Trip Opens in Detroit
posted: 12/4/2006 at 8:22 PM
Greetings from Detroit. Well, not actually Detroit, but Rochester, Michigan. We always fly into Pontiac, drive through Oakland, and stay in either Birmingham or Rochester. This is probably my 8th or 9th trip to Detroit, and I've yet to actually see Detroit. As you know, the Pistons play in Auburn Hills, not far from where we're staying. When I need help in this area, I ask my TV partner Mike Rice, who grew up in this area. In fact, when we play the Pistons, I usually try and remind fans that Rice was drafted by the Pistons back in 1962. I follow that up by saying he was drafted in the 8th round. He then normally chimes in and says there were only 8 teams back then. So, let's just put this to bed and say he was the 64th overall pick in the 1962 draft. That would have him just missing out on being a second-round pick these days. That sounds more impressive, and I'm all about propping him up (literally, sometimes).
I toss in a couple of travel stories occasionally, especially during long road trips like this. This is certainly a strange and wonderful way to make a living, but it's also difficult to be away from home for long stretches. There's so much that goes into bouncing around the country on a nightly basis that fans never even think about. I didn't even really think about it until I was actually doing it. Jason Quick, of
The Oregonian, wrote an entertaining story about our travel that appeared in today's edition. Here's a
link, if you haven't seen it. I laughed while reading it because I remember the bus ride he's talking about in the story. His description is very accurate. He's also correct in describing our plane, the seating arragements, and how all of us cling to some kind of normalcy and routine while away from home. There are so many more stories, and I'll try and slide one in from time to time.
We flew into Detroit (well, Pontiac) on Monday morning, and the team went immediately from the plane to practice at Oakland University. They watched about 40 minutes of tape from the game against Atlanta, and then went through a long practice. As you would expect, they worked mainly on defense. Nate McMillan has not been happy with the defensive effort as of late, and has been preaching that to his team.
Even though this stat is pretty much meaningless, I will tell you the Trail Blazers, for whatever reason, always seem to play well at the Palace. Portland has won 6 of the last 8 in Detroit (well, Auburn Hills). Last season, they nearly pulled the upset of the Pistons at the Palace. They had a chance to tie in their final possession, but turned the ball over, fouled, and lost 93-89. With that win, the Pistons improved to 20 and 3. Zach Randolph, who had to listen to Rasheed Wallace yapping in his ear all night, scored a a career-high 37 points in that game. They also lost to the Pistons in Portland in November of last season, but again had a chance to win, and fell 84-81.
The Pistons got off to a rough start this season, and were just 3 and 5 through their first 8 games. But, then rattled off an 8-game winning streak. That streak was snapped on Sunday, when they fell in Charlotte 97-89.
The Pistons are led in scoring by Rip Hamilton, who is averaging 22 points per game. Chauncey Billups averages 18, and Tayshaun Prince is right around 17 points per game. Rasheed, who had a good game on Sunday, scoring 19, is averaging just 14 points per game, his lowest average since the 98-99 season.
Against the Blazers last season, Rasheed struggled in both games. He had just 13 points in the first game, and only scored 11 in the second, on 3 of 12 shooting.
The Trail Blazers are searching for answers on defense right now. Their offensive numbers have been fine, and are 13th in the NBA in shooting, at 46 percent. They are also taking good care of the basketball, and are 10th in turnovers at just 15 a game. They are, however, allowing 100 points per game, and are dead last in the league in rebounding. That's what has the coaching staff concerned.
Against the Pistons, look for the Blazers to play more zone defense. They've been going in and out of zone schemes lately, but I expect to see much more zone Tuesday night. As you know, zones help stop penetration, but have to adjust quickly to defend outside shooters. If the Pistons get hot from long range, we could see the zone dumped in a hurry. It's also a difficult for many teams to rebound out of a zone. Being you're guarding an area, basically, it takes a much better effort to find a man to box out. Fortunately, Detroit, without Ben Wallace now, isn't a great rebounding team.
I talked about this yesterday, but look for Sergio Rodriguez to continue to see increased minutes running this Portland team. McMillan likes the energy that Sergio brings to the game, and is pleased with the way Sergio is growing in his role as a leader. This team is in need of a vocal leader on the floor. Jarrett Jack is trying to be more of that, but hasn't come as far as Nate wants in that department. Jarrett won't likely see a cut in his minutes even if Sergio plays more, as he'll often times switch to the off-guard spot. The challenge for Sergio against a team like Detroit will be defending. Billups is a big, physical point guard, and Rip Hamilton is 6-7, and is lightening quick.
We should also see the return of Raef LaFrentz Tuesday night. He's back from his calf injury and is anxious to contribute. He could take a lot of pressure off Zach with his outside shooting. Raef is also a good shot blocker and rebounder, and Portland could certainly use that.
It's the first of six straight on the road for Portland. We'll have the game on FSN Northwest at 4:30 pacific time. Yes, Detroit, Oakland, Rochester, Birmingham, and Auburn Hills are all in the eastern time zone. It'll be interesting to see if the local sportscasters actually cover this game. Monday night they were all lathered up, ripping the BCS for sending Michigan to the Rose Bowl, and not the Fiesta. I guess they haven't had anyone to focus their anger on now that Joey Harrington is gone.
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Hey, Mike, thanks for the blogs. It's really great you let us tag along in your daily duties. I hope your blog continues for a long time.
FYI, Mike, when i started posting comments to this blog in the offseason, one thing was decidedly different. Those who were responsible for picking and choosing what comments were allowed or not seemed to do what they could to "keep it real". Sadly, i don't think that is the case, anymore. Now, it seems if we aren't kissing the back end and stroking the ego of every player on the roster it's likely the comment won't get posted.
I can live with that. Although i think it takes some of the fun out of participating in the blog, i can refrain from telling you what i really think. However, i thought maybe you would like to know the sensorship hasn't gone unnoticed.
As for me personally, i'll still pop in from time to time to let you know your work is appreciated. Any criticism of any of our players, though, i'll keep to myself. I guess i'll "keep it real" when discussing basketball amongst friends and not on this blog.
¡What a really nice photo from Sergio in the cover! Don't you think he is nice?
Good morning here in Spain. Yesterday when I came back from work I could finally saw the match against Hawks. Certainly, my opinion is that coach McMillan has a very hard work. Its somehow frustrating to see that your team losses one and another time. Hopefully this will get better soon.
I'm happy to see Sergio getting into the team. He seems to be more fluent with his play. This is a good think. He needs the support of coach, team and fans. ¡Come on and shout his name when he is playing! And, please, to Blazers fans, be patient, you will see he is the steal of the draft.
Hey Mike, I will be at the game tonight in some good seats. What is something I could yell to one of the Portland players to spark a laugh?
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance,
Jason
mrblazer,
Thanks as always for the comments. Even though I don't personally moderate comments, I'll try and make sure the positive and negative get through. I think the only thing they like to stay away from is personal attacks on individuals. There are plenty of places to go for those, and the team's website probably should be one of them. I agree that solid criticism, within reason, should be allowed, and I'll try and make sure it does. Don't think I can't handle that. You should see my personal inbox. Keep sending feedback, as I always think your comments are very good.
jason raz,
In Detroit there are plenty of comments coming from the stands, and most of it isn't family-friendly. Any pro-Blazer comments will stick out like a sore thumb, so let it out. Just make sure you're wearing a helmet.
MB
seriously Mike, when are the Blazers going to have a contest to let a fan go on a short road trip with the team (on the plane, etc)?
You know, like a weekender trip (houston, memphis in Jan)?
just a thought, as reading the article today it's like Blazer 1 would be like flying in the Taj.
the suns are stupid for selling their sergio pick to you guys.
stupid stupid stupid.
stupid.
mc milan is the only coach that gives 3 minutes to a guy who got 11 asissts in 20 minutes in the game before. Someone would have to remember him that jarret gave just 3 more asissts with 40 more minutes against detroit, but we are supposed to be happy cause porland won the match, aren´t we? but porland is not fighting for getting a 40-games won season furthermore being in the west conference, porland is fighting to create a well done team which can reach the playoffs in two or three years, but mcmilan prefers keeping the asissts and the futur away from the court, asissts that means points but winning in detroit, this way of thinking may make you win 1 or 2 times from 20 in detroit, but maybe the first possition of sergio in asissts per 48 minutes and his 2nd in asissts per turnover are better in the bench washing the towels and serving the drinks to his mates....
Mike, great game last night. I spoke to Zach Randolph for a second and asked him if it was true that he may get moved to Detroit. He said yes, but I think he was joking around with me.
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