围绕NBA球队防守的词汇和珠宝店广告脚本之间有相当多的重叠，这些广告脚本在重大节日“是时候证明你真的爱她了”之前出现在广播电台和电视频道上。不间断：“锁链”和“链环”以及“连接”和“一起”以及“心脏”。波特兰队周四的胜利是一个清晰的例子，说明了一支球队的防守链断裂不一定发生在接触点，因为断裂可以在手镯的另一侧清楚地表现出来。
毫无疑问，华盛顿队最好的球员是约翰·沃尔，作为一名优秀的控球后卫，他已经开始不辜负高中生时的每一点宣传。在全明星控卫之后，根据开/关数据，奇才队最不可或缺的球员是中锋马辛·戈尔塔。华盛顿公布了他本赛季在场上时的净得分为+4.0，场下时为-8.1，这是除沃尔外全队范围最广的挥杆动作。
Gortat对奇才队的重要性仅在内恩膝盖受伤后才有所增加，一个魁梧的大前锋，与戈尔塔联手，提供了一个很好的一对内防守组合。说句好听的话，他们缺少其他低职位的选择。说句不客气的话，教练兰迪·维特曼（Randy Wittman）不得不将德鲁·古登（Drew Gooden）从一个低温实验室的两年访问中解救出来。
维特曼要求古登和24岁的凯文·瑟拉芬（Kevin Seraphin）顶替戈尔塔，戈尔塔在周四因背部受伤而迟到。虽然戈塔特不是全明星，但他很稳定。他更高，更长，更有气势，而且他比他的任何一个替补上场的时间都要多。他更受其他奇才的信任，更受对手的尊重，也更为裁判所熟悉。将他排除在比赛之外会大大削弱防守链。
这不是罗宾·洛佩兹的夜晚，因此波特兰对无戈达奇才队的进攻并没有以“让我们直奔午餐肉”的方式结束。取而代之的是，它需要不断地推动替换的内部部件，从而在球场上几乎所有其他地方造成链条断裂。开拓者花了一段时间才准备好，但一旦发生这种情况，奇才队的防守链就会像香槟瓶塞一样从四面八方迅速弹出。
波特兰进攻执行的关键是达米安·利拉德，他在与密尔沃基雄鹿队的比赛中摆脱了噩梦（20分，21投7中，4次助攻，在周二对阵沃尔和奇才队的比赛中，我得到了23分（18投8中）、10次助攻和1次失误。
“[沃尔]是联盟中的精英后卫之一，当然我必须提高对他的比赛水平，”利拉德告诉布雷泽我做了我的团队需要我做的事情。我需要更少的传球，更多的助攻。”
是利拉德使出浑身解数，将华盛顿的防守摆在了抢位的位置上。是利拉德在篮筐下快速传球给尼古拉斯·巴图姆，韦斯利·马修斯在边路上大开，还有罗宾·洛佩兹，这迫使奇才们更加注意防守篮筐区域。到了第二节末，利拉德的动作吸引了足够多的眼球，帮助防守队员们“轰炸”了。多雷尔·赖特在右角的一次漂亮的反传中大饱口福。马修斯飞到边路，准备跳投，他的防守队员转身看了看里拉德的一次进攻。
链条砰砰砰砰地响，三分球都在下雨，但利拉德明白，最初的动作——即驱球和踢球的驱球部分——催化了最终的外线成功。
“在过去的两三场比赛中，我下场后一直在寻找给洛佩兹的袖珍传球，或是在我甚至还没来得及防守之前寻找跳投，”利拉德告诉布拉泽奇我必须积极让他们尊重我的驾驶，尊重我的引体向上。我今晚就这么做了。一旦我做到了，戏剧就开始了。这是我必须坚持的。要有侵略性，让球队适应我所做的事情，然后做出相应的调整。”
当然不仅仅是利拉德。他的10次助攻是他自2月7日以来最多的一次。但作为一支球队，波特兰队共送出32次助攻，这是自1月2日以来最高的助攻总数。波特兰队的进攻在最高效率下取得成功，涉及到多个方面drivers, smart kick-outs, well-timed skip passes, extra unselfish reads, and pure shooting. The Blazers had all of those things in this one, shooting 50.6 percent from the field, knocking down 14 three-pointers on the night and topping 30 points in each of the final three quarters.
"Assists and passing, that's more than just one person," Matthews told Blazersedge, after posting a game-high 28 points (on 8-for-16 shooting) and five assists. "It's a two-way street, just like communication. If Dame is supposed to pass [Nicolas Batum] the ball, Nic's got to get open and Dame's got to make a good pass. The screener has to set for Nic, Nic has to set the screen up. It's more complicated than just trying to pass the ball here. [The passing had us] playing with energy and a sense of purpose from four minutes left in the second quarter on to the end of the game."
Another key to the chain-breaking was Wright, who finished with 15 points (on 6-for-11 shooting and 3-for-6 three-point shooting) and seven rebounds one game after an 0-for-8 stinker against the Bucks.
"It couldn't get no worse," Wright said of his shooting on Tuesday. "All I had to do was go out there and play. Being 0-for-8, I don't think I've been that [bad] for a long time."
In fact, the 0-for-8 shooting night was the most misses without a make ever registered during Wright's 10-year career. Gortat's absence was a blessing for him, too, as it forced Washington into smaller-ball lineups, freeing Wright to play his game and take advantage of his comfort level in such an orientation. Throughout the final 30 minutes or so of this contest, Portland's spacing around the arc was something to behold. Rarely were two players bunched together, rarely was the ball being passed around the line without a next step in mind. Wright was a major beneficiary throughout, but particularly in the third quarter, when he had eight points.
"I'm in a great position because a lot of four men don't know how to play me as a three-point shooter," Wright told Blazersedge, before gesturing with his hands as he described the pick-your-poison proposition facing the defense. "Their instinct is to protect the paint and close out. They're going this way and then they have to come back that way. Then, with a wing [defender], their first instinct is to come to me, don't let me get open shots. [That means] when guys are driving the ball, Damian, Nico, Wes, all these guys are making plays and there's a lot of open shots [for them inside]."
Getting to the pretty passing and the pretty shooting requires a level of energy and desire that was simply lacking against the Bucks. If Portland wrote the Britannica of Bad Basketball against Milwaukee, they were back to their early season poetry in this one.
"It was a rough day at the offense on Tuesday," Matthews told Blazersedge. "We knew we had to play better. That's not the same kind of team. The Wizards are a fifth seed, a playoff team in the East. The Bucks aren't. Not a knock on the Bucks. ... We're not trying to play up to our competition or down to our competition, we're trying to play our basketball. That's what we did with 32 assists. We are our own competition, we are own enemies."
It did seem as if the Blazers were playing against themselves, or at least against invisible opponents, during a 19-2 run that spanned the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third quarter. That push didn't break the Wizards, as Wall did well to keep them hanging on for awhile, but it did go a long way to ensuring that this game was sewn up cleanly before the fourth quarter even started.
"We're up 51-45 with 53 seconds [left in the second quarter] and they go on an 8-0 run in 53 seconds," Wittman lamented. "You cannot treat the game that way. ... The first couple minutes of the third quarter, we were still dragging from that. ... You work too hard in this league to get leads against good teams and to throw it away in 53 seconds hurts."
The only thing left to break after the chain is the heart.
Random Game Notes
Terry Stotts' Post-Game Comments
Opening comments
I was really pleased with the way we played. The first quarter was a little slow. Offensively we were really moving the ball. A nice rhythm to it. Dorell Wright was terrific. I thought his two hustle plays really energized us in the second half. Especially the one he made a three and then goes back and makes a great play on the other end.
Victor Claver was very solid for us in the minutes that he played. [Wesley Matthews] kind of fought through a little contusion, continued to compete, make shots. It was a game we needed before this road trip and I liked the way we played.
Victor Claver
The lineup was playing well, had good energy. He was playing well. The unit was clicking. It was an opportunity to get our guys rest who were on the bench. I try not to run up Nic's minutes and it's easy to because I play him the first and third quarter, and I want to keep the opportunity to rest him when I can.
Hot streak to start third quarter
Make shots. There really wasn't much to it. I thought the ball found our shooters. They shot it with confidence. It wasn't necessarily anything that we ran. The shooters were shooting with confidence. The thing that I was pleased about was that our spacing lineup is getting a rhythm, whether Mo [Williams] is in the game or not. Dorell, that's kind of working the way it should as far as opening up the court and three-point opportunities. We're still able to defend and rebound with that group.
Use small lineup when LaMarcus Aldridge comes back
When L.A. comes back, using Dorell as a four, whether we use LaMarcus as a five or not, that's to be seen. Certainly the confidence we've gained with this lineup over the course of the last few weeks, it's part of our team now.
Ball movement
I think when you make shots, everybody is involved, the ball has a tendency to move more. Part of it was the style of the game. Both teams were playing small. There were more opportunities to draw and kick. You want to do as much as you can but sometimes the game doesn't let you.
Third quarter defense
I said that during one of the timeouts: it was nice that we were making shots and threes, but like I said, the two plays that Dorell made, really kind of fed off of that. Our third quarter defense was as important as the shot-making.
Damian LIllard's bounceback
Damian, in a year and a half or nearly two years, he usually bounces back. You'd have to ask him about John Wall and the match-up. I'd only be speculating.
Momentum heading onto the road
The road is always tough. This three-game homestand, it would have been nice to get all three. Pulling out a tough one against Milwaukee, a tough, close win, was good for our confidence. Having a game like this will hopefully give us some momentum.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
Portland Trail Blazers今晚开始平坦，但拿起能量击败华盛顿巫师在包括1200名特殊成员的人群面前击败华盛顿巫师。
井的人，另一个西装外套的边缘晚上是书籍，以及另一个家庭胜利为你的波特兰普通的开拓者。对于那些在过去的四个月里生活在岩石之下的人的人来说，当这个网站乐队的读者一起发送弱势儿童及其陪伴时，布拉泽尔的边缘夜间发生了他们否则无法参加的燃烧商游戏。今年我们派了1200个孩子。那个......是很多。
为你一直生活在岩石下的人，因为六个月，踪迹开拓者现在坐在45-24，坐在很漂亮在西部大会中的第五位，在第一个和5.5场比赛中排名第9场比赛，其中13场比赛中剩下的13场比赛。
让我们首先与游戏处理游戏，然后我会在布拉泽尔上线的边缘夜晚。
这里有三个罪孽在播放华盛顿巫师。不要让他们打开三分，因为他们都可以射击。不要让他们运行，因为他们喜欢它。 Do not turn over the ball.
Naturally Portland's starters came out doing all three. Portland didn't have a bad offensive first period but Washington's constant litany of "run out, dunk, screen, open three, tip pass, run out again, easy layup" kept Portland;s efforts from telling. Call it energy, effort, heart, continuity, or anything you want; the Blazers didn't have it. At least not on defense. Washington led 28-23 after one and the arena was near-silent.
But a funny thing happened on the way to Milwaukee, Part 2. (Referencing Portland's limp performance against the Bucks in their last game.) Portland's bench players decided to play basketball. They weren't perfect or anything close. All their familiar mistakes and bad habits showed up at one time or another. But the Blazer reserves injected a dose of energy into the game that the starters couldn't seem to muster. Victor Claver made strong defensive stands (a few of which he got whistled unfairly for). Mo Williams canned some of his patented "That's So Mo" jumpers. Thomas Robinson beasted on defense, dunking, and the boards. Will Barton brought the crowd to the edge of their seats with a "I'm dribbling one way, nope I went the other...fooled you! I JUST DUNKED!" breakaway. Like a spring thaw the second unit's energy cracked the ice of the starters' banal approach. When the first unit returned to the game the offense ran quicker, turnovers subsided, Washington's fast break points evaporated, and somehow screens didn't cause quite the level of mayhem they did before.
Playing mostly correctly--and with enough chutzpah to cover whatever was missing from "mostly"--the Blazers built a platform upon which their moments of brilliance could rest. Early in the game a Portland three-pointer was followed immediately by one from Washington for no net gain. As the game progressed Portland's threes actually bought them a lead that stuck, then expanded. The Wizards kept trying but their style required the Blazers to lapse in order to succeed. The Blazers never lapsed long enough. Portland took a 53-51 lead into halftime, came out blitzing and bombing in the third, expanded the margin to 13 by the end of the quarter, and never looked back. Aside from the first-quarter follies it was the kind of game we've come to expect from the Blazers but have not seen much of lately.
The Wizards did end up shooting an amazing 44% (12-27) from the arc in this game. Portland's guards will eventually have to learn how to deal with a pick without getting stuck on it like flies on flypaper. But the Blazers shot 40% themselves and actually hit 14 threes to only 12 from the Wizards, finishing the game with an advantage in the category despite allowing Washington free rein. Portland gave up 16 fast break points but it didn't end up hurting them, in part because they committed only 9 turnovers for the game. Going 27-46 from two-point range didn't hurt the Blazers any. The Wizards defend well at the arc but not as well inside it and Portland took full advantage. 32 assists on 41 made buckets tells you something was going right for Portland. Scoring +5 from the foul line was the icing on the cake. The Blazers did 1-2 things poorly for the whole game (3pt% allowed and offensive rebounds allowed) but compensated with heart, execution, and doing most other things well. It was a team win, with hero ball and isolation sets noticeably absent. That was nice to see.
Individual Notes
Attending the game live didn't allow me to take down my usual meticulous observations on individual play so I'll just share impressions, which you can feel free to supplement in the comments.
Damian Lillard played more under control and more generously than we've seen him lately. His teammates were making plays and hitting shots so he got the ball to them. This is much better than them standing and watching him and/or missing open shots, causing Damian to take over, causing them to stand more and miss their rare opportunities, etc. This may not have been Lillard's most impressive statistical outing but credit for the style of play goes, in part, to him. The screen thing, though? Dame needs to work on that, or at least decide what he's going to do against picks. Going over OR under would be better than stopping dead. Washington's pattern tonight was to screen off Lillard or Matthews, watch Portland's other defenders collapse towards the screen to help, then hit a guy in the space they just vacated. It may not have worked every time but it worked lots.
Wesley Matthews had a really nice offensive night as well. When he hits the open three this whole team breathes a sigh of relief and starts playing normally.
Dorell Wright said, "I heard we're shooting three-pointers tonight!" and then proceeded to torch the nets, providing critical first-quarter offense to keep the Blazers in striking distances despite their poor overall performance in that period. This was one of Dorell's best games as a Blazer.
Nicolas Batum did plenty in this game. His chief contribution may have been knowing how to defend somebody. That sounds simple until you watch some of his teammates. He also grabbed a ton of rebounds, hit his shots, took care of the ball, and threaded one of the most amazing bounce passes I've ever seen in the third period. He curled around a defender and immediately threw the ball almost sidearm. It flew past two defenders and found a target (I want to say Thomas Robinson...can't remember) at the rim for the easy score. You don't throw bounce passes through the lane. You don't throw bounce passes past two defenders. You don't throw any passes that quickly at that angle with a guy on you. Batum did this...thing and somehow it was all good. Wow.
Robin Lopez doesn't register against what kind of opponent, children? If you said opponents with quick and/or outside-shooting centers, you pass. Absent Marcin Gortat, a late scratch from the game, Washington had nothing but. Their bigs didn't do too much damage but neither did Lopez.
It's not going to show statistically but Victor Claver should really be proud of this game. He was all over the place on defense, showed up when the Blazers needed him on offense, and his mistakes were either touchy reffing or teammates trying to do things with Claver that shouldn't be done with Claver. He played a really nice game and was rewarded with extra minutes.
Thomas Robinson also registered a positive impact. His defensive energy was way up and he helped inspire his teammates.
Mo Williams went up and down but he didn't take away from the offense nor try to force his own shot. He seemed to recognize his teammates were doing well and toned it down a bit. C.J. McCollum got a few minutes and had a couple of nice offensive strikes. Will Barton came out playing hard, if briefly.
Now let's update Blazer's Edge Night.
It was a little bit of a late-arriving and quiet bunch this year compared to many, at least in the sections I was around. With 1200 people we were spread throughout the upper deck, But I was sitting near a significant concentration of our folks, incognito-like.
At first it didn't seem like the kids quite knew what to do. Many of them seemed younger than usual, many more pre-teens by percentage when we're more used to teen-teens. It's good that the age range is expanding but those younger folks weren't as naturally boisterous, at least not in organized fashion. Portland's early play probably had something to do with it as well. The whole arena was flat and quiet for the first half hour.
But when the Blazers did go on a run I started hearing high-pitched noise to my left. It was the sound of hundreds of voices cheering three-pointers at once. All of a sudden signs began shaking, held high. When the cameras caught some of them, the jumping began. Then arms and fists flew into the air upon made buckets. All of a sudden the crowd was into it. We heard "De-FENSE" chants from below and joined in. Then the chants started coming from above, likely started by experienced fans but taken up and magnified by all those young voices. When I looked over again during a timeout I realized that...WHOA! Those sections were filling up now! For privacy reasons we can't publish pictures of individuals but here's what the sections looked like from a distance.
Those four sections on the upper deck nearest to the left are mostly our kids, plus there was a fifth, even fuller, section just to the left of those. Plus there was another section to our right. Those sections were too close to photograph without identifying faces but you get the idea. The crowd was significant. In fact one girl sitting next to me (who didn't know who I was) looked around and said, "There are a lot of people from [name of her organization] here." Then she looked around the other direction and said, "Oh my GOSH! A LOT OF PEOPLE!"
Once the Blazers got rolling the upper deck came alive and we were surrounded by a near-constant level of young noise. But all of that was a prelude to the third quarter when Blaze himself came to visit. He brought some goodies for a couple rows, which was nice. but pandemonium ensued...not because the kids wanted free stuff but because they wanted to hug, talk to, and get pictures with Blaze. He was a superstar! Check out the nice hug here:
And that was just the beginning. Within a minute a couple dozen kids surrounded him. It was crazy time. I tried to get a shot of all the kids gathered around him but I couldn't get Blaze in the shot anymore! It was just a big huddle with him somewhere in the middle there. I think some of the high-school cheerleaders that provided pre-game entertainment got into the scrum and he was just buried.
But even that couldn't compare to the noise when the Blazers made their final, fourth-quarter run. Once the decisive buckets were nigh our formerly-shy group was partying like they just won the Superbowl. It was loud. It was happy. It was everything you could have hoped. They took the energy the Blazers fed them and they fed it right back.
There is no sound in the world like happy kids. The readers of this site made over a thousand kids happy tonight.
I would like to personally thank each person who donated tickets so the children and their chaperons could go to this event. I'd also like to thank the two behind-the-scenes people without whom this event could not take place: Dan Son our ticket coordinator and Lisa Swan, the best customer service rep I've ever known. Dan had to organize and distribute 1200 tickets this year. You can imagine the work that goes into such an endeavor. And Lisa helps us out with everything we need and has worked hard to make the donation process as easy and seamless as possible.
We always get notes from participants--as if the giant signs and such around the arena tonight weren't enough--and I'll share what I can as they come in. But the simplest sentiments are often the clearest, so here's one in gratitude for all of you who made this happen:
Hi,
Just wanna take time to thank you, u r doing an honorable work, I don't have word to express my gratitude behalf of [our organization, the kids] and all the community involved. ..Thank you
Thank you, Blazer's Edge. We did well.
Timmay's Instant Recap and Gameday Thread Review
Jersey Contest form for Saturday
--Dave (blazersub@gmail.com)
Wesley Matthews和Portland Trail Blazers举行了一场华盛顿巫师队的比赛，为一个大家胜利。
由Damian Lillard引导（23分，10次助攻），Wesley Matthews（28分），Dorell Wright（15分，7个篮板）和Nicolas Batum（12分，14个篮板）。托马斯·罗宾逊（7分，5个篮板，3次助攻，2次抢断）和维克多特拉弗（7分，6个篮板，2次助攻）在港口的下半场发挥了大作用。
这也是布拉泽的边缘孩子的夜晚！我们发送了1,200个孩子今晚的游戏。稍后检查戴夫的想法！
上半场：燃烧器从三个开始热，但小巫师用它们的速度偷偷溜出，便于上篮。然后点击三个指针。在一个之后，向导得分28并在5岁以上。 The bench kept things close in the second, bit Will Barton injured his wrist on a rebound. From there, the starters took over, sparking a comeback that culminated in a halftime lead.
Portland 53, Washington 51
Second Half: The Blazers came out hot, jumping ahead by eleven. The lead bounced around for the rest of the quarter, eventually settling at the largest lead of the night, 13. In the fourth, the Blazer backups tried to pull away early, but the Wiz kept hitting shots to keep the game within reach. Portland led by 13 at the halfway point. Washington tried to make one last run, but Matthews helped the Blazers finish off the Wiz for a big win before their last big road trip.
What's Next:
A plane trip from Portland to the East Coast for the Blazers, the last one of the regular season. They'll play the Bobcats Saturday late-afternoon.
Tonight, stay tuned for way more from Ben, Chris and Dave!
Gameday Thread Comments of the Night:
These are a bit delayed tonight but will be added later!
Welcome to the Gameday Open Thread at Blazer’s Edge! This is a place to hang out and enjoy tonight’s festivities with your fellow fans. Treat it as if you’re watching a game at the local watering hole, but hopefully without the language. Expect some disagreements, and a fair amount of changing emotions. But we'll get through it together.
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Injuries: LaMarcus Aldridge (back contusion) is out, and Joel Freeland (knee) is still out for at least the rest of the regular season.
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The usual Gameday Thread rules apply:
1. No swearing
2. No pictures
3. No discussion of unlicensed Internet streaming
4. Be cool to each other!
Hang out and enjoy the game! -- Tim
It's Blazer's Edge Kid's Night!
Welcome to the Gameday Open Thread at Blazer’s Edge! This is a place to hang out and enjoy tonight’s festivities with your fellow fans. Treat it as if you’re watching a game at the local watering hole, but hopefully without the language. Expect some disagreements, and a fair amount of changing emotions. But we'll get through it together.
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Injuries: LaMarcus Aldridge (back contusion) is out, and Joel Freeland (knee) is still out for at least the rest of the regular season.
Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat (back) is also out.
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The usual Gameday Thread rules apply:
1. No swearing
2. No pictures
3. No discussion of unlicensed Internet streaming
4. Be cool to each other!
Hang out and enjoy the game! -- Tim