elude to a selfish demeanor created from your run-of-the-mill pampered upbringing of a natural born basketball talent. The most famous example is a 2005 confrontation between Miles and then Portland head coach, Maurice Cheeks. It started in a film session and may or may not have included escalation into the office of then Blazers GM, and former Bullets head man, John Nash. But surely Miles has learned a humbling lesson, and perhaps coming under the wing of a veteran such as Antawn Jamison would aid his maturity.
Red flag #3, suspension. Much ado has been made Darius Miles failing a drug test and being suspended by the league for 10 games. The NBA then made all teams aware of said fact via email, this stirred a minor controversy as to if the league acted unethically in leaking medical information. True Hoop and The Sporting Blog have the issue at hand well covered. The heart of the previous debate: does D-Miles have a weed or steroid problem? The latest report from Mark Stein is that Phentermine (an appetite suppressant which is considered a controlled substance because of a similarity to amphetamines) is actually responsible for the failed test. Not exactly a reason for NBA teams to be concerned. Although, I am curious as to why he was taking weight loss pills; being off that knee probably fattened him up.
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Recapping the Best of the Recaps.
Don’t Sleep on Roger Mason in Seattle
Seattle Sonics Blog on seattlepi.com:
There were several disturbing things about the game. How in the world did Roger Mason Jr. get open for six 3-pointers en route to 22 points? At about the third or fourth 3-pointer, you have to double Mason to get the ball out of his hands. There was a definite lack of defensive adjustments and that is coach P.J. Carlesimo’s fault.
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The Wizards Run-Down
Recapping those Pistons:
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