hrough
the gracious generosity of a friend, I had the pleasure of attending the
Portland Trail Blazers-Milwaukee Bucks game in Milwaukee this past Monday.
The Blazers prevailed, 115-111, which is a shock to nobody.
The Bucks played a competitive
game against the best team in the NBA. In fact, they grabbed the lead for
most of the second and third quarters. Portland snatched its first lead
since the second quarter at 89-88 on a jumper by Detlef Schrempf with 8:55
to play. Despite the mere one-point lead, I knew the Bucks were doomed.
Why? The Blazers’ 15-7 run spanning the third and fourth quarters came
without any of their starters. None!
The second string of a NBA team
making a run isn’t rare. But when you pair one of the weakest defensive
teams in the league (Milwaukee) against a second unit comprised of mostly
ex-starters, the plight of the lesser foe doesn’t beam with optimism. On
depth alone, the Blazers are the odds-on favorite to win it all this
season.
With Schrempf, Greg Anthony,
Jermaine O’Neal, Bonzi Wells, and Brian Grant, the Blazers held serve
until the real thoroughbreds like Scottie Pippen, Steve Smith and Rasheed
Wallace returned. What was remarkable about this game was that two of the
starters who hurt the Bucks in the opening period, Damon Stoudamire and
Arvydas Sabonis, played a minimal role the rest of the way. With most
teams, those guys would have logged major minutes.
When Wallace, Pippen and Smith
returned, they hit just enough clutch shots and put the clamps on a potent
Milwaukee offense. The Blazers saved their highest-scoring quarter for
last (37), and it appeared they did that intentionally. Their sluggish
start didn’t faze them a bit.
Not to diss my Bucks, but it’s
not easy to gauge a team like the Blazers when they have an obvious
advantage over another club. Watching them battle the Los Angeles Lakers
will be a real measuring stick. I don’t value Mike Dunleavy’s talents
as a coach that much (my evidence is his pathetic stint in Milwaukee). He’s
proven my longtime point that talent, not coaching, is the prime
ingredient for winning championships. Ironically, the only thing that will
keep this team from winning it all is chemistry and attitude, and the
proxy for keeping those intact falls largely on Dunleavy. (Of course, it
doesn’t hurt to have two savvy vets like Smith and Pippen on the floor).
With the depth of this club,
fatigue won’t be an enemy as the regular season draws to a close. Most
teams wish they had a Brian Grant or Detlef Schrempf in their
"starting" lineup, let alone have them on the bench. By April or
May, we’ll see if their abundant talent and quality bench is enough to
overcome the Lakers or Spurs. My money is on them.
Some additional tidbits and
morsels from the game:
- While sitting in my
upper-level seat Monday, I noticed a slew of young fans cheering for
the Blazers. Whatever happened to cheering for the home team? You can
blame cable TV and NBC’s elitist game of the week lineup for
encouraging the bandwagon-jumping craze.
- When you allow the other team’s
backup point guard to score 14 points, you rarely win the game. Greg
Anthony, who is known for his defense, did just that against the Bucks
Monday night.
- Even from the upper caverns of
the Bradley Center, Arvydas Sabonis looked huge (He’s 7’3"
and somewhere around 300 pounds). Two weeks earlier, I attended the
Raptors-Bucks game, and the 5’3" Mugsy Bogues looked like a
grain of sand. In fact, this kid seated behind us asked his father:
"Dad, who is that kid on the floor?"
- Headbands must be in vogue
once again. Half the Blazers wear them now.
- The most impressive play of
the game was Jermaine O’Neal’s rejection of a Ray Allen one-handed
dunk attempt. Just one reason teams are looking to acquire this young
talent before the trading deadline.
- I have always believed Scottie
Pippen was overrated defensively when it comes to defending the ball,
especially in the low post. The Bucks’ Glenn Robinson lit it up for
27 – not all against Scottie – but also not the first time he has
had success against the man whom Michael Jordan created (sorry Bulls
fans).
- If the Blazers do capture the
NBA crown this year, you can attribute ample credit to the Steve Smith
for Isiah Rider trade. After last season’s underachievement, Blazer
management knew they had to get some heady, steady vets in there.
Smith fits the bill. Add Pippen to the list of coups.
- One of my pet peeves is seeing
a player from the losing team laughing and smiling and joking with the
other team afterwards (I won’t mention Sam Cassell’s name). Now I
applaud sportsmanship, don’t get me wrong. But you never saw Michael
Jordan smile after a loss, did you? Then again, when did Michael
Jordan ever lose?
