Nate McMillan talks about this a lot. His players are too offensive minded. Defense comes last. McMillan on the other hand believes defense should trigger your offense. So when the Blazers came out flat against the Denver Nuggets it didn’t come as a shock.
We’ve seen this charade before.
The defense wasn’t there – again. And when it was, it was far too late. But that wasn’t the only thing missing in Denver on Thursday night. Portland simply doesn’t have that physical chip on their shoulder that they so desperately need. I’ve gone down this road before. Plus, the Blazers inability to beat a Western Conference team bound for the playoffs is nonexistent. They are now 1-12 in that department.
Those two aspects – a lack of physical play and struggling to win away from the Rose Garden against the big boys out West– will mean an early exit from the postseason whenever Portland gets there.
TNT’s Doug Collins summed it up going to a commercial break minutes into the second quarter, after Kevin Harlan noted, “Nate McMillan would like the Blazers to be more physical.”
Really? You don’t say. Collins came correct though.
“I don’t think that is their make-up right now. Maybe as they get older they might be a team that takes some harder fouls,” Collins said. “But I don’t think Nate would mind that, especially the way to start a game tonight just to set the tone of the game. They did not do that.”
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The Latest: Portland has been there before – on the outside looking in at the playoffs. Earlier in the week at HOOPSWORLD, I took an early look at the seven teams who are probably wondering what the heck they are playing for right about now.
There is one losing team – perhaps the worst the league has to offer – that is playing for something: the Sacramento Kings. Not only will they make more moves this offseason, but they have a solid chance at landing the number one overall pick come June.
And lastly….make sure to check out Andrew Perna, RealGM’s Deputy Editor and his mission to raise awareness about Multiple Sclerosis with his “NBA for MS” series. Andrew has really made an impact – both with his writing and forming lifelong relationships around the league – with his truly worthy cause. Nice work Andrew….
pic via: AP
beyond the beat 