1.9 seconds: long enough for a tie, 2 lead changes, and redemption

After the Rockets one the tip they went inside to Yao Ming for a short lay-up attempt. Somehow, someway Joel "The Thrilla" Przybilla blocked it. A quick outlet pass, a streaking LaMarcus Aldrdige, and the Blazers were ahead 2-0 on that most rare of plays; a Blazer fast break. It was excellent and entertaining.

Even more entertaining was the next Houston possession; they went to Tracy McGrady against Rookie Nicolas "Boom Boom" Batum who forced McGrady into a tough shot. At the other end, the Blazers went inside to Aldridge who hit a beautiful post-up move to give Portland a 4-0 lead and set the tone for the night.

The first half was about Aldrdge and Batum. Aldridge could not be stopped on those occasions Portland remembered they had him on the floor. Meanwhile, Batum completely stifled McGrady.  That was key because at the other end, Ron Artest was putting to rest recent rumors he was "washed up" as a lock-down wing defender.

He put the clamps on Brandon Roy almost completely. It was a terrible, terrible half for the Natural as he turned the ball over, threw up awkward, low-percentage shots, and just generally looked completely out of sorts.  

Fortunately for the Blazers, they got huge contributions from Travis Outlaw, Rudy Fernandez, and even a few points from Batum. Defensively, they were doing a great job. Artest and McGrady were non-factors for the first half offensively and if not for Luis Scola, the game might have been out of hand.

Portland looked dominant almost everywhere; they had a 10+ rebound advantage, more blocked shots, more steals, better shooting percentage...they just struggled with turnovers and free throws as the line kept Houston not only in the game but in great shape, trailing just 52-51 at the break.

The second half was a different story. Early, Batum was doing a nice job on McGrady and when Outlaw was put on him, McGrady hit a couple easy buckets to get going. When Batum returned, McGrady was in a rhythm and the early-game shut-down was over. For the rest of the night McGrady would terrorize the Blazers. 

Still, Portland led most of the second half, usually in the 5 - 7 point range. Early in the 4th quarter they took their biggest lead of the game, 10, with just less than 10 minutes left. A quick 5-0 Houston surge had Portland reeling and it would be a dogfight.

That highlights one of the early-season struggles for Portland. They are not closing out games. They had excellent chances to win in both Phoenix and Utah but gave back second half leads both times. This team needs to find the killer instinct. They need to go to what works; feed Aldridge until he is stopped instead of perimeter passing and against the clock off-balance heaves. They do not yet have the great 4th quarter intellect or killer instinct. 

So when Houston tied it at 90, things looked bleak. It looked like Portland would give away a game they should have won handily. But Houston is too good to lay down and die. 

Artest finished a miserable regular session for Roy by stripping him as he went up for a shot and the ensuing Roy kick-ball gave the Rockets one last shot in regulation.

The first overtime had Portland fans nervous. Suddenly, they were struggling not just to score but to even get reasonable looks at the basket while giving up dunks to Carl Landry. When Aldridge missed 2 free throws in a tie game, many of the faithful started leaving the building. "Best fans in the League" indeed. Stay true, you weasels. Stick it out to the end.

McGrady capped what was ultimately a 30 point effort to give the Rockets a 2 point lead. But Aldridge came back to hit two pressure free throws to tie it. When McGrady was forced into a low-percentage shot, it seemed Portland would have a chance to win it. 

Roy dribbled into a double team, took a turn-around fall-away jumper from a weird angle in an area of the floor he seldom works from. At that point, he was 4-16 from the field. It was not the shot we wanted to see...until it tickled the twine with 1.9 seconds left. Game over!

Well, not really...Houston inbounded from mid-court. Inexcusably, Portland let them make as perfect an entry pass to the post as you will ever see. Ming went to shoot a turn-around and Roy gave him a love-tap across the arms. Clearly a foul, but a soft one...and Ming hit the shot and free throw. Groan!8/10ths of a second left and now Portland is down 1.

The inbound went to Roy way outside the 3 line, he turned, gathered, shot...nothing but net. Unbelievable! The place went nuts. We were slapping fives, hugging, maybe a kiss or two. What a finish!

And this was big not just for the finish but because it was a game Portland HAD to have. They were 1-3. Sure, all 5 teams they faced at first won54+ games last year and were in the playoffs. Sure, 3 of those games were on the road. 

But this Portland team, even without Oden, is that good. .500 with that schedule will be acceptable (after they beat Minnesota Saturday, which they will by double digits). It shows this team is ready to compete. They held serve, winning the home games. They played tough on the road. 

It would have been nice to get Utah without Deron Williams, but as the League is discovering, Utah is a pretty good team even without him. Would they win 50 without him? Probably not. But they still have plenty of talent, and thinking "no Williams = no chance to win" is just foolish. Portland was one of 6 teams that took their shot and missed it. No shame there.

I was nervous prior to the season. If Portland could finish .500 after 6 games, I believed and still do that they will win about 53 games this season based on the schedule, their talent, and their expectations. That last trey by Roy might mean a 5 or 6 game difference by the end of the season because had he missed, Portland probably wins no more than 46 or 47 games. Confidence means that much.

In closing, I have a new mission in life. In light of Przybilla's nickname "the Thrilla", I have begun doing the little Thrilla dance every time he blocks a shot or scores on a dunk. I encourage all Blazer fans to do likewise. That means you...

Blazers, 110, Grizzlies, 98

Portland came out hot. Again they made the curious start...with Roy, Webster, and Aldridge on the floor they ran plays for Frye on the first 2 possessions. To his credit, he did score on one of them...

The Blazers were scoring early, tallying 15 before the 6 minute mark. Then they went cold. For quite some time. They ended the first quarter with just 24 points...and gave up 26 to take a deficit into the second quarter. Gausol was killing them, along with Gay. At one point the Grizzlies had 41 points...and 22 of those were by Gay or Gausol who seemingly could not be stopped.

For most of the second quarter their funk continued and the deficit grew to 15. And it was mostly on offense.

It wasn't that Memphis was playing exceptional defense. Portland simply missed shot after shot they normally make. Roy had a miserable quarter, missing several shots from his favorite foul-line extended. Outlaw continued his string of bad outings with a few misses and a lot of frenetic defense that ended with him badly out of position.

Portland made a bit of a run to pull within 7 points with the ball...and gave up a 5-0 run to end the half down 61-49.

The third quarter started poorly with a couple missed shots. The natives were getting restless. McMillan called a time-out. And it felt like Portland came alive. They went on a bit of a run fueled by defense. Roy had 2 or 3 steals, Aldridge and Przybilla blocked seemingly everything the Grizzlies put up and the result was a 10 point gain for Portland, pulling within 2, 76-74 at the end of the third quarter.

The 4th quarter was more of the same. Jack was scoring well, Roy took over, Aldridge scored seemingly at will. Meanwhile, at the other end they had slowed Gausol to a crawl, though Gay was still scoring time after time as he got wide open looks. However, the rest of the Grizzlies all but took the night off.

Finally a 3 by Jack put the game out of reach and the Blazers coasted home.

How did my predictions fare? Well...I headlined it "There will be chalupas" indicating I thought the Blazers would score at least a hundred and added "Look for both teams to score a lot of points...this game should see both eclipse the century mark and don't be surprised if they even top 110. It will be a fun game to watch with both teams making runs as their youth shows through. Portland will win by double digits.

I am pretty pleased with that. Memphis did miss by two, scoring "only" 98 points...but Portland did hit the 110 mark, both teams made multiple runs and Portland racked up a 12 point win. I also mentioned my fear this would be the game Gausol broke out. It was. Early on he was carrying the Grizzlies as Frye, Aldridge, and Przybilla took turns trying to stop him, all unsuccessfully. I gave the Grizzlies the edge at center, and from an offensive standpoint they indeed did.

I was incorrect about who would start for the Grizzlies at power forward...it was Milicic. As far as Aldridge...I said, and I quote, so look for Aldridge to have a big night. If tying your career high for points with 30, racking up 10 boards, having 3 huge, key blocks, and even dishing out 3 assists is a big night...then yes, I nailed it. He came up HUGE. He definitely gave the Blazers a huge edge at the power forward position.

I was right and wrong about the small forward. Rudy Gay started at the 3...and I wrongly predicted, "... Rudy Gay, coming off a big game against Seattle. One problem young players face is consistency, so look for ...Gay to struggle a bit." Whoops. Gay did not exactly struggle. Outside of Gausol, he was the only Grizzly that came to play. Every time the Blazers made a run Gay would hit a three or drop inside for a dunk, dropping in a game high 31. He and Gausol combined for 50 points...the Grizzlies only tallied 98. That tells you how well Gay played.

Meanwhile, Webster had a "quiet" 17. Early in the game he got a couple looks. He missed his first couple shots, but then started hitting. When the Blazers were struggling to find the bucket they seldom looked to him but when they did he delivered. He finished 5-10 from the field (including 3-6 from 3 point range). Why did he only have 10 shots? Good question.

I am not sure the Blazers realize what they have in Webster. All too often they send him to stand in the corner, then run the offense on the other side of the floor. He stands there wide open shooting 50% FROM BEYOND THE ARC and they never look at him.

When they are struggling for offense as they did from mid-way through the first quarter through almost the end of the second, they really need to run a play or two for him and/or on his side of the floor. He has the potential to be a 20 point scorer if they let him.

But this was an advantage for the Grizzlies as Gay was unstoppable and Webster was barely used. I would like to see him getting 15 - 20 shots a game. Take them away from Frye, whom I am less and less a fan of every time I see him.

Shooting guard was no contest. Roy had a typical night...slow scoring in the first half, but helping other ways, then in the second half taking over. He had several steals leading to fast breaks in the run that caught the Blazers up, hit a trey and gave Aldridge a couple of dunks. After a slow start shooting he finished 9-19 with 22 points, 8 assists. The best the Grizzlies could counter with was their third leading scorer, Lowry, with 14 points on just 3-8 shooting....and Lowry did double up Roy on rebounds but Roy did a better job of distributing the ball.

And at the point Blake had his usual efficient game, 7 points and 8 assists. He didn't take a lot of shots, but the ones he did take were key. I am becoming more of a fan.

I am not sure what to call the bench. Portland's bench struggled for the most part offensively. Outlaw was lost on defense, Przybilla didn't tally a point and Rodriguez could only add a deuce. Only Jack was much help...and he must love coming off the bench because he scored an explosive 21 points. But Memphis still outscored Portland from the bench, 31-28. So statistically it was almost a draw.

I did see one other thing that makes me nervous. Portland was running a zone most of the night. It was not particularly effective. Gay was having a huge night, yet again and again and again the Blazers would leave him open for a three and when they weren't letting him set up shop they were letting the Grizzlies inside for offensive rebounds. Lowry alone had 5...how does that happen? And the Grizzlies as a team rolled up 15, way too many. The zone was not particularly effective for most of the game. We will see if it gets better.

In the end it was a great game for the Blazers as they came back from a 15 point deficit to win handily with big performances from their stars and a second consecutive big game from Jack. If this continues they will be on the right track.

At the same time, Outlaw is going to be key to keeping the momentum going. If he continues to look lost on defense and struggle on defense it will be a huge blow to the Blazers as they are getting better but still have to have everything break right to beat the really good teams.