Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Chalupa!

The Blazers lost last night to the Suns 109-102 in overtime, a terrific game in which the Blazers fought back time and time again and even had a chance to win it at the end of regulation. We were on the other end of the floor but it sure looked like Travis could have just dunked it and won the game instead of going for a lay up. The thing with the Suns is you always feel like you're down 6-10 points. You claw and scratch your way back, and then all of a sudden they hit a 3, get a long rebound and a lay up, and it's back up again. Still, a spirited effort, I was with clients so not exactly in note taking mode. This is just off memory in bullet format:

  • Barbosa is just nails. He's almost unguardable he's so fast, but he knows exactly when to fake drive and knock down that jumper off the space created. He finished with 25 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds and it looked even better than that.
  • Amare isn't the freak of nature he used to be, but he's a much better basketball player now. His wide array of baby hooks, jumpers, tip ins, and filling the lane on the break was a joy to watch, 36 points in all, and he was dominant from the beginning.
  • Brandon Roy is going to be a Superstar and own this city. I know this is talked about a lot around here, but wait until he decides to take games over from the beginning. Right now he's a bit too concerned with getting everyone else involved, but when it really gets down to it in the 3rd and 4th quarters it's the Brandon Roy Show. He had 27 last night and most of them came after halftime. I love the way he goes to the basket.
  • Zach was his usual Zach self, 33 points and 10 boards but this was the Zach I'd love to have around for a long time. He only took 15 shots and scored 33 points.
  • Solid, solid F- performance by the Blazer Dancers. I guess part of the budget cuts from buying back the arena means no more slutty outfits for the Blazers Dancers, they were in jeans and flannels all night. It's like it was Pearl Jam Appreciation Night or something.
  • Yes, I have a Jamaal Magloire Bobblehead, which provided a ton of entertainment before the game. He has a ball like he's shooting a hook shot or grabbing a rebound, unfortunately there's no sideline for him to drop it out of bounds for a turnover.
  • They had one of my least favorite halftime acts, although it improved as time went on. They had Spinning Bunch of Basketballs guy, only apparently the AAA version since he dropped them about 10 times and they went spilling all over the court, so that was fun. Things picked up at the end when he brought out a cheerleader, who he proceeded to tie up with a various array of contraptions, one of the guys in our box announced "I guess the family portion of the halftime show just ended." Good times. The camera angles on the jumbotron while she was all tied up with balls spinning around her were...interesting. Pretty sure that's not what she signed up for.
  • I didn't think that Travis was going to be playing this much, but he played 29 minutes and looked really solid again for the most part. Then he missed the wide open lay up with 1 second left in regulation that would have won it. Again, not to harp on him but Travis, send that bad boy in with some authority.
  • The Marcus might be hitting the Rookie Wall. Not playing with quite the same vigor.
  • Joel has reached Flo Hartenstein Status as a "starter" where he plays the first 6 minutes and then gets to work on an ass groove in one of the chairs on the bench. I think he should have his name on one like a movie director.
  • Looking at the box score this morning, Mr Bobblehead only played 12 minutes? Felt like 30.

Overall, an enjoyable night in the luxury suite. Free drinks, free food, and a wildly entertaining game. It obviously would have been a bit better if Nash and Sergio were going at it. Phoenix would be just another good team, 50 wins max, without Nash, but with him they're headed for an epic showdown with Dallas, although you never want to mess with the Parker/Manu/Duncan trio in the playoffs if you don't have to. That's the hidden fight for the #1 seed, not home court, but the right to avoid the Spurs in Round 2.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was the "Blazer Jam Squad" not the Blazer Dancers. I too was disappointed

Lochi said...

So now they have three teams? The Blazer Dancers, the Jam Squad, and the cheerleaders? Wow, I need to keep better track of these things, or go to more games. Do they all get violated by the halftime act or is that strictly a cheerleader function?