Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Thoughts on Portland 125, Utah 104

Portland and Utah were tied in the standings coming in to tonight's game, but Portland has made the Rose Garden a tough place to play. Portland jumped all over Utah early in the first quarter, gave up some of the lead in the second and then put it away in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was mostly garbage time. The game was a bit strange with Boozer and Przybilla both getting ejected without gettin' ornery and Sloan was tossed for arguing a stupid foul. This game was poorly officiated which is saying something in one of the worst officiated seasons in memory.

Portland had great ball movement which led to 32 assists on 47 makes. Roy had another "quiet" game with 25 points, 11 assists and 6 boards. Blake had 9 assists, Aldridge had 26 points, Batum had 17 points, Przy had 9 boards, Outlaw had 17 points and Oden scored 12 points, grabbed 8 boards and blocked two shots in only 11 minutes. Portland shot 62% for the game.

On the downside, Rodriguez shoots too much from the outside. His shot is flat and not very accurate. He should concentrate on driving and dishing. He's good at that and should stick to it. He needs to bulk up a little to keep guards out of the paint.

Utah is a terrible road team, but it's still a great win.

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