[Live 05]07-08 Blazers- D-Miles Trade Rumours

[Jing]

I'd post something whitty... but I have a horrible headache and just took some medicine... so I'll say nice recap right now, and maybe edit something later...

[Its_asdf]

Blazer Player Stats


MVP Candidates



1. Joe Johnson
Last year, the Hawks finished the season with a 10-19 record and were a definite lottery bound team. This season, the Hawks are only three wins away right now from matching last year's win total with a record of 7-8, which is good enough for 9th place right now in the East. They may be on the outside looking in if the playoffs were to start right now, but Joe Johnson has definitely helped the Hawks become a much improved ball club this year. Johnson has been in the top 5 of nearly every offensive category, being in the league's top 5 of free throws made, points per game, three pointers made and field goals made. Johnson isn't stat padding neither, getting his teammates involved with a career-high 6.8 assists per game.

2. Kevin Garnett
Things are looking bleak for Minnesota, who are currently seated 11th in the Western conference and are last in the NorthWest division. Despite not being known as a powerhouse division in the West, the Northwest has currently three teams in the West's top 8 (Portland as the division leader followed by Denver and Seattle who both are 7-5). Kevin Garnett has been playing out of this world, leading his team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and field goal percentage, but it just isn't enough for one man to power his way through a tough Western Conference.

3. Vince Carter
After a hot 3-1 start, the Nets are currently jostling for bragging rights over the Atlantic division with the Raptors and Carter is a major part of that. One of the top offensive teams last season, the Nets haven't missed a beat with Carter leading New Jersey's "Big Three". Carter's numbers are that of a superstars', but how many perimeter superstars do see hit their shots at a 54% clip from both the field and beyond the arc? Carter's scoring efficiency alone helps bring his name into MVP contention, but the Nets' offensive rebounding (which is one of the league's best at the moment), is also to credit Carter as well. Not known for having quality rebounding big men, Carter has picked up the slack for the Nets' poor rebounding bigs as he currently has the most offensive rebounds out of any guard in the league.

4. David West
David West is urrently ranked 7th in offensive rebounds per game, a statistic that mirrors the Hornets' niche for being the best rebounding team this season. An unlikely candidate for MVP if you look at just his stats alone, the Hornets started off their season with a 7-3 record mainly in part to West's versatile play. West's play has gone south the past few games, and as a result Hornets have fallen off to 8-8 after going on a 4 game losing skid.

5. Dirk Nowitzki
The Texas Triangle is usually the driving force behind the tough South West division, but not this year. The Spurs are at .500 and the Rockets are trying to get back on track with a three game winning streak after starting the season 2-9. The Mavericks haven't been that great either, but they're still tops in their division. What makes Nowitzki a top 5 MVP candidate is his defence this season. Dirk has been playing the passing lanes well for a man of his stature, grabbing two steals a night and averaging 1.77 blocks per game; a sharp turnaround to Dirk's previous years of lackluster or "soft" defence. Factor that in with 23 points and 9 boards a night and you have one of the most complete players in the league on both ends of the court.

Season Standings

East
Atlantic Division
Central Division
South East Division

West

Pacific Division
North West Division
South West Division

Monthly Awards

Eastern Conference Player of the Month: Joe Johnson
Western Conference Player of the Month: Dirk Nowitzki

Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month: D.J. White
Western Conference Rookie of the Month: Greg Oden

[Its_asdf]

Great presentation of the league leaders. The stats are kinda realistic yet, not like the last month.

Yeah, I guess that's what happens when you play a 29 game season. Some teams play like 5 games while some play like 2 so you're going to get major skewed results.

I'd post something whitty... but I have a horrible headache and just took some medicine... so I'll say nice recap right now, and maybe edit something later...

Alright then. Take your time.

[Devin112]

man the bucks and the raptors and tearing it up!

You guys are on a run though, 4 game winning streak- ride the wave man! gotta put the a western team on top!

[Clutch]

nice mvp recaps always liked J Johnson's game - gritty/no non-sense workhorse; think of how crazy PHO would've been if they could've afforded to keep him

[Its_asdf]

Miles Away From Any Problems
D-Miles Making Amends With Superb Play

January 10, 2008

"For Every Kobe Bryant or Tracy McGrady to come out of high school, there is always a Darius Miles" seems to have become a popular phrase to justify the NBA's new age limit.

When you think about players that came out of high school who never lived up to the hype, Darius Miles is one player that automatically comes to mind. Miles has become synonymous with the word "underachiever", a player that is considered by many a bust that has failed to live up to his lofty expectations which once had him pegged as being a Tracy McGrady-Kevin Garnett hybrid.

And who knew? The kid was a lanky 6'9 with guard skills, could jump to outer space and made teams salivate with his untapped potential and youth. It seemed like a good idea at the time to draft Miles with the third pick in the 2000 draft, but year after year Miles just never got any better. Portland made a gamble by signing Miles to a long term deal but for a while it seemed like the 48 million dollar investment in Miles yielded nothing but Miles' terrible attitude and a dark cloud of misfortune over the city's basketball franchise.

It might have taken a while, but it looks like the gamble is finally paying off.

"I'm not blind or deaf, I can hear and see what people say about me," Miles said. "I know I've said things in the past and done things in the past... I've put those things behind me now and hopefully other people have too."

Maybe it was the fans' excessive booing and finger pointing by the critics. Maybe it was his crippling knee injury that made him miss the entire season last year that put things into perspective. Maybe it was just Miles finally growing up and maturing into a man. Maybe it was a combination of all of them. Whatever it was, it has definitely made Miles into a completely different player this year.

Last season was the most painful one for Miles. He missed the entire season with his knee injury and the Blazers were at the bottom of the league in the standings. Fans questioned Miles' future with the team since his game relied so heavily on his leaping ability and having a knee injury dealt him a serious blow. No one knew for sure if Miles' knee would ever recover to 100% or even survive the NBA grind, for that matter. To make matters worse, Miles knew that the 07-08 season would either make or break his basketball career.

"A lot of people wanted me out of here," Miles said. "They wanted me to retire or they wanted me to be traded. When you're disliked that much by your own fans, I knew that there had to be a change. I knew I had to prove them wrong."

When long-time friend and former Clipper team mate Quentin Richardson was traded from the Knicks to Portland, Miles recieved the extra push that he needed. Amidst all of the doubters in Portland, Richardson would be one of the few that were rooting for him to succeed. "The very first thing I did was call up D-Miles when I got traded," recalled Richardson with a smile. "I remember telling him that he better get his butt back in shape by the time I get there, because we're going to have fun on the court, just like the good old days."

Miles began furiously rehabbing his knee during the off-season in attempt to get back on to the court. With all of the attention going towards the new faces of the Blazer franchise, Miles kept a low profile, heading to the gym to continue to hone his abilities instead of trying to repair his image through the media. He knew that his mouth wouldn't talk them into being believers. "I had to let my game do the talking," said Miles. "That's why I avoided the press altogether during the off-season. I needed to get away from everything and focus on basketball only."

This hard work has paid off for Miles, who has now become the player that many have envisioned him to be; a Scottie Pippen-esque second option that does a bit of everything on the court. It's not common to see Darius Miles blow by his man for a thunderous jam on one posession and then throw a hesitation move on his defender, step back, and bury that hugely improved jumper of his over his defender on the next trip down the floor. Miles' 16.2 points per game average is second only to best buddy Q-Rich in scoring this year for the Blazers. Miles has shown he can get it done defensively too, averaging nearly 1 steal per game and leads Portland in shots blocked.

Although he sustained a wrist injury early this season, it looks like Miles and his knee are in perfect form, helping the Blazers to a 5-1 month in December. As a result, Portland has propelled themselves to the top of the North West Division and are second only the reigning champion Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference.

"I realize now that I can't take things for granted anymore," says Miles. "It's been a roller coaster ride these past few years and that's made me stronger and more mature mentally."

It seems like the phrase "For Every Kobe Bryant or Tracy McGrady to come out of high school, there is always a Darius Miles" is starting to grow out of date. Perhaps Miles' name will soon be mentioned alongside McGrady's and Bryant's instead of having his name being associated with the label of an underachiever.


Miles' renewed dedication to basketball is finally giving fans what they've expected out of him

[Its_asdf]

man the bucks and the raptors and tearing it up!

You guys are on a run though, 4 game winning streak- ride the wave man! gotta put the a western team on top!

I hope I can keep it up... Portland's taking on the defending champion Suns next game....

nice mvp recaps always liked J Johnson's game - gritty/no non-sense workhorse; think of how crazy PHO would've been if they could've afforded to keep him

Yeah, well Boris Diaw isn't a slouch either. I think both teams really benefitted from that move, but I agree, I'm a huge fan of JJ's versatility. He's really destroying nearly every offensive category out there. He's killing it in my dynasty. I'm happy for him.

[TheMC5]

Awesome D-Miles profile. I'm diggin' it. Not a huge D-Miles fan myself, but it's good to see you using him to his potential.

As for Joe Johnson on the Suns, sure Diaw's pretty good, but it's a tough fit in Phoenix when you can't really play alongside Amare Stoudemire. Good as Diaw is, the Suns would have been much better served if they could have kept Johnson, with perhaps the exception of 05-06 when Amare was injured. I don't think Joe Johnson could have passed as the team's starting center.

[Clutch]

damn - great read, IA! (my abbreviation for your sn)

i so wanna like D-Miles in real life; but your article makes me want to practically buy his jersey let's hope that other common expression of, "life imitating art" comes into play for him this season

man, i forgot... PHO rules the roost in your dynasty too? crazy. well, hopefully they're not two-time defending champs like in mine good luck - hope STAT doesn't abuse you too badly

[Its_asdf]

Awesome D-Miles profile. I'm diggin' it. Not a huge D-Miles fan myself, but it's good to see you using him to his potential.

As for Joe Johnson on the Suns, sure Diaw's pretty good, but it's a tough fit in Phoenix when you can't really play alongside Amare Stoudemire. Good as Diaw is, the Suns would have been much better served if they could have kept Johnson, with perhaps the exception of 05-06 when Amare was injured. I don't think Joe Johnson could have passed as the team's starting center.

Thanks. It's usually a love-hate thing with Miles. Somedays I just utterly despise him but his athleticism (which has probably disappeared after all the weight he gained with his knee surgery in real life) is always mind boggling when combined with his length.

I think Diaw just needs time to adjust to Stoudemire's presence. I think Diaw didn't feel the need to carry the offensive load as much because of Stoudemire's presence in the paint. Obviously Johnson is better than Diaw, but I think that Diaw's versatility makes him a better fit for Phoenix because Phoenix has enough guards on their team.

damn - great read, IA! (my abbreviation for your sn)

i so wanna like D-Miles in real life; but your article makes me want to practically buy his jersey let's hope that other common expression of, "life imitating art" comes into play for him this season

man, i forgot... PHO rules the roost in your dynasty too? crazy. well, hopefully they're not two-time defending champs like in mine good luck - hope STAT doesn't abuse you too badly

Yeah, I hear you on trying your best to like Miles but he just makes it so hard sometimes. Well, I've read recently on a Blazers blog that Brandon Roy has already gathered a bunch of Blazers and are currently running 5 on 5 scrimmages to get ready for the season. Miles was there, but he's still rehabbing that knee of his and he's working out twice a day to get back into shape... I guess that is a good sign for Miles fans.

Yeah, Phoenix is only 6-3 but they're on top of their division. Don't worry about STAT; I already played the game and all I can say is that it was one hell of a game to play.

[Its_asdf]

Roy Helps Portland Steal One Over Defending Champs


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A lot of people are saying that Brandon Roy is the future of the Blazers' franchise. However, Roy doesn't seem satisfied with being the go-to guy in the not so distant future and he let the Phoenix Suns know it.

Roy managed to foil a late fourth quarter Phoenix comeback after scoring the final 7 points of the game en-route to a narrow victory over the defending champion Suns. The second year guard out of Washington University led the Blazers to their fifth straight win with his third consecutive 20-plus point performance.

"He (Roy) really showed why he's the future of this franchise," said fellow 2006 draftee and teammate Mardy Collins, who was clearly still in disbelief after the game. Collins had perhaps his best outing as a Blazer this season, scoring 8 points and delivering 3 assists after he had received extended minutes on the floor when Roy got in foul trouble early in the game. "He's always so calm and makes the game look so easy, I don't think he even broke a sweat during the fourth quarter. "

Phoenix's run and gun style was ineffective for major stretches of the game, being limited to poor shots which led to their uncharacteristic 39% from the field. The Suns' inability to run led to poor offensive execution also led to 16 turnovers, many of which the Blazers capitalized on. The Suns managed to keep the game fairly close thanks to some agressive offensive rebounding by Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion which allowed for former MVP Steve Nash to get many second chance points on the perimeter and dropped a game-high 26 points despite shooting only 8 for 22 from the field. "They have a very athletic team that can get up and down the floor as well as we can," Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni had said. "They suprised us with how quick their transition defence was, and that forced us into a lot of turnovers."

With 21 seconds left in the game, Brandon Roy would showcase his clutch play. Trailing 100-96, Brandon Roy popped a three pointer from the left pocket after he was freed up from a screen by Al Horford. Down by one, the Blazers quickly fouled an ice-cold Raja Bell. Bell scored 20 points, but had to take 21 attempts to do so. With butterflies in his stomach and the feverous chanting of Blazer fans in the stadium, Bell missed both free throws and the crowd let him know it with a loud uproar of glee.

Things got much worse for Bell soon afterwards. The Blazers inbounded the ball to Roy, who furiously demanded the ball against Bell. Posting up, Roy spun by Bell with a shot near the basket, but was fouled by Bell in the process. Roy sank both free throws with 11 seconds left to reclaim the lead at 101-100. Shawn Marion tried to lob a pass to a cutting Amare Stoudemire, but the pass was intercepted by Roy. Phoenix was forced to foul Roy and finished off the defending champion Suns with two more free throws.

"I didn't even know I had gone to the line 10 times, I just wanted to keep attacking their defence," spoke Roy of his agressive play. "Thankfully we played good team defence and we got stops when we needed them the most. We're a lot better team defensively than last season for sure."


Everytime Roy backed down his defender, it led to a trip to line

Steve Nash didn't get his team mates involved as much, but carried the Suns with his shooting
Al Horford couldn't handle the quickness of the Suns' interior defence, resulting in a career-high 7 turnovers
Seldomly used guard Mardy Collins performed well when given extra minutes
Horford's posterizing dunk over Marion was clearly the highlight of the night
Diaw uses his length to adjust his shot and mid-air and float one over Q-Rich

[TheMC5]

Nice win. That was some clutch play by Roy at the end. Just out of curiosity, why did you play Mardy Collins over Jarrett Jack? Sweet dunk by Horford, too.

[Its_asdf]

Nice win. That was some clutch play by Roy at the end. Just out of curiosity, why did you play Mardy Collins over Jarrett Jack? Sweet dunk by Horford, too.

Thanks. It wasn't really that I intentionally wanted to play Collins more than Jack. Roy picked up his third foul early in the second and Jack was already playing at that point since Q/D-Miles and Webster were really fatigued at that point for some reason. I should have put on C.J. Miles, but Collins hasn't played in a while, so I thought "what the hell". Before you knew it, the man was doing pretty well from mid range and nailed a couple of open 15 foot jumpers despite having only like a 58 field goal rating. I just can't seem to pull the trigger when I'm using Jack even though I'm a huge JJ fan... I always seem to have other offensive options on the floor that get higher priority than him, so he doesn't really see the ball much. He still played a solid 10 minutes off the bench, which isn't too bad since MC Hammer (my nickname for Collins) only got like 12.

I kind of was wanting to trade Collins before playing this game, but I really enjoyed using him so much that I rekindled my love for him and why I traded for him in the first place. I tried to make him into too much of a perimeter player before which I think is why he gave me so much frustration before. It can take me a while to find out the "right" away to efficiently use a player some times.

[Clutch]

another awesome write up IA!

man, Roy is really coming of age; that was a very (dare i say it?) "Jordanesque" performance he had in the final seconds, especially with that heady lob steal

[Its_asdf]

Blazers Land J.R. Smith in 6 Player Swap
Webster, Sow and a disgruntled Jack Leave for the Mile-High City

In:

Out:

February 3, 2008

The exciting, high-energy offence of the Portland Trail Blazers have helped them emerge as one of the teams to beat in a tough Western Conference, much to the suprise of many. The Blazers are also one of the hottest teams right now, riding a five game winning streak (their most recent win being a victory over the current first place Phoenix Suns just a few weeks ago). Despite this, the Portland Trail Blazers are still trying to add the finishes touches to their roster. By shipping out Jarrett Jack, Martell Webster and Pape Sow, Blazer General Manager Kevin Pritchard believes that Portland has found the key ingredients that they need to get to the top when they acquired J.R. Smith, Ronnie Brewer and Melvin Ely.

"We're very excited to bring these three players in," Pritchard had said during his press conference this morning. "This team is still a work in progress, but we're greatly ahead of schedule thanks to the development of some young players that we didn't think would develop as quickly."

After a few years of being a talented role player, J.R. Smith has finally broken out to star status this year after being faced with free agency headed in this off-season. The 6'6 skywalker out of high school has become the third scoring option for the Denver Nuggets andis averaging 16.8 points per game, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game; all career-highs. In spite of all this, Smith has been under fire by Nuggets' head coach George Karl for his poor shot selection (38.5% field goal percentage). Smith had also participated in last year's Denver-New York brawl that resulted in the suspension of several Nugget and Knick players. Mardy Collins, who was a Knick at the time, was the one who gave J.R. the hard foul which caused the brawl to ensue. Collins however, thinks that both players can get along. "I think he'll fit great in our up-tempo style," Collins said. "You know, I think that our emotions got the best of us that game last season and I hope we can put the past behind us and focus on being teammates now."

"I think he was just misunderstood and needs the right guidance," was Pritchard's response to J.R. Smith potentially having a negative influence on the Blazer's recently squeaky clean image. "I don't think he has any character issues and he should get along with our team just fine. I spoke to J.R. earlier today and he's thrilled to be a part of our team."

Ronnie Brewer and Melvin Ely both signed with the Nuggets during the summer but have yet to see much action. With the wing positions already filled, Brewer has played mostly back up point guard to Allen Iverson, who is always near the top of the league in minutes played. As a result, Brewer has only averaged 2.1 points per game but has made his shots count (50% field goal percentage). Ely's lack of playing time has been even more severe, playing in only two games thus far.

Having one of the most potent offences in the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers are first in the league when it comes to field goal percentage. Pritchard believes that Smith and Brewer's athleticism should fit well with their style of play. "We're a very athletic team with the addition of these two young men," he said. "But to gain a lot we also had to give a lot as well. Denver got some very good players in Martell Webster and Jarrett Jack and I know that they'll thrive in Denver."

Martell Webster was enjoying one of his best years to date as well. Webster had become an excellent sixth man off the bench averaging 11.7 points per game off the bench and being one of the top three point shooters in the NBA, but the same praise can not be sung for Jack. Jack had averaged career lows in nearly every statisical category and his scoring average this year has regressed from 14.6 points per game to a mere 3.5 scoring average.

The Blazers will most likely be shorthanded when they play the 12-8 Detriot Pistons tomorrow. It is doubtful that Smith, Brewer or Ely will be able to make it to Portland in only a days time.


J.R. Smith (left) is enjoying career highs in many categories despite feuding with George Karl. Sophomore guard Ronnie Brewer (middle) is a versatile and athletic slasher that has played back-up to Allen Iverson. Melvin Ely (right) should be a competent back up if one of Portland's bigs goes down.

James, Stoudemire Named Players of the Month; Durant Claims 2nd Rookie of the Month Honour

Eastern Conference's January Player of the Month - LeBron James
Western Conference's January Player of the Month - Amare Stoudemire

Eastern Conference's January Rookie of the Month - Kevin Durant
Western Conference's January Rookie of the Month - Nick Fazekas

[A4JUBEEZY]

nice 6 players swap man.... and good to see durant doing it big in the legue.. keep up the dynasty. im following!

[A4JUBEEZY]

nice 6 players swap man.... and good to see durant doing it big in the legue.. keep up the dynasty. im following!

[Its_asdf]

another awesome write up IA!

man, Roy is really coming of age; that was a very (dare i say it?) "Jordanesque" performance he had in the final seconds, especially with that heady lob steal

Jordanesque? Roy will have his own legacy, man.

To be honest, I was kind worried about blowing another lead, but Brandon Roy just took Nash/Bell to school in the post. He simply ate them up inside.

nice 6 players swap man.... and good to see durant doing it big in the legue.. keep up the dynasty. im following!

Thanks bro, Durant is winning R.O.M. awards simply because nobody else is getting any playing time on any of the teams... He probably would be doing a lot better if the Knicks didn't trade for Kirilenko during the off-season. That move really pissed me off because it cut a ton of minutes from Durant, who's now a sixth man for New York.

[TheMC5]

Boo.

Pape Sow>JR Smith.

Nah, just kidding. I just dislike JR Smith and have soft spot for Sow. But it looks like the trade will definitely help your team. A swingman rotation of Roy, Q-Rich, D-Miles, and Smith is pretty good, and damn athletic. Unfortunately, you had to take Ely, too, but you still got a killer deal.

[Martti.]

Bad to see Webster go.. But J.R In.. Lookin' good.

Good luck!

[TheMC5]

Thanks bro, Durant is winning R.O.M. awards simply because nobody else is getting any playing time on any of the teams... He probably would be doing a lot better if the Knicks didn't trade for Kirilenko during the off-season. That move really pissed me off because it cut a ton of minutes from Durant, who's now a sixth man for New York.

Have you thought about changing player positions via DBF editing? That's what I do if awesome teams are playing really bad, or if great players are sitting on the bench. Seems to work well. For instance, in my Pacers dynasty, I think Toronto plays Graham at SG, and it works really well. Graham still plays, but it opens up time for Kapono and Delfino, and the Raps have actually been winning since I did that move.

[Clutch]

I'M BACK! after a long fun weekend away at a lakeside cottage - nothing but beers, bbqs and gals wooot

anyway, great to see so much dynasty activity to come back to! your trade? well, even though he's a dunkin' fool, something about JR Smith kinda rubs me wrong; i'm more a fan of Webster than JR but then again i understand Smith's probably statistically more capable than Martell plus you had to make a move to ditch struggling J Jack. Business is business and a GM's gotta do what a GM's gotta do!

i know JR may be a skywalker and have more spectacular dunk highlights but i'll still be cheering mostly for Roy as the Blazer's true rising star; Brewer and Ely are decent bench guys; probably an expiring contract move, i'm thinking?

[Its_asdf]

Lack of Blazer Bench Gives Pistons the Upper Hand


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The Blazers are normally a team with deep bench, but today Carlos Delfino made sure that the Detriot bench would outplay Portland's. Delfino scored a game-high 20 points off the bench on the Blazers, who were without sixth man Martell Webster or back up point guard Jarrett Jack due to the Denver trade that was orchestrated yesterday between the two teams which left Portland short handed.

"We didn't have a few key guys from our bench," Nate McMillan said. "That still isn't an excuse to play the way we did. The guys that got the extra playing time should have stepped it up."

After a sluggish start from both teams in the first quarter, Delfino became the sparkplug for the Piston offence, scoring 10 points in the second quarter and also hit back to back three pointers to propel the Pistons to a 41-27 lead by half time. Tayshaun Prince single handedly dismantled Blazer star foward Quentin Richardson in the first half, holding him to only 6 points by the half. As a result, Portland's offence grew stagnant as they shot a cold 23% from the field in the second quarter.

The Blazers did not want to go down without a fight though. It was Portland's turn to put the defensive clamps on Pistons, holding Detriot to only 19 points. Darius Miles attacked the Piston offence for 9 points in the third, including a three pointer at the end of the quarter to close the gap to only 5 points.

When things began to look worrysome for Detriot, Carlos Delfino once again stepped up to deliver. Delfino scored another pair of three balls and hit a tough reverse layup to stretch the lead back to double digits. By this time, it was Richardson's turn to heat up and began answering Delfino's shots. Q scored 11 of his 19 points and grabbed 4 of his 12 rebounds in the fourth quarter to keep the team within single digits, but the Blazers ran out of time before they could continue to whittle away at the Piston lead.



Carlos Delfino watches in satisfaction as he nails one of his 8 field goals to help bring down the red-hot Blazers

Chauncey Billups made it a rough night for Brandon Roy
Q-Rich was also bothered by Tayshaun Prince's length for 3 quarters
Darius Miles' knee is still rusty, but that didn't stop him from slamming one past two defenders
Detriot held a block party and LaMarcus Aldridge happen to be one of the many victims

Smith's Solid Debut Off Set by Struggling Pacers


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Despite an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter fuelled by J.R. Smith, the Portland Trail Blazers fell short for the second straight game against the lowly Indiana Pacers. Indiana's current 5-11 recond is second last in the Eastern Conference, but they managed to get a huge boost from an unlikely source.

"I just stayed agressive all game long," spoke Pacer guard Mike Dunleavy of his impressive late game performance. Normally ciriticized for his poor play during the crucial moments of the game, Dunleavy scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in the final quarter to help the Pacers withstand a Blazer run.

The game itself was a topsy-turvy affair that featured many lead changes; for the most part Indiana held a slight lead throughout major stretches of the game. The second half saw more agressiveness from Portland, namely the newest Blazer, J.R. Smith. Off the bench, Smith got into early foul trouble in the first quarter by picking up two quick fouls, which Smith blames on early-game jitters with his new team. "I think I was a little too nervous in the first few moments of the game," said Smith, who finished with 14 points and 3 rebounds off the bench in his solid Blazer debut. "After I got my head back into focus, I just began playing the way that I normally play."

The fourth quarter featured a taste of J.R. Smith's awe-inducing potential to put the ball in the basket after he scored 9 points in a little less than 2 minutes. After a 5-0 run by the Pacers, Smith answered that run with a tomahawk slam, a pull-up three pointer and followed that with a coast to coast fast break dunk. Smith then penetrated to the basket for a sweet shovel pass to Al Horford for a dunk of his own and then capped off the 11-0 Portland outburst with Kobe-esque turnaround jumper at the elbow to give the Blazers a 78-76 lead. Dunleavy however, decided to respond.

After trading a few baskets, Dunleavy scored on a three and a floater on back to back Pacer posessions which reclaimed the lead for Indiana. Indiana then went on an 11-2 tear in the final two minutes which was spawned from back to back unanswered threes from Dunleavy.

"He (Dunleavy)played great out there," said Pacers' star centre Jermaine O'Neal, who finished the game with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. "This is why we made the trade for him last season. He's a very talented player, but he's going to need to play like this more often if we're going to have a chance of winning more games."


Jermaine O'Neal's 10-14 field goal performance helped propel his team to victory

Jamaal Tinsley's three ball that sealed all hope
J.R. Smith's first basket as a Blazer was nice to look at
Granger quietly got himself 21 points
Channing Frye punches one home over Jeff Foster
Diogu wiped the glass clean with 4 offensive boards


Up Next: All-Star Weekend

[Its_asdf]

Boo.

Pape Sow>JR Smith.

Nah, just kidding. I just dislike JR Smith and have soft spot for Sow. But it looks like the trade will definitely help your team. A swingman rotation of Roy, Q-Rich, D-Miles, and Smith is pretty good, and damn athletic. Unfortunately, you had to take Ely, too, but you still got a killer deal.

Heh, I knew you're a Pape Sow fan, but he's pretty bad in the game. He's good for a few rebounds or a dunk here and there, but other than that he's pretty useless. I'm a Sow fan too, but he was the only guy that could make the salaries work.

Bad to see Webster go.. But J.R In.. Lookin' good.

Good luck!

Yeah, like I said earlier, Webster's nice and all as a sixth man, but I wasn't that satisifed with what I was getting out of him.

Have you thought about changing player positions via DBF editing? That's what I do if awesome teams are playing really bad, or if great players are sitting on the bench. Seems to work well. For instance, in my Pacers dynasty, I think Toronto plays Graham at SG, and it works really well. Graham still plays, but it opens up time for Kapono and Delfino, and the Raps have actually been winning since I did that move.

That's a good idea, I might try that for a few rookies. I don't really feel like swapping Durant though. Kirilenko is playing pretty well in the game and I don't think realistically that the Knicks would replace a proven star scorer/shotblocker like that with a rookie like Durant, I mean the Knicks aren't THAT stupid.

I'M BACK! after a long fun weekend away at a lakeside cottage - nothing but beers, bbqs and gals wooot

anyway, great to see so much dynasty activity to come back to! your trade? well, even though he's a dunkin' fool, something about JR Smith kinda rubs me wrong; i'm more a fan of Webster than JR but then again i understand Smith's probably statistically more capable than Martell plus you had to make a move to ditch struggling J Jack. Business is business and a GM's gotta do what a GM's gotta do!

i know JR may be a skywalker and have more spectacular dunk highlights but i'll still be cheering mostly for Roy as the Blazer's true rising star; Brewer and Ely are decent bench guys; probably an expiring contract move, i'm thinking?

I know Smith has personality problems, but in my world (or dynasty, at least), players with attitude problems can make a complete 180. Just ask Darius Miles in my dynasty.

I also agree that Roy is the first and most important piece for Portland, but I see a Wright/Smith/Roy trio in the near future. Roy's also been playing like crap lately. I just haven't been able to capitalize on his height against opposing opponents lately. I think the point guard experiment with Roy might be going a little sour, so don't be suprised if you see Roy being shuffled around the guard/small foward position.

[Mark.]

SOlid Debut for Smith, I quite like the trade, seems pretty balanced. Pity you had to lose the following two games though