Where’s the Effort?
It is getting old now, but the Portland Trail Blazers once again put forth their worst effort of the year last night. Portland trailed 60-23 in the middle of the second quarter yesterday against the Celtics.
The Celtics cleared the bench early and still won 104-86. Remember, this Boston team has been struggling quite a bit this year.
The Celtics are barely above .500 and they were beaten 103-71 by Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
Boston 104, Portland Trailblazers 86
When: 7:30 PM ET, Friday, March 9, 2012
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Officials: #32 Eddie F. Rush, #58 Josh Tiven, #59 Gary Zielinski
Attendance: 18624
It didn’t matter last night; the Trailblazers made the Celtics look like an NBA All-Star team.
Love ‘Em
In an embarrassing game like last night’s loss it is tough to find anything to love.
1. Rebounding
Portland managed to grab 16 offensive rebounds. They out rebounded the Celtics 53-32.
Hate ‘Em
1. Turnovers
How can an NBA team turn the ball over 28 times in one game? That is something that you would expect out of a high school team. Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton, and LaMarcus Aldridge all had five turnovers each.
The Celtics finished the game with 30 points off turnovers.
2. Lack of Assists
If having 28 turnovers wasn’t bad enough; it just makes it that much worse that the Blazers had only 12 assists all game long. This is a sign that Portland was doing a lot of one-on-one basketball rather than running an offense.
Trail Blazers vs. Celtics blog: love ’em & hate ’em - (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
This has been a problem all year long for this team.
3. Lack of Aggression on Defense
While the Blazers were turning it over on offense, they certainly weren’t forcing any turnovers on the defensive end. Boston committed just seven turnovers all game.
Portland has been known as a team that plays hard defensively under Nate McMillan, but this year’s team just isn’t going that right now.
After last night’s game Blazers players held a lengthy team meeting. The team addressed their lack of effort and unprofessional attitudes.
Will it do them any good?
Time will tell.
Nate McMillan’s seat is getting very hot, and the Blazers really need to get it going right away.
Team Statistics
| Portland | Boston | ||
| Fast Break Points | 7 | Fast Break Points | 21 |
| Points in the Paint | 32 | Points in the Paint | 42 |
| Biggest Lead | 2 | Biggest Lead | 43 |
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