Trail Blazers Host Utah Monday Night
posted: 10/22/2006 at 10:20 PM
It's the fifth pre-season game for the Trail Blazers on Monday night when they host the Utah Jazz at the Rose Garden at 7 o'clock. It will be the second meeting between these two teams in the last five days, and the two Northwest Division rivals won't meet again until December 30th. Thursday night in Salt Lake City, the Jazz defeated the Blazers 104-90.
In that game, Utah got off to a very quick start against Portland, winning the first quarter 31 to 17. The Blazers played them dead even the rest of the way, but the damage was done, and the Jazz were able to hold on for the 14-point victory. There were several things about that game that coach Nate McMillan went to work on during the flight to Seattle. He was frustrated that his team got off to its second-straight icy start, didn't like the fact that they were outrebounded 49-33, was upset the team shot just 61 percent from the foul line, and wanted to see an improvement on the lack of assists his team recorded against the Jazz. The Blazers also shot just 41 percent from the field, but coaches can live with that if the other catagories aren't so unbalanced.
Whatever McMillan applied after the Utah loss obviously worked. On Saturday night, the Blazers shot 62 percent from the floor, 90 percent from the line, recorded 18 assists, and were only outrebounded by seven. The biggest improvement came in the first 12 minutes, as the Blazers came ready to play, and took an eight-point lead going into the second quarter.
Following the set of back-to-back games, McMillan gave his team Saturday off. They still had to report for treatment, and some players got in some shooting, but there was no formal practice. Sunday, they did go back at it, and had a good, long workout at the practice facility in Tualatin.
That brings us to Monday night. Will we see the same Blazer team early that we saw in Seattle on Saturday? Will they continue to improve their shot selection, and their overall hustle? One thing appears certain, we will see the same five players start Monday that started at Seattle. That means, it'll be a second-straight start for Ime Udoka, who had 16 points in Utah, and then followed it up with 16 against the Sonics.
The other thing we should see is a more confident Trail Blazers team. We've talked about how wins and losses don't really mean that much during the exhibition season, but that's different when you've got a young team trying to find an identity. Clearly, Saturday's win meant a lot to McMillan and his team. There's got to be a tangible reward for all the hard work, and the win over the Sonics represented that to this team.
We've spent so much time talking about the young guys here in the pre-season. Udoka has been a great story, Brandon Roy continues to look so good, and Jarrett Jack looks fully recovered from his off-season ankle surgery. The guy we haven't talked that much about, is Zach Randolph. It wasn't until I talked to Joel Przybilla on Sunday that I realized that. We were talking about Friday's win, and I was going on about Roy and Udoka, and Joel quickly interrupted. "If Zach keeps doing what he's doing, we're going to be fine," Przybilla said. "He looks like he's ready to have a big season." That's high praise coming from a man who sees Z-Bo a lot closer than we do.
Randolph, who is undoubtedly in the best shape of his career, is the key to this team getting out of the blocks in a positive way in the regular season. In his last three games, Zach has gone; 27 points and 12 rebounds against Golden State, 17 points and 6 rebounds in just 30 minutes at Utah, and had 22 points on 9 of 15 shooting at Seattle. He has shot 23 for 42 from the field combined in the three games. That's an average of 14 field goal attempts per game, a very managable number. That's efficient offense from your go-to guy, and make no mistake, that's what Randolph is to the Blazers.
I also wanted to give you an update on Raef LaFrentz, who will be an important piece of the Blazers' puzzle, especially early in the season. He continues to battle back from a calf injury he sustained, while running, before training camp. LaFrentz practiced with the team on Sunday, his first full practice. The plan is to have him in uniform on Monday night against the Jazz. If for some reason he doesn't see minutes on Monday, look for him to get some time in the upcoming three-game road trip that will finish off the exhibition season.
LaMarcus Aldridge is also getting close to taking part in full practices. He's been rehabbing his right shoulder, following late-summer surgery. He has been shooting, and is in good physical condition. Aldridge could start taking part in full-contact drills within a week, although his progress will be monitored closely and he won't be rushed. It's the same story for Darius Miles, who is chomping at the bit to get back on the floor. Miles has been putting in long hours at the practice facility, and feels he is nearing full strength. There has been no timetable set on his return, but it won't be long now.
Monday night's game against the Jazz will be carried live on the Trail Blazers Radio Network, with Brian Wheeler and Antonio Harvey. The coverage starts with Game Day, at 6pm.
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Can I have your job when you're done with it? Until then, keep updating us; we love it.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for keeping the info flowing. Very interested in Ime Udoka right now for a couple reasons: 1) Heard that his father passed away, but don't have much background on his father, their relationship, or the impact his passing had on Ime (other than his terrific game vs. the Sonics), and 2) With Miles out for the foreseeable future and Travis slowly (but surely) improving, it seems that the Ime is capable of filling a rather dire need for the Blazers. Can you spare some time to discuss Ime in-depth in a future blog?
Hi Mike,
After watching all of the home pre-season games, Jarret Jack reminds me more and more of Terry Porter. Not only do they physically look similar, but Porter also came off the bench as a rookie and moved into the starting lineup in his second year. Jack, like Porter, can hit from the outside, can find his way to the basket and makes clutch free throws at the end of the game. He may not rack up a ton of assists, but he also doesn't turn the ball over much and is a steadying influence running the offense. The more I watch Jack, the less I miss Telfair and Blake. Great decision by Blazer management.
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